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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-01363 to 363-01378.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-01363 to 363-01378
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Title
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Article about demilitarized zone military operations
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Description
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Original title: "dmz." Original caption: "This is the first of a two-part series on developments along the demilitarized zone, Vietnam." Article by Keever about military operations around the demilitarized zone. 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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2020 886
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(This is the first of a two-part series on developments along the
demilitarized zone,
Vietnam).
WITH THE U. S. THIRD MARINE DIVISION, ALONG THE DEMILITARIZED ZONE,
15
VIETNAM, OCTOBER -The relative balance of forces along the DMZ has
turned dramatically in favor of the Allies more clearly than at any other
time during the two-year history of American operations here.
At this time,
there is no visible evidence nor verbal hints of
any Allied withdrawal from the 12 defense line nor of any large-scale
replacement of U. S. Army units for the American Marines, who now hold
two-thirds of the 40-mile-long hilly line.
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The reasons for the shift in the blan balence of fart forces are obvious
and two-fold. First, the Americans simply have more power along and
immediately south of the DIZ than at any other timo since aparati military
operations began here in mid-1966. At the beginning of this yos, there
were two Allied divisions hazo-one Amerioen Merine division and one Vietnamese
Army division-in the two northernmost provincess today there are four
divisions-two U. Army eirmobile divisions having been adnoty plus
more armor, riverboats, logistical capabilities and helicopters.
Second, and perhaps more important, the Co North Vietnamese
divisions have virtually disappeared from the area. American Marine
commanders here believe they have inflicted much heavy losses on the
Communist divisions they have against sought sonotuary cut of South Vietnam
"to lick their wounds." American Army commanders say the Marines may be
exaggerating their victories--but even they concede the Communists have been
substantially weakened in the two northern provinces and are now virtually
on the run. One Army senior Army officer, with long-term experience in
Vietnam, caid, "I just can't believe how good things look up here for us.
I'm almost afraid to talk about it--for fear something will happen to change
it."
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Since the beginning of 1968, the Communiste heve hed five
main-line divisions, or former divisional entities in the two northern
provinces at one time or another mostly all at the same time during Tot
when they employed at two-pronged
simultaneously against Hue end
Khe Way orde Now, the Communists maintain only one division-the 320th--
along the DUZ, plus three independent regimentothe 27th, 2 138th and
20 220th. The roman remnants of the other four divisions-308th, 304th,
324B and 3250-have either retreated into North Vietnam, Laos,
جمان
in the case of 3250, it has prushed southwards into the The Corps area,
after participating in the siege of
into the Pleiku-Dak To perimeter,
80
Khe way Sanh,
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How long will the Communists continue to fade away along the DIP DUZ?
No one is predicting. But high-placed sources say that within a week's
time, North Vietnamese divisions could again mess
organise above the DMZ and begin moving southwards. "At this time, the
enemy is nearly completely ineffective because we have kept him
MARINE
off-balance all the time," one senior officer explained.
"Buts
the
onomy has a tremendous replacement capability and this could change within
a week's time. He could bring in other units from the North within a week."
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Sources close to General Creighton Abrams, American commander in
Saigon, say the Marines have in recent wecks been so successful in
confiscating Communist ams, woon
ammunition and food caches
inside and immediately south of the DZ that they have prevented the
North Vietnam's 320th Division from launching mass assaults at Allied
positions further south-at such headquarters and supply complexes at Calu,
the artillery base at Camp Carroll, the Rockpile area and the Cam lo
district dow town and huge refugee center.
"Now the 320th Division has gone back noross the Ben Hai
(the river forming the middle boundary of the DMZ) and before they
come down again they have to set up their whole supply system again,"
an officor close to General Abrams said.
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Sources close to Conerel Abrams as well as independent Western
military
observers in Saigon--believe it will take several months-
sometime into 1969-before the Communists are able to "get back in shape" and
initiate another mass march into South Vietnam.
Compared to the grim, depar depressing grimly depressing days and
extremely tenuous existence of Allied forces in the two northern
provinces early this year, there is now a new sense of confidenoo,
During the
p4 profound relief and even glimmers of levity along the D12.
the first six months of 1968, the Communists held both the strategic and
tactical initiate initiative with their two-pronged pressure points
on Khe Sanh and Hue; it wasn't until their last push ending June 5
with their Third-Phase, positional warfare thrust during the bloody
battle of Dai Do, tire two miles north of Dong Ha, that the Marines and
Vietnamoso First Division hurled the Commmists back across the IIZ and
that the situation dramatically imprivod improved for the Allies.
During
the Battle of Dai Do, all three regiments of the 320th Division hurled
themselves at the Marines and the 1st Vietnamese 1st Division; at one time
the Communists launched a series of counter-attacks against the Marines,
several of thon in broad daylight.
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"And, during the battle of Dai Do, while the Marines
were assaulting, the enemy stood up in their foxholos, left their
holes and assaulted us," ono Marine officer explained,
"hich is
very, very significant. We moved from our assault about 150 moters
in front of the enemy and as our assault echelong was moving towards
tho onemy position, this unit left their forholes and trenches and
counter-attacked our assault. They ran right at us and the Marines and.
the enemy met each other. This requires a unit with a great amount of
esprit or else a great fear of their cadre. This is attrition warfare
the enemy attempted to take no repeat no objective; they were simply
endeavoring to kill Americans."
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In July, it appeared that the 320th Division was positioning itself
to again come across the Bon Hai river-probably sometimes in August
but with a series of pre-emptive, spoiling operations, the lia American
and Vietnamese oper regaining the testical their tat tactical initiative
by then, forestalled this.
"Now, we're destroying us his jumping off points, his caches,
command and control comum locations, hospitals, springboards and
staging areas,"
a Marine officer explained. "We've also dr destroyed
his training, ar bunkering systems and training areas. One training
m First Battalion of Fourth Marines came across and destroyed
Ca training area they just couldn't believe, complete with classroomp End
pl
lecturns and blackboards, sefe conduct passes and letter of introduction
for his students."
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Expectations now are that only in 1969 will the North Vietnamese
have replaced their these staging areas and weapons caches sufficiently
majon
to make another push s into South Vietnam.
gonior Marine staff officers who described the DMZ in
Z
early June as "the cloost thing we've seen to conventional warfere with
organized military formations fooing each other, onch supported by his om
heavy artillery," now say
currently say "on our side the major
problem is conveying to the American people we have this wer von and we shoul
stay around and negotiate from strength...Hanoi is in such sorry shape
theyre begging for pence."
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The story of the American involvement along the 2 began in,
mid-1966, when the American Marines launched Operations, which later
glided into Operations Fa Prairie. The Marine battalions were piecemealed
into the operation-generally to confront North Vietnamese Division 324B.
It was during this time that the famous names along the DMZ were added
to the Marine and American-vocabularies the Rockpile, hider's Ridge.
This phase oulminated with the vicious battles of Hill 881 North and South.
But mid-1967, the Marines who had suffered severe casualties themselves
hed succeeded in eliminating 324B as a "divisional entity" and it
fragmented into the three independent regiments.
Reuters
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By late 1967, however, two more Communist divisions-304 and 3250-
moved into South Vietnam and later gained worked world-wide attention
during the ho siege of Khe Sanh. This began the darkest days in the
history of the DX-end further south, in the battle of Hue. In It may
go down in history as one of the most me militarily mismanaged periods
insom of the American involvement in Vietnam.
MD-
by te Jenuery one regiment from each of the two divisio
Communist divisions around Khe Sanh-the 24th Regiment of the 304th Division
and the 29th Reginent of 3250 Division--had already moved towards Hue,
which
B
bythebertime the poene of heavy fighting of the Third Phase,
positional warfare variety.
These two regiments joined with the
90th indoim regiment of the old 3243 Division to stop del cold the
U. S. Army 1st Air Cavalry as it sought--but failed-to reinforce the
There was also heavy contact
American Marines fighting inside Hue city.
betweon the 1st Air Caverly and the two other regiments of the old 324B
Division-the 812th Regiment, which was turned back from Quang Tri
provincial capital and the 803rd Regiment, which struttod string straight
down the "Street at Without Joy" area to reinforce the North Vietnamese
insido Huo
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Also, during the Tet offensive, the North Vietnamose 320th Division
was targetted against the district town of Com Lo in Quit Quang Tri province
where the Marines somehow held off their advance southwards.
It was during this heotic period that throo Allied diviso divisions
the Third Marine Division, 1 Vietnamese 1st Division, U. S. Army lat
Air Cavalry, aided somewhat by the U. S. Army 101st Airborne, which had
been held as a t general reservo-were in vicious contact with major elements
of four North Vietnamese divisions the 320th, 3250, the old 3240 and the
304th.
It was not until the end of February that the Allies eva even began to
get on top of the situation--when they pushed out the six menfce
Communist ge mein-force regiments out of uc, which were then reinforced
with numerous autonomous battalions and troublesome rear guard snipers and
assassination squads. These small groups continued to cause trouble and
insecurity, and in some cases, executions as in and near Hue until
late March.
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By mid-March, in the Khe Sanh perimeter, the remants remnants of
325C-which the Marines say had suffered heavy casualties from U. S. firepower
during the siego-moved southwards towares tw into the Second Military Corps.
The two remaining regiments of the 304th Division were severely routed as th
the 1st Air Cavalry and the Marinos broke up the siege of Khe Sanh, beginning
March 29, these two regiments did not chose setpicco confrontations with the
advancing Allies, but simply fled the battlefield, leaving behind more
supplies and equipment "than I ever dreamed of," one Army officer explained.
But, as the two regiments of the 304th fled in April, the Communists
reinforced in May with two new regiments of the 308th Division--supposedly
to camouflage the withdrawal of the 304th. The Marines say they later knockod
out the major effood effectiveness of these two regiments in June in
"Operation Robin" where the Communists fought to protect a new roadsfet
network loading from Laos into South Vietnam, south of Khe Sanh,
The
two remaining regiments of the 308 th have been confirmed much further south
them Have
in Quang Ngai province, where in has been unusually disruptive in recent
months.
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forced on the Fr
a
The 300 th North Vietnamese Army Division deserves special mention.
Fourteen years ago, it gained fame as part of the Communist forces which
17 military defeat ht Dien Bien Phu in 1954. It was
then known for its proficiency in night attacks and for the accuracy of its
artillery regiment. Because of its outstanding performance at Dien Bien Phu,
the 308th was honored by the Communing Communist regime by being assigned in
Hanoi as the capital garrison. For the past several years,
intelligence officers have boon watching this elite division, postulating
that when the Communists committed their "palace guard" units, they were
getting to the end of their military ropes.
In June,
Alliod
the Marines' beating back the two regiments of the 308th in June,
they man and the Vietname so
on the Laotian flank, while punting back the attacks and counter-attacks
of the 30320th Division in the battle of Dei Do along the DMZ, Since the
then, the 320th has by and large remained north of the DTZ Ben Hai river;
their attempts to prepare their battlefield for August "third-wave" offensive
seems to have been turned back by aggressive and mobile Allied tactics.
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Agingt
Comparto
Historical L
gest this back-drop, the DMZ has been relatively free of
big-unit confrontations as the Marines and Vietnamese, and the newly-arrived
U. S. Army 5th Mechanized Brigade have sought to hold the tactical
momentum.
There is a new air of confidence, but also one of apprehension
as the shifting monsoon rains and rumors of cessation of the bombing of the
North swirl along the D. The Communist artillery, which has largely
silent, still lurks in on two flanks. There are still ambushes
on the most western side of Route 9, which caused one where MA Marine
te truck and tank convoys push through with supplies. These caused one
officer to groan,
"Don't measure the war up here by who holds what
terrain; we hold everything in the daytime, but at night the Communists
NVA are all around us.
The Marines suspect the NVA divisions are now regrouping, refitting and
will
resupply to resupplying for another push into the South. They vow they 11
just like we d
Before.
ལྕ་པའི་ཡརjnev
push the Costs back again.
Barring political miracles in Paris, the possibility looms of even
bloodier fighting sometimo somewhere--perhaps everywhere-along the
domiert od supposedly demilitarized line.
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(Hanks I'll file the next piece tomorrow. Also, the Saigon press
is being squeezed out of the Lo lay coverage by incoming pross and Le May's
desire not to have jouir journalists follow him.
Anh Anyhow, I'll try to
Szonyom Also, if at all
Nowoweek is
do something on him, probably after he departs.
possible, I might try to do a coup aftermath piece. I gather thys, howmagasinés
Or do you want
afe doing a recup on it this week. Also, what do you think about the
political sories for the last week in October?
Regards Bev).
mond router
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Date
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1968, Oct. 15
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Subject
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Vietnam Demilitarized Zone (Vietnam); Strategy
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Location
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Demilitarized Zone, Vietnam
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Coordinates
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17.0021; 107.0509
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Size
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20 x 25 cm
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Container
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B6, F10
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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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Collector
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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
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Language
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English
