ENEMY ORDER OF BATTLE DMZ/QUANG TRI PROVINCE

Tri Province. The FMFPac order of battle also held another 5,000 enemy rnx)ps operating in southern Quang Tri that could be brought up to sup[-)oiT the enemy forces in the DMZ sector. These included the 5th and 9th NVA Rey/wnrs, as well as elements of the 6th and the 27th ltitJe[vnJt'nt Battalions.''

While building up their infantry strength in the DMZ sector, the North Vietnamese maintained a credible artillery threat to the allied forces in the north. With some 100 artillery pieces, rockets, and mortars ranging from 60mm mortars to 152mm field guns, the North Vietnamese had all of the major Marine bases in the central and eastern DMZ well within their artillery fan. Their Soviet-built 130mm field guns with a range of over 27,000 meters easily reached Dong Ha, about 15 kilometers south of the Ben Hai.''

Maffroni Marine Oferaliais m Vietnam. Dafi'

Dependent upon a relatively rudimentary supply system, however, the enemy failed to sustain a high race ot fire, seldom reaching a level of 1,000 rounds per day. From April through December 1967, NVA American-made 105mm howitzers and 81mm/S2mm mortars accounted for the largest amount of enemy artillery expenditure. Over 13,000 of the morcar shells and slightly more than 5,000 105mm rounds impacted in or near American defensive positions, mostly around Con Thien or Gio Linh. These latter two allied bases were the only ones that were within the range of