U. S. Marines, Warplanes Hit
North Vietnamese Force Hard
By EDWIN Q. WHITE Associated Press Writer SAIGON (AP) - U.S. Ma- rines and warplanes hammered Friday at an elite North Viet- namese force fighting with its back to a river 18 miles south of Da Nang, Leatherneck head- quarters in the North. It was the second straight day of furious fighting there and field reports said casualties numbered 130 enemy and 25 Ma- rine dead. This put the toll for two days at 261 North Viet- namese and 51 Marines killed. “Allen Brook” The battle is part of a mission named Operation Allen Brook launched May 4 aimed at crush- ing strong North Vietnamese forces threatening Da Nang and I-Ioi An, provincial capital to the south. The strength of the North Vietnamese was shown Sunday when about 5,000 oi them over- ran the fortified outpost oi Kham Duc, about a dozen miles southwest of the present battle. I Associated Press correspond- ent John T. Wheeler reported from Da Nang that the Marines had identified the enemy south of Da Nang as elements of the 308th North Vietnamese Divi- sion, crack outfit that took part in the final assault on Dien Bien Phu in the closing stage of the French war in Indochina. The North Vietnamese were fighting from bunkers in a vil- lage complex with their backs to an arm of the Thu Bon River. Despite the heavy pounding, they were still blazing away with rockets, machine guns and small arms as night fell. To get into position to attack, the Marines were forced to pick their way through a thick mine field laid down on the ap- proaches to the village complex. While the Marine action was the heaviest reported across the country, it was disclosed by the U.S. command that the month- long allied drive into the A Shau Valley had been ended. The valley about 55 miles west of Da Nang, stretches for 25 miles along the border of Laos southwest of the old capi- tal of Hue. It has been the ene- See MARINES on Page 2
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Continued From Page One
my's largest storage site
South Vietnam.
Allied troops entered the val-
ley April 19 for the first time in
more than two years in an oper-
ation described as a reconnais-
sance in force.
Lt. Gen. William B. Rosson.
provisional corps commander,
Qannounced that the major por-
AQ-......_-
l
A drawing from the valley several
‘days ago. The operation was
said to have terminated official-
ly Friday. but other details
were withheld on grounds of se-
curity.
Rosson told newsmen at his
t headquarters in Phu Bai that he
credits the enemy “with being
able to restore his lines ( in the
. valley). with cost, within a mat-
ter of weeks.”
“We don’t know fully the ex:
i tent of the stockpiles in the val-
;ley.” he added. “Vastly greater Vietnamese
’ amounts are still there.”~
The command
troops killed 726 North Viet-
namese in the fighting in and
around A Shau during the oper-
ation. U.S. losses were placed at
139 killed and 662 wounded.
New Action Flares
Although the heaviest fighting
reported Friday centered in the
northernmost 1st Corps area,
night just north of Saigon.
South Vietnamese troops--air-
borne and rangers-clashed
or four miles north of the capi-
tal. No details were available
immediately.
Marines, Warplanes Hit
North Vietnamese Force
in;
t’ f ll’ dt b "th-- , ,
um 0 8 le mops egan M btioned. however, that it was pos-
gmock plane set up as a decoy
.for American bombers.
. l
i going on in Paris between Hanoi é
sand Washington, enemy forces‘
are expected to keep the pres-
sure on the South Vietnamese?‘
icapital for psychological and
.propaganda purposes.
In the air war over North
Vietnam. U.S. Navy pilots re-
ported they destroyed a MlG17;
on the ground 145 miles north of ’
the demilitarized zone near
Vinh Thursday. F
Some informed sources cau-
sible the MIG could have been a
l
U.S. pilots flew 108 strike mis-
sions Thursday over North Viet-
%They reported destroying or
nam‘s southern panhandle.
damaging 10 bridges. 20 rocket
sites. 12 trucks. 22 supply boats.
two missile sites and 25 railroad
cars.
Hanoi radio claimed an un-
said U.S. ‘
‘T?
manned U.S. reconnaissance;
plane was shot down over the:
capital Friday!
There was no confirmation in
Saigon.
new action flared before mid-'7
with enemy forces of unknown H
tsize in two engagements three 1
With preliminary peace talks It
1
I