Aug. 20, 1961 - The South Vietnamese Army, equipped and trained by the U.S. in new jungle warfare tactics, is reported to have assumed the initiative in the seven-year-old struggle with Communist guerrillas. Kennedy Administration officials said today that since May, when the reorganization of the army began, the pro-Western Vietnamese forces had "started 75 percent of the fights" and had won 4 important victories, including a key engagement this week in the Plaine des Joncs. But the U.S. expects a long, tough battle because the Communist powers appear determined to topple the regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem.
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