Cong Clings to Saigon Area

Item

derivative filename/jpeg

363-04821.pdf

Digital Object Identifier

363-04821

Title

Cong Clings to Saigon Area

Description

Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about the Việt Cộng offensives around Saigon, page unknown

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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.

Transcript

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- Page 1
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Cong Clings to Saigon Area
By Beverly Deepe
A Special Correspondent
BAO TRAI, South Viet Nam
The well-coordinated Viet
Cong attack near the provin-
cial capital here last week in-
dicates that the American plan
to pacify the provinces around
Saigon has bogged down.
Attacking only 20 miles
northwest of Saigon the four-
pronged offensive of Viet Cong
battaion 506-500 to 700 men
-crippled two government
companies occupying the peri-
phery of the Hop Tac (Coop-
eration) Plan area in Hau
Nghia province. Viet Cong
casualities also were high.
This town (pop. 5,000) is the
capital of the province.
The Hop Tac Plan for the
pacification of the seven
Provinces around Saigon be-
gan a year ago. It calls in
the first step for the destruc-
tion of the hard-core Viet
Cong units in the Provinces.
But he Viet Cong attack
showed this yet to be accom-
plished.
The second step calls for
the training of local militia
to guard the villages while
the regular Army conducts
large-scale offensives. But,
in Provinces such as Hau
Nghia, there are few young
men in the villages whom the
government can recruit.
"We have basic problems
that are impossible for us to
solve," one official explained.
"The population is hostile to
the vietnamese government,
since for decades this area has
been under viet cong control.
"The viet cong have a mini-
mum of 2,500 armed fighters
in this province and can jump
to 4,000 men. But the vietna-
mese government strength is
only about 2,000 men.
"We should have a 10-to-1
force ratio of troops in our fa-
vor to defaet the viet cong-
but instead we sometimes have
a 2-to_1 force ratio aa nst us."
Reliable
sources indicate
that in the future american
combat troops may be used
against these hard-core units.
Last week, the Viet Cong
506th battalion attacked, one
elite government Ranger bat-
talion engaged it in a tough
day-night operation, but re-
turned to the town of duc
lap, 20 miles from Saigin,
their command post, to set up
their night-time defense.
"The Viet Cong knew the
Rangers had been on the op-
eration and would sleep well
that night," an official ex-
plained. "One element of the
Viet Cong 506th battalion
crashed into the command
area post housing the head-
quarters company.
"The Viet Cong had over-
powering force; and rushed
directly toward and virtually
encircled the command post."
Two miles further west,
other elements of the Viet
Cong 506th attacked a Viet-
namese regular army com-
pany, and mortared the dis-
trict town of Duc Hoa and
another outpost.
"Simply in terms of govern-
ment casualties, this was a
disaster," one Vietnamese of-
ficila explained, "but we also
hurt the Viet Cong badly.
"We have found 31 Viet
Cong bodies so far, and have
received intelligence reports
that the Viet Cong were bury-
ing 50 other bodies in a distant
village. And, we think, we
killed the Viet Cong batalion
executive officer. We estimate
a total of 200 Viet Cong killed
or wounded because the U. S.
Air Force jets started pound-
ing the Viet Cong as they
withdrew.
"Militarily, this engagement
was probably a stand-off, but
politically, it was a defeat.
Everytime the Viet Cong hit
one o four elite units, it takes
a long time before the popula-
tion regains confidence in the
government."

Date

1965, Oct. 3

Subject

Saigon (Vietnam); Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam; Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Campaigns--Mặt trận dân tộc giải phóng miền nam Việt Nam

Location

Saigon, South Vietnam

Coordinates

10.8231; 106.6311

Container

B4, F6

Format

newspaper clippings

Collection Number

MS 363

Collection Title

Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers

Creator

Keever, Beverly Deepe

Copyright Information

These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.

Publisher

Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries

Language

English