Epilogue

This monograph about events in early 1967 has been written in retrospect after four and a half years; I found the view somewhat fuzzy. However, I also found that by immersing myself in the references available it was possible to refresh my memory con-siderably. Therefore, even with the aberrations which may result from the passage of time, I believe that the following observations concerning CEDAR FALLS and JUNCTION CITY are valid.

Building upon the experience gained in slapping together Operation ATTLEBORO while on the move, CEDAR FALLS-JUNCTION CITY confirmed that we could utilize large quantities of all types of available forces, weapons, and equipment in a successful, co-ordinated operation against large enemy main force units. These operations also confirmed the ATTLEBORO experience that such multidivisional operations have a place in modern counter-insurgency warfare. Thus it was that at the time the enemy believed he had the third and last phase of his planned aggression successfully under way- beginning with the battle of Binh Gia two years earlier- he now found himself facing even larger forces than he could assemble

CEDAR FALLS-JUNCTION CITY also revealed that it was possible to plan for such large operations while maintaining a fairly high degree of secrecy about them. They also confirmed that properly planned and implemented cover and deception operations could permit the prepositioning of forces for the main operation without tipping our hand as to the size, location, or even the possibility of that operation.

The intelligence which was developed prior to these operations was impressive in its accuracy. Not only was it generally correct concerning the activities of major enemy elements, it was also quite accurate with respect to the location of installations and facil-ities. Of the 177 separate enemy facilities uncovered by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment during CEDAR FALLS, 156 (88 percent) were located within 500 meters of the site shown in intelligence holdings before the operation. The average distance error was 200 meters. During JUNCTION CITY the accuracy was slightly less than 40 percent located within 500 meters of their predicted sites-still a respectable figure. Thus both operations lent credibility to the system of pattern activity analysis.