Ho Chi Minh Campaign
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| Ho Chi Minh Campaign | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Vietnam War | |||||||
 VPA T-54 pushed towards Saigon |
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| Combatants | |||||||
 Vietnam People's Army National Liberation Front |
 Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| General Van Tien Dung | President Nguyen Van Thieu (Until April 5) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300,000+ (est.) (NVA) 500,000+ (VC) | 750,000 | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Vietnam War |
|---|
| Ap Bac – Binh Gia – Song Be – Dong Xoai – Ia Drang – Long Tan – Dak To – Tra Binh Dong –Ong Thanh – 1st Tet – Khe Sanh – 1st Saigon – Lang Vei – Hills 881 & 861 – 2nd Tet – Hamburger Hill – Binh Ba – Ripcord – Lam Son 719 – FSB Mary Ann – Easter '72 – An Loc – Kontum – Phuoc Long – Ho Chi Minh – Buon Me Thuot – Xuan Loc – 2nd Saigon – Barrell Roll – Rolling Thunder – Pony Express – Steel Tiger – Commando Hunt – Linebacker I – Linebacker II – Chenla I – Tiger Hound – Lima Site 85 – Tailwind – Chenla II – Cambodia |
The Ho Chi Minh Campaign began on January 24, 1975, and was the final campaign launched by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to destroy the government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). Initially the DRV leadership anticipate it to end in two years, but to their surprise, South Vietnamese resistance collapsed quicker than expected as the Vietnam People's Army smashed through the ARVN's defences with ease. The objective of the campaign was to capture Saigon in time to celebrate late President Ho Chi Minh's birthday.
Contents |
[edit] After 1973
In 1973 after the signing of the Paris Peace Accord, the South Vietnamese fielded the fourth largest military in the world as a result of the Enhance and Enhance Plus Programs. New combat and transport aircraft, tanks, helicopters, artillery pieces and other military equipment worth $753 million were shipped to South Vietnam. This arm shipment was a gesture welcomed by the South Vietnamese government, but due to the lack of sufficient training, dependence on America for spare parts, fuel and ammunition causes maintenance problems for the ARVN.
At the same time, the North Vietnamese themselves were recovering from the ill-fated offensive of 1972 with little Soviet and Chinese military aid. The VPA High Command recognised the need for the development of an organised road network to transport sufficient supplies of food, weapons and ammunition to the front. By 1974, they had constructed an all-weather, hard-surfaced road system to accommodate the modern mechanised army which had been rebuilt since the Paris accord. As new roads were completed, fresh recruits from the North crossed into the territories occupied by the Provisional Revolutionary Government along with convoys, sometimes as great as 200-300 trucks, brought with them food, uniforms, boots, weapons and ammunition. The most notable feature of the North Vietnamese build-up was the air-defence network which consisted of twenty-two regiments equipped with radar-controlled systems with formidable SA-2 and the shoulder-launched SA-7. Such systems posed a major threat to the South Vietnamese air force because they were not equipped to deal with such threats so reconnaissance flights by the VNAF was kept to a minimum.
[edit] Debate over strategy
Towards the end of 1973 the debate over the DRV's policy emerged as the Communist Party Central Committee convened to assessed the progress of the Communist in the South. General Van Tien Dung and Defence Minister Vo Nguyen Giap argued strongly for the resumption of military operations, warning that increasing passivity would effect the morale of the Army, but Premier Pham Van Dong feared that resuming military operations would drain the resources needed for recontruction.
The result was Resolution 21 which called for attacks, whenever possible, on the government of South Vietnam to regain the territories that were lost to the ARVN and to "test the reaction" of the South Vietnamese military and America. The order was given to units of the VPA for the reestablishment of military action. The first blows of this strategic policy were delivered during the months between November and December when the Communists attacked ARVN forces in Quang Duc province, Bien Hoa and at several Navy docks. North Vietnam's leaders watched closely and anxiously as strikes by American B-52s failed to materialize.
President Nguyen Van Thieu, while taking advantage of North Vietnam's recuperation, has stretched his forces thin by launching offensives against Communist strongolds in Cambodia and elsewhere. While the offensives were successful the cost in terms of manpower and resources were high, by the end of 1974 the ARVN were experiencing shortages as a result of decreases in American aid while the Communist forces continue to gain strength with DAO estimates put VPA numbers at 300,000 men along with 700 tanks and 450 artillery pieces. Well aware that America was no longer willing to intervene, the North Vietnamese leadership sense that time was ripe for the final push towards Saigon, in October of 1974, the Politburo decides to launch a full-scale military operation. The objective was to capture Saigon within two years.
[edit] The battle begins
General Van Tien Dung secretly crossed the border into South Vietnam on February 5, 1975, to personally take command of the VPA, his first objective was Ban-Me-Thuot. On March 11, the Vietnam People's Army launched the assault on Ban-Me-Thuot, the 4,000 ARVN defenders retreated with their families. Hue also fell on March 25 and Da Nang on March 28. Surprised by the rapid collapse of South Vietnamese resistance General Van Tien Dung prepare for the final phase of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign: to capture Saigon by May 1.
Realising the weakened state of the ARVN, President Nguyen Van Thieu sent a delegation to Washington in early March to request an increase in economic and military aid. US ambassador to South Vietnam Graham Martin thought that additional aid would help South Vietnam also made a trip to Washington to present the case to President Gerald Ford and the Congress . The US Congress, reluctant to divert money from economic recovery into what was already a lost cause was unwilling to increase the requested aid. President Thieu's reaction was a combination of anger and despair at what he called "shameful inadequacy" of American aid.
In the final stand against the enemy, on April 9 at the provincial capital of Xuan Loc 38 miles from Saigon, the ARVN 18th Division battled for two weeks against the superior VPA forces. By April 21 the battle of Xuan Loc was well over with high casualties on both sides, the ARVN's resistance was not enough and were evacuated. Under heavy political pressure, Nguyen Van Thieu resigned as President of South Vietnam on April 21. His tearful farewell was televised. Eight days later the former Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky piloted a helicopter to the deck of the USS Midway stationed off the coast. Like many other promises made during the war, the promises made by Nguyen Van Thieu and Nguyen Cao Ky were never fulfilled, leaving behind a shattered regime.
During the final weeks of April the VPA tightened their grip around Saigon with 100,000 troops. In an effort to prevent the destruction of the city, the newly-appointed President Duong Van Minh tried to negotiate a cease-fire with the Provisional Revolutionary Government but to no avail. In the morning of April 30 a VPA tank bearing "843" crashed through the gates of the presidential palace. Later that afternoon President Duong Van Minh made a radio address announcing an unconditional surrender marking the end of the war.
[edit] References
- Daily Report (1975)Asia & Pacific: Generals Giap, Dung Article on 1975 Spring Victory in South Vietnam. Foreign Broadcast Information Service.
- Dougan.C, Doyle.E, Lipsman.S, Martland.T, Weiss.S (1983) The Vietnam Experience: The False Peace. Boston Publishing Company, USA.
- Dougan.C, Doyle.E, Lipsman.S, Martland.T, Weiss.S (1983) The Vietnam Experience: Setting the Stage. Boston Publishing Company, USA.
