"The Struggle For Control Of South Vietnam's Population" by Frank Sawyer, September 7, 1965

The article explains that the real fight in Vietnam was over control of the people rather than just land. It describes how most of South Vietnam’s population lived in the southern plains and coastal areas, which remained mostly under government control, while the Viet Cong held sparsely populated regions like the highlands. Despite gaining some territory, the Viet Cong had, as of the time the article was written, failed to capture large towns or dense population centers.