1. Intensify guerrilla warfare, acts of terrorism, harassment, propa-ganda and interdiction of lines of communication.

2. Conduct less than regimental size attacks against isolated forces and installations.

3. Withdraw from main US combat units if he considers the situation unsuitable for a decisive victory.

4. Attack selected targets with forces of regimental strength at a time and place of his own choosing.

5. Continue to secure his base areas and lines of communication.

Events over the next two months would validate these predic-tions.

The operational area for Junction City, War Zone C, is gener-ally defined as the 80x50-kilometer area bounded on the west and north by Cambodia, on the east by Highway 13, and on the south by an east-west line drawn through Ben Cat and Tay Ninh and extending to the Cambodian border. The terrain in the northern and eastern portions rises to approximately one hundred fifty meters while the southern and western portions range in elevation from five to fifty meters. The generally flat, marshy land in the west changes to gently rolling terrain, finally becoming irregular near the eastern province boundary. The predominant land fea-ture in the area is the 987-meter-high Nui Ba Den. Two major rivers drain the area: the Vam Co Dong on the west and the Saigon on the east; neither is fordable. Numerous small streams are found in the eastern portion of War Zone C, the principal ones having steep banks and muddy bottoms.

In the south, trafficability in the area of interest varied from good in the rubber plantations to difficult in marshy areas. In the north, particularly the northeast, movement was difficult because of the heavy forests and dense undergrowth and bamboo but im-proved in the north and western portions of the province because of the relatively thin forests and scattered open areas.

The ground was expected to be relatively dry during most of the operation. For all practical purposes, at the time JUNCTION CITY was initiated all significant bridges in the operational area had been destroyed, although footbridges had been constructed by the enemy on many of the trails that crisscrossed the area.

At the beginning of JUNCTION CITY the skies over the operational area would be clear, with little precipitation. Later, some rain and cloudiness would occur with patchy early morning fog, limiting visibility in some instances to one mile. The fog generally would dissipate by midmorning. Temperatures would range from a high of 95 to a low of 59 degrees.

Because of the vast area to be covered, the difficult terrain, the