Page 442 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

Before 1954, security belts of our townships had been
well organized, The Viet Minh delegation to the 1954 Geneva Conference
had to adrnit that the countryrs cities and their surrounding areas were
under nationalist c ontrol.

Only after the C ornrnuni st Tet offensive against the
cities including the capital, where the enerny had been able to infil-
trate without difficulties, did we reali"e that the area-s adjacent to
cities and townships were of rnuch interest to the enelny. The question
that could be asked then was whether the rnilitary territorial organiza-
tion of the Special Zone had been logical and appropriate. Since ern-
phasis on security rnatters was within the zoners perirneter and ope-
rational rnatters around the city were entrusted to the Gia Dinh Sector.
The fact that the Special Zone was also in charge of the Con Son area
furtherrnore indicated that ernphasis in the organization of the Zone
had been placed on rnanagernent rather than initiative defense.

B. - REVAMPING OF COMBAT UNITS

Before their 1968 general offensive, the various Corn-
rnunist cornrnands in the I Corps Area, including the C ornrnand of the
3248 Division, v/ere disbanded and revarnped into rrGroupsrr of
regirnent level.
Before April 1957, enerny forces in the Tri-Thien-Hue
rnilitary zone included the CT4, CT5 and CT6 Regirnents, the 8OZnd
and 804th rnobile battalions, the DlZ sappers battalion and a nurnber
of c ity units.
In April 1967, these were reinforced by two rnore
battalions belonging to the 9/309A Regirnent newly infiltrated into
the South.
During May 1967, while reorganizing their rnilitary
areas into 4 fronts, the Cornrnunists revarnPed their forces into
ttGroupstr aJter disbanding the various cornrnands including the
cornrnands of the 3248 Division and the 803rd' 8lZth and 90th
Regiments.
In JuIy 1967, seven enerny worksite regifnents were
forrned in the area. Beginning in August 1967 these were called
rrGroup sll
Why this new narrre ? rrGrouprr rneana a rnired force
of regirnent cr cornbat group level, operating on its own. Each group

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