INDOCHINA
General Paul Ely, French chief of staff, flew to Hanoi last week to determine whether he could save the rice-rich Red River Delta. He came upon a darkening battleground. Red General Giap's advance guards were streaming through Mocchau (see map), less than 80 miles from Hanoi; Giap's 90,000 irregulars inside the delta were taking Vietnamese company outposts at the tumble-down rate of five or six a week; and a special Red task force, some ten battalions strong, was pressing a tight, coordinated attack against the three French positions around Phuly, the logical...