THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00472A002300010010-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 19
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 2012
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: November 12, 1965
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/02 : CIA-RDP79T00472A002300010010-5
A V A 1-7 ALI N...4 LILL A
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
jkalloradan
THE SITUATION IN VIETNAM
Information as of 1600
12 November 1965
PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
FURTHER DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT AUTHORIZED
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Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/02 : CIA-RDP79T00472A002300010010-5
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/02 : CIA-RDP79T00472A002300010010-5
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/11/02 : CIA-RDP79T00472A002300010010-5
12 November 1965
HIGHLIGHTS
Another major engagement between US and Viet
Cong forces started today some 35 miles northwest of
Saigon. A VC main force unit jumped a US battalion
that was making' a ground sweep following a B-52
Stratofortress bombing attack in the area. Viet
Cong casualties so far are reported running about
seven times US losses. On the political front,
French President De Gaulle is reportedly planning to
send a trusted diplomat on a tour of Hanoi, Peking,
Vientiane, and Phnom Penh. His mission may be to
sound out views on convening a new Geneva-type con-
ference.
I. The Military Situation. in South Vietnam:
A major battle raged today in Binh topong ProviffEe
as battalion-strength or larger Viet Cong forces
launched a heavy attack against American infantry-
men participating in a B-52 Stratofortress raid
ground follow-upoperation 10 miles north of Ben
Cat (Paras. 1-3). Heavy fighting was reported dur-
ing the night of 10-11 November between ARVN ranger
units and an unknown number of Viet Cong in Phuoc
Tuy Province, 35 miles southeast of Saigon -(Para. 4
An ARVN company-size reaction force sustained heavy
casualties when ambushed by the Viet Cong yesterday
in Hau Nghia Province (Para. 5). Operation SILVER
BAYONET by six battalions of the 3rd Brigade, US
1st Air Cavalry Division, has been initiated in the
Plei Me area as a replacement for LONG REACH forces
(Para. 7). Operation BLUE MARLIN, the combined
USMC/ARVN amphibious assault search-and-destroy op-
eration initiated on 10 November north of Chu Lai
continues according to plan', with no organized Viet
Cong resistance reported thus far (Para-8). Viet-
namese Regional Forces troops have uncovered an ex-
tensive Viet Cong ammunition/mine cache and grenade
workshop in the Mekong Delta province of Dinh Tuong
(Para. 9). A prisoner recently captured by elements
of the US 1st Air Cavalry Division near the Cambodian
border west of Plei Me has claimed to be a member of
the 66th Regiment, 304th PAVN Division (Para. 11).
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II. Political Developments in South Vietnam:
Premier Ky is due to return to Saigon tomorrow from
his official trip to South Korea, having dropped
earlier plans for an unofficial stopover in Japan
(Para. 1). Government-employed dockworkers in Sai-
gon reportedly went on strike yesterday for higher
wages (Para. 2)
An
American civilian, employed as a voluntary aid
worker in the delta, has reportedly been slain by
the Viet Cong (Para. 4). The Viet Cong Liberation
Radio has again warned of retaliation if prisoners
accused of teierorist activities are executed (Para.
5). General Thi, the commander in I Corps, is being
accused by local Dai Viet Party members of financially
helping the militant, anti-American Hue "student
struggle" newspaper (Para. 6).
III. Military Developments in North Vietnam:
/ A considerable amount of SAM
equipment has been destroyed by US air strikes since
17 October (Paras. 2-5).
IV. Other Communist Military Developments: There
is nothing of significance t6-Fill71.
V. Communist Political Developments: President
De Gaulle is sending a trusted French diplomat on an
official visit to Peking, Hanoi, Vientiane, and Phnom
Penh, according to a French official in Laos. The
trip may mark a new French initiative to sound out
the attitudes of Asian governments on a new Geneva-
type conference (Paras. 1 and 2).(
12 November. 1965
ii
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VI. Other Major Aspects: The number of foreign
ships calling at DRV ports in October remained well
below the average set earlier in the year. The pat-
tern of exports and imports through DRV ports yields
further evidence of the dislocation of DRV inland
transport by aerial attacks (Para. 1).
12 November 1965
iii
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