The Situation in South Vietnam No. 6

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/‘ CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Directorate of Intollige~ceIntelligence l· Feb1·uary 1968 ' u L February 1968

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INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM 0v.- f. ;· Q q I i‘mh‘n‘q . Cﬁyaﬂgaewb~ The SiSituation tuatio11 in SouthSonth Vietnam No.No, 6 c""'\ 1 ~ 'IJ- (Xs(£18 of0137‘ 1 AM;r.~ .· Dt)EST) fi:.:_.2.,c..,J‘"x. '~* · __‘ meet

1· 1.·1.' The vigor of the Communist Tet offensive-offensive—- nownew in its third day--isday-uie slackening. :The'enemy·The enemy still ·has1nu3_partial partial. coJ1trolcontrol of several 'majormajor provprov—

I“I- . i1tcialincial captcapitals, tals, but his attacks for the 1nostmost part.,part, have been_reducedbeen reduced to scattered pocket~pockete of resistance If" i th1·oughoutthroughout the rest of the country. I .;.

”n.4-H.II-‘ I•,so - 2. I-niInitial, tial, incomplete repo1•tsreports i•efleotreflect exex- tremely high enemy losses in personnel 111in co11t1•astcontrast_ t.oto allied cas\,alcasualties. ties. More thu1than G,6,000 00Q Commut1istsCommunists report.edlyrepertedly have beenbee11 killed during the past three days·.days)‘ ThisThie numbet·number is ex1,ectedexpected to i1tc1·eascincrease as more complete reports come in. F1•iondlyFriendly’losees >losses 110wnow stand at 571 killed (99 US) and 1,714 wound~d (562 US). w at 571 killed (99 US) and 1,714 wounded (562 US). "NoNo estimate of civilian casualties is'yetis yet available, but it is expected to be high. · f“m 3. The Communists have added a new element to '0'... thothe situation with their ann,ounceme11tannouncement on 31 January

of the establishment:establishment o:rof a "Revolutionary AdministraAdministra— “m I tio11"tion" in Sout11South Viet11am.Vietnam. It appears that they plan to use t·hethe new organ1zat1011organization as another mechanism for attempts to rally support from the South VietViet- namese populace.pop\tlace. Details of the new ap1)a1•atusapparatus are ..deecribed described below. II'Corpe Corps

44.. •. With the ~xceptio11eaception of Uue·.:in:ﬁne in TbuaThua ThlenThien ProvProv- ince, allied reaction forces have •rfectivelyeffectively councoun-

torodtered the enemy'senemy‘s latest thr1L1stthrust throughoutthronghodt the ; northern I Corps area. I, •

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' "I 5. QuangQuang_Tri Tri city: Two battalions of Commu- 'i ."

- ' nist t1·ooi,stroOps'atfacked attack"eatliisthis 11O1·thern1110~tnorthernmost provincial ca.picapital t:al ·i

ye.sterdayyesterday afternoon, but were forced _toto withdraw -.Io‘

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early this 1110.r.ning.morning. An estimated 300 bodies were ,

left behind by the retreating enemy force. The , gone lj'·" .

city is now considered secure,secure. l I . ·· 0‘. - ...q‘l . .

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6. Hue,Egg} An el\emyenemy for•ceforce believed to be of regiregi- I

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mental siz'e';"size, and te11tativel;ytentatively 1dentif1eelidentified as the North 5- ﬂ

Vietnamese 6th Regiment, is stlllstill in control of an us.

important sector of the cit:.,.city. TileyThey are concentrated r. n--——---

north of the Huon~Huong Rive1River.. in thothe "impe_rial"imperial city" or ._.o u ‘citadel.citadel. However, key military installations in this r·1.

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sector, including the South Vietnamese 1stlet Divisi.'011Division LawW- ;,

Headquarters, are still in allied hands and believed to .:l-- , be in no 1mn1edi.ate danger. The ene,ny may attem1>t to I

be in no immediate danger. The enemy may attempt to ---i—._ . p1~0J.onged stanci tho -

mak&make_a a prolonged stand within the :citadel,citadel, whicl1which is ' ’ relatively easy to defend. ~ .. . ' . ·I)•f" ··= . 7. Hoi An: The provincial capital o:rof Quang Nam is reporteareported'by by MACV tc>to be·he‘under under complete allied l.. control. -Howeve1·,-However, several s:rnallersmaller towns, including ' a district capital west of RoiHoi An, were attacked by enemy foi:cesforces yesterday. Sou.thSouth Ko1•ea11Korean Marines were dispatched to the area and have encounte1·edencountered sporadic

resistance. ' "v •:( . I- - —.-—..—__ ' 8. Tam Ky:K : Enemy attacks and attempts to overover- run Quang TfnTIn‘s1s capital city were rep~lsedrepulsed late yesterday and the city is now quiet. TileThe fighting r costoost the enemy somosome 226 killed; South Vietnamese

and American casualties were light. . ‘ o

___.__..,. 9..9. QuangQuanggNgai Ngai CiCity: tx: ·-Sporadic S_po1.. adic contact was rere- .._ po1•ted e'arly this morning wJ.t'hwith enemy units i ported continuingconfinuing early this morning :I-.

in isolated areas of the cit.Y.city. The c~ty,city, nevertheneverthe- ·1n -.—.I_—n-, less, appears to be largely in111 allied hands. ... , . :; ·· II11 Cp1•psCorgs ,., 1 -~:· 10. The cities of Kontum and Ba11Ban Me Thuot in

u the western highlands remai.nt~dremained in contest at last ll

report. MostMeet of the oi.tiescities :lnin tl1ethe CO&\Stalcoastal provinces j--: ‘._.‘_._._.._14-— have been secured, but sporadic contact is still t .n. - outskirts of provincial reported in the outskirts of several provincial -A. capitals. - ,.,... :

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· I • 3.s(c)3.5(0) - ~Kl!.l 35(c)3.5(0) l ·}. . . .. Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C02430079002430079...... I t l—.——l 3.5(c) Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C02430079002430079 i ‘4'W"Jl‘UL t _.,,.,~'" l' &..:, .I. I I .’. -----'] I _, 3.5(c) :1 11.ll. Kontum: The Communists :stillstill occupy about I .,. half of the city; however, all al~iedallied military comcom- Hal—n— Iu.- pounds and installations aroare controlled by friendly a forces. VSUS reinforoemeutsreinforcements are ex~ectedengected to completely IH clear the city todny.today. A South Vietnamese civilian !

.. who claims to have mingled with.thewith the enemy troops

this morning re1,02."tedreported that they hope to hold the WIMJO'M

r- town for seven days until reinfot·cementsreinforcements arrive from :1.

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across the Cambodian border—~someborder--some 35 miles to the wostwest._ •. ,

n. “a...” To date, 210 enemy troops have been l'epo:t•tedreported ltilledkilled ,1o. ·· ~t-9 in the heavy fighting. Enemy for6esforces in the city are ﬂ

1‘. "ido11tifiod .as elements of the No1~th Vietnamese 174th '.~ h the North Vietnamese ﬂ fidentificdas elements of u Regiment supported by tlu-eethree Viet Cong local force and _

sapper battalions. ' ' w.h

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no ﬂﬂ _ 12. Ban.Ban MeMe_Thuot: Thuot: At mid-day on.on l1 February, I lI heavy fight Ing was reported still_still going 011on in this I· heavy fighting was reported "

-.—.—-— uitycity with thothe enemy force concentrated near the airair— ﬂ - l ﬂ .field.field. Two battalions of the North Vietnamese 33rd ‘n Regiment, togethertagether with a Viet Co11gCong local force i I“ -battalionbattalion and a district company have been identified i

-——-—--— as pa.rt:icip~t:ingparticipating i11in the action. The MACV compound I and Headquarters o!of the South VieinameseVietnamese 24th DiviDivi- "' t

sion have been subjected to hea.vyheavy fire, but have i.‘“‘%Wtwqm.hm managed to hold out. The South Viet11ameseVietnamese 231·cl23rd Rangel'Ranger managed to hold ”m Battalion has been airlifted into:theinto the city to assist I

in driving outout-the the attackers. .

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i 13. ﬁNhaha Trang:Irang: LiLight1ght contact with elements of I

.. r the retreating 8th Batta:Lio11 of the North Vietna1nese the retreating 8th Battalion of the North Vietnamese ' - 18B183 Regiment was repo1~te.:lreported west of·of the city during t —.__. !

—_.—-___'——.—— the night. Als6Also during the night~night; the airfie1dairfield and nearby SpeciaSpecial 1 Forces compound were hit by a ba1•i-agobarrage ! of mortar fire. The action caused no casualties or ( damage to aircraft or fa•::dlities,facilities, however, the city i is now quiet and com1,1et•~\lycompletely in friendly cot,trol.control. ·l.

- 14. Qui Nhon: An •;)nemyenemy force of undetermined l- u-

Isizesize attacieclattacEed an ammuuit:ionammunition duJJtpdump at;Quf:Nbonat3Qui=Nhoh late 1 #MaWJ-IIMudI-a-hqqhwuqn ~- ..

last night withWith 90-mm.90—mm. ri3coilleasrecoillees rifle fire. At I .

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last repo1·t,report, the d.epotdepot w1lswas still 011on fire with parts ' n

of it already destroyed. A reaction force has beenboon Jq‘Q I

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~ 'deployed.deployed. a

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!·.mm _· 15. No further act:Lonaction i11in the other 1najo1·major cities of II Corps hashas.been been reported. i.I -

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- EaSaigontaggers! an~ Ill.II_I, CornsCorps 16. Sharp fighting flared.flared.again again 111in the Saigo11Saigon .areaarea late on 31 JanuaryJanua1•y 1:t11dand 011on 1 Feb_rl\ary.Fohruary. WiWithin thi11 athethe Tan Son Nhut airfield and headquartershead.qi.iarters complex northwest of the city;city_, allied fo1forces.. ces met heavy opop- posiposition tio11 while successfullysuccessf'u lly cleari_ngclearing out a number ofcf enemy strongpoints. InI11 the cap.italcapital itself, heavy fightingfighting.took took place-onplace on theth~ wosterriwestern outskirts near the 1·ace·race'track trackj'ﬁ~and and around the South Vietnamese JointJaint Ge11-Gen— e1·aleral Staff-Staff compound..compound •. FightingFig•hting als_oalso flared at several points in the downtown area where _enemyenemy fo2.•cesforces have established pockets of resistancefr,esistance,' 17. By I 17. By mid-day on 1l February, (local Saigon .time)time) most enemy forces :lnin the capital area had been ! capital area had been routed but Viet Cong platoons stiilstill held out in a ' . building near the Joint General Staff compound and in the An Quang Buddhist Pagoda, while an estimated 100 Viet Cong were 111in theth1~ Gia Dinh marketma14 Jtet al'ea.area. At last report allied.allied troopstroop1; were moving against these -orces.forces~ :T

18,18. A late report indicates that South VietnamVietnam- ese forces were driven backb:ack in an attempt to clear the An Quang pagoda. This site is suspected by MACYMACV to be the VC commandcomman.d post for the~rtheir Saigon operation. - ' IV CorpsCorp1;>

19. In the delta south of Saigon sporadic heavy fighting continued on 1 February ~ithinwithin or on the outout- skirts of several provincialprovi11,cial capitals and other smaller towns.town.s. In uono instance, however, have the Viet Cong completelyconiplet~ly gained control of a major town.

20. The heaviest enemyet1emy attacks on l1 February in the delta were at My 1The,rho, the ﬁ~apiapital tal of Dinh Tuong Province, and at Ben Tre in Kien Hoaca Province and ChauChen Phu in Chau Doc Province.Pi~ovince. MyM? ThoThe was under heavy - mortar and ground attack at noon on6n the 1st.:lst.i US Army troops werewero scheduled to be airlifted into the city during the afternoon. At Ben Tre enemy action also continued on 1l February. Enemy forcesfercee are reported inin-regimental 1.. egimental st1.strength.. e11gth in this filtht,fight, but ARVN t1troops4 oops were holding.theirholding their own at last report. In Chau Doc Province, to the west alongaliong thGthe C~mbodianCambodian border, a - - 4 - E ‘1 3.5(c) 3.5(c) W~TL__I -~ ...... Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C02430079----·-·C02430079.--....-...... i

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J·O.‘.- la1large.. ge Viet Co11gCong fo1·ceforce, • wh.ich seized· con.trol of Chau \ which seized control of Chen I Phu city on the 31st,.31st, apparently is still contesting ·i apparently is still contesting I ·t·_ the area and heavy fighting is re~ortedreported within the I

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city. _ 'Im94M‘M S ;l .

Other Related Developmen!,!pevelopments

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‘ , f:._ .. "Revolutionar~ Administration" Established: . 21. FRevolutionary Administration" Established: _ TheThe_clandestine clandesti11e VietViefmCOng "'Cong t16eratlonLiberation Radio Inin Southsouth i' Viot11amVietnam a11dand Hanoi Radio late last night a.11no\mcedannounced the I'·I

establishment of'of a•a "Revolutiona1"Revolutionary.. y Administration" 111in (:-..

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SouthSouth-Vietnam. ·Vietn.am. 0

ﬂ t 1. — 22. TneThe "Revolutionary”Revolutionary Adll\i1iist1•ation."Administration" pn1purportedly.. portedl.y ﬁ

would have authority and administrative power in Saigon.Saigon u .- and in areas where the Viet Cong have an influence on .cul- the people. l'heThe purposepu1:pose oIof the "Revolutionary Power," i. . -accordingaccording to the CommUl1:l.sts,Communists, is to act as an authorita-•authoritaw n.d iﬂ

tive voice to demand the withdrawal ofof-US US forces to . end the war and to call for negotfationsnegotiations with the Liberation Front. The Hanoi broadcast asserted that t. "an unprecedented enthusiastic atmosphere is powerfully i mounting throitghoutthroughout Saigon city aridand its suburbs." AcAc- t t· co1~dingcording to the broadcast, the Comntunists,Communists, 111in a1~easareas of I J . ‘

the city they allegedly control, have started.organizingstarted organizing . thousandsthousands.of of "militia“militia units”units" a11dand ~atablislliqgestablishing et1·evolu-"revolu- l .·.‘n I..

tionary 1,oliticalpolitical parties."pai~ties. t1 ·'

' t - ·!;-. .· 23. Since the new Communiat·political move has Since the new Communist political move has .-.·.· been endorsed by both Hanoi and the Front radio, it 'Wouldwould appoarappear to beboaa carefully calculatedcalculated.act act and i"

further attests to the extensive planning ~ndand to the high ow.-.&..vWa—M-h4m“..mw.

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significance which the Communists ·attachattach to their '.

latest offensive. J4‘:

- - Ii 24. It would 110wnow appe~r,appear, i11in ~iewview of thei1•their polipoliti— ti j:"-· cal move, tllatthat thothe Commur1istsCommunists con!fiderconsider their current push to represent at least the start of their classi.cclassic f 11“generalgeneral uprising" which has been :theil·their grand strategy I ,. " .forfor some years in seizing power i11in South Vietnam. While they almost certainly do not expect to i·. f.; I.

topple the Saigon government with their current ofof- “canned-n. fensive, they may believe it will.establishwill establish a better r base fo~for them in their attempts t~to influence the populace--especia11ypopulace--especially the urbanurbar, populace. Communist _ ·-ll docume11tsdocuments i11dicat-eindicate tllatthat their 10s111loss of contact with the people, and.and.their their fail.ui"efailure to influence thosethese in.in .fdial-.3

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..'_5“ 5 - : ' 3.5(c) - I;3.5(c) ~T~IW. __ ' J Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C02430079002430079 ) ---,------"----,I I .'J ']Approved1Approved for Release: 2019/01/17 C02430079002430079 3.5(c) /[’ v l --C: I ~ :13.5(c) .t-'.t i1 .j the citios,cities, was i.ncreasinglyincreasingly their v,~akestweakest point. .f By a holdbold military move, ac:companied·byaeoompaniediby the estabestab- ;. lishment of a new political rncchanisimechanism to facilitate contact, thothe Communists apr,a1·011tlyapparently hopehepe to remedy the situation. ; ? f _ 25. The f\tllfull ran1ific21tionsramifications of the "Ravolutionary"Revolutionary 1 Administration"Admin1stratiot1u will probably not he'clearbe· clear for some ( time. .HowHow it fits in with the long established Na—Na ' tional Liberation Front, for example, is still impreimpre— cise. It would appear, however, that the Communists regard it as something in between the Front and the people, designeddeSigned to facilitate greater pepularpopular supsup- port. -with‘With the11·their new organization, they can wo1·kwork betterbatte1· in the streets among the people without some of the stigma attachedattaChed by the NLF which.which posed in soniesome respects as a formal nationa1_government.nationijl_government. ' ·-. '

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