GAS DOWN TUNNELS

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30955, 11 January 1966, Page 11

GAS DOWN TUNNELS

(N.Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright) SAIGON, Jan. 10. American and Australian troops were today reported using tear gas to drive Viet Cong guerrillas from a labyrinth of underground tunnels. It was part of the operation described as the biggest of the war by foreign allied troops to comb out the “iron triangle” area, 20 miles northwest of Saigon.

Military officers said the advancing paratroopers and infantrymen were clearing the tunnels with tear gas and then blowing them up. The troops of the Royal Aus-

tralian Regiment, the U.S. First Infantry Division, and the 17th Airborne Brigade supported by a New Zealand artillery battery, have skirmished only lightly with guerrilas since their joint push began two days ago. This was because the Viet Cong had fled from their subterranean maze “like rabbits from a warren,” officers said. In one underground Viet Cong hospital, the Australians found food still fresh on the tables. Abandoned guerrilla fortifications were littered with

mines and booby traps, hastily planted before the guerrillas fled.

Although the extent of the underground complex may not be known for days or even weeks while the Allied sweep continues, its structure is described as unusually sophisticated and well-prepared. The tunnels uncovered so far are less than 20 miles from the Cambodian border. The caverns were stacked with Viet Cong war equipment —weapons, ammunition, medical supplies and clothing. The area of the operation has been dominated by guerrillas since the days of French rule.

It flanks the “iron triangle” —a notorious Viet Cong stronghold where a similar joint operation was launched three months ago. The Australian and American troops are backed by heavy artillery, tanks and aircraft. Jets have been making round-the-clock bombing raids, strafing the guerrillas as they emerge from their tunnels. The Allied force has an armada of more than 200 helicopters at its command, the largest number ever assembled for a single operation. More Than 10,000 Although figures are not officially released for security i reasons, the force is believed I to be more than 10,000 men. South Vietnamese forces are not taking part in the operation.

The Viet Cong units they are chasing are believed to be less than one-third their number. The operation was preceded by air strikes by Stratofortresses of the U.S. Strategic Air Command. However their heavy bombs appeared to have made little impression on the Viet Cong bunkers deep underground.