Last major battle of the Vietnam War
The Battle of Xuân Lộc () was the last major battle of the Vietnam War that took place at Xuân Lộc, Đồng Nai Province. Over a period of twelve days between 9 and 21 April 1975, the outnumbered South Vietnamese reserves attempted to stop the North Vietnamese forces from overrunning the town and breaking through towards South Vietnam's capital, Saigon. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) committed almost all their remaining mobile forces, especially the 18th Division, under Brigadier General Lê Minh Đảo, to the defence of the strategic crossroads town of Xuân Lộc, hoping to stall the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) advance. The battle ended when the town of Xuân Lộc was captured by the PAVN 4th Army Corps led by Major General Hoàng Cầm.
From the beginning of 1975, PAVN forces swept through the northern provinces of South Vietnam virtually unopposed. In the Central Highlands, the ARVN II Corps was completely destroyed, whilst attempting to evacuate to the Mekong Delta region. In the cities of Huế and Da Nang, ARVN units simply dissolved without putting up resistance. The devastating defeats suffered by the ARVN prompted South Vietnam's National Assembly to question President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu's handling of the war, thereby placing him under tremendous pressure to resign.
The ARVN III Corps' last defensive line east of Saigon connected the city of Bình Dương, Bien Hoa Air Base, Vũng Tàu, Long An and the lynchpin centered on the strategic town of Xuân Lộc, where the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff committed the nation's final reserve forces in Saigon's defense. In the last-ditch effort to save South Vietnam, Thiệu ordered the 18th Infantry Division to hold Xuân Lộc at all costs. The PAVN, on the other hand, was ordered to capture Xuân Lộc in order to open the gateway to Saigon. During the initial stages of the battle, the 18th Division managed to beat off early attempts by the PAVN to capture the town, forcing PAVN commanders to change their battle plan. However, on 19 April 1975, Đảo's forces were ordered to withdraw after Xuân Lộc was almost completely isolated, with all remaining units badly mauled. This defeat also marked the end of Thiệu's political career, as he resigned on 21 April 1975. Once Xuân Lộc fell, the PAVN battled with the last remaining elements of III Corps Armored Task Force, remnants of the 18th Infantry Division and depleted Marine, Airborne and Ranger Battalions in a fighting retreat that lasted nine days, until they reached Saigon and PAVN armored columns crashed through the gates of South Vietnam's Presidential Palace on 30 April 1975, effectively ending the war.
Background.
In the first half of 1975, the government of the Republic of Vietnam was in deep political turmoil, which reflected the military situation on the battlefield. At least two assassination attempts specifically targeting President Thiệu were foiled. On 23 January an ARVN officer tried to shoot Thiệu with his pistol but failed. The officer was subsequently tried by a military court. On 4 April a Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung bombed the Independence Palace with his F-5 Tiger. It later turned out that the pilot had been an undercover member of the Viet Cong since 1969. Following those failed assassination attempts, Thiệu grew suspicious of his own military commanders.
On 2 April, the South Vietnamese Senate recommended the formation of a new government with Nguyễn Bá Cẩn as the new leader. As a result, Prime Minister Trần Thiện Khiêm resigned from his position. Thiệu, in response to the Senate's recommendations, immediately approved Tran Thien Kiem's resignation and swore in Nguyễn Bá Cẩn as the new Prime Minister. On 4 April, while announcing the changes of government on Saigon television, Thiệu also ordered the arrest of three army commanders: Major General Phạm Văn Phú for the loss of Ban Me Thuot, General Phạm Quốc Thuần for his failure to hold Nha Trang and Lieutenant General Dư Quốc Đống for the loss of Phước Long. General Ngô Quang Trưởng, commander of I Corps, was spared as he was undergoing medical treatment.
During a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Frederick C. Weyand on 3 April, Thiệu outlined his strategy to defend South Vietnam, vowing to hold what was left of his country. In his strategy, Thiệu decided that Xuân Lộc would be the center of his country's resistance, together with Tây Ninh and Phan Rang on either side. Eventually, the meeting became more intense when Thiệu produced a letter written by former U.S. President Richard Nixon, which promised military retaliation against North Vietnam if they violated the terms of the Paris Peace Accords. The meeting then concluded with Thiệu accusing the United States Government of selling out his country the moment they signed the Paris Peace Accords.
In contrast to the situation faced by their opponents in Saigon, the North Vietnamese government were buoyed by the victories achieved by their armies since December 1974. By 8 April 1975, the PAVN had captured all of South Vietnam's I and II Corps, as well as Phước Long Province. While the South Vietnamese forces were disintegrating all over the country, North Vietnam had two army corps moving towards the last South Vietnamese stronghold at Xuân Lộc. The PAVN 4th Army Corps, which overran Phước Long several months earlier, approached Xuân Lộc from the north-east after they captured Tây Ninh, Bình Long and Long Khánh. The 3rd Army Corps, moved towards Xuân Lộc from the north-west after they defeated the ARVN in the Central Highlands. Xuân Lộc was at the crossroads of Highway 1 (which ran the length of South Vietnam) and Highway 20 (which ran from the Central Highlands through Da Lat) and it controlled the eastern approach to the huge military bases at Bien Hoa/Long Binh and then Saigon.
Order of battle.
South Vietnam.
On 8 April 1975, the ARVN 18th Division was the main unit defending Xuân Lộc, composed of three infantry regiments: the 43rd, 48th and 52nd. There were also five armored brigades, four regional force battalions (340th, 342nd, 343rd and 367th Battalions), two artillery units (181st and 182nd Artillery Battalions) equipped with a total of forty-two artillery guns, and two companies of the People's Self-Defense Force. On 12 April Xuân Lộc was reinforced with the 1st Airborne Brigade, three armoured brigades (315th, 318th and 322nd Armored Brigades), the 8th Task Force from the 5th Division and the 33rd Ranger Battalion. Air support came in the form of two RVNAF divisions; the 5th Air Force Division based at Bien Hoa Air Base, and the 3rd Air Force Division at Tan Son Nhut Air Base. The commander at Xuân Lộc was Brigadier General Lê Minh Đảo.
North Vietnam.
As the PAVN 4th Army Corps was the first PAVN formation to arrive at Xuân Lộc, the PAVN Central Military Committee decided that it would lead the assault. The 4th Army Corps fielded three divisions (6th, 7th and 341st Infantry Divisions). Those divisions had support from the 71st Anti-Aircraft Regiment, two combat engineering regiments (24th and 25th Engineering Regiments), the 26th Communications Regiment, two armored battalions, two artillery battalions, and two Long Khánh provincial infantry battalions. On 3 April 1975, the 4th Army Corps Command came up with two options for attack; the first option would involve capturing all ARVN outposts in the surrounding areas and isolating the town center in the process; if the opportunity arose, the 4th Army Corps would launch a full frontal assault on the town center to capture all of Xuân Lộc. In the second option, if ARVN forces in Xuân Lộc did not have the strength to resist, the 4th Army Corps would strike directly at the town center using infantry units, with armored and artillery units in support.
Prelude.
In March 1975, as the PAVN 3rd Army Corps attacked Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands, the PAVN 4th Army Corps initiated their own operations against South Vietnamese forces in Tây Ninh and Bình Dương, in the southwestern regions of South Vietnam. Unlike in the previous three years, South Vietnamese defences around Tây Ninh and Bình Dương were significantly weakened due to a lack of manpower and resources. Even though Tây Ninh and Bình Dương did not play a significant role in the defensive posture of South Vietnam, large ARVN units made their way into those areas as a result of the early defeats in 1975. Tây Ninh became a refuge for elements of the ARVN 25th Division, four armored brigades and two Ranger battalions. Bình Dương hosted the ARVN 5th Division, one Ranger battalion and one armored brigade. To stop ARVN units from gathering in Tây Ninh and Bình Dương, and thereby regrouping for further resistance, the North Vietnamese decided to capture those regions.
The PAVN 4th Army Corps Command selected Dầu Tiếng–Chon Thanh as the first target for their operation, as it was the weakest point in the South Vietnamese defensive line in the north-west area. South Vietnam maintained four Regional Force (RF) battalions (35th, 304th, 312th and 352nd Battalions) totalling 2,600 soldiers in the area, along with one armored brigade and ten 105 mm artillery guns. The military zone of Dầu Tiếng–Chơn Thành was located adjacent to the three provinces of Tây Ninh, Bình Dương and Binh Long. The task of capturing Dầu Tiếng–Chon Thanh was entrusted to the PAVN 9th Infantry Division, whose strength were bolstered by the 16th Infantry Regiment, the 22nd Armored Battalion, one artillery battalion and one air-defence battalion. At 05:00 on 11 March the 9th Infantry Division commenced its attack on Dầu Tiếng. ARVN artillery positions in Rung Nan, Bau Don and Cha La were the primary targets of the 9th Infantry Division on the first day of the attack.
On the afternoon of 11 March, ARVN General Lê Nguyên Khang ordered the 345th Armored Squadron to move out from Bau Don to relieve the military zone of Dầu Tiếng, but they were defeated by the PAVN 16th Infantry Regiment at Suoi Ong Hung, and forced to retreat to their base. At the same time, ARVN artillery units at Bau Don and Rung Nan were subdued by elements of the 9th Infantry Division, so they were unable to return fire. By 13 March, the PAVN was in complete control of the Dầu Tiếng military zone. After three hours of fighting, the PAVN 9th Infantry Division also captured ARVN positions at Vuon Chuoi, Nga ba Sac, Cau Tau and Ben Cui. The ARVN 3rd Brigade had planned to retake Dầu Tiếng using elements of the 5th Division, but Thiệu ordered them to pull back and defend Truong Mit, Bau Don and Tây Ninh instead.
On 24 March, two regiments from the PAVN 9th Infantry Division, in coordination with two provincial infantry battalions from Bình Phước, attacked Chơn Thành with full force but were repeatedly driven back from the ARVN defensive lines. On 31 March, the PAVN 4th Army Corps sent the 273rd Regiment and one artillery battalion equipped with 15 artillery guns to bolster the 9th Infantry Division. Following the arrival of these reinforcements, the PAVN continued their assault on the military zone of Chơn Thành. South Vietnam responded by deploying the 3rd Armored Brigade to relieve Chơn Thành, but they were stopped by elements of the 9th Infantry Division along Route 13. To avoid destruction, all surviving members from the ARVN 31st Ranger Battalion retreated to Bau Don in the east. On 2 April, the PAVN captured Chơn Thành; they claimed to have killed 2,134 ARVN soldiers, as well as capturing 472, and to have shot down 16 aircraft. In addition, North Vietnam captured 30 military vehicles (including eight tanks) and about 1,000 guns (including five artillery pieces) of various kinds. With the province of Binh Long firmly in their hands, the PAVN then set their sights on Xuân Lộc.
Battle.
The PAVN began their Long Khánh-Bình Tuy campaign with strong attacks against ARVN positions on the two principal lines of communication in the region, Highways 1 and 20, striking outposts, towns, bridges and culverts north and east of Xuân Lộc. On 17 March, the PAVN 209th Infantry Regiment and the 210th Artillery Regiment, 7th Division, opened what was to become the Battle of Xuân Lộc. The 209th struck first at Định Quán, north of Xuân Lộc, and at the