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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-04657 to 363-04665.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-04657 to 363-04665
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Title
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Article about tensions between North and South Vietnamese Communist forces
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Description
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Original title: "frictions", Keever's title: "As more North Vietnamese reinforce the Southern-Born Viet Cong, Frictions Arise." Article draft about cultural and tactical differences between the Northern People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Southern Việt Cộng, leading to inter-Communist tensions. Written for the Christian Science Monitor
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AI Usage Disclosure
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Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
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Transcript
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frictions 1 (nommass/deepe)
SAIGON, JULY 3-Personal, no-political frictions have developed and
Commun
are worsening between North Vietnamese and Southern-born Viet Cong troops.
The conflicts are considered significant enough that for the first known
time the Viet Cong high command has issued a written directive designed to ease
relations between troopers of the two regions. In the past, individual and group
frictions within military units were ironed out verbally by powerful political
coni commissars.
The directive, part of a doc contained in a document captured by Allied forces,
was issued by the Viet Cong high command in March and seemed to indicate that frictions
had intensified between the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops during the Tet
offensive in late January, when the Communists suffered heavy casualties.
---more reuter
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frictions 2 (normass/deepe)
The portion of the captured document highlighting the problem was ironically
entitled "the mission of public relations" and urged Southern-born Viet Cong to
provide more assistance for Northern troop replacements cariffim assigned to a unit.
These frictions are considered to be based on a multitude of differences between
the three traditional regions of Vietnam: Tonkin, in North Vietnam; Annam or Central
Vietnam, which is geogrph geographically split at the 17th parallel between North and
South Vietnam; Cochinchina, which comprises the rice-rich Heong Delta region south
the South
have been
of Saigon. The regional differences have long plagued and been energete energetically
publicized about political incho incohesiveness on the Vietnamese government side;
now,
it appears these divergent ways of life, language accents and traditional
habits are also posing headaches on the for even the more politically indoctrinated
and disciplined Communist side.
The regional frictions on the Communist side are considered low-level
differences at the soldier level of privates and subordinate field commanders;
they are quite unrelated to high-level Communist decisions involving military strategy
and the Paris peace talks. Communist troopers have been ordered not repeat to
not to discuss the pros and cons of peace negotiations and have been told these decisions
are made only at the senior powerful Politburo level.
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frictions 3 (normass/deepe)
violent of frict.
In one case,
more disciplined Northern troops criticized a Southern soldier
for being too interperate in his drinking; the Southern became an enraged, threw
a grenade into a smapan sampan with his Northern subo carrying his Northern sw
subordinates and then defected to the Vietnamese government side, where he fil
told his story to a governme an Allied interrogator.
he led
One captured co document a also described a Viet Cong's guerrillas
guerrilla's self-criticism session inwh which he admitted the Nor his Northe
Northem big-unit comrades refused to follow his orders. So, he too lead the
them into the middl3 middle of the Hob jungles outside of Saigon, deliberately
deserted them so that they would get lost and leam a good lesson. Instead,
then they stumboe stumbled into a Vietnamese government unit which killed or
captured the Northerners. The Southern guerrilla leader, who repented, was
scolded by his superiors, but only lightly punished.
Increasing numbers of Communist prisoners, defectors and documents indicate the
ter
frictions, even bitterness, is increasing time when Communist battlefield
casualties are running high, when more and more Northerners are being sent in as
replacements for local Southern losses, and as Northerners increasingly assume more
command positions and authority to map out the direction of the war.
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frictions 4(normass/deepe)
Also, among the Communist troopers, there appears to be personal
differences of opinion between the Northerners and Southerners about military
tactics. The Southem-born Viet Cong guerrillas, and regulars, who know the local
area and people, prefer to fit continue to fight a low-intensity, low-risk
guerrilla-styled war, in which they fight engage Allied units when they believe
they can win and withdraw when they can not. The North Vietnamese units,
unfamiliar with the terrain and local population, have gradually inched the war into
WHEREBY COMMUNIS
"
a more conventional stream, in which the troopers are ordered to "fight to the last man'
until reinforcements arrive, and sometimes the reinforcements do not arrive in time
to aid the beleaguered unit. One personal rub is that the Southern Viet Cong guerrilla
are generally called on to serve as the "spearheading" element--to guide and lead in
the larger predominantly Northern units-which means the Southerners in the more
ASSIGNM
forward positions and more dangerous jobs suffer a higher proportion of casualties.
== MORE REUTER,
-Reuter.
Hore reuter
-ΠΟΤΟ
Q TUA
fadaop/s
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frictions 5 (normass/deepe)
One Southern prisoner told Allied interrogators he had aruged that these tactics
were unwise, since a regular soldier could be trained a in a matter of weeks and easily
replaced if he were killed, but guerrillas required years of training to become
effective in know learning his local area, people and problems. But, the Northerners
rejected his line of reasoning.
Especially during the Tet offensive in late January, Viet Cong elements
complained
that they had succeeded in spearheading "a hole in the knot of the
enemy defense net" as they had been ordered, but the big-units of Northerne
regulars who promised to reinforce them failed to show up and the Viet Cong were
sacrificed too readily without achieving their objectives.
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frictions 6 (normass/deepe)
Some Viet Cong also told Allied interrogators they blamed the North Vietnamese
commanders for an over-reliance on the use of artillery and mortare in coordination
with ground assaults on Allied positions. One revealed his unit was to move in close to
his assigned target area and as it rushed in for the ground assault, the North Vietnamese
artillery unit was to open coordinating fire--but it did not. His unit was ordered
to continue the assault and suffered su severe losses.
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frictions 7 (normass/deepe)
The Viet Cong elements are also beginning to complain about the fighting
abilities of the Northerners. One Southern captive told an Allied interrogator
that in the early 1960's, the North Vietnamese instructors and political cadre
were held in high regard by the Viet Cong, but now as the Viet Cong fight alongside
the North Vietnamese Army units, they see increasingly their weaknesses.
Viet Cong criticized the North predominantly Northern units for getting lost in
the unfanal unfamilitar terrain of the Southern countryside and suburban areas.
The
One Allied interrogator explained that numerous Communist prisoners revealed
the Northern and Southern troopers, instead of calling each other 'comrade',
often called each other "Tho's soldiers", referring to Nguyen Huu Tho, the
political head of the Southern Viet Cong, and the Southerners in te turn call the
Northemers "Giap's soldiers," referring to General Vo Nguyen Clap, Hanoi's commander-h
Indicative of some anomosity, the troops often make puns by saying
pronouncing "Tho" in a different accent, thus making changing its entire meaning,
and by doing so, "tho" takes on the definition of "longevity." A different pronounci
pronun po pronounciation of "giap" becames the word "armor-plate." Hence, the
in-chief.
Southerners boast that as "longevity soldiers" they survive on the battlefield
longer than the "armor-plated" Northemers.
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frictions 8 (normass/deepe)
The Northern troops and unit leaders ofg often complain
are to lacksadaisical and undisciplined.
that the Viet Cong
During the Tet offensive, one Southerner
recalled some of the Viet Cong troops swore enroute to Saigon, and the Northerners
scolede scolded them for doing so. The Viet Cong retorted it was a Southern habit.
Later the unit the 506th Battalion of Long An province-moved into a village
from which the population had evacuated. The Viet Cong soldiers started helping
themselves to the eggs in the nest of one of the villagers gardens. The Northerners
objected, saying the Viet Cong were stealing from the people and must write a note
and leave some money behind for the eggs. The Southerns Southerners objected, saying
the villagers were their friends and had given them food in the past; the incident
on the battlefield ended when the Northerners ended up eating some of the eggs too.
Later, however, in the traditional criticism and self-criticism session after the
battle, a fiery exchange took place. The Northern One Northerner criticized the Viet
Cont for not leaving e leaving behind a note of thanks and money for the eggs in the
Northern tradition of courtesy. One Viet Cong reportedly retorted:
"You are very
Cont
tricky people. You ate the eggs until you stomach was full and then you put the blame
on us.
(Both sides were reprimanded).
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frictions (normass/deepe)
Another disagreement between Northern and Southern troops resulted from
differing regional food habits. In Gia Dinh province, which surrounds Saigon,
shortly before the Tet offensive, Communist commanders ordered the villagers to
kill their dogs to prevent their barking at Communist troop movements. No villager
dared object to the order. But, the question arose: who to do with the body of the
dead dogs. The Northemers, who consider dogmeat a delicacy, wanted the
villagers to give the carcass them the carcasses to eat. The Southemers, who
rarely eat dogmeat, objected; they wanted to bury their pets out of sentiment.
The Northerners called them wasteful and said all the meat should be eaten.
the Southern guerrilla leader prevailed, reportedly arguing, "You people are strangers
here and the people love their dogs. If you eat it, they'll blame men when you leave
this area."
(Hank;
But,
I plan to file a very short piece Friday. Could I file a three-part
series over the week-end on the Communists shortrange strategy, the military situation
around Saigon including their oder order of battle, and their political situation.
We could airmail it, but in view of threatening attack I recommend cabling it.
Also, if this is okay, then I'd like to spend most of next week on one topic mentioned
in my long earlier meno. Would you want a two or three part series on refugge refugees?
I think it's rather a hot issue now. Please advise. Regards Bev).
Bombing Sto
GeT. Rego d
do B
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Date
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1968, Jul. 3
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Subject
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Vietnam (Democratic Republic). Quân đội; Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam; Tactics; Vietnam War, 1961-1975
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Size
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20 x 26 cm
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Container
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B10, F38
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Format
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dispatches
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
