THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM - 18 DECEMBER 1967

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Tet Declassified
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06752209
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: April 26, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 30, 2019
• Publication Date: December 18, 1967

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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
MEMORANDUM
The Situation in Vietnam
T et
' 0
18 December 1967
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164
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I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH 7IETNAM
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1. Fighting in the Bong Son plains in north-
eastern Binh Dinh Province has tapered off follow-
ing the action there on 15-16 December. Casualty
lists show that the US troops of Operation PERSHING
killed 128 Communists during the two-day battle.
American losses for this engagement remain 22
killed and 52 wounded.
2. The enemy unit involved in the fighting
has been identified as the 2nd Battalion of the
North Vietnamese 22nd Regiment. This regiment, a
subordinate of the North Vietnamese 3rd Division,
has borne the brunt of the recent fighting in the
flatlands north of Bong Son. Despite indications
that the regiment has been reinforced and resup-
plied recently, its ability to maintain the recent
high level of activity has probably been impaired.
3. In northern Tay Ninh Province, an esti-
mated company-size enemy force attacked the site
of a CIDG camp under construction with 75 rounds
of 82-mm. mortar and recoilless rifle fire late on
17 December. The 45-minute barrage resulted in the
wounding of 35 CIDG personnel and three US advisers.
Enemy losses are unknown. Communist forces have
previously harassed this site as well as other al-
lied field positions established in northern Tay
Ninh� Province during Operation YELLOWSTONE.
4. A total of 78 Viet Cong were killed and
27 weapons captured during a fierce 30-minute fire-
fight with elements of the South Vietnamese 9th
Division in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Binh
on 18 December. The South Vietnamese force was
supported by well-coordinated artillery fire and
air strikes. The enemy force was identified as
the provincial Viet Cong unit.
18 December 1967
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Developments in the Demilitarized Zone Area
5. A recently captured enemy notebook indi-
cates that the North Vietnamese may conduct a di-
versionary campaign in the Con Thien area this
winter while launching their major offensives
farther south in the Tri-Thien Military Region
and coastal Military Region (MR) 5. The Tri-
Thien region encompasses the southern half of
Quang Tri Province and all of Thua Thien Province.
Military Region 5 extends from Quang Nam Province
south to Khanh Hoa Province in central South Viet-
nam.
6. Several other recent developments lend
some credence to the information in the notebook.
The buildup of enemy units in base area 101 south
of Quang Tri city, the recent movement of the North
Vietnamese 31st Regiment toward the A Shau Valley
southwest of Hue, and the movement of elements of
the North Vietnamese 304th Division into the Laos
panhandle west of Khe Sanh all suggest a shift in
emphasis to areas south and west of the Demilitarized
Zone. Such a shift could, in part, be an effort
to bring the war closer to South Vietnam's popula-
tion centers and to create yet another battle area
in which to pin down allied forces. Nonetheless,
the North Vietnamese can be expected to employ
heavy rockets and artillery across the Zone with
increasing intensity as the weather improves in ,
January and February.
7. The captured notebook had been maintained
by a company political officer, possibly in a
unit subordinate to the North Vietnamese 90th Regi-
ment. The information in the book was dated No-
vember and December, -1967, and may have been de-
rived from a "Commanders COnference" Which was held
recently north of the demarcation- line.
8. Other entries in the book refer to a party
committee meeting held on 24 November in which it
was reported that US troops were withdrawn from the
unit's area and replaced by South Vietnamese soldiers.
This probably refers to the position between Con
Thien and Gio Linh which now is manned by South Viet-
namese troops. The committee interpreted this de-
velopment as an indication that the US forces were
preparing to go on the offensive, citing as a
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18 December 1967
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possibility an invasion of the Vinh Linh Special
Zone north of the Demilitarized Zone.
Additional B-3 Front Elements Moving South
9.
additional elements of the B-3 Front
are moving southward from their normal operating
areas in the western highland provinces of Pleiku
and Kontum. Two unidentified subordinates of the
B-3 Front have recently been pinpointed near the
Cambodian border in Darlac and northern Phuoc Long
provinces. These relocations represent southerly
moves of 78 and 130 miles, respectively, since mid-
November.
10.
These activities may
be in support of men and material being infiltrated
to points farther south. It is also possible that
additional North Vietnamese military units may be
transferring their subordination and moving from
the western highlands to northern III Corps.
18 December 1967
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II. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. During a meeting with President Thieu on
14 December, All-Vietnam Bloc Chairman Tran Van An
reportedly got Thieu's agreement in principle to
send a four- or five-man team to survey provincial
administrations in a number of areas and make rec-
ommendations for improvement. The team
would be headed by An
manned by political, administrative, military,
communications media specialists who would also try
to find ways the government could improve its image
with the inhabitants. An is to discuss details of
the plan with Thieu's brother, Nguyen Van Kieu.
2. On the subject of his own conduct of af-
fairs in the presidency, Thieu reportedly told An
that he must be slow in acting if he is to be a
"prudent man." This comment was prompted by An's
remark that many people, even Thieu's brother, feel
Thieu is too meditative and too slow to react to
situations and problems.
and
and
Strike Averted
3. The threatened strike of the Electrical
Workers' Union has been averted. The Compagnie
des Eaux et d'Electricite has given the-workers
their severance pay and the Ministry of Public
Works has agreed to give them an extra month's
salary and a Tet bonus in January. An increase in
the cost of living allowance will be discussed at
a meeting this week. Union leaders say these terms
are satisfactory.
18 December 1967
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