THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03029758
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: April 26, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 30, 2019
• Publication Date: November 6, 1967

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�oko To
DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
e)
MEMORANDUM
The Situation in Vietnam
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6� November 1967
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A R. N ING
ik document contains classified information affecting the national security
the United State; within the meaning of the espionage laws, US Code
Ilde IS, Sections 793, 794, and 798.
A
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Information as of 1600
6 November 1967
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HIGHLIGHTS
I, The Military Situation in South Vietnam:
Enemy activity in the region above Saigon shifted
from Loc Ninh to the Song Be - Phuoc Binh area some
25 miles to the east on 5 November (Paras. 1-2).
Meanwhile, there are indications of offensive activ-
ity in Konttm and Darlac provinces (Paras. 3-7).
A number of small-unit actions were reported in
widely scattered areas on 6 November (Paras. 8-11).
V. Communist Political Developments: There
is nothing of significance to report.
TOPS.
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I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. Enemy activity in the region above Saigon
shifted from Loc Ninh to the Song Be - Phuoc Binh
area some 25 miles to the east on 5 November. In
two sharp skirmishes just three miles south of Song
Be, 15 enemy troops and 15 South Vietnamese Army
soldiers were killed. Three US advisers and another
30 South Vietnamese were wounded.
2. The enemy forces involved may have been
part of the North Vietnamese 88th Regiment which
launched a heavy ground assault against a South Viet-
namese outpost in this area on 27 October--just before
the Communists began their week-long assaults against
Loc Ninh.
3. Meanwhile, there are signs that the enemy
is getting ready to attack in two widely separated
locations in the central highlands. In recent days
several sharp skirmishes and enemy mortar attacks
have broken the relative calm in Darlac Province and
in the Dak To area of Kontum Province, some 120 miles
to the north.
\suggest
that more enemy attacks can be expected in these
areas.
4. The rainy season in the highlands is ending.
The trails are drying up, and general living condi-
tions for troops in the jungle are improving. These
factors work to the advantage of the Communists.
US air support for isolated outposts, however, is
at maximum efficiency during this period of good
weather.
6 November 1967
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5. The most recent enemy activity in Darlac
consisted of a mortar barrage and around probe against
a US 4th Infantry night defensive position late on
3 November. Ten US soldiers were wounded./
6. A more significant enemy operation appears
to be under way to the north in Kontum Province. A
recent defector reports a planned attack against the
US Special Forces Camp at Dak To involving five North
Vietnamese regiments. The defector states that the
attack was to have beaun on 28 October--coinciding
with the offensive against Loc Ninh--but a post-
ponement was forced because of "a failure in co-
ordinating artillery."
7. The Communists are known to have five regi-
ments in the Kontum area--the 32nd, 66th, 174th, and 24th.
In addition, a 40th Artillery Regiment was mentioned
by the defector, but the presence of this unit has
not been confirmed. It is unlikely that the enemy
would risk exposing all of these forces to allied
fire power in a concentrated attack. Such forces
could, however, be used against a particular out-
post and various allied reaction forces.
8. Several small-unit actions were reported
throughout widely scattered areas on 6 November.
9. US forces in coastal areas of Quang Nam
Province reported killing 11 enemy soldiers in a
series of five encounters on 6 November. There
were no US casualties.
10. Twenty-seven enemy were killed some five
miles west of Tam Ky in Quang Tin Province during
an hour-long battle on 4 November, according to
a delayed report. American casualties were one
killed and one wounded.
6 November 1967
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11. In Binh Dinh Province, an enemy company
entered five villages some five miles west of An
Khe in the early morning hours of 6 November and
kidnaped 238 montagnard training cadre personnel.
TWQ US patrols were sent out at dawn but made no
contact with the enemy or with the missing monta-
gnards.
12. In the Mekong Delta province of Kien
Hoa, a South Vietnamese company engaged an esti-
mated Communist platoon. The South Vietnamese
patrol killed 18 enemy soldiers. Allied losses
were light.
6 November 1967
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6 November 1967
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