Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I. Exit of Americans
- The U.S. began drastically reducing their troop support in South Vietnam during the
final years of “Vietnamization”. Many U.S. troops were removed from the region, and on 5 March 1971,
the U.S. returned the 5th Special Forces Group, which was the first American unit deployed to South
Vietnam, to its former base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
- Under the Paris Peace Accord, between North Vietnamese Foreign Minist Nguyen
Duy Trinh and U.S. Secretary of State William Roger, and reluctantly signed by South Vietnamese
President Thieu, U.S. military forces withdrew from South Vietnam and prisoners were exchanged.
North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying communist troops in the South, but only to the
extent of replacing materials that were consumed.
- The communist leaders had expected that the ceasefire terms would favor their
side. But Saigon, bolstered by a surge of U.S. aid received just before the ceasefire went into
effect, began to roll back the Vietcong. The communists responded with a new strategy hammered
out in a series of meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of Tran Van Tra.
II. Campaign 275 (in Tay Nguyen):
- On 10 March 1975, General Thao launched Campaign 275, a limited offensive into
the Central Highlands, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. The target was Ban Me Thuot, in
Daklak Province. If the town could be taken, the provincial capital of Pleiku and the road to the coast
would be exposed for a planned campaign in 1976. The ARVN proved incapable of resisting the
onslaught, and its forces collapsed on 11 March. Once again, Hanoi was surprised by the speed of their
success. Thao now urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and then turn his
attention to Kontum. He argued that with two months of good weather remaining until the onset of
the monsoon, it would be irresponsible to not take advantage of the situation.
• - ARVN General Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kontum and retreated toward the coast,
in what became known as the "column of tears".
• As the ARVN tried to disengage from the enemy, refugees mixed in with the line of
retreat. The poor condition of roads and bridges, damaged by years of conflict and neglect, slowed
Phu's column. As the North Vietnamese forces approached, panic set in. Often abandoned by the
officers, the soldiers and civilians were shelled incessantly. The retreat degenerated into a
desperate scramble for the coast. By 1 April the "column of tears" was all but annihilated. It marked
one of the poorest examples of a strategic withdrawal in modern military history
• On 20 March, Thieu reversed himself and ordered Hue, Vietnam's third-largest
city, be held at all costs. Thieu's contradictory orders confused and demoralized his officer corps. As
the North Vietnamese launched their attack, panic set in, and ARVN resistance withered. On 22
March, the VPA opened the siege of Hue. Civilians flooded the airport and the docks hoping for any
mode of escape. Some even swam out to sea to reach boats and barges anchored offshore. In the
confusion, routed ARVN soldiers fired on civilians to make way for their retreat.
• On 31 March, after a three-day battle, Hue fell. As resistance in Hue collapsed,
North Vietnamese rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. By 28 March, 35,000 VPA troops
were poised to attack the suburbs. By 30 March, 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the
VPA marched victoriously through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central
Highlands and Northern provinces came to an end.