Friday, April 28, 1972

Adviser: Red Tide To Hit Kontum City

PLEIKU, Vietnam (AP) --John Paul Vann, the senior U.S. adviser in the central highlands, predicted Wednesday night that the Kontum provincial capital area will have one or two more days of quiet, "then the tide will come rolling in."

"Unfortunately a great number of people will die on both sides during the fighting." Vann predicted "A great number of civilians may also suffer. There is no intention to give up Kontum City. The plan is to fight for Kontum City."

Vann said good weather could slow the enemy timetable down, because it would allow unlimited allied air strike, but poor weather could speed it up.

He estimated that about four North Vietnamese regiments would be used in an assault on Kontum City, between 8,000 to 12,000 men.

At the present time, Kontum is receiving about 20 to 30 rockets each day, he said.

"Adviser: Red Tide To Hit Kontum City", by PLEIKU, Vietnam (AP), published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Friday, April 28, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.

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