DCI BRIEFING FOR 29 APRIL WSAG MEETING VIETNAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79R01142A002100010007-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 2004
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: April 29, 1975
• Content Type: BRIEF

(OS/46
2A41oved For Re1easTW4/61Ff5PA 'R
010007-5q s
29 April 1975
DCI BRIEFING FOR
29 IPRIL WSAG MEETING
Government defenses around Saigon have crumbled
in the past 12 hours, in the face of heavy North
n6~'SSu 1-P ..
Vietnamese /as=sa-mss:..,. Communist forces are now
on the outskirts of the capital and clearly in
position to occupy it.
A. The attack began early this morning Saigon
time with ma-r~ artillery and rocket
bombardments of the Tan Son Nhut airfield
1. A y'ai raft, including one US trans-
port involved in the evacuation of
refugees, were destroyed on the ground.
?
da l South Viet-
~C 1 D
namese
aircraft eva ate. Some of
the government planes struck nearby
Communist positions, and at least three
were shot down by SA-7 missiles.
a. Many of the aircraft and helicopters
25X1
Approved For Re1eaTJ()e0419-b1A-F4DP79R01142A00100010007-5
 Approv~d For Relea'Fdab4WBE1 DP79R01142AO 2100010007-5
flew to Can Tho, while others went
to bases outside South Vietnam or
to US ships off the coast.
3. Tan Son Nhut is now closed. The runways
are cratered and littered with debris.
At last report, large unruly mobs were
in various parts of the base.
The Communists followed the Tan Son Nhut as-
sault with a spate of small attacks in the
suburbs of the capital.
1. Sappers attacked the large military com-
munications site at Phu Lam on the south-
western edge of Saigon,
2. Government units just northwest of the
capital abandoned their positions, and
a number of South Vietnamese outposts to
the west were lost as the result of
ground attacks.
the Communists are preparing to shell the
Presidential Palace and the Joint General
Staff Headquarters v C'~`" Liz
.,- a14
led For ReIeasUW0bbfi i'F DP79R01142AO021
25X1
25X1
25X1
25X1
 P. Approv~d For Relea G&44 DP79R01I42A00 100010007-5
C. North Vietnamese forces also launched large
scale assaults on Saigon's outer defenses.
1. A large Communist force, supported by
tanks and artillery, attacked the South
ing, and the North Vietnamese are pushing
on to the capital.
2. In-the =nQr-thern =deft , eavy fighting
has broken out along Route 4 near Binh
Chanh, and the Communist forces attack-
ing in that area could reach Cholon and
the southern outskirts of Saigon within
25X1
25X1
hours.
&. ? o t+~l U, h LJL )I,~a ~iv.JtoS /1
D. East of the captal, 25X1
I orth Vietnamese forces have moved into
Bien Hoa, and are now pushing west.
1. Communications have been lost with the
South Vietnamese defending Vung Tau, and
that city probably has fallen.
The Minh governmen has been overtaken by events,
in Saigon appears inevitable .Y_,6;.
/
and a complete North Vietnamese military takeover t--
3
Approv d For Releas 4/~ 9 A T 0010007-5
25X9
 Approved For Re1eaTeQ&4 % FU - DP79R01I42A00210 010007-5
2
In his inaugural address Minh called for a
ceasefire in order to arrange "a political
solution within the framework of the Paris
Agreement."
3. The North Vietnamese and PRG reacted to this
by characterizing the new government as "just
another reactionary administration," and re-
1 4- 4 A d
d
the r series o esca CL l ! e~/man~ sue, - `
it.erate
;s/ -'Gu amount to a call for unconditional sur- _ -t~..s
25X1
"I 1-t-1
II-I. e in ..control z5 --Saigon;--tire -North V' amese Q-s e
#
roba will see merit in crea g an ostensibly
independent outhern reg' with some "third force"
elements thrown in f cosmetic purposes.
4. Such a gove ment ld have little substance,
however and would be a station -- perhaps
a s rt one -- on the road to cam lete reuni-
i.cation.
Approved For Releas4l~i~R
25X1
 Approved For Release 2004/08/25 : CIA-RDP79R01142AO02100010007-5
Approved For Release 2004/08/25 : CIA-RDP79R01142AO02100010007-5