THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM INFORMATION AS OF 1600 17 AUGUST 1966

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00826A001100010035-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2006
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: August 17, 1966
• Content Type: MEMO

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
A~Wdw--L-/
THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM
information as of 1600
17 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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17 August 1966
HIGHLIGHTS
There has been a flurry of Viet Cong harassing
actions against allied military targets in the past two
days. Preliminary field analysis of poststrike
photography indicates that North Vietnam's Uong
Bi thermal power plant was extensively damaged in
the air attack of 11 August.
I. The Military Situation in South Vietnam:
Viet Cong guerrillas have increased the tempo of
harassing actions against allied military targets
during the last two days (Paras. 1-6). A South
Vietnamese platoon was ambushed five miles south
of Saigon yesterday (Para. 7). A CIDG force killed
25 Viet Cong in a two-hour engagement in Binh Thuan
Province (Para. 8). Communist infiltration appar-
ently continues through the DMZ (Paras. 9-11).
II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
Groups in opposition to the September elections are
continuing their campaign to discredit the govern-
ment (Paras. 1-3). The government will apparently
lift press censorship on 26 August to allow the
candidates to wage a more effective campaign (Para. 4).
The morale of the Vietnamese Special Forces has al-
legedly hit an all-time low (Para. 5).
III. Military Developments in North Vietnam:
Bomb damage to Uong Bi power plant is reportedly
extensive (Paras. 1-3). North Vietnamese Army re-
cruiting in Laos (Paras. 4-6).
IV. Other Communist Military Developments:
There is nothing of significance to report.
V. Communist Political Developments: Chinese
propaganda on Vietnam (Paras. 1-2).
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 ASK AM
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I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM
1. Viet Cong guerrillas initiated a flurry of har-
assing actions on 16-17 August against allied military
targets in widely separated areas of the country.
Although no firm trend is yet discernible, it has
been anticipated that the Viet Cong might step up
activity prior to South Vietnam's 11 September
elections, not only to intimidate voters, but also
to offset the lack of any major Communist military
victory during the past several months.
2. Late today, Viet Cong guerrillas staged
a 15- to 25-round mortar attack on a US motor pool
located about a mile from Tan Son Nhut Air Base
near Saigon. One South Vietnamese was killed and
six were wounded in the half-hour attack. There
were no American casualties but one US truck was
reported damaged. US military police fired machine
guns at the enemy by the light of flares. It has
not been determined if any of the attackers were
killed.
3. The Trai Bi Special Forces camp in north-
ern Tay Ninh Province, about 65 miles northwest of
Saigon, was hit with 100 rounds of 60-mm. and 81-mm.
mortar fire yesterday in the second such attack on
the camp in a week. Four friendly troops were
wounded in the hour-long attack. Viet Cong casual-
ties are unknown.
4. Two US Marine command posts at Da Nang were
attacked by Viet Cong guerrillas with 60-mm. and 81-mm.
mortar fire for over one hour yesterday. One US
Marine was killed and 11 were wounded. A marine
reaction force was dispatched and reported killing
ten Viet Cong.
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5. On 16 August the 1st Australian Task Force
command post at Ba Ria, 40 miles southeast of Saigon
in Phuoc Tuy Province, was shelled with approximately
18 mortar rounds. Eleven Australians were wounded.
Viet Cong casualties are unknown.
6. A South Vietnamese Army guard camp adjacent
to a US installation at Nha Trang in coastal Khanh
Hoa Province was subjected to a probing attack by
a Viet Cong force of undetermined size yesterday.
South Vietnamese casualties included seven killed
and 16 wounded. No Viet Cong losses were reported.
7. A South Vietnamese Popular Force platoon
was ambushed by an estimated two-platoon Viet Cong
force five miles south of Saigon yesterday. Allied
tactical air and artillery support were called in,
and two additional Popular Force platoons were com-
mitted to the action. Although contact was broken
after several hours, the South Vietnamese force is
continuing to, search the area. Friendly casualties
were 14 killed and 12 wounded in the initial action.
Viet Cong losses are unknown.
8. A South Vietnamese Civilian Irregular De-
fense Group (CIDG) company reported killing 25 Viet
Cong in a. two-hour engagement with an estimated
reinforced Viet Cong battalion 20 miles northeast
of Phan Thiet in coastal Binh Thuan Province. The
enemy force retreated when tactical air strikes hit
the area with rockets, bombs, and napalm. CIDG
casualties totaled six killed and nine wounded.
Communist Infiltration Through the DMZ Continues
9. There are continuing indications that
North Vietnamese troop movements are currently
under way in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). On 11
August, a US forward air controller reported an
increased number of pack animals along Route 102
just north of the DMZ, and what appeared to be
heavy foot traffic passing through the DMZ over
trails in the western half of the zone.
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10. Extensive storage facilities are also re-
ported in the area. Allied air strikes from 12 to
14 August produced 76 secondary explosions in North
Vietnam just north of the DMZ, primarily along the
western section of Route 103, along Route 102, and
along the coast.
11. Between 7 and 10 August, 11 boats were
destroyed or damaged by allied forces along the
coast just north of the DMZ. MACV reports that
boat traffic is showing a considerable increase
with large boats apparently moving cargo down the
coast where it is off-loaded into sampans for de-
livery ashore.
17 August 1966
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1. The constitutional assembly election three
and a half weeks from now continues to provoke re-i
actions from groups opposed either to the government
or to holding elections at this time. Both the Viet
Cong and the non-Communist "Front of All Religions"
have openly called for a boycott. The Buddhist In-
stitute, however, has officially called for nonco-oper-
ation rather than for a formal boycott. A fourth
group, the tribal autonomy organization FULRO, con-
tinues to pose the threat of a boycott which could
spread to other montagnard elements sympathetic with
FULRO's claims that its adherents have not been
treated as equals by the ethnic Vietnamese.
2. The latest comment from Communist North
Vietnam, on 15 August,reiterated the claim of the
Viet Cong that the "people" will boycott the elec-
tions. The commentary, transmitted in English
stressed that the GVN election law has excluded "all
patriotic people," alleging that Communists and neu-
tralists are prohibited from voting.
3. The latest of several Buddhist Institute
communique's was issued after a 14 August meeting,
presided over by Thich Tinh Khiet, the supreme
bonze from Hue. It reiterated the recent Institute
position that the government is not competent to
administer the election process. Without issuing
a call for a formal boycott of the elections, the
communique--signed by the Institute's acting chair-
man, Thien Hoa--reminded Buddhist followers of their
"right not to vote" and repeated that Institute
policy was "not to co-operate" in elections organized
by the "present" government.
4. Meanwhile, the government took another step
to lessen opposition or apathy toward the elections by
announcing to Vietnamese newspaper representatives
that press censorship would be lifted on 26 August,
the date that campaigning for the elections is scheduled
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to begin. The newspaper representatives were re-
minded, however, that there are existing laws
against publishing inflammatory articles, such as
those creating dissension among various political,
religious, or ethnic groups. According to a US
Embassy officer, the removal of the heavy censor-
ship of the past months should increase both voter
turnout and local interest in the elections.
Vietnamese Special Forces Morale
5. The morale of the Vietnamese Special Forces
soldiers has reached an all-time low,
a high-rank-
ing Vietnamese genera as repor e at corruption
among ARVN military officers is increasingly irritat-
ing many honest and respectable military men.
17 August 1966
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MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS IN NORTH VIETNAM
Bomb Damage to Uong Bi Power Plant
1. Poststrike photography indicates that the
Uong Bi thermal power plant was severely damaged in
the air attack of 11 August. Uong Bi, one of the
largest plants in North Vietnam's power grid, has
supplied about 20 to 25 percent of the power re-
quired in both Hanoi and Haiphong.
2. Preliminary field assessment of the photog-
raphy shows major damage to the generator hall,
which appears totally gutted by fire and secondary
explosions, and minor damage from two bomb hits on
the transformer substation. If the field assess-
ment is correct, the plant will be out of commission
for at least one year.
3. The Uong Bi plant probably has not been in
operation since the air strikes of 18 April, although
reconstruction was under way. The recent strike,
however, represents a loss of 24,000 kilowatts (kw)
of capacity, or almost 13 percent of North Vietnam's
total estimated installed capacity of 187,000 kw.
An additional 24,000 kw. of capacity, which was
being installed at Uong Bi with Soviet aid, will
also be lost.
DRV Army Recruiting in Laos
4. US Marines operating near the Demilitarized
Zone (DMZ) in Quang Tri Province have reported the
capture of a private in the North Vietnamese Army
(PAVN) who claims to be a Laotian.
5. The captured private reported that he began
infiltrating South Vietnam with a unit of the PAVN
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I His duties consisted
of clearing trails and carrying wounded soldiers for
the PAVN. During the 11-day infiltration march across
the DMZ, the prisoner's unit allegedly lost 20 men
to air strikes; five others died of beriberi and 30
6. There is no indication in the initial in-
terrogation report that the supposed Laotian draftee
was employed in any capacity other than trail-clearing
and litter carrying. The source claimed that he re-
ceived no military training in either North or South
Vietnam. This is the first report we have received
of Laotians being used in support of the Vietnamese
Communists outside of Laos.
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OTHER COMMUNIST MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS
1. There is nothing of significance to report.
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Chinese Propaganda on Vietnam Drops Again
1. Chinese concern with internal developments
has again led to a sharp drop in radio commentaries
on the Vietnam war. Only 10 percent of domestic
and international broadcasts of 8-14 August were
concerned primarily with Vietnam, as compared with
56 percent in the week of 18-24 July. The "cultural
revolution" apparently was responsible for a steady
drop in coverage of Vietnam in April, May, and June,
reaching a low of three percent of broadcasts in
the week of 13-19 June. The beginning of US bomb-
ing of POL installations near Hanoi and Haiphong
was responsible for heavy coverage of the Vietnam
war in July.
2. Despite the fluctuation in the volume of
commentary on Vietnam, there has been no change in
the general tenor of Peking's recent policy pronounce-
17 August 1966
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