Vietnam War

==U.S. exit and final campaigns, 1973–1975==
[[File:Hanoi-taxi-march1973.jpg|thumb|American POWs recently released from North Vietnamese prison camps, 1973|alt=]]

In the lead-up to the ceasefire on 28 January, both sides attempted to maximize the land and population under their control in a campaign known as the [[War of the flags]]. Fighting continued after the ceasefire, this time without US participation, and continued throughout the year.<ref name=Ward/>{{Rp|508–513}} North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying troops in the South but only to the extent of replacing expended material. Later that year the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] was awarded to Kissinger and Thọ, but the North Vietnamese negotiator declined it saying that true peace did not yet exist.

On 15 March 1973, Nixon implied the US would intervene again militarily if the North launched a full offensive, and Secretary of Defense [[James R. Schlesinger|James Schlesinger]] re-affirmed this position during his June 1973 confirmation hearings. Public and congressional reaction to Nixon's statement was unfavorable, prompting the U.S. Senate to pass the [[Case–Church Amendment]] to prohibit any intervention.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|670–672}}

PAVN/VC leaders expected 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 Viet Cong. The PAVN/VC responded with a new strategy hammered out in a series of meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of [[Trần Văn Trà]].<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|672–674}} With U.S. bombings suspended, work on the Ho Chi Minh trail and other logistical structures could proceed unimpeded. Logistics would be upgraded until the North was in a position to launch a massive invasion of the South, projected for the 1975–1976 dry season. Tra calculated that this date would be Hanoi's last opportunity to strike before Saigon's army could be fully trained.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|672–674}} The PAVN/VC resumed offensive operations when the dry season began in 1973, and by January 1974 had recaptured territory it lost during the previous dry season.

[[File:Victory Central Highlands.jpg|thumb|upright|Memorial commemorating the 1974 Buon Me Thuot campaign, depicting a [[Degar|Montagnard]] of the [[Central Highlands, Vietnam|Central Highlands]], a NVA soldier and a [[T-54/T-55|T-54 tank]]]]

Within South Vietnam, the departure of the US military and the global recession that followed the [[1973 oil crisis]] hurt an economy that was partly dependent on U.S. financial support and troop presence. After two clashes that left 55 ARVN soldiers dead, President Thieu announced on 4 January 1974, that the war had restarted and that the Paris Peace Accords were no longer in effect. There were over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=This Day in History 1974: Thieu announces war has resumed |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thieu-announces-war-has-resumed |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120114757/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thieu-announces-war-has-resumed |archive-date=20 January 2013 |access-date=17 October 2009 |publisher=History.com}}</ref><ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|683}} [[Gerald Ford]] took over as U.S. president on 9 August 1974 after the [[resignation of President Nixon]], and Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1&nbsp;billion a year to $700&nbsp;million. Congress also voted in further restrictions on funding to be phased in through 1975 and to culminate in a total cutoff in 1976.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|686}}

The success of the 1973–1974 dry season offensive inspired Trà to return to Hanoi in October 1974 and plead for a larger offensive the next dry season. This time, Trà could travel on a drivable highway with regular fueling stops, a vast change from the days when the Ho Chi Minh trail was a dangerous mountain trek.<ref name="Karnow" />{{Rp|676}} Giáp, the North Vietnamese defense minister, was reluctant to approve of Trà's plan since a larger offensive might provoke U.S. reaction and interfere with the big push planned for 1976. Trà appealed to Giáp's superior, first secretary Lê Duẩn, who approved the operation. Trà's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into [[Phước Long Province]]. The strike was designed to solve local logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether the U.S. would return.<ref name="Hastings" />{{Rp|685–690}}

On 13 December 1974, North Vietnamese forces [[Battle of Phuoc Long|attacked Phước Long]]. Phuoc Binh, the provincial capital, fell on 6 January 1975. Ford desperately asked Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before it was overrun.<ref name="Ford asks for additional aid">{{Cite news |title=Ford asks for additional aid |work=history.com |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ford-asks-for-additional-aid |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811232207/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ford-asks-for-additional-aid |archive-date=11 August 2018}}</ref> Congress refused.<ref name="Ford asks for additional aid" /> The fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of an American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralized.

The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. It decided that operations in the Central Highlands would be turned over to General Văn Tiến Dũng and that [[Pleiku]] should be seized, if possible. Before he left for the South, Dũng was addressed by Lê Duẩn: "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage as great as we have now."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dougan |first1=Clark |title=The Vietnam Experience The Fall of the South |last2=Fulgham |first2=David |publisher=Boston Publishing Company |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-939526-16-1 |page=22}}</ref>

At the start of 1975, the South Vietnamese had three times as much artillery and twice the number of tanks and armored cars as the PAVN. They also had 1,400 aircraft and a two-to-one numerical superiority in combat troops over the PAVN/VC.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}} However, heightened oil prices meant that many of these assets could not be adequately leveraged. Moreover, the rushed nature of Vietnamization, intended to cover the US retreat, resulted in a lack of spare parts, ground-crew, and maintenance personnel, which rendered most of the equipment inoperable.<ref name=Stewart/>{{Rp|362–366}}

===Campaign 275===
{{See also|1975 Spring Offensive|Battle of Ban Me Thuot|Hue–Da Nang Campaign}}
[[File:PAVN Captures Hue, Vietnam.jpg|thumb|The capture of Hue, March 1975]]

On 10 March 1975, General Dung launched Campaign 275, a limited offensive into the Central Highlands, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. The target was [[Battle of Buon Me Thuot|Buôn Ma Thuột]], in [[Đắk Lắk 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. Dung now urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and then turn his attention to [[Kon Tum]]. 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.<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}

President Thiệu, a former general, was fearful that his forces would be cut off in the north by the attacking communists; Thieu ordered a retreat, which soon turned into a bloody rout. While the bulk of ARVN forces attempted to flee, isolated units fought desperately. ARVN general Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kon Tum and retreated toward the coast, in what became known as the "column of tears".<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|693–694}}

On 20 March, Thieu reversed himself and ordered Huế, Vietnam's third-largest city, be held at all costs, and then changed his policy several times. As the PAVN launched their attack, panic set in, and ARVN resistance withered. On 22 March, the PAVN opened the siege of Huế. Civilians flooded the airport and the docks hoping for any mode of escape. As resistance in Huế collapsed, PAVN rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. By 28 March 35,000 PAVN troops were poised to attack the suburbs. By 30 March 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the PAVN marched victoriously through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and Northern provinces came to an end.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|699–700}}

===Final North Vietnamese offensive===
{{Further|topic=the final North Vietnamese offensive|Ho Chi Minh Campaign}}

With the northern half of the country under their control, the Politburo ordered General Dung to launch the final offensive against Saigon. The operational plan for the [[Ho Chi Minh Campaign]] called for the capture of Saigon before 1 May. Hanoi wished to avoid the coming monsoon and prevent any redeployment of ARVN forces defending the capital. Northern forces, their morale boosted by their recent victories, rolled on, taking [[Nha Trang]], [[Cam Ranh]] and [[Da Lat]].<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|702–704}}

On 7 April, three PAVN divisions attacked [[Battle of Xuân Lộc|Xuân Lộc]], {{Convert|40|mi}} east of Saigon. For two bloody weeks, severe fighting raged as the ARVN defenders made a [[last stand]] to try to block the PAVN advance. On 21 April, however, the exhausted garrison was ordered to withdraw towards Saigon.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|704–707}} An embittered and tearful president Thieu resigned on the same day, declaring that the United States had betrayed South Vietnam. In a scathing attack, he suggested that Kissinger had tricked him into signing the Paris peace agreement two years earlier, promising military aid that failed to materialize. Having transferred power to [[Trần Văn Hương]] on 21 April, he left for [[Taiwan]] on 25 April.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|714}} After having appealed unsuccessfully to Congress for $722 million in emergency aid for South Vietnam, President Ford had given a televised speech on 23 April, declaring an end to the Vietnam War and all U.S. aid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Finney |first=John W. |date=12 April 1975 |title=Congress Resists U.S. Aid In Evacuating Vietnamese |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/12/archives/congress-resists-us-aid-in-evacuating-vietnamese-congress-resists.html |access-date=4 July 2021 |website=The New York Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409033130/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/12/archives/congress-resists-us-aid-in-evacuating-vietnamese-congress-resists.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Transcript of speech by President Gerald R. Ford - April 23, 1975 |url=https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A75293 |access-date=4 July 2021 |publisher=Tulane University|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409183152/https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane:75293|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>

By the end of April, the ARVN had collapsed on all fronts except in the [[Mekong Delta]]. Thousands of refugees streamed southward, ahead of the main communist onslaught. On 27 April, 100,000 PAVN troops encircled Saigon. The city was defended by about 30,000 ARVN troops. To hasten a collapse and foment panic, the PAVN shelled [[Tan Son Nhut Airport]] and forced its closure. With the air exit closed, large numbers of civilians found that they had no way out.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|716}}

===Fall of Saigon===
{{Main|Fall of Saigon|Operation Frequent Wind}}
[[File:NVA pose for picture in Presidential Palace at end of Vietnam war.jpg|thumb|upright|Victorious PAVN troops at the Presidential Palace, Saigon]]

Chaos, unrest, and panic broke out as hysterical South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave Saigon. [[Martial law]] was declared. American helicopters began evacuating South Vietnamese, U.S. and foreign nationals from various parts of the city and from the U.S. embassy compound. [[Operation Frequent Wind]] had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of U.S. Ambassador [[Graham Martin]]'s belief that Saigon could be held and that a political settlement could be reached. Frequent Wind was the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It began on 29 April, in an atmosphere of desperation, as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for limited space. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as PAVN tanks breached defenses near Saigon. In the early morning hours of 30 April, the last U.S. Marines evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|718–720}}

On 30 April 1975, PAVN troops entered the city of Saigon and quickly overcame all resistance, capturing key buildings and installations.<ref name="mtholyoke.edu" /> Two tanks from the 203rd Tank Brigade of the [[2nd Corps (Vietnam)|2nd Corps]] crashed through the gates of the [[Independence Palace]] and the Viet Cong flag was raised above it at 11:30&nbsp;am local time.<ref>{{Citation |last=Thai Binh Department of Information and Communications |title=Soldier from Thai Binh who put flag on the roof of Independence Palace |date=30 July 2020 |url=https://thaibinh.gov.vn/english130nam/dat-va-nguoi-thai-binh/soldier-from-thai-binh-who-put-flag-on-the-roof-of-independe.html |work=Thai Binh Provincial Portal |publication-place=Thai Binh |access-date=15 January 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409174812/https://thaibinh.gov.vn/english130nam/dat-va-nguoi-thai-binh/soldier-from-thai-binh-who-put-flag-on-the-roof-of-independe.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> President Dương Văn Minh, who had succeeded Huong two days earlier, surrendered to Lieutenant colonel Bùi Văn Tùng, the political commissar of the 203rd Tank Brigade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 April 2020 |title=Reunion of the Veterans organization of Tank Amour force in the South Vietnam |url=https://independencepalace.gov.vn/news/a-reunion-of-the-veterans-organization-of-tank-amour-force-in-the-south-vietnam-was-held-at-independence-palace-historical-site/ |access-date=14 January 2022 |website=[[Independence Palace|Dinh Độc Lập]] official website|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404035108/https://independencepalace.gov.vn/news/a-reunion-of-the-veterans-organization-of-tank-amour-force-in-the-south-vietnam-was-held-at-independence-palace-historical-site/|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Leong, Ernest |title=Vietnam Tries to Create New Image 30 Years After End of War |date=31 October 2009 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2005-04-27-voa67/397223.html |work=Voice of America |access-date=14 January 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085333/https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2005-04-27-voa67/397223.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Terzani">{{Cite book |last=Terzani |first=Tiziano |title=Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon |publisher=Angus & Robertson (U.K.) Ltd |year=1976 |isbn=0207957126 |pages=92–96}}</ref>{{Rp|95–96}} Minh was then escorted to [[Radio Saigon]] to announce the surrender declaration (spontaneously written by Tung).<ref name="Bui Tin">{{Cite book |last=Bui |first=Tin |url={{GBurl|id=2NUl_nVpW-gC}} |title=Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel |date=1999 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824822330 |pages=84–86}}</ref>{{Rp|85}} The statement was on air at 2:30&nbsp;pm.<ref name=Terzani/>