THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R001100130018-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 18, 2008
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: May 27, 1972
• Content Type: IM

 Approved For Release 2008/11/18: CIA-RDP85T00875RO01100130018-3
SECRET
Nn. 0787/72
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Directorate of Intelligence
27 May 1972
The Situation in Vietnam
(As of 05:30 EDT)
1. Communist forces launched a coordinated
artillery and tank-led infantry attack against
Kontum City early this morning, the second such
assault in as many days. Although allied air
strikes reportedly destroyed Several enemy tanks
during the early going, sporadic street fighting
continued during the day in some parts of the town
and near the airfield. The defenders' task was
complicated by enemy sappers who have been operating
in Kontum City for two days.
2. To the south, government forces attempting
to reopen Route 14 between the towns of Kontum and
Pleiku have encountered stiff enemy resistance at
the Kontum Pass, where recently strengthened Com-
munist forces are dug in in positions commanding
the highway.
3. No major new fighting has been reported on
South Vietnam's other major battlefields. Enemy
troop relocations and scattered contacts have been
reported west of Hue, indicating that fresh attacks
against government positions there may be in the
offing. Some fighting has broken out south of An
Loc as Communist forces continue to thwart government
efforts to reopen Route 13.
SECRET
Approved For Release 2008/11/18: CIA-RDP85T00875RO01100130018-3
 Approved For Release 2008/11/18: CIA-RDP85T00875RO01100130018-3
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Approved For Release 2008/11/18: CIA-RDP85T00875RO01100130018-3
 Approved For Release 2008/11/18: CIA-RDP85T00875RO01100130018-3
SECRET
Bridge Repair in the North
4. Photography shows that the North
Vietnamese had repaired the Cats Nung railroad/high-
200-foot bridge on North Vietnam's major rail link
to China. Its rapid repair points up the high
priority that Hanoi has assigned to keeping this
rail line open.
US air strikes destroyed the center span of this
way bridge, 65 miles ?~rtheast of, Hanoi.
Soviet Naval Developments
5. There has been no significant change in
the disposition of Soviet Naval units in the South
China Sea.
Approved For Release 2008/11/18: CIA-RDP85T00875RO01100130018-3