N. Vietnam Coast Bombarded By U.S.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31208, 4 November 1966, Page 14

N. Vietnam Coast Bombarded By U.S.

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SAIGON, November 3. A United States military spokesman disclosed today that American warships of the 7th Fleet had bombarded the coast of North Vietnam for the first time.

The bombardment took place on October 25 just north of the demilitarised zone and was part of an all-out American effort byships and planes to forestall a threatened monsoon offensive by three North Vietnamese divisions.

Brigadier General Lowell English, commander of the United States Marine units south of the demilitarised zone, said only yesterday that the air strikes and Marine jungle fighting may have stopped the nemy’s plans for the offensive.

The spokesman said the 7th Fleet ships fired their guns after North Vietnamese shore batteries had fired first. He gave no reason why reports

of the engagement had been withheld until now.

Unconfirmed reports said one American ship was hit by the shore batteries. The engagement was apparently the one referred to in a Peking broadcast on October 26—the day after the incident and the day the carrier U.S.S. Oriskany caught fire off the coast of North Vietnam.

Peking said a United States Navy gunboat was set afire on October 25 when the ships came in close to fire on targets in the Dong Hoi area about midway between Hanoi and the 17th parallel dividing line.

Peking said the American ships opened fire and the shore batteries drove them off. There have been reports earlier of smaller Navy craft firing at the shoreline while covering helicopter or sea-

plane rescues of American fliers shot down off the coast, but this was the first report of a duel between warships and shore batteries. Peking and Hanoi have reported previously that United Staes “gunboats” hit shore targets but were believed to be referring to hit-and-run raids by South Vietnamese naval units.