1975 Spring Offensive
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The 1975 spring offensive ( vi, chiến dịch mùa Xuân 1975), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 ( vi, Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy mùa Xuân 1975) was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
that led to the capitulation of
Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
. After the initial success capturing Phước Long Province, the North Vietnamese leadership increased the scope of the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
's (PAVN) offensive and captured and held the key Central Highlands city of Buôn Ma Thuột between 10 and 18 March. These operations were intended to be preparatory to launching a general offensive in 1976. Following the attack on Buôn Ma Thuôt, the Republic of Vietnam realized they were no longer able to defend the entire country and ordered a strategic withdrawal from the Central Highlands. The retreat from the Central Highlands, however, was a debacle as civilian refugees fled under fire with soldiers, mostly along a single highway reaching from the highlands to the coast. This situation was exacerbated by confusing orders, lack of command and control, and a well-led and aggressive enemy, which led to the utter rout and destruction of the bulk of South Vietnamese forces in the Central Highlands. A similar collapse occurred in the northern provinces. Surprised by the rapidity of the ARVN collapse, North Vietnam transferred the bulk of its northern forces more than to the south in order to capture the South Vietnamese capital of
Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...
in time to celebrate their late President
Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...
's birthday and end the war. South Vietnamese forces regrouped around the capital and defended the key transportation hubs at Phan Rang and Xuân Lộc, but a loss of political and military will to continue the fight became ever more manifest. Under political pressure, South Vietnamese President
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, Republic o ...
resigned on 21 April, in hopes that a new leader that was more amenable to the North Vietnamese could reopen negotiations with them. It was, however, too late. Southwest of Saigon IV Corps, meanwhile, remained relatively stable with its forces aggressively preventing VC units from taking over any provincial capitals. With PAVN spearheads already entering Saigon, the South Vietnamese government, then under the leadership of
Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm ...
, capitulated on 30 April 1975.


Preliminaries


Strategies

The signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973 did not end the fighting in South Vietnam since both sides violated the cease-fire and attempted to gain control of as much territory as possible. Occupation meant population control in any future negotiations or reunification effort. The fighting that erupted was not small in scale. The three-phase North Vietnamese "Land-grabbing-and population nibbling" campaign, for example, included four division-sized attacks to seize strategically advantageous positions. The
International Commission of Control and Supervision The International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS) was an international monitoring force created on 27 January 1973. It was formed, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords ("Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace ...
(ICCS), established by a protocol of the Paris agreement, had been assigned the task of monitoring the implementation of the cease-fire. The principles of consultation and unanimity among the members, however, doomed any effort to control the situation or to stop cease-fire violations, and the ICCS ceased to function in any meaningful way within a few months of its establishment. At the end of 1973, there was serious debate among the
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
leadership over future military policy as the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam convened to assess the progress of its efforts in the south. General
Văn Tiến Dũng Văn Tiến Dũng (; 2 May 1917 – 17 March 2002), born Co Nhue commune, Từ Liêm District, Hanoi, was a Vietnamese general in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), PAVN chief of staff (1954–74); PAVN commander in chief (1974–80); mem ...
, PAVN chief of staff, and Defence Minister
Võ Nguyên Giáp Võ Nguyên Giáp (; 25 August 1911 – 4 October 2013) was a Vietnamese general and communist politician who is regarded as having been one of the greatest military strategists of the 20th century. He served as interior minister in President ...
strongly urged the resumption of conventional military operations, warning that increasing passivity would affect the morale of the army. Premier
Phạm Văn Đồng Phạm Văn Đồng (; 1 March 1906 – 29 April 2000) was a Vietnamese politician who served as Prime Minister of North Vietnam from 1955 to 1976. He later served as Prime Minister of Vietnam following reunification of North and South Vietnam ...
, however, feared resuming operations would drain vital resources needed for reconstruction in the north. The final result of this debate was ''Resolution 21'', which called for "strategic raids" on South Vietnamese forces in order to regain territory lost to the ARVN since the conclusion of the Peace Accords and to test the reaction of both the South Vietnamese military and the American government. The first blows of the new policy were delivered between March and November 1974, when the communists attacked ARVN forces in Quảng Đức Province and at
Biên Hòa Biên Hòa (Northern accent: , Southern accent: ) is the capital city of Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam and part of the Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area and located about east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Biên Hòa is linked by Vietnam Hi ...
. Hanoi's leaders watched closely and anxiously as strikes by American
B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...
bombers failed to materialize. During these operations, however, PAVN retook the military initiative, gaining experience in combined arms operations, depleting ARVN forces, causing them to expend large quantities of ammunition, and gaining avenues of approach and jump-off points for any new offensive. South Vietnamese President
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, Republic o ...
had made his position on the cease-fire agreement quite public by proclaiming the "Four Nos": no negotiations with the communists; no communist political activities south of the
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was a demilitarized zone established as a dividing line between North and South Vietnam from July 1954 to 1976 as a result of the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (1955-1975) it became important as t ...
(DMZ); no coalition government; and no surrender of territory to the North Vietnamese or Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) – policies which all but abrogated the Paris Accords. Thiệu still believed the promise made by President
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
to reintroduce American air power to the conflict if any serious violations of the agreement took place. It was also assumed that U.S. financial and military aid would continue to be forthcoming at previous levels. On 1 July 1973, however, the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
passed the
Case–Church Amendment The Case–Church Amendment was legislation attached to a bill funding the U.S. State Department. it was approved by the U.S. Congress in June 1973 that prohibited further U.S. military activity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia unless the preside ...
, legislation that all but prohibited any direct or indirect U.S. combat activities over or in
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, and both Vietnams. On 7 November the legislative branch overrode Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act. During 1972–1973, South Vietnam had received $2.2 billion in U.S. assistance. In 1973–1974, that figure was slashed to $965 million, a more than 50 percent reduction. Nixon's growing political difficulties (especially the Watergate scandal) and the increasing antagonism between the legislative and executive branches over Vietnam policies, did little to dampen South Vietnamese expectations. Some among the Saigon leadership were more realistic in their appraisal. According to
Republic of Vietnam Air Force The South Vietnam Air Force, officially the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF; vi, Không lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa, KLVNCH; french: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN) (sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF) was the aer ...
(RVNAF) General Dong Van Khuyen: "Our leaders continued to believe in U.S. air intervention even after the U.S. Congress had expressly forbidden it ... They deluded themselves." The shock of reduced aid was compounded on 9 August, when Richard Nixon, the guarantor of South Vietnamese independence, was forced to resign from office. In October 1973, the Arab oil embargo began, and the resulting oil shock of 1973–74 caused a massive bout of inflation that largely destroyed the South Vietnamese economy with a spokesman for Thiệu admitting in a TV interview that the government was being "overwhelmed" by the inflation. One consequence of the inflation was the South Vietnamese government had increasing difficulty in paying its soldiers. Taking advantage of North Vietnam's period of recuperation in 1974, President Thiệu stretched his forces thin by launching offensives that retook most of the territory captured by PAVN forces during the land grab of 1973 and 15 percent of the total land area controlled by the PAVN at the time of the cease-fire. In April, Thiệu launched the Svay Rieng Campaign against PAVN strongholds in eastern Cambodia. This proved to be the last major offensive operation launched by the ARVN. While these operations succeeded, the cost in terms of manpower and resources was high. By the end of the year the military experienced shortages as a result of decreased American aid, while communist forces continued gaining strength. By the end of October the North Vietnamese Politburo decided on its strategy for 1975 and 1976. In what became known as ''Resolution of 1975'', the party leadership reported that the war reached its "final stage". The army was to consolidate its gains, eliminate South Vietnamese border outposts and secure its logistical corridor, and continue its force build-up in the south. During 1976 the final general offensive would begin. The following month, PAVN field commanders and their political officers were called to Hanoi to assess the new strategy. It was first decided that an attack in the Central Highlands would have the greatest chance of success, but this concept was challenged by Lieutenant General
Trần Văn Trà Nguyễn Chấn, known as Trần Văn Trà (1918 – April 20, 1996) was a Vietnamese general. He was a commander in the Vietcong; a member of the Central Committee of the Lao Dong Party ( Workers' Party of Vietnam) from 1960 to 1982; a lieutena ...
,
COSVN Central Office for South Vietnam (abbreviated COSVN ; vi, Văn phòng Trung ương Cục miền Nam), officially known as the Central Executive Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party from 1962 until its dissolution in 1976, was the Ameri ...
's military commander. His staff already drew a plan for a direct attack against Saigon, and Trà quickly proposed that his forces launch a "test" attack in Phước Long Province to see how well the ARVN would fight and if the U.S. would react. Trà's plan offered the potential for great gain at low risk. First Party Secretary
Lê Duẩn Lê Duẩn (; 7 April 1907 – 10 July 1986) was a Vietnamese communist politician. He rose in the party hierarchy in the late 1950s and became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (VCP) at the 3rd Nati ...
approved the plan, but warned Trà that failure would not be acceptable, telling him "Go ahead and attack... utyou must be sure of victory."


Opposing forces


ARVN

After the signing of the Paris Accords, the South Vietnamese government fielded the fourth largest military force in the world as a result of the American Enhance and Enhance Plus programs. The nation received new combat and transport aircraft, armored vehicles, helicopters, artillery pieces, and other equipment worth $753 million. The arms shipments were welcomed by Saigon, but the lack of sufficient training and dependence on the U.S. for spare parts, fuel, and ammunition caused maintenance and logistical problems. South Vietnamese forces certainly outnumbered combined PAVN/
Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
(VC) forces in the south with approximately one and one-half million troops in uniform. But almost 482,000 of this number belonged to either the
Regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
or Popular Forces, organizations of mixed reliability. Even the lesser number was misleading. Only about 200,000 of the remaining total served as regulars in the combat arms. The rest were in the administrative and logistical "tail" required to support them (of course, a large proportion of the active PAVN and VC forces were likewise engaged, on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, anti-aircraft networks, administration, etc., as is true of any modern army). The ARVN always had problems keeping men in the ranks, but during 1973–75, the problem reached epidemic proportions. During 1974, for example, only 65 percent of authorized manpower was present for duty at any time. The nation's officer corps still suffered from the promotion and retention of generals due to their political loyalties, not their professional abilities. Corruption and incompetence among officers was endemic, with some "raising it almost to an art form." Severe cutbacks in U.S. aid directly affected military performance. Artillery batteries previously allocated 100 rounds per day were reduced to firing only four daily. Each ARVN soldier was restricted to only 85 bullets per month. Because of fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts, sorties by South Vietnamese helicopter and cargo aircraft shrank by 50 to 70 percent. Due to President Thiệu's "no surrender of territory" command, the army was stretched to the limit defending terrain along a 600-mile frontier. Even the nation's strategic reserve, the
Airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
and Marine Divisions, were occupied in static defensive roles. The ARVN, schooled by the Americans in rapid mobility and application of massive firepower, were losing the ability to deliver either. The military situation was exacerbated by the collapse of the South Vietnamese economy and a massive influx of refugees into the cities. During the same period, the North Vietnamese were recovering from losses incurred during the
Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive ('' vi, Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972'') by North Vietnam, or the red fiery summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted b ...
of 1972 by replacing personnel and modernizing their equipment with a new influx of
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and Chinese military aid. During 1973, North Vietnam received 2.8 million metric tons of goods (worth $330 million) from communist-bloc countries, a 50 percent increase over the previous year. In 1974 that total increased to 3.5 million metric tons ($400 million) (according to
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
), while the South's aid was slashed to only $965 million per year, down from $2.2 billion. As a result, the number of artillery tubes within South Vietnam increased to 430, including new 122 mm and 130 mm guns, while armored forces were estimated to have increased to 655 tanks and armored personnel carriers, including the new Soviet-built
BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR stands for ''Brone ...
.


PAVN

By the end of 1974, the North Vietnamese General Staff had created two army corps headquarters, matching South Vietnam's command and control structure in the I and II Corps Tactical Zones. Most independent PAVN infantry regiments in the south were also combined into divisional structures. A U.S. Defense Attaché Office (DAO) (established in 1973 to replace
MACV U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...
, the 50 officers and men of the DAO coordinated all military assistance to South Vietnam) report concluded that the PAVN had increased their strategic reserve from two divisions to seven, making 70,000 additional troops available to augment the 200,000 combat and 100,000 support troops already in South Vietnam. The PAVN high command also recognized the need for improvements to their logistical network to facilitate the transport of sufficient supplies of food, weapons, and ammunition necessary for continuous large-scale operations. By 1973 the 559th Transportation Group, which controlled the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southeastern Laos, was ordered to expand east of the Trường Sơn Mountains and directly into South Vietnam. The new logistical route, Corridor 613, ran inside South Vietnam from the DMZ to all the way to Lộc Ninh. Besides creating the new extension, the 559th upgraded its entire network, constructing all-weather, hard-surfaced roads to accommodate the modern mechanized army that had been rebuilt since the Paris Accords. The work required two years to complete, but the time required for the transport of personnel from North Vietnam to the southernmost seat of battle was reduced from four months to three weeks. One of the most threatening features of the new North Vietnamese build-up was the air defense network that was established within South Vietnam, which by 1975 consisted of twenty-two regiments equipped with radar-controlled gun systems and formidable
SA-2 Guideline The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system, built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the most w ...
and shoulder-launched
SA-7 Grail The 9K32 Strela-2 (russian: Cтрела, "arrow"; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing guid ...
anti-aircraft missiles. Such systems posed a major deterrent to the RVNAF, since its aircraft were not equipped to deal with such threats. As a result, RVNAF aerial interdiction of the communist logistical build-up became almost impossible and reconnaissance flights were held to a minimum. This lack of active intelligence collection made estimation of North Vietnamese strength and intentions much more difficult. However, deficiencies of the PAVN's armored and heavy artillery forces, essential for attacks on heavily fortified ARVN regimental and divisional base camps, weighed heavily on the minds of the General Staff planners who drew up the plan presented to the Politburo in October 1974. Much attention was focused on the role ARVN's ammunition shortages played in the collapse of South Vietnam, but it is not known if the PAVN suffered similar shortages. Soviet and Chinese military aid, especially in the category of "offensive weapon" (armor and artillery), declined significantly since the Paris Accords. Also, much of PAVN's armor and artillery was in poor condition, and spare parts were in short supply. Most PAVN artillery units, especially in the South, were still equipped only with
light mortar Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 ter ...
,
recoilless gun A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
, or single-tube rocket launchers. In the COSVN area of operations, consisting of the southern half of the country, seven infantry divisions (the
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
, 4th, 5th, 6th,
7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...
,
8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
and
9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
) and one corps headquarters ( 4th Corps) were supported by only five battalions of field artillery, two of which were equipped with captured US-made weapons for which there was little ammunition, and three understrength armored battalions. The PAVN's 2nd Corps, with three artillery regiments belonging to its three infantry divisions, a corps artillery brigade, a tank brigade, and a separate armored battalion, could field a grand total of only 89 tanks and
armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...
and 87 towed artillery pieces when it set off to attack Saigon in April 1975.North Vietnam's Final Offensive: Strategic Endgame Nonpareil. MERLE L. PRIBBENOW. 1999. From Parameters, Winter 1999–2000, pp. 58–71 Both the ARVN and PAVN's tanks and heavy artillery (field artillery and mortars 85mm or larger in caliber) suffered severe ammunition shortages. PAVN General Văn Tiến Dũng wrote that, compared to 1973, the 1974 ARVN's "firepower had decreased by nearly 60 percent because of bomb and ammunition shortages. Its mobility was also reduced by half due to lack of aircraft, vehicles, and fuel... The reduction of U.S. aid made it impossible for the puppet troops to carry out their combat plans and build up their forces." Reduction in firepower continued throughout the next year as the ARVN attempted to conserve ammunition. In the heavy fighting of July 1974 through March 1975, the ARVN expended an average of 18,267 tons of ammunition per month, compared to 66,500 tons per month in 1972, a more than 72% reduction. On the other side, PAVN's entire stock of heavy artillery and tank ammunition in 1974, including all ammunition held by combat units at forward warehouses, and in the PAVN's strategic reserves, totaled just 100,000 rounds. The ammunition problem was so serious that the PAVN artillery command had to replace the larger weapons in a number of units with obsolete 76.2mm and 57mm artillery pieces drawn out of storage for which there still was adequate ammunition. Consequently, the offensive would rely partly on captured ARVN stocks. Many historians maintain that given the massive reductions in US military aid to South Vietnam after 1973, any major PAVN offensive was bound to succeed. However, the ARVN's soldiers were hardened veterans, and South Vietnam maintained vast stockpiles of ammunition and equipment (as demonstrated by the massive quantities of war materiel captured by the PAVN when the war ended). The final collapse of the ARVN may well have been inevitable, but the end would have been much bloodier and much longer in coming had the PAVN chosen a more direct, conventional plan of attack. In fact, the most damaging blow of the entire PAVN campaign may have been the crushing psychological blow their skillful and unexpected strategy dealt to the mind of the ARVN's commander-in-chief.


First steps


Phước Long

Phước Long was the northernmost provincial capital in III Corps, approximately northeast of Saigon. At the end of December 1974, the North Vietnamese CT-7 and 3rd Divisions, an independent infantry regiment, and armored, anti-aircraft, and heavy artillery support moved out of Cambodia to attack. The province was defended by five Regional Force battalions, 48 Popular Force platoons and four territorial artillery sections. From his headquarters at Biên Hòa, Lieutenant General
Dư Quốc Đống Lieutenant General Dư Quốc Đống (1932 – 22 April 2008) was an officer of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Career In 1965 Đống served as commander of the Airborne which together with the Marines formed the South Vietnamese ...
, the III Corps commander, augmented this force by sending in the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Division, two artillery sections, and three reconnaissance companies. The battle for the province began on 13 December when PAVN forces began to isolate Phước Long City's overland communications and eliminating static outposts. They then began to bombard Phước Long accurately with heavy artillery and launched a concerted armor/infantry ground attack on the 27th. Any counterattack or relief effort contemplated by the South Vietnamese was doomed by the thousands of refugees that took to the roads in order to escape the fighting. Desertion among ARVN units became common, as soldiers began disappearing from the ranks in search of family members. This pattern was to become too common as the offensive continued, not just among the territorial forces, but among the regular troops. On 2 January an emergency meeting was held at the
Independence Palace The Independence Palace ( vi, Dinh Độc Lập), also publicly known as the Reunification Convention Hall ( vi, Hội trường Thống Nhất), is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam. It was designed by architec ...
in Saigon between President Thiệu, the Joint General Staff, and General Đống. At the meeting, Đống presented a plan for the relief of Phước Long that would have utilized either an infantry division or the Airborne Division. The plan was turned down for three reasons: first, there were simply no reserve forces of sufficient size available anywhere in the country for the task; second, with all overland routes in enemy hands, all movements and logistics would have to depend entirely on airlift, a capability that no longer existed; and third, despite advantageous defensive positions, the forces at Phước Long could not hold off two PAVN divisions long enough for any relief effort to succeed. The decision was then reached. Phước Long City and province would be surrendered to PAVN forces as a matter of expediency, since it was considered to be strategically less important than
Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's lar ...
,
Pleiku Pleiku is a city in central Vietnam, located in the Central Highlands region. It is the capital of the Gia Lai Province. Many years ago, it was inhabited primarily by the Bahnar and Jarai ethnic groups, sometimes known as the Montagnards or De ...
, or
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
– economically, politically, and demographically. The fighting around Phước Long continued until 6 January 1975, after which the town became the first provincial capital permanently seized by PAVN. Of the more than 5,400 ARVN troops originally committed to the battle, only 850 returned to government lines. The PAVN captured 10,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. More important for the North Vietnamese was the apparent total indifference with which the U.S. regarded this loss. The psychological blow for the government and people of South Vietnam was severe. According to the chief of the ARVN General Staff, General
Cao Văn Viên Cao Văn Viên (December 21, 1921 – January 22, 2008) was one of only two South Vietnamese four-star army generals in the history of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He rose to the position of Chairman of the Sou ...
, ''"Almost gone was the hope that the United States would forcibly punish the North Vietnamese for their brazen violations of the cease-fire agreement ... What more encouragement could the communists have asked for?"'' Word of the fall of Phước Long reached the North Vietnamese Politburo in the midst of its Twenty-third Plenum, and the body immediately ordered the General Staff to develop a follow-up plan. The Politburo's assessment that the United States would not re-intervene in the war was proven correct, the weakness of the ARVN's defenses had been exposed, and, just as important, a solution to their most critical ammunition shortage – targeting and capturing ARVN artillery stocks – was found. Lê Duẩn declared that ''"Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage so great as we have now."'' The first target chosen was
Duc Lap Camp Duc Lap Camp (also known as Duc Lap Special Forces Camp or Hill 722) is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base southwest of Buôn Ma Thuột in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. History The 5th Special Forces Gr ...
, a border outpost in II Corp's Darlac Province. Once again, Trần Văn Trà's influence drove some members to propose a bolder plan: attack Buôn Ma Thuột, the provincial capital. This time, Lê Duẩn was reluctant to agree, that is until
Lê Đức Thọ Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...
threw his weight behind the more radical strategy. General Dũng was ordered south to take direct command of the new offensive, which had been named ''Campaign 275''.


Campaign 275 (Central Highland campaign)

General Dũng already worked out a plan for taking Buôn Ma Thuột. Called the "blossoming lotus", the objective was to avoid outlying South Vietnamese positions and strike at the primary target first, "like a flower bud slowly opening its petals." The plan for the 75,000–80,000 PAVN troops participating in the campaign was first to isolate Buôn Ma Thuột by cutting Highways 14, 19 and 21, precluding any South Vietnamese reinforcement. The 320th Division was then to neutralize outposts to the north and seize the Phuong Duc Airfield. The mission of the 10th Division was to then conduct the main attack on the city along Route 14. Commanding his forces from Pleiku, Major General
Phạm Văn Phú Major General Phạm Văn Phú (1927, Hà Đông, French Indochina – 30 April 1975, Saigon, South Vietnam) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He was a graduate of the 8th class of the Dalat Military Academy in 1954. Milit ...
, the III Corps commander, was given adequate warnings of the impending North Vietnamese attacks, but they were not given serious consideration. Phú was deceived by an elaborate North Vietnamese communications charade and his belief that PAVN movements toward Buôn Ma Thuột were diversionary operations designed to distract him from the true objective, Pleiku. The defense of Buôn Ma Thuột, therefore, was entrusted to a single Ranger group and Popular and Regional Force units (approximately 4,000 men). They were augmented at the beginning of March by 53rd Regiment of the 23rd Division. The battle for Buôn Ma Thuột began on 10 March 1975. Preceded by an intense artillery bombardment, the 10th Division quickly pushed into the city and seized the ammunition depot. That evening the 316th Division entered the battle for the city center. On the 13th, the ARVN 44th Regiment, 23rd Division and a battalion of the 21st Ranger Group were helilifted to Phuoc An, east of Buôn Ma Thuột, to form a relief force for the beleaguered city. The column, advancing into the path of thousands of refugees and military dependents fleeing the highlands, soon encountered the 10th Division. The South Vietnamese attack disintegrated and the force then retreated, joining the civilian exodus. On 18 March the PAVN had taken Phuoc An, eliminating any hope of reaching Buôn Ma Thuột. Darlac Province in its entirety then fell under North Vietnamese control. ARVN forces began to rapidly shift positions in an attempt to keep the PAVN from quickly pushing eastward to the coastal lowlands. In the final analysis, the blame for the fall of the highlands lies with General Phú, who refused to act on sound intelligence and when he realized his error, it was too late to get reinforcements to the scene. Realising the weakened state of his army, President Thiệu sent a delegation to Washington in early March to request an increase in economic and military aid.
U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Following the end of World War II in Asia, France attempted to regain control of Vietnam, as part of French Indochina, which it had lost to Japan in 1941. At the conclusion of the First Indochina War, the country was split into two parts, the N ...
Graham Martin Graham Anderson Martin (September 22, 1912 – March 13, 1990) was an American diplomat. He was the ambassador to Thailand and as U.S. representative to SEATO from 1963 to 1967, ambassador to Italy from 1969 to 1973 and the last United States Am ...
, who believed additional aid would help the defense of the Republic, also made a trip to Washington to present the case to President
Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
. The U.S. Congress, increasingly reluctant to divert money from economic recovery into what was seen as a lost cause, slashed a proposed $1.45 billion military aid package for 1975 to $700 million. The Ford administration, from the president on down, however, continued to encourage Thiệu in what the historian Arnold Isaacs called "the pipe dream that Congress would restore the funds it cut."


Reassessments

President Thiệu felt increased pressure. He became, in the words of one of his closest advisors, "suspicious...secretive...and ever watchful for a ''coup d'état'' against him."Willbanks, p. 229. His increasing isolation began denying him "the services of competent people, adequate staff work, consultation, and coordination." Thiệu's military decisions were followed faithfully by his officer corps, who generally agreed with General Viên, that "Thiệu made all the decisions how the war should be conducted."Viên, p. 78. By 11 March, the day after Buôn Ma Thuột was attacked, Thiệu came to the conclusion there was no longer any hope of receiving a $300 million supplemental aid package he requested from the U.S. government. On that basis he called a meeting attended by Lieutenant General
Đặng Văn Quang Lieutenant General Đặng Văn Quang (21 June 1929 – 15 July 2011) popularly known as Fat Quang, was an officer of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam who served as a special advisor to President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu of South Vietnam. Biogra ...
and General Viên. After reviewing the military situation, Thiệu pulled out a small-scale map of South Vietnam and discussed the possible redeployment of the armed forces to "hold and defend only those populous and flourishing areas which were most important." Thiệu then sketched in on the map the areas which he considered most important – all of the III and IV Corps Tactical Zones. He also pointed out the areas currently under PAVN/VC control which would have to be retaken. The key to the location of these operations were concentrations of natural resources – rice, rubber, industry, etc. Those areas that were to be held also included coastal areas where oil had been discovered on the continental shelf. These areas were to become, in Thiệu's words: "Our untouchable heartland, the irreducible national stronghold." As to the future of the I and II Corps Zones, he drew a series of phase lines on the map indicating that South Vietnamese forces should hold what they could, but that they could redeploy southward as circumstances dictated. Thiệu declared this new strategy as "Light at the top, heavy on the bottom." The critical decision for the Saigon government was made two days later at
Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kil ...
during a meeting between Thiệu and General Phu. Thiệu decided that Pleiku and
Kon Tum Kon Tum is the capital city of Kon Tum Province in Vietnam. It is located inland in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the borders of Laos and Cambodia. History After the People's Army of Vietnam invaded South Vietnam on March 30, 1 ...
were to be abandoned and that the forces defending them would be redeployed to retake demographically more important Ban Mê Thuột. Phu informed the president that the only route possible for the redeployment, given PAVN blocking actions, was little-used Interprovincial Route 7B, a neglected, narrow, rough-surfaced track (actually a logging road) with several downed bridges along its course. Meanwhile, General Dũng advised Hanoi that he was turning his forces to capture Kon Tum and Pleiku. In Hanoi, Lê Duẩn was pressuring the General Staff to take advantage of the foothold they gained in the highlands. Two months remained before the monsoon season, when military operations would be forestalled. Further strategic gains appeared possible in light of Saigon's apparent weakness and the level of the U.S. response.


ARVN collapse in the northern provinces


Debacle in the Central Highlands

General Phu then faced the monumental task of moving a corps-sized column of troops, equipment, and vehicles over a largely unknown road some through the mountains and jungles of the highlands to
Nha Trang Nha Trang ( or ; ) is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hòa District, Ninh Hoà town, on the south by Cam Ranh city and on the west by Diên Khánh Distri ...
for the attempted counterattack. The force would consist of one battalion of the 44th ARVN Regiment, five Ranger groups, the 21st Tank Squadron, two 155 mm artillery battalions, one 175 mm battalion and Popular and Regional Force units. Also in train would be the men and equipment of the 20th Combat Engineer Group and the 231st Direct Support Group. Phu's excessive preoccupation with secrecy, however, doomed the effort from the beginning. Operational planning was limited only to a few trusted subordinates who had either contributed to or knew about it. Staff work was non-existent. The chief of staff of II Corps, for example, admitted that he was completely in the dark about the planned abandonment of Pleiku and Kon Tum. Command of the convoy itself was handed over to the commander of the II Corps Rangers. During the first two days of the move (16 and 17 March) the effort went well, until, at Hau Bon, the column of refugees from the abandoned cities and the military convoys collided and became stuck. Making matters worse was that combat engineers had to complete a pontoon bridge across the
Đà Rằng River Ba River ( vi, Sông Ba, links=no, also known as Ea Pa, Ia Pa, Krông Pa or Đà Rằng River) is a river in the South Central Coast region of Vietnam. It has its source in Kon Tum Province and flows into the South China Sea in Tuy Hòa, Phú Y ...
. That night VC forces began to intercept and stall the mass of over 200,000 troops and refugees that was soon to be dubbed the "convoy of tears." Initially caught by surprise by the South Vietnamese withdrawal, General Dũng ordered his 320th Division to strike the flank of the column while coastal forces raced to halt its forward progress. The 968th Division was ordered to force its way through Pleiku and strike the tail of the retreat. The following day the column only proceeded before it encountered a significant PAVN roadblock. From that point onward the exodus kept moving forward only by fighting its way ahead. "They hit us with everything" said Ranger Private Nguyen Van Sau, describing an unrelenting shower of artillery shells, mortar rounds and rockets that flew from the jungle into the stream of refugees. Upon reaching the Đà Rằng River, only 20 kilometers from
Tuy Hòa Tuy Hòa () is the capital city of Phú Yên Province in south-central Vietnam. The city has a total area of and a population of 202,030 (in 2012). The city is located approximately midway between Nha Trang and Qui Nhơn. The city is formulated ...
, a pontoon bridge had to be helilifted to the column. By 22 March the bridge was completed, but the advance became more hazardous due to numerous PAVN units moving into blocking positions. During the entire movement, the RVNAF provided minimal support due to bad weather. On 27 March the final roadblock was overcome and, at 21:00, the first vehicles of the column entered Tuy Hòa. "How many people in the original column survived the tragic journey, no one knew exactly." It was estimated by the ARVN that only 20,000 of the 60,000 troops that had started out from Pleiku finally reached the coast. Of the estimated 180,000 civilians that fled the highlands with the column, only about 60,000 got through. Those who failed to break through were either taken prisoner or killed by PAVN forces. The retreat from the Central Highlands became a rout of strategic proportions. At least "75 percent of II Corps combat strength, including the 23rd Infantry Division, as well as Ranger, armor, artillery, engineer and signal units were tragically expended within ten days." The planned operation to retake Buôn Ma Thuột never materialized simply because II Corps no longer possessed any means to attempt it. Buoyed by their easy triumph, the PAVN 10th, 316th and 320th Divisions began to move toward the coast. The only thing stand before them was the ARVN 22nd Division, tasked with defending the mountain passes to the coast. However, by late March, these PAVN units would make it into
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
and
Da Nang Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is one ...
. On 30 March the 22nd Division was ordered to proceed to the coast at
Qui Nhơn Quy Nhon ( vi, Quy Nhơn ) is a coastal city in Bình Định province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of . Quy Nhon is the capital of Bình Định province. As of 2019 its population was 457,400. Hi ...
for evacuation. North Vietnamese forces attacked them there from the north and two of the division's regiments had to fight their way through to the beaches for pick-up. At 02:00 on 1 April, what was left of the division was extracted by sea. Two regimental colonels, after being ordered to evacuate, refused to leave, preferring suicide rather than retreat or surrender.Viên, p. 118. The division's third regiment, the 47th, ran into an ambush at
Phu Cat Phu or ''variation'', may refer to: Places *Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam People Given name *Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen *Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mount ...
and suffered heavy casualties, losing about half of its troops. When it later regrouped at
Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the pr ...
, the 22nd numbered only slightly over 2,000 men, its commander also having chosen suicide over surrender.


Huế–Da Nang Campaign

The situation for the South Vietnamese in the I Corps Tactical Zone regained some stability after the defeat of a three-division PAVN push during late 1974. By early the following year, I Corps fielded three infantry divisions (the 1st, 2nd, and
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
), the elite Airborne and Marine Divisions, four Ranger Groups and the 1st Armored Brigade. The northern provinces were under the command of one of South Vietnam's finest and most aggressive generals,
Ngô Quang Trưởng Ngô Quang Trưởng (13 December 1929 — 22 January 2007) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Trưởng gained his commission in the Vietnamese National Army in 1954 and moved up the ranks over the next decade, most ...
. Until mid-March, the PAVN had limited their offensive operations to attempts to cut Highway 1, the main north–south line of communication, between Huế and Da Nang and between Da Nang and
Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Với Khu Kinh T ...
. To confront the South Vietnamese, PAVN Brigadier General
Lê Trọng Tấn General Lê Trọng Tấn (3 October 1914 – 5 December 1986) was an officer of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during 1945 to 1986. During this period of his military career, Lê Trọng Tấn held several senior positions of the Army. L ...
had amassed a force of five divisions and nine independent infantry regiments, three
sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
regiments, three armored regiments, twelve anti-aircraft and eight artillery regiments. At a meeting in Saigon on 13 March President Thiệu was briefed on the military situation by Trưởng and the new III Corps commander, Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Toàn. Thiệu then laid out his plan for national consolidation. As Trưởng understood it, he was free to redeploy his forces to hold the Da Nang area. Trưởng was shocked to discover, however, that the Airborne Division was to be removed to III Corps (unknown to Trưởng at the time, the Marine Division was also already slated for redeployment with both units then forming a new national reserve). General Trưởng was recalled to Saigon on 19 March to brief Thiệu on his withdrawal plan. The general developed two contingency plans: The first was predicated on government control of Highway 1, which would be utilized for two simultaneous withdrawals from Huế and Chu Lai to Da Nang; The second course presupposed PAVN interdiction of the highway and called for a withdrawal into three enclaves: Huế, Da Nang, and Chu Lai. This was to be only an interim measure, however, since the forces that withdrew to Huế and Chu Lai would then be sea-lifted to Da Nang by the
Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...
. The president then stunned the general by announcing he misinterpreted his previous orders: Huế was not to be abandoned. Making matters worse, Trưởng discovered that his force was to be reduced by the removal of the Marine Division. By the time of the second meeting it was obvious that the second plan was the only possible recourse, since any phased withdrawal along Highway 1 had become impossible. This was due to increasing PAVN pressure that the ARVN was barely containing and the enormous and uncontrolled flow of refugees along the highway. Trưởng then requested permission for a withdrawal of his forces into the three enclaves as planned and for the retention of the Marines. Thiệu's reply ordered him to "hold onto any territory he could with whatever forces he now had, including the Marine Division." Trưởng returned to Da Nang the same day and was greeted by bad news. The PAVN had begun an all-out offensive in I Corps and already breached Trưởng's northern defense line at the
Thạch Hãn River The Thạch Hãn River is a river in Quảng Trị province, Vietnam. It rises in the Annamite Mountains, and enters the South China Sea east of Đông Hà. It is approximately long, with two main tributaries and with several branches to the sea. ...
. President Thiệu made a nationwide radio broadcast that afternoon proclaiming that Huế would be held "at all costs."Dougan and Fulghum, p. 70. That evening Trưởng ordered a retreat to a new defense line at the My Chanh River, thereby ceding all of Quảng Trị Province to the PAVN. He was confident that his forces could hold Huế, but he was then astounded by a late afternoon message from the president that now ordered "that because of inability to simultaneously defend all three enclaves, the I Corps commander was free...to redeploy his forces for the defense of Da Nang only." Regardless of the president's reassurances, the people of Quảng Trị and Huế began to leave their homes by the tens of thousands, joining an ever-growing exodus toward Da Nang. Meanwhile, the PAVN offensive was slowly rolling over ARVN opposition north and south of Da Nang. General Dong's plan called for attacks on the area from the west, north, and south that would drive South Vietnamese forces into Da Nang, where they could be destroyed. The highway between Huế and Da Nang was cut at Phú Lộc after severe fighting on 22 March. South of Da Nang, the ARVN 2nd Division barely managed to contain a PAVN drive toward
Tam Kỳ Tam Kỳ () is the capital city of Quảng Nam Province, in the South Central Coast of Vietnam. History The town was established in 1906 under the Nguyễn dynasty as an administrative and tax post.Bradley Camp Davis ''States of Banditry: The ...
and the coastal plain. On the morning of 24 March, however, the 711th Division, backed by armored elements, seized Tam Kỳ, driving the population north toward Da Nang by the thousands. PAVN forces then cut Highway 1 between
Quảng Ngãi Quảng Ngãi () is a city in central Vietnam. It serves as the capital city of Quảng Ngãi Province. Quảng Ngãi City borders Tư Nghĩa District to the south and west, Sơn Tịnh District to the northwest and Bình Sơn District to the ...
and Chu Lai, a move to which the 2nd Division was too battered to respond. With Corps approval, South Vietnamese troops from Quảng Ngãi fought their way northward, but only a few managed to reach Chu Lai. In a single day the situation in I Corps had deteriorated beyond control. With the withdrawal to the three enclaves completed, Trưởng issued the following orders: the 1st Division and other units in the Huế area were to withdraw overland toward Da Nang while the Marine elements were to be retrieved by ship from Huế; the 2nd Division, its dependents, and the remains of the Quảng Ngãi sector forces were to withdrawn by sea to Re Island, offshore from Chu Lai. During 26 March, command and control collapsed and discipline in the 1st Division eroded after its commander told his men "We've been betrayed ... It is now ''sauve qui peut'' (every man for himself) ... See you in Da Nang." The overland march, pummelled by artillery the entire way, degenerated into chaos as it moved toward Da Nang. No sooner had the remains of the force reached the city than soldiers began to melt away, searching for their dependents. On the coast near Huế, only one regiment of the 1st Division, about 600 Marines and 7,700 civilians were picked up by naval vessels. From the north, two PAVN divisions, along with armor and artillery elements, enveloped the western flank of Da Nang. To the south, two more divisions closed in and brought the center of the city into artillery range. Da Nang then collapsed into anarchy and chaos. "Hunger, looting, and crimes were widespread. Traffic was impossible...the mass stranded in the city was estimated at approximately one and one-half million." At noon on 28 March, with a coherent defense of the city becoming impossible, Trưởng requested permission to evacuate by sea, but Thiệu, baffled, refused to commit himself to a clear-cut decision. When his communications with Saigon were cut, and on his own initiative, Trưởng ordered a naval withdrawal that was to begin the following morning, 29 March. Thousands of soldiers and civilians rushed for the sea, where hundreds drowned trying to reach the ships that could not dock due to the low tide. Thousands more died under the continuous PAVN artillery barrage. Of the ARVN's four infantry divisions, four Ranger groups, armored brigade, air division and thousands of territorial, support, and staff personnel, only around 16,000 were evacuated as the PAVN swept in on 29 March.Dougan and Fulghum, p. 83. Of the almost two million civilians that packed Da Nang at the end of March, a little more than 50,000 were evacuated during the sea lift. Left behind were 70,000 ARVN troops taken prisoner by northern forces. Also abandoned were 33 undamaged RVNAF A-37 jet fighters at
Da Nang Air Base Da Nang Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Đà Nẵng) (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city ...
and nearly 60 more aircraft at
Phu Cat Air Base Phu or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam People Given name *Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen * Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mou ...
. During the fall of Da Nang no pitched battles had been fought and few of the ARVN troops stationed in and around the city had even raised their rifles in its defense. In quick succession the few remaining centers of resistance along the coastline "fell like a row of porcelain vases sliding off a shelf": Quảng Ngãi on 24 March; Qui Nhơn and Nha Trang on 1 April; and
Cam Ranh Bay Cam Ranh Bay ( vi, Vịnh Cam Ranh) is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in Khánh Hòa Province. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kil ...
on 3 April.


Ho Chi Minh Campaign


Xuân Lộc

By 25 March the North Vietnamese Politburo no longer felt it was necessary to wait until 1976 for the initiation of its final offensive against Saigon. General Dũng was ordered to abandon the long-standing doctrine of meticulous planning and methodical preparation of the battlefield in order that the "puppet regime" could be crushed and the war ended. The only obstacle to that goal was moving his northern forces (the reserve divisions in North Vietnam would have to move ) south in order to participate in the attack on the capital Saigon. In one of the most complex logistical feats of the war, he proceeded to do just that. On 7 April
Lê Đức Thọ Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...
arrived at Dũng's headquarters near Loc Ninh to oversee the final battles as the Politburo's representative. Dũng and his staff had basically adapted Tra's original plan and prepared a three-pronged attack that would be led by the 4th Corps, which would seize the vital highway intersection at Xuân Lộc, the capital of
Long Khánh Province Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
and "the gateway to Saigon." The capture of the crossroads would open the way to Biên Hòa (where 60 percent of South Vietnam's remaining ammunition was stockpiled) and Saigon's strategic eastern approaches. This effort was placed under the command of General
Lê Trọng Tấn General Lê Trọng Tấn (3 October 1914 – 5 December 1986) was an officer of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) during 1945 to 1986. During this period of his military career, Lê Trọng Tấn held several senior positions of the Army. L ...
, the "conqueror of Da Nang." To divert Saigon's attention and prevent the reinforcement of Xuân Lộc, the recently activated 223rd Tactical Group would cut off Route 4, severing Saigon from the
Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( vi, Đồng bằng Sông Cửu Long, lit=Nine Dragon River Delta or simply vi, Đồng Bằng Sông Mê Kông, lit=Mekong River Delta, label=none), also known as the Western Region ( vi, Miền Tây, links=no) or South-weste ...
. Simultaneously, the 3rd Corps would conduct another diversionary operation around
Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's lar ...
. To support the effort, other PAVN elements would close on the city from the west and south. Since no code name had been applied to the new offensive, Dũng suggested that it be named the ''Ho Chi Minh Campaign''. The Politburo concurred on 14 April. Lê Đức Thọ then passed on a message from Tôn Đức Thắng, president of North Vietnam to General Dũng: "You must win. Otherwise, do not return." The defense of Xuân Lộc had been entrusted to the 18th Division, reinforced by the 8th Regiment of the 5th Division, the 3rd Armored Brigade, two Ranger and two artillery battalions and the 81st Airborne Ranger Group. The week-long fighting that erupted on 8 April raged in and around Xuân Lộc and became the most significant engagement of the entire offensive. The initial attack was conducted by the PAVN 341st and 3rd Divisions, which attacked headlong into the town, a tactic widely used before, hoping to quickly rout the defender. However, they had to call off the attack after meeting 2 weeks of heavy resistance and effective fire support which cost them dearly. The attackers were then reinforced by the 7th Division. After the interdiction of an ARVN armored task force sent to the relief of the town along Route 1, the 1st Airborne Brigade was helilifted into the outskirts of the town. The South Vietnamese committed 25,000 troops to the battle, almost one-third of the remainder of their reserve forces. For the first time since the onset of the North Vietnamese offensive, the RVNAF consistently provided effective close air support to the defenders. Even General Dũng was impressed by "the stubbornness of the enemy" in what became a "meat grinder." On 14 April General Dũng received new instructions from Hanoi. "We must be in Saigon to celebrate Ho Chi Minh's birthday." That deadline, 19 May, was only one month away. At that point, Dũng decided to bypass the defenders at Xuân Lộc and commenced the shelling of
Biên Hòa Air Base Bien Hoa Air Base (Vietnamese: ''Sân bay Biên Hòa'') is a Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) military airfield located in South-Central southern Vietnam about from Ho Chi Minh City, across the Dong Nai river in the northern ward of Tân Phon ...
, effectively ending air support. The PAVN also shifted their original target, instead of charging straight at the town, they instead attacked and destroyed the outposts around Xuân Lộc, cutting off the 18th Division from their reinforcements. Threatened with encirclement, the 18th Division managed to conduct a retreat to the south along Route 2. After more than three weeks of intense fighting, the 18th Division alone suffered 30 percent casualties (around 4000 soldiers) while dealing over 5,000 North Vietnamese casualties and destroying 37 tanks and vehicles. However, their defences made no differences to the outcome of the war, as the 18th disintegrated shortly after in the fighting around Biên Hòa. With all of Long Khánh Province under PAVN control, General Dũng was free to completely encircle Saigon with his forces.


Saigon and Mekong Delta

Even after the loss of Da Nang, "the worst single disaster in the history of South Vietnam", the Ford administration continued to disbelieve that the Saigon regime was failing. On 10 April President Ford went to Congress to request a $722 million supplemental military aid package for South Vietnam plus $250 million in economic and refugee aid. Congress was not impressed, believing that the administration might simply be stalling the evacuation of remaining U.S. personnel and civilians in order to force the aid bill through. On 17 April the discussion was ended. There would be no more funds for Saigon. The ARVN III Corps commander, General Toan, organized five centers of resistance for the defense of the city. These fronts were so connected as to form an arc enveloping the area west, north, and east of the capital. The Cu Chi front, to the northwest, was defended by the 25th Division; the Bình Dương front, to the north, was the responsibility of the 5th Division; the Biên Hòa front, to the northeast, was defended by the 18th Division; the Vũng Tàu and Route 15 front, to the southeast, was held by the 1st Airborne Brigade and one battalion of the 3rd Division; and the Long An front, for which the Capital Military District Command was responsible, was defended by elements of the re-formed 22nd Division. South Vietnamese defensive forces around Saigon totaled approximately 60,000 troops.Willbanks, p. 257. On 17 April the Cambodian capital of
Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
fell to the Khmer Rouge and the US did nothing for their former ally. On 21 April 1975, Thiệu, under intense political pressure, resigned as president when his closest domestic allies began losing confidence over his handling of the war. In his televised farewell speech, Thiệu admitted, for the first time, having ordered the evacuation of the Central Highlands and the north that led to debacle. He then stated that it was the inevitable course of action in the situation – but also insisted it was the generals who failed him. He went on to excoriate the U.S., attacking "our great ally...the leader of the free world ... The United States has not respected its promises" he declared "It is inhumane. It is not trustworthy. It is irresponsible. Immediately following the speech, the presidency was handed over to Vice President
Trần Văn Hương Trần Văn Hương (陳文香, 1 December 1902 – 27 January 1982) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the penultimate president of South Vietnam for a week in April 1975 prior to its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam. ...
. At his new forward command post at Ben Cat, General Dũng prepared plans for the final battle. He encircled Saigon with four PAVN corps and the hastily assembled 232nd Tactical Force, a total of 19 divisions plus supporting artillery and armored units, approximately 130,000 men. His plan was to avoid intensive street fighting within the city itself by first tying down outlying South Vietnamese forces in their defensive positions and then launching five spearheads through them into the city, each of which had a specific target: the Independence Palace, the Joint General Staff headquarters, the
National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...
headquarters,
Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Tân Sơn Nhứt) (1955–1975) was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility. It was located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base duri ...
and the Special Capital Zone headquarters. The attacks on the periphery began on 26 April and the main attack on the city center began the following day. After Thiệu's resignation, the South Vietnamese military situation increasingly declined. On the 26th, the PAVN launched an all-out attack to take Biên Hòa and the sprawling logistical complex at Long Binh from the south and southeast. Three days later, the port city of Vũng Tàu was under assault and the pressure against the Cu Chi front was intense. The same disorganization, loss of control, and anarchy that befell I and II Corps now took place in Saigon, where martial law was imposed to control the chaos and lawlessness. Although contemplation of a communist victory by that time had created severe shock in many parts of South Vietnamese society, most did little or nothing to forestall it. A repeat of the
Massacre at Huế The Huế massacre ( vi, Thảm sát tại Huế Tết Mậu Thân, or , lit. translation: "Tết Offensive massacre in Huế") was the summary executions and mass murder perpetrated by the Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) duri ...
, albeit on a much larger scale, was promoted by the government as a propaganda ploy since the beginning of the offensive in an effort to unify the population, but it provoked only an overreaction and caused almost complete paralysis when the time came to defend the city. As the main attack developed on the 27th, the South Vietnamese General Assembly handed over the presidency to General
Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm ...
, who was sworn in the following day. It was widely assumed that Minh, who had no history of aggressive action against the communists, would be able to establish a cease-fire and re-open negotiations. Such hope was unrealistic. Their opponent, for the first time since the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
, held the upper hand on the battlefield and victory was within reach, regardless of any political changes in Saigon. They would not be denied victory, the only thing for which they had striven for over 30 years. The inauguration of Minh served as a signal to South Vietnamese officers who "would make no compromise with the communists", and were responsible for the torture and imprisonment of many VC agents and their sympathizers. They began to pack up and try to find a way out of the country. The aerial evacuation of U.S. personnel and civilians had commenced on 1 April from Tan Son Nhut. At 10:51 on 29 April
Operation Frequent Wind Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saig ...
, the U.S. helicopter evacuation of military and embassy personnel, U.S. civilians, and South Vietnamese citizens thought to be at risk of communist reprisal was put into implementation as the city descended into pandemonium. On 28 April PAVN forces fought their way into the outskirts of the city. At the Newport Bridge (), about from the city center, ARVN soldiers battled with PAVN troops attempting to control the span, cutting the city's last overland connection to the south and gaining immediate access to downtown Saigon. Later that afternoon, as President Minh finished his acceptance speech, a formation of four A-37s, captured from RVNAF, bombed Tan Son Nhut Air Base. As Biên Hòa was falling, General Toan fled to Saigon, informing the government that most of the top ARVN leadership resigned themselves to defeat. Despite the increased disintegration of the ARVN, the PAVN faced heavy resistance, even counterattack attempts to push them out. The outskirts and downtown of the city become battlefields, where PAVN/VC fought against a rag-tag formation of ARVN soldiers who made their way into Saigon, but couldn't be evacuated. These men, betrayed by their commanders, either stripped off their uniforms and hid, or made suicidal assault at the enemy, hoping for a quick death. Those units tasked with capturing key structures found themselves at the receiving end of a more disciplined force commanded by officers denied their evacuation. These men would take advantage of the equipment left over by their escaped comrades and set a perimeter around the city. However, despite all efforts, a loose combination of troops either wanting to flee or wanting to kill as many communists as possible before their deaths, mostly leaderless and cut off from supplies, could not hope to stand against a disciplined army with artillery and armored support. At 4:58 a.m on 30 April, U.S. Ambassador Martin boarded a helicopter and departed from the
US Embassy, Saigon The United States Embassy in Saigon was first established in June 1952, and moved into a new building in 1967 and eventually closed in 1975. The embassy was the scene of a number of significant events of the Vietnam War, most notably the Viet Co ...
on one of the last American evacuation flights. At 07:53 the last U.S. Marines were lifted from the roof of the U.S. Embassy. At 10:24 am. President Minh ordered all South Vietnamese forces to cease fighting. Later Minh would be escorted to a radio station, from which he declared the unconditional surrender of his government. Around noon, a PAVN tank, number 390, crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace. A crewman from the 843, which rammed into the side gate and got stuck, jumped out, ran up the steps, carrying the flag of the Provisional Revolutionary Government. A Western reporter on the scene asked the soldier his name and the man replied, "Nguyễn Văn Thiệu." The total number of South Vietnamese evacuated by the U.S. or self-evacuated and ending up in the custody of the United States for processing as refugees to enter the United States totaled 138,869. In the Mekong Delta, where South Vietnamese military forces still appeared intact and aggressive, IV Corps deputy commander Brigadier General
Lê Văn Hưng Lê Văn Hưng (March 27, 1933 – April 30, 1975) was an infantry general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Early life Hưng was born in Hóc Môn, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, and was raised by his widowed mother, Trương Thị ...
planned to build a "secret section", to use the delta's agricultural wealth to form a resistance. Lê Văn Hưng created a secret campaign "Operation Linking Hands" to send the remaining ARVN soldiers and officers to hidden jungle locations and military bases places in Mekong Delta to form a prolonged counteroffensive against the PAVN/VC hoping for another ceasefire in early summer 1975 and keeping parts of the Mekong Delta as South Vietnam. Weeks before the Fall of Saigon, most of the provincial capitals in IV Corps were stable defended by aggressive ARVN military defenses. However, VC units began to engage ARVN forces and succeeded in isolating IV Corps from Saigon which put an end to the "secret section" plan. When President Minh announced the surrender of South Vietnam, IV Corps started to disintegrate. Both Lê Văn Hưng and IV Corps commander
Nguyễn Khoa Nam Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam (23 September 1927 – 30 April 1975), was a native of Đà Nẵng and served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He received his primary education at the École des Garçons in Đà Nẵng and graduate ...
disagreed with the surrender order. At 8 pm, VC units captured some regional districts in Mekong Delta. Although Lê Văn Hưng and a number of ARVN soldiers planned to continue to battle against VC units in Can Tho, many residents of Can Tho opposed continued resistance believing the VC would start shelling Can Tho causing numerous casualties in the city. Lê Văn Hưng agreed to stand down the defense of Can Tho due to the poor options for escape or prolonged defense. Around 8 P.M, Lê Văn Hưng told his remaining soldiers that he did not want to endure a siege similar to what he had experienced at An Lộc in 1972, he later committed suicide and the defense of Can Tho was finished. IV Corps was dissolved shortly after the death of Lê Văn Hưng. On the same day, Brigadier General
Trần Văn Hai Brigadier General Trần Văn Hai (1927-1975) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He was born in Cần Thơ. Military service In 1951, Hai graduated from the Dalat Military Academy, Class 7. In 1968, he was commanding the Ra ...
committed suicide in Dong Tam Base Camp. Both ARVN generals in the Mekong Delta, Le Van Hung and Nguyen Khoa Nam, committed suicide after the surrender. On the early morning of 1 May 1975, Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam committed suicide at his IV Corps headquarters in Can Tho after hearing of Lê Văn Hưng's suicide.


Conclusion

By 3 May 1975, North Vietnamese forces controlled all of South Vietnam, just 55 days after opening their attack on Buôn Ma Thuột. Since the end of the war, there has been much historical recrimination and discussion as to how and why such a lopsided victory had occurred. Four main lines of thought have remained particularly viable, all of which possess some validity, but all are also open to argument. The first argument is that the Paris Peace Accords that ended the direct American participation in the war was seriously flawed, because it permitted the North Vietnamese to maintain their forces within territorial South Vietnam after the signing of the agreement, thereby dooming the ceasefire. The second argument is that the refusal of the United States government to take promised military action in the face of North Vietnamese violations of the ceasefire was key to the defeat. Adherents to this claim believed that South Vietnam could have been saved by another U.S. bombing campaign. The conflict between the executive and legislative branches of the American government, already severe before
Operation Linebacker II Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) during the final period of ...
in 1972, was only more exasperating during 1975, when a new campaign would probably only have provoked even more Congressional outrage. The third cause of the defeat was that the U.S. Congress simply wrote off and abandoned the Saigon government. Material shortages were indeed severe, and might explain, for example, why the Central Highlands had to be abandoned, but they do not explain the flight of senior South Vietnamese generals that led to complete collapse. Historian Arnold Isaacs, who was on the scene in South Vietnam at the time, believed that "The psychological damage of the aid cuts was almost certainly greater than the real ... Even with the full amounts requested by the executive, South Vietnam could not have done more than preserve the battlefield deadlock for another year, after which the whole exhausting debate would need to be replayed yet again – and in a presidential election year."Isaacs, p. 502. Other plausible reasons for the rapidity of the defeat were the American policy of
Vietnamization Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same ti ...
as a prescription for defeat. The rapid and accelerating withdrawal of U.S. forces that had begun in 1969 caught the South Vietnamese unprepared. The withdrawals were simply conducted faster than the South Vietnamese could or would improve. General Hinh believed that Vietnamization did not "provide the ARVN with enough time ... While the troop increases could be achieved rapidly, it was almost impossible to improve the quality and technical capabilities ...within the span of a few years. For seven years, the American military moulded South Vietnamese forces into a facsimile of itself, but ended up with a system that had all the liabilities of American military technology and few of its assets. The South Vietnamese military had greater problems than a reduction in American aid. President Thiệu was a disaster as commander-in-chief. During the two years before the offensive (when aid cuts were already occurring), neither he nor the General Staff made adjustments in strategy, doctrine, organization, or training to compensate for the inevitability of further aid reductions. Thiệu also deprived local commanders of any strategic or tactical flexibility in decision-making, which flowed downward from the presidential palace and those decisions contributed to the defeat. Added to these problems were the long-standing corruption and incompetence within the officer corps. Early defeats during the final campaign were compounded not by a lack of will or ability on the part of the enlisted men, but by the cowardice and failing morale of the officers. According to Isaacs, "The army did not collapse in its foxholes or for lack of supplies. It disintegrated when its senior officers...deserted it." Key to the defeat of South Vietnam was the ability of the officers and men of the PAVN. The highly motivated and newly modernized PAVN was, for the first time, freed from the restraints of previous combat doctrine. What began as a conservative strategy, devised in Hanoi, was outrun by its local successes. Battlefield commanders were then given a new flexibility, which increased the tempo of operations and allowed them to quickly apply concentrated power at strategic points. These combat successes were made possible due to improved all-arms tactical coordination, modern communications, and increased transport and logistical capability. The result was that North Vietnamese commanders achieved the ultimate goal of military leadership, the quick application of massive force leading to the defeat of the enemy at little cost in manpower. During the entire campaign, the North Vietnamese suffered few casualties. According to General Dũng: "The numbers killed and wounded was very small in proportion to the victories won, and the expenditure in terms of weapons and ammunition was negligible. During the offensive the PAVN captured vast quantities of equipment with a value exceeding $5 billion in 1975 dollars, including: 550 tanks (250
M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...
, 300 M41s), 1,300 artillery pieces, 42,000 trucks, 12,000 mortars, nearly 2 million infantry weapons (including 791,000
M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
s, 63,000
M72 LAW The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in th ...
s and 47,000
M79 grenade launcher The M79 grenade launcher is a single-shot, shoulder-fired, break-action grenade launcher that fires a 40×46mm grenade, which uses what the US Army calls the High-Low Propulsion System to keep recoil forces low, and first appeared during the V ...
s), 48,000 radios, 130,000 tons of ammunition, 940 ships and 877 aircraft and helicopters (including 73 F-5s, 113 A-37s, 36 A-1s, 40 C-119s, 36 AC-47s, 430 UH-1s and 36 CH-47s).


References


Notes


Sources


Published government documents

* Cao Văn Viên, General, ''The Final Collapse''. Washington, D.C.:
United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
, 1983. * Dong Van Khuyen, General, ''The RVNAF''. Washington, D.C.:
United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
, 1979. * Le Gro, Colonel William E. ''From Cease-Fire to Capitulation''. Washington, D.C.:
United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
, 1981. * * Momyer, General William W. ''The Vietnamese Air Force, 1951–1975: An Analysis of its Role in Combat''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1975. * Nguyen Duy Hinh, Major General, ''Vietnamization and the Cease-Fire''. Washington, D.C.:
United States Army Center of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
, 1980. * Tobin, Thomas G., Arthur E. Laehr, and John F. Hilgenberg, ''Last Flight from Saigon''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1979. * Tran Van Tra, ''Vietnam: History of the Bulwark B2 Theater'', vol. 5, ''Concluding the 30-Year War''. Ho Chi Minh City: Van Nghe Publishing, 1982
On-line edition
* Van Tien Dung, ''Our Great Spring Victory: An Account of the Liberation of South Vietnam''. Trans. by John Spragens, Jr. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1977.


Secondary sources

* Dawson, Alan, ''55 Days: The Fall of South Vietnam''. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1977. * Dougan, Clark, Edward Doyle, Samuel Lipsman., Thomas Maitland, Stephen Weiss, et al. ''The False Peace''. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1983. * Dougan, Clark, David Fulghum, et al. ''The Fall of the South''. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985. * Goodman, Allen E. ''The Lost Peace: America's Search for a Negotiated Settlement of the Vietnam War''. Stanford CA: Hoover Institute Press, 1978. * Hosmer, Stephen T., Konrad Kellen, and Brian M. Jenkins, ''The Fall of South Vietnam: Statements by Vietnamese Civilian Leaders''. Sant Monica CA: RAND Corporation, 1978. * Isaacs, Arnold R. ''Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983. * Joes, Anthony J. ''The War for South Vietnam, 1954–1975''. New York: Praeger, 1989. * Kinnard, Douglas, ''The War Managers''. Wayne NJ: Avery Publishing Group, 1985. * Kolko, Gabriel, ''Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience''. New York: Pantheon, 1985. * Leepson Marced. with Helen Hannaford, ''Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999. * Olsen, James S. and Randy Roberts, ''Where the Last Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945–1990''. New York: St. Martin's 1991. * Prados, John, ''The Blood Road:The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War''. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1998. * Snepp, Frank, ''Decent Interval: An Insider's Account of Saigon's Indecent End Told by the CIA's Chief Strategy Analyst in Vietnam''. New York: Random House, 1977. * Willbanks, James H. ''Abandoning Vietnam: How America Left and South Vietnam Lost Its War''. Lawrence KS: University of Kansas Press, 2004.


External links


The Fall of SaigonCBS News report of World Airways evacuation flight from Da Nang
{{Authority control 1974 in Vietnam 1975 in Vietnam Campaigns of the Vietnam War Military campaigns involving Vietnam Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1974 Battles and operations of the Vietnam War in 1975