The Three-Theater War

ONLY a few months ago, much of the world was concerned about the Viet Nam War, with perhaps an occasional sigh over the related but gentler conflict in neighboring Laos. Now, with unexpected suddenness, the conflict in Southeast Asia has come to be known by a far more encompassing term: the War in Indochina. It is an uneasy escalation, since it poses new problems for everyone involved, specifically including the Communists as well as the U.S. and its allies (see THE NATION). If the conflict is broader and more dangerous, though, it is still being fought in three theaters in which the conditions remain considerably different. Last week South Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos reverberated each in its own way to the mounting storm.

South Viet Nam

At a few minutes past midnight on April 1, the Communists launched what U.S. officials termed the spring offensive. At least 115 allied targets were pounded by mortar and artillery fire, and at least five significant ground attacks were reported. The onslaught was convincing proof that the enemy still has the strength and command coordination to launch countrywide attacks with great precision. The attacks were also proof --if any more was needed--that the heavy and continuous U.S. bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail complex in eastern Laos had not materially damaged Communist supply lines.

Last week's offensive was the largest enemy drive in the past eight months but, according to U.S. officers, it came as no surprise: recent intelligence pinpointed the onslaught almost to the minute. The most ferocious attack was against an artillery base near the Cambodian border, where a direct hit on an ammunition storage bunker killed more than 20 Americans--the highest single loss since May 1968. After a brief pause, the Communists at week's end renewed their attacks, mainly along the Demilitarized Zone and the Cambodian border. An eight-hour battle near Con Thien represented the heaviest fighting along the DMZ in nearly five months.

Cambodia

Despite the new outbreak of fighting in Viet Nam, Cambodia seems at present to be the most dangerous situation. In the first days after the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk by Premier General Lon Nol and Deputy Premier Prince Sirik Matak, there was next to no opposition to the new regime. But during the past two weeks, violent pro-Sihanouk demonstrations have taken place in at least half a dozen rural areas. The worst outbreak known thus far occurred in the town of Kompong Cham, where Vietnamese agitators led a pro-Sihanouk riot. Before Cambodian troops could put down the fighting, Lon Nol's brother reportedly was hacked to bits by the mob. In all, at least 29 civilians died and 60 more were wounded.

Publicly, local Vietnamese were blamed for what seems to have been a V.C. order to riot; but a Cambodian official admitted privately that "most of the mob were Cambodians. They were confused. To them Sihanouk was a god-prince--we cannot undo in a few days what Sihanouk did in years."

In Phnom-Penh, troops were everywhere last week. Tanks and armored cars guarded the Defense Ministry and the main post office. Sandbags were piled around entrances to military installations. In the capital's streets, student volunteers performed military drills. In the countryside, tension remained high. In Takeo, site of a large pro-Sihanouk demonstration, the assistant governor told TIME Correspondent David Greenway how the Viet Cong stir up support for the deposed prince, who is now reported to be in Hanoi conferring with North Vietnamese leaders. "At night the Viet Cong come to the villages and play tape recordings of Sihanouk's speeches from Peking," he said. "I expect a difficult hour is coming."

For the new regime, the building of new loyalties was clearly the core of the problem. Underscoring that point, the new leaders released 486 of Sihanouk's political prisoners from the Phnom Penitentiary. Later in the week it became even more apparent that the new government would need all the support it could muster. Reports reached Phnom-Penh that Cambodian troops were battling large Communist forces in Snoul and in Svay Rieng province. In Svay Rieng, 200 to 300 Vietnamese Communists launched a brief night attack against the district headquarters town of Chi Phou, but were held off by Cambodian troops. At the same time, other Communist units attacked a small village near Chi Phou, and a third force burned down the community hall of the village of Bavet. According to the district chief, Communist troops are beginning to run short of supplies as a result of Phnom-Penh's decision to cut off supply routes. Last week's series of attacks may have been intended as a warning of what lies ahead if the supply cutoff continues.

Laos

Laotian forces under General Vang Pao scored a success of sorts by reoccupying Sam Thong, a U.S. refugee aid base. Fearful of U.S. airpower, the enemy had never fully occupied Sam Thong, simply remaining in the hills. Vang Pao took an active role near his threatened base at Long Cheng. An enemy mortar position was giving his troops severe trouble, and counterbattery fire had failed to knock it out. Vang Pao, with U.S. Ambassador George Godley as a witness, sighted along the barrel of a 105-mm. howitzer as if it were a squirrel rifle and barked instructions. The first round was wide of the mark. So was the second. Using "Kentucky windage," Vang Pao made another adjustment. The third round scored a direct hit. Later, he knocked out an enemy machine-gun nest with the same tactic.

The retaking of Sam Thong raised the morale of Prince Souvanna Phouma's government. But at week's end, after a transient lull, the Communists launched a new rocket and mortar attack on Sam Thong, advancing to within 200 yards of the base's airstrip. There was also ominous evidence of continued Communist buildups around Vang Pao's home base just 20 miles to the south.

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