BATTALION WIPED OUT IN AMBUSH

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30769, 5 June 1965, Page 15

BATTALION WIPED OUT IN AMBUSH

Only Eighty Survive Viet Cong Attack (N.Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright) SAIGON, June 4. Only 80 survivors have been reported from the 350-man South Vietnamese battalion cut to pieces in a double ambush in the mountainous central highlands yesterday. The fate of the rest of the battalion was not known, United States military officials said in Saigon today. A high-ranking American military officer at Pleiku, headquarters of the Vietnamese 2nd Corps, said the situation in the corps was “very serious.”

He said the Vietnamese corps commander .urgently requested troop reinforcements for his area.

The 2nd Corps area includes the jungle mountains in central Vietnam which are known to harbour up to 16.000 main force guerrillas, in battalion and regiment - sized units, and more than 8000 irregulars.

The high-ranking officer said there was strong evidence that battalions of the North Vietnamese 325th Army Division were operating in the four provinces of the 2nd Corps area—Pleiku. Kontum, Darlac and Phu Bon. Phu Bon province was the scene of yesterday’s ambush of the Government Battalion.

I about 215 miles north-east of I Saigon and about 50 miles | south-east of Pleiku. ' The Government side lost i more than 50 troops in two | other smaller ambushes in I Kontum and Darlac province I yesterday. j The officer said the Viet Cong, now coming out of the I mountains in much greater I strength than ever, was I putting a severe strain on i Government resources. The casualties raised Gov- ■ eminent losses for the week Ito about 800. More than 600 were killed or captured in ' the week-end Communist

' offensive near Quang Ngai, ; 70 miles south of the Da Nang air base. United States Marines toi day fought their hottest eni gagement since arriving in ■ South Vietnam more than 10 weeks ago. They repulsed a fierce Viet « Cong attack on two key • bridges only six miles from > the Da Nang base early this i morning. Two Marines were wounded. • The Viet Cong lost three men. The guerrillas made two I concentrated attacks on the i bridges, which the Marines . had fortified.