THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001100010032-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2006
• Sequence Number: 32
• Publication Date: August 16, 1966
• Content Type: MEMO

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM
Information as of 1600
16 August 1966
ARMY review(s) completed.
'State Dept. review completed
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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16 August 1966
North Vietnamese MIGs engaged US
planes in t e southern part of the country.
I. The Military Situation in South Vietnam:
Operation DECK HOUSE III began in the coastal
provinces of Phuoc Tuy and Binh Tuy today in co-
ordination with Operation TOLEDO in an effort
to flush out the reported 4,450 Viet Cong in
the area (Para. 1). The command post of the US
1st Infantry Division 25 miles north of Saigon
was hit by Viet Cong mortar and small-arms
fire yesterday, killing five Americans (Para. 2).
A total of 195 Communists were killed in an
eight-hour battle in the coastal flatlands of
Quang Tin and Quang Nam provinces (Para. 3).
An advance contingent of Philippine troops ar-
rived in South Vietnam today (Para. 6).
II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
Strike at Caltex installations averted (Para. 5 .
III. Military Developments in North Vietnam:
MIG engagement in vicinity of Thanh Hao results in no
planes lost (Para.'1). US plane losses in August (Para. 2).
IV. Other Communist Military Developments:
There is nothing of significance to report.
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PHNOM
PENH?
SOUTH VIETNAM
CURRENT SITUATION
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I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. The Seventh Fleet Special Landing Force
(SLF) consisting of one reinforced battalion of US
Marines began search-and-destroy Operation DECK
HOUSE III in Phuoc Tuy and Binh Tuy provinces to-
day.. This operation is being coordinated with the
US - South Vietnamese Operation TOLEDO and is acting
as a blocking force to the south. Operation TOLEDO,
a multibattalion 'search-and-destroy operation, be-
gan on 9 August in the southern portions of Long
Khanh and Binh Tuy provinces and has encountered
only light contact with the 4,450 Viet Cong troops
reportedly operating in the area.
2. Viet Cong guerrillas attacked the forward
command post of the US 1st Infantry Division near
Lai Khe, 25 miles north of Saigon in Binh Duong
Province, with approximately 82 rounds of 81-mm.
mortar fire and small-arms fire on 15 August. US
troops retaliated by hitting the Viet Cong posi-
tions with small-arms, mortar, and artillery fire.
A reaction force was later dispatched to search
for the Viet Cong; however, no results have been
reported. A total of five Americans were killed
and 33 wounded in the two-hour attack.
3. As a result of an eight-hour engagement
between South Vietnamese Marines and a Communist
force of undetermined size on 13 August, 195 enemy
troops were killed and five captured in operation
COLORADO/LIEN KET 52, in the coastal flatlands of
Quang Tin and Quang Nam provinces. Friendly cas-
ualties included 30 South Vietnamese killed, 94
wounded, and one American adviser wounded. The
South Vietnamese forces participating in this
search-and-destroy operation were withdrawn yes-
terday, ending LIEN KET 52. Cumulative South
Vietnamese casualties were 50 killed and 203 wounded.
16 August 1966
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4. Four South Vietnamese Army battalions
conducting search-and-destroy Operation DAN CHI
254 in an area about 20 miles southeast of Can Tho
in the delta province of Vinh Long reported 18
Viet Cong killed yesterday. South Vietnamese
casualties in this one-day operation were one
killed and two wounded.
Communist Infiltration Total
5. MACV's latest report on infiltration once
again shows a rise. The total number of infiltra-
tors in the confirmed, probable, and possible
categories for 1966 now stands at 39,655.
First Philippine Troops Arrive
6. An advance contingent of 100 Philippine
civic action troops arrived in Saigon today. The
contingent, made up of medical, engineering, and
logistics personnel, will act as an advance party
for the main body of 2,000 men who are scheduled
to arrive in South Vietnam by 11 September.
16 August 1966
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5. The threatened strike of workers at the
Caltex installations in Saigon was averted through
intense negotiations between government, labor, and
company officials. The only sanctions to be imposed
are warning letters and short suspensions without
pay for some of the troublemakers. The embassy
view is that the current settlement is only a short-
term stopgap effort and that a longer term labor
peace will come about only through more fundamental
changes in Caltex labor policy.
16 August 1966
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III. MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
1. Four A4E Skyhawks from the USS Oriskany
were attacked by two MIG-17 Frescoes on 16 August
but no planes were lost on either side. The Sky-
hawks were attacking a train approximately 18
miles north of Thanh Hoa when jumped by the North
Vietnamese fighters. The MIGs made only one pass
firing 37-mm. cannons before they were out-turned
by the Skyhawks which then departed for the carrier.
The incident is unusual in that it is only the third
time North Vietnamese fighters have attempted to
engage US aircraft this far south. It is the second
time that DRV fighter aircraft have tangled with US
planes this month.
2. The US has lost 23 planes to all types of
North Vietnamese air defense fire during the first
15 days of August. These losses are almost identi-
cal with those of previous two-week periods since
the air war over North Vietnam was stepped up with
the Hanoi/Haiphong attacks of 29/30 June 1966. For
example, 21 US planes were lost in combat during
June when 3,429 attack sorties were flown against
the DRV. In July, when the number of sorties rose
to 4,370 and US aircraft attacked more heavily de-
fended targets, 42 planes were lost. The number
of losses so far in August appears more closely re-
lated to an increasing attack sortie rate over more
hazardous areas than to a significant improvement
in North Vietnamese air defense capabilities.
16 August 1966
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IV. OTHER COMMUNIST MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS
1. There is nothing of significance to re-
16 August 1966
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