Escalation from Hanoi

Escalation of the Viet Nam war is almost always spoken of as an American prerogative, but Hanoi also regularly raises the ante. Aided by an increasing flow of fresh weaponry from Russia and Red China and desperate for a badly needed victory, the Communists last week continued to increase their pressure in the South--at a frightful cost in Communist lives. For the first time in the war, the Saigon area felt the tremors of the Russian-made 122-mm. rockets. For the first time, the North Vietnamese used Russian-made SAM missiles to bring down a U.S. fighter-bomber operating over the Demilitarized Zone--an ominous southward extension of their al ready widespread missile network. And for the first time, Communist troops used flamethrowers, made in China, against U.S. troops.

The rocket attacks were launched in the middle of the night against two U.S. airbases near Saigon, Bien Hoa and Phuoc Vinh. From Bien Hoa fly half the fighter-bomber strikes that originate in South Viet Nam, and the Viet Cong attack was undoubtedly a token riposte for U.S. bombing of MIG bases in the north. Some 125 rounds of the Russianmade rocket, 82-mm. mortar and 75-mm. recoilless-rifle fire raked Bien Hoa, killing six Americans and wounding 85. The 15-minute attack destroyed four planes and damaged 25, also damaged runways, barracks and equipment. Phuoc Vinh was attacked about the same time, but suffered less damage.

On Bamboo Poles. Scarcely three miles south of the DMZ, the Communists attempted to overrun the camp of Con Thien, defended by two companies of Marines and three companies of Vietnamese irregular forces advised by a U.S. Special Forces team. The entire 4th Battalion of the North Vietnamese 821st Regiment attacked, led by two companies of sappers who cut their way through the Marines' barbed-wire perimeter by thrusting ahead of them satchel charges and bangalore torpedoes mounted on the tips of bamboo poles. The Marines hit back with rapid M-16 rifle fire and grenades, plus twin 40-mm. guns mounted on M42 "duster" tracked vehicles.

Suddenly an ugly belch of flame lit up the night. "My Christ," yelled an astonished Marine, "they're using flamethrowers!" A column rumbling up with fresh ammunition for the Marines ran right into the hose of fire. Six vehicles went up with a roar, and the ammunition began exploding, nicely silhouetting the attackers as targets for the Marines. "I kept telling my men, just hang on until dawn and we'll be all right," said Sergeant Richard Anderson, a squad leader. They did, and the dawn came up with the welcome thunder of U.S. fighter-bombers. The North Vietnamese fled back out through the wire, leaving behind 196 dead. The outnumbered Marines held the camp, but at the cost of 44 dead and 140 wounded.*

Swishing Tail. Many of the enemy dead wore tiger-striped uniforms and had gone into battle barefoot, their shoes tied around their necks. They had been so certain of victory that several carried English-Vietnamese phrase books. Marine Commander Lieut. General Lewis Walt arrived a few hours later to inspect the battlefield. He had barely begun when the cry "Incoming!" went up and three mortar rounds boomed in. Walt and his staff dived for foxholes for the third time in ten days --and the closest call. One round hit only 15 feet from the general. Walt was unhurt, but two of his staff were injured.

Marines at the artillery base at Gio Linh, about five miles south of the DMZ, witnessed the first successful deployment of SAM missiles in the area. Looking like a giant tracer bullet against the night sky, one Russian missile soared up, its firetail swishing as it chased a Marine A-4 Skyhawk maneuvering violently to escape. A sudden fireball erupted as the SAM hit its target. The use of SAMs along the DMZ could curtail the now frequent use of B-52 bombers along the much-buffeted buffer zone. The threat of SAMs has kept the less maneuverable eight-engine bombers from hitting North Viet Nam, and could keep them out of the DMZ if Hanoi moves in substantial numbers of SAMs.

*In the previous week, ending May 6, according to figures released last week in Saigon, Communist dead totaled 1,903. The Marine losses around the DMZ accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total American dead of 274 in the ground war, a figure exactly matching the previous U.S. weekly record dead in Viet Nam.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.