Report on the Situation in Vietnam, 20 December 1967
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Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 Q/_L e Q §/ 3-5<@> @é//we/M F\ /~21’? ‘Q an k ‘IQNQ-10*? "r “<0 MEMORANDUM. DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE ' The Si/M/ion in 0 122 20 December 1967 3-5(0) I Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C067522123_5(C) s.5(¢ \ \ Information as of 160 0 20 December 1967 s.5(¢) ‘ \ "HIGHBIGHTS The two major bridges near Hanoi have again been knocked out by recent US air strikes. - 1i‘-n1 'Sou1th'- Thi I.- The Mi‘-l‘-i‘-t=a= - - =S=i=t>u=a=t=i'o>n1 Vietnam: rty ' "k ' _"—“T€"‘i?3 nine enemy were i e_ in an a b or 1;‘ive a at ac on a base the US 25th Infantry Division in norther 1'1 Tay camp of I Ninh on 20 December. Scattered fighting' ' was rep 0rted in northern I Corps (Paras.-l-2). There is evid ence that Viet Cong and North Vietnamese units are operati n g in close coordination (Paras. 3-4). The Weekly Review of South Vietnam-Battle Statistics. (Charts) .:-:-:_'---; -II.-'--2-2'-::":".:§".'.'Political Developments '.::'.:":' in South Vietnam The ' I Nationalu Assembly will send a I1-man delegation to the ta- US in March at the invitation of the US House of Repre sen tives (Para. 1). The Lower House has voted to establi sh a special committee to review the cases of polit i cal prisoners and will probably give particular cons 1dera- tion to those now on trial for involvement in th 6 1966 “struggle" movement (Paras. 2-3). The_Viet Cong re- portedly have issued a directive calling for the insti ga- tion of'a second "struggle" in Da Nang and possib ly other wi t h muc cities; but such efforts are unlikely to meet 11. success (Paras. 4-5). 3.3(h)(2) IV "Other Communist MiIitary'Develo ments A Spanish repatriate from North Vietnam has'provided addit i onal 1 -3) information on Chinese Communist military units ( Paras . V. ‘Communist Political1Develbpments: There is n oth ing of significance to report; _ ' . VI.‘ other MajorI Aspects: Truck traffic in t h e Lao S panhandle seems to be running at about the same l evel 8.5 last-year_(Paras."l-4)} Both the Doumer and the Canal des Rapides bridges have again been cut (Paras. 5 -6)..‘ ,_ _?r,. i_ s.5(¢) Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 ___, Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 3 5(C) '1lQP .256 ,m% 3.5(c) I. THE MILITARY SITUATION IN SOUTH VIETNAM 1. Thirty-nine enemy were killed in an abortive attack on a base camp of the US 25th Division in north- ern Tay Ninh about 66 miles from Saigon during the early morning hours of 20 December. The enemy fired over 200 mortar rounds and a heavy volume of small- arms fire at the battalion-size base camp, killing three Americans and wounding nine. The Americans, part of Operation YELLOWSTONE, were supported by air strikes during the four hours of the action. 2. US Army forces operating in the Quang:Nam - Quang Tin border area south of Da Nang reported kill- ing 55 enemy troops in some two dozen separate skirm- ishes on 19 December. Farther north, in Quang Tri and Thua Thien, Communist troops launched brief mortar, ' automatic weapon, and grenade attacks against widely scattered US Marine positions and patrols during the past two days. A'US truck convoy was hit moving west on Route 9 toward Ca Lu in central Quang Tri; On 19 December a Marine reconnaissance team ambushed a North Vietnamese Army patrol six miles west of Khe Sanh, killing four. US casualties in these I Corps actions have been relatively light. Viet Cong — North Vietnamese Coordination ' 3. Interrogation of a captured North Viet- that a sapper unit namese[:::::::::::::::jindicates (h)(2) has been organized in Khanh Hoa Province. It oper- ates under ioint Viet Conq-- North Vietnamese con- trol . \the North Viet- 3.3(h)(2) namese 18B Regiment wants to employ the sapper unit in an operation it must put its request through "the front." He says that 9the front" consists of the Viet Cong province chief and the commanding of- ficer and political officer.of the 18B Regiment. This group probably equates to the southern sub- region of the Communist Military Region 5. 20 December 1967 I-1 3.5(c) A \ 3-5<°> Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212;_5(C) \ \ s.5(¢ \ 4. The apparent joint control of units and oper- ations in Khanh Hoa reflects a trend which has been evident for months in many parts of South Vietnam._- Another recent indication of such closer ¢00rdinati0n occurred in the Mekong Delta where on 16 December a.native—born North Vietnamese infantryman was cap-. tured for the first time in the war. The captive states that he infiltrated into the delta in_late1 September_ 1967- with a group of 20 northerners,; Viet Cong 267th twelve of whom were assigned to the 3.3(h')(2) Main Force battalion. \ suspected for some_time that North Vietnamese were serving as cadres or advisers.in-the delta but this is the first evidence.of troop infiltration into the area . - _Weeklz_Review of South.Vietnam Battle Statistics 5._ The week of 10-16 December compared with the week of 3-9 December: I.- Casualties - US VC/NVA . _ 3=9 Dec .' 10-161Dec. 3+9 Decg "10-l6 Dec Killed _l,898 1,685 194 187 Wounded ---+-"- ----- 11641 93; Missing/. ' Captured +——*-. --#-- -#-+—' TOTALS .1,s9a 1,as5._ 1,835; 1,119 FREE _GVN.. WORLD_ . , . , '. 3*9 Dec. 10-.16" DEC 3-9 Dec . l0.-16 Dec Killed ' 369: 278 21 13 Wounded 947 641 55 18 Missing/- Captured. 53 179 1 {ii -in i- TOTALS 1,369 1,098 77 31 20 December 1967 I-2 . s.5(¢) \ \ wwHT815<@> - Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 ‘ Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 3_5(¢) 35¢; II; Viet Cong.Incidents- '3-9 Dec 10416 Dec Attacks 86 56 Battalion or Larger.. Small Unit. Harassment 542 233 Terrorism- ,38 32 Sabotage 91 26 Propaganda 10 7 Antiaircraft -ZQQ _195 TOTAL$ 1,003 549 III. Weapons.Captured- VC/NVA .. GVN 3-9 Dec - 10-16 Dec- 3-9 Dec 10-I8 Dec Individual 323- - Not 229 = 269 Crew-Served 60 Reported '6 5 TOTALS 383 23s_ -274 20 December.l967 I'3 35¢; _ ‘ Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 _. 3.5(c 1 Weapons Losses 1 _ >~-~.>\_ .__‘._,_._. ’_ _ . 8000 Vie’ Cong .. 1- GVNl 6000 1500 f SEPT 4 4000 '°°° 10-'16 osc 1 A 2000 ~- 187-7500 -» 6 ~ ’ V‘ aaa 1/\ p 1 1 274 I 1 0- . ;jocT NOV DEC 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 3? ii 1967 ‘ Casualties » 5; (Killed ohIy)* 16000’ ' . 4000 I 1 I -_- GVN/US/other Free World I 2000 3000 SEPT _ 10-16015 C V sooo 12000 § V‘ 1 1,685 6,354 . --._9_.1..,_., 9. -6. _ - gi 4000 jQOQ.. ' 1,664 478 __ ~ . ¢IiIiI I ‘ l _ _ H0“ 0 V. 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 0 °°* “°" °E° 9 1967 U5 Casualties to Date: Kilied'l5,6l16 Wounded 97,676 Captured 226 Missing 660 ‘Due to 0 change in Ihe reporting ofpers9'_nneI losses, hom 12 February 1967 the weekly and monthly ' figures represent only personqel kiIled._ 1'». M 0 - 69004115-67 cm Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 5 “S Viét Cong Attacks 600 I50 10° 400 1 1 SEPT 10-1606c 260 , L 1 200 5° .-- I- 0 OCT DEC 1965 1966 19 6.7 1963 1964 . 1967 Viet Cong Incidents V (Exclufing A ) 4000 1000 — sm [I0-I6 DiFC ‘Fatal 3,491 r98 3000 I95 AA Hue 2000 26Scbatu.ge 31Z'll'e:Infi!m1 000 1 Elhzusmenfl 0°“ 1965 1966 1967 °°.T 1963 1964 1:2‘; QSQHBIYQ-WCJBQ __7 H Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 Approved for Release: 2019/03/29 C06752212 3 5(C) TOP,S¢E@T s.5(¢) \ \ _ .II..- POLIT.lCAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH VIETNAM from - l. 'South Vietnam has accepted an invitation the US Congress to send l2 deputies and two administra- tive assistants from its National Assembly in March to observe Congress in session, meet with Congressmen, and tour several American cities. The invitation was extended by a group of 26 US Representatives. Lower House on Political Prisoners 5 2. The Lower House on l9 December decided to establish a_special committee to review the cases of political prisoners arrested since l November 1963. a similar committee in The.Upper House established _ mid-November, and both houses will probably draft am- nesty resolutions covering some or all of the political prisoners. _ 3. The Lower House committee was apparently established in direct response to the government's trial of 26 "struggle" movement leaders. Most mem- bers of the House had hoped to secure either the re- lease of the defendants or a postponement of the trial, but as the trial had already begun on the morning of the 19th, the government felt it could not accommodate the Lower House. -The special committee will probably now give particular consideration to obtaining leniency for the defendants. __ Viet Cong Attempt to Foment New "Struggle" 4. The Viet Cong are apparently attempting to ex- trial.