OUTPOSTS OVERRUN

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33654, 2 October 1974, Page 17

OUTPOSTS OVERRUN

Militiamen in retreat (N.Z. Press Assn—Copyright) SAIGON, October 1. North Vietnamese forces launched fresh attacks in the Central Highlands yesterday, overrunning two outposts guarding a district town and a key highway network leading to the populous northern coast. Elements of the North Vietnamese 28th Regiment forced about 200 South Vietnamese militiamen into retreat from outposts close to the district town of Chuong Nghia. Sixteen Government soldiers are reported missing. Chuong Nghia, which is 265 miles north-east of Saigon, is now seriously threatened. Earlier this year, the North Vietnamese overran the district town of Mang Buk, 20 miles north of Chuong Nghia, and Gia Vuc, 20 miles to the east. The North Vietnamese objective appears to be to link their road network from the highlands to the coastal region, to better their military position should Hanoi decide to launch a general offensive later on. Attacks south of Hue, a city of political and symbolic importance about 400 miles north of Saigon, have put intermittent pressure on Highway No. 1, the vital north-south artery that is the Government’s main land link tj the city and to most of South Vietnam’s two northernmost provinces..