Reinforcements To North

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31585, 24 January 1968, Page 13

Reinforcements To North

W.Z. Press Association—Copyright) SAIGON, January 23. The United States had moved heavy reinforcements to South Vietnam’s northern frontier—about 3000 soldiers plus another marine battalion for the Khe Sanh area—to counter the expected big Communist offensive, military sources disclosed today.

The remote town of Khe Sanh, in South Vietnam’s north-west corner, came under heavy North Vietnamese attack over the week-end and was hit by rocket and mortar fire yesterday.

A handful of United States Marines and South Vietnamese militia defenders abandoned the town of Khe Sanh yesterday. Hundreds of civilians, fearing the Communists, fled the town. But military sources said another battalion had been sent to the nearby marine combat base, giving the marines four battalions there —about 5000 men—to deal with the Communist threat.

The exodus began with a handful of families who followed the marines to combat outposts two miles outside town in the threatened Khe Sanh valley. The civilians gathered beside the runway with their pots, plans and tattered bunles of belongings, and dashed for trenches several times when enemy mortars exploded near the air strip.

As darkness halted the airlift, about 1000 civilans had been evacuated and at least that many more were waiting for the aircraft to begin flying again tomorrow. Khe Sanh is seven miles east of the Laos border and 16 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone. Mortar, rocket and ground attacks on allied positions near here over the week-end reportedly cost the attacking enemy troops 128 dead and the United States marines 15 dead and 65 wounded.

The range of the North Vietnamese attacks on eight separate targets has convinced United States' commanders that heavier fighting is yet to come. After the week-end attacks in this area, the enemy let up today but continued to lob mortar rounds into United States and South Vietnamese positions. Waves

of 852 bombers pounded suspected enemy positions in the Khe Sanh Valley. Far to the south round Saigon, United States infantrymen reported killing 39 enemy yesterday and today in fighting over old, familiar battlegrounds. Yesterday morning, about five miles to the south of the previous day's fighting, other 25th division soldiers ran into an enemy force of unknown size. A sharp exchange of small arms and automatic weapons fire went on for more than an hour before the enemy broke contact, the command said. Enemy casualties were reported at 12 dead and the Americans had two men wounded.