Wednesday, May 31, 1972
Reds Batter An Loc Relief Column
SAIGON (AP) --North Vietnamese forces lying in ambush south of An Loc Monday dealt a South Vietnamese relief column its second major setback in four days, killing and wounding 100 or more government soldiers with a heavy barrage.Field reports said North Vietnamese gunners poured more than 1,000 rounds of rockets and artillery and mortar shells at South Vietnamese forces trying to move up Highway 13 north of Saigon.The column was hit about 3½ miles south of An Loc, in the same spot where North Vietnamese forces firing 75mm recoilless rifles and B40 rockets destroyed 23 of 47 South Vietnamese armored personnel carriers and killed 42 government troops and wounded 159 in an ambush last Friday.Preliminary reports from the field said about 15 South Vietnamese were killed Monday and 80 or 90 wounded.A South Vietnamese fire base three miles farther south along the highway was hit by 200 rounds of shells, blowing up an ammunition depot and wounding at least two soldiers, the report said.An Loc, 60 miles north of Saigon, has been under siege since April 7, a week after the North Vietnamese launched their offensive across South Vietnam. The relief column has been stalled for the past 10 days by North Vietnamese troops who are reported heavily entrenched on the western side of Highway 13.In the central highlands, 50 U.S. B52 Stratofortresses dropped 1,250 tons of bombs around Kontum in an attempt to keep the North Vietnamese from reinforcing their troops holding sections of the provincial capital for the fifth day.Some of the strikes were within two miles of the city.North Vietnamese gunners slammed 100 artillery shells into Kontum during the night after fighting all day Sunday in which the South Vietnamese command claimed 168 enemy troops were killed. Saigon said government forces recaptured an orphanage and a school in the southern part of town.Field reports said 25 government troops were killed and 114 wounded in the fighting.North Vietnamese troops were reported still entrenched in both the northern and southern sections of the city.On the southern front, the South Vietnamese command rushed several battalions of rangers to reinforce the district town of Dat Do, 45 miles southeast of Saigon, where Viet Cong forces have gained a foothold and control some of the district.The Saigon command claimed 75 of the enemy were killed, most of them by air and artillery strikes, in a battle a mile west of the district town. Two South Vietnamese were reported killed and seven wounded.Field reports said much of Dat Do has been destroyed by air and artillery bombardment and several thousand refugees have fled to Baria, the province capital of Phuoc Tuy 10 mile to the west.Sharp fighting raged in the Ca Mau peninsula at the southern tip of the Mekong delta. South Vietnamese forces suffered 18 men killed and 27 wounded in three clashes near the provincial capital of Vinh Thanh. Thirty-two enemy soldiers were reported killed.On the northern front, enemy forces attacked government positions near the district town of Que Son, 25 miles southwest of Da Nang. The Saigon command said the attack was driven back and 45 enemy were killed. South Vietnamese casualties were one killed and 12 wounded, the command said.Three clashes were reported north and west of Hue and 71 North Vietnamese were killed, headquarters said. Government losses were only three men wounded, the Saigon command said."Reds Batter An Loc Relief column", by (AP), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes Wednesday, May 31, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.