South Viet Nam: The Bloody Hills

The long-awaited Viet Cong summer offensive at last seemed under way.

From the suburbs of Saigon to the rain forests around Danang, the Commu nists mounted a savage series of am bushes that snatched away the initiative from the government forces and killed more than 1,000 South Vietnamese troops. The deadliest assaults came in the Red-rife Central Highlands, with the Viet Cong attacking in battalion and even regiment strength as they swept down from the craggy Annamite chain.

"The V.C. are coming out of the bloody hills," said one stunned American offi cer....