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57-406: The "Three Villages called An" which give the name to the peninsula are Vân An, An Chuẩn, and An Hải. The term "ba làng" is native Vietnamese language for "three villages", while the three villages themselves have the usual Sino-Vietnamese names used by Confucian tax-collectors. The Sino-Vietnamese character "An" 安 means "peace", so the villages are sometimes called "Three Villages of Peace". During

114-722: A DMZ offensive would be a blatant violation of the Geneva Agreement, which North Vietnam was adamant in defending. In December, intelligence became conclusive that PAVN units supporting Khmer Rouge operations in Cambodia began returning to the border areas. In Laos and Cambodia, there was also an unusual expansion of infiltration. In North Vietnam, there was a noticeable increase in military recruitment. In January, Defense Intelligence Agency officers briefed Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird to state that PAVN would attack after

171-483: A PAVN offensive briefly when the crucial Highway QL-1 bridge over the Cửa Việt River at Đông Hà was blown up by Capt. John Ripley , adviser to the 3rd Vietnamese Marine Battalion . The initial PAVN units were then joined by the 320B and 325C Divisions. Simultaneously, the 324B Division moved out of the A Sầu Valley and advanced directly eastward toward Fire Bases Bastogne and Checkmate , which protected

228-445: A U.S. presidential election year, and the possibility of affecting the outcome was enticing and there was increasing anti-war sentiment among the population and government of the U.S. With American troop withdrawals, South Vietnamese forces were stretched to breaking point along a border of more than 600 miles (966 km) and the poor performance of ARVN troops in the offensive into Laos promised an easy victory. This decision marked

285-551: A blatant North Vietnamese violation of the Geneva Accord was unlikely. When the weekend of Easter 1972 arrived, General Giai had planned to rotate the operational areas of his 56th Regiment (along the central DMZ) with the 2nd Regiment (around the artillery base at Camp Carroll in the west). Because of a truck shortage, the units were moved simultaneously and became hopelessly intermixed and disorganized. At 11:30 on 30 March, both unit headquarters shut down their radios, for

342-491: A diplomatic mission before May 1972. The Chinese placated the suspicions of their ally, by reassuring North Vietnam that even more military and economic aid would be forthcoming in 1972. The Soviet Union, perceiving the growing antagonism between the People's Republic and North Vietnam, sought to widen the rift by also agreeing to "additional aid without reimbursement", for North Vietnam's military forces. These agreements led to

399-589: A flood of equipment and supplies necessary for a modern, conventional army. This included 400 T-34 , T-54 and Type 59 (a Chinese version of the T-54) medium and 200 PT-76 light amphibious tanks, hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles, including the shoulder-fired, heat-seeking SA-7 Strela (called the Grail in the West), anti-tank missiles, including the wire-guided AT-3 Sagger and heavy-caliber, long-range artillery. To man

456-618: A period of equilibrium; in June and July the South Vietnamese forces counter-attacked, culminating in the recapture of Quảng Trị City in September. On all three fronts, initial North Vietnamese successes were hampered by high casualties, lack of fuel and the increasing application of U.S. and South Vietnamese air power. One result of the offensive was the launching of Operation Linebacker , the first sustained bombing of North Vietnam by

513-689: A staged withdrawal from the city to consolidate south of the Thạch Hãn, but bewildered by conflicting orders from Lãm and Giai, most ARVN formations splintered and then collapsed, conceding most of the province north of the city. On 29 April, Giai ordered a general retreat to the Mỹ Chánh River , thirteen kilometers to the south. U.S. military advisors in Quảng Trị called for emergency helicopter extraction and, on 1 May 132 survivors were evacuated from Quảng Trị, including 80 U.S. soldiers. The exodus of ARVN forces

570-510: Is weakest...violent attacks will disintegrate enemy forces...making it impossible for him to have enough troops to deploy elsewhere." This was an important consideration, since the northern thrust would serve to divert South Vietnamese attention and resources, while two other attacks were to be launched: one into the Central Highlands , to cut the country in two and another eastwards from Cambodia to threaten Saigon . The offensive

627-625: The 1972 spring–summer offensive ( Vietnamese : Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972 ) by North Vietnam, or the Red Fiery Summer ( Mùa hè đỏ lửa ) as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN, the regular army of North Vietnam ) against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN, the regular army of South Vietnam ) and

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684-561: The Cam Lộ bridge, 11 kilometers to the west of Đông Hà. PAVN then had almost unrestricted access to western Quảng Trị Province north of the Thạch Hãn River . On 21 April, Abrams notified the U.S. Secretary of Defense that In summary...the pressure is mounting and the battle has become brutal...the senior military leadership has begun to bend and in some cases to break. In adversity, it is losing its will and cannot be depended upon to take

741-575: The II Corps Tactical Zone and advanced towards the provincial capital of Kon Tum , threatening to open a way to the sea, which would have split South Vietnam in two. Northeast of Saigon , in the III Corps Tactical Zone , PAVN forces overran Lộc Ninh and advanced to assault the capital of Bình Long Province at An Lộc . The campaign can be divided into three phases: April was a month of PAVN advances; May became

798-517: The Mụ Giạ and Ban Karai Pass areas and discovered a buildup of PAVN forces and equipment. MACV then decided that the North Vietnamese were preparing for an offensive in the central highlands and the northern provinces of South Vietnam. The brunt of an attack would be borne by South Vietnamese forces since the U.S. strength had been reduced to 69,000 troops, most of whom were in support roles and

855-539: The Tet Offensive of 1968 had led to a downgrading of Giáp's influence, but the victory achieved over South Vietnamese forces during the Laotian incursion brought Giáp's strategy back into the ascendant. Lê Duẩn was given responsibility for planning the operation but Giáp never rose to his former prominence, dealing chiefly with logistical matters and the approval of operational planning. The officer entrusted with

912-505: The Tet Offensive of 1968, became characterized by conventional infantry–armor assaults backed by heavy artillery, with both sides fielding the latest in technological advances in weapons systems. In the I Corps Tactical Zone , North Vietnamese forces overran the ARVN’s defensive positions in a month-long battle and captured Quảng Trị city, before moving south in an attempt to seize Huế . The PAVN similarly eliminated frontier defense forces in

969-476: The Tết holidays and that the offensive would involve the widespread use of armored forces. Laird was unconvinced and told the U.S. Congress in late January that a large communist offensive "was not a serious possibility" U.S. and South Vietnamese intelligence services had no consensus as to communist intentions, but Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), was suspicious and sent several reconnaissance teams into

1026-1048: The United States Marine Corps . 15°13′10.6″N 108°54′47″E  /  15.219611°N 108.91306°E  / 15.219611; 108.91306 Paracel islands Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 184069499 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:37:27 GMT Easter Offensive U.S estimate:  100,000+ killed 250 –700 tanks and APCs destroyed American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Easter Offensive , also known as

1083-641: The United States military between 30 March and 22 October 1972, during the Vietnam War . This conventional invasion (the largest invasion since 300,000 Chinese troops had crossed the Yalu River into North Korea during the Korean War ) was a radical departure from previous North Vietnamese offensives. The offensive was designed to achieve a decisive victory, which even if it did not lead to

1140-550: The 1968 offensive, perhaps by a limited operation aimed less at inflicting defeat on the battlefield than in influencing American public opinion." The consensus at MACV was that such an offensive would be launched against II Corps, in the Central Highlands. When the offensive did not occur, he and his headquarters were ridiculed in the American press for crying wolf . The moment of crisis seemed to have passed, and by

1197-621: The ARVN; possibly deposing of South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu ; convincing the U.S. as to the hopelessness of continued support to the South and demonstrating the failure of Vietnamization . The prospect of seizing a South Vietnamese provincial capital, which could then be proclaimed as the seat of the Provisional Revolutionary Government , was also enticing. The attitude of the North Vietnamese leadership

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1254-579: The Cape to Pattle Island and 'Boisée' ('Wooded') islands where there were Vietnamese and French settlers, as well as weather observation stations. Since 1963 the Vietcong (VC) converted the Peninsula into a fortified stronghold. Following the conclusion of Operation Starlite , on 24 August 1965, Marine intelligence concluded that the 1st VC Regiment had withdrawn into the Peninsula. Reconnaissance photos of

1311-500: The DMZ, to replace departing American troops. To create the new unit, the 1st Division (arguably ARVN's best unit) was stripped of its 2nd Regiment and the 11th Armored Cavalry was brought up from the I Corps reserve. Both units were experienced, well-trained, well-equipped, and well-led. The 3rd Division's other two regiments, the 56th and 57th were made up of recaptured deserters, men released from jail, and regional and provincial forces. It

1368-483: The DMZ. The division was commanded by newly promoted Brigadier General Vũ Văn Giai , the former deputy commander of the 1st Division. The I Corps commander, Lieutenant General Hoàng Xuân Lãm , was an officer who epitomized the indecision and the ineffectiveness of Saigon's command structure, as had been discovered all too blatantly during Operation Lam Son 719 . Lãm concentrated on administrative matters and left tactical decisions to his subordinate commanders. Considering

1425-584: The Demilitarized Zone to attack I Corps, the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese 308th Division and two independent regiments assaulted the "ring of steel", the arc of ARVN firebases just south of the DMZ. From the west, the 312th , including an armoured regiment, moved out of Laos along Route 9 , past Khe Sanh , and into the Quảng Trị River Valley. Significantly, allied intelligence had failed to predict both

1482-461: The Laotian border and the coast, was the linchpin of the South Vietnamese northern and western defense line and was the strongest obstacle to the North Vietnamese before Quảng Trị City. The camp was cut off and surrounded. On 2 April, Colonel Pham Van Dinh , commander of the 56th ARVN Regiment, surrendered the camp and his 1,500 troops. Later in the day, ARVN troops abandoned Mai Loc , the last western base. This allowed North Vietnamese forces to cross

1539-561: The Peninsula showed a V of older field fortifications pointing inland with the open end to the sea and a new second V further inland under construction. The Marines, Army of the Republic of Vietnam and Vietnamese Marines conducted Operation Piranha on the peninsula on 7–10 September 1965. The operation resulted in US claims of 178 VC killed and 360 VC and suspected VC had been captured. Allied losses were two Marines and five South Vietnamese killed. An unknown number may have been civilians, due to

1596-562: The U.S. since November 1968. Although South Vietnamese forces withstood their greatest trial thus far in the conflict, as well as thwarting North Vietnam's goal of large territorial gains, the North Vietnamese accomplished two important goals: they had gained valuable territory within South Vietnam from which to launch future offensives and they had obtained a better bargaining position at the peace negotiations being conducted in Paris. In

1653-464: The circumstances, that was a workable solution only as long as his division commanders encountered no major difficulties. U.S. intelligence had been squabbling over a possible PAVN attack across the DMZ attack during the months preceding the offensive. DIA analysts "cautiously" predicted such a contingency, but the CIA downplayed the possibility. General Lãm's American advisors agreed with his assessment that

1710-574: The collapse of South Vietnam, would greatly improve the North's negotiating position at the Paris Peace Accords . The U.S. high command had been expecting an attack in 1972 but the size and ferocity of the assault caught the defenders off balance, because the attackers struck on three fronts simultaneously, with the bulk of the PAVN. This first attempt by North Vietnam to invade the south since

1767-549: The colonial period the waters off the peninsular were recognised as rich fishing grounds. In Nos richesses coloniales 1900–1905 (1906) the cape was called Cap Batangan in French. A French agricultural review (1935) commented that the land of the peninsula was relatively fertile. The French Navy used Cape Batangan as the starting point for its ships assigned to supply the Paracel islands , sailing straight East to West from

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1824-426: The conclusion of the assault phase, Operation Russell Beach continued with Marine combined action teams, the 46th Infantry Regiment and the ARVN 6th Regiment operating to cleanse the peninsula of VC and People's Army of Vietnam forces. The population was largely removed from the peninsula during the assault phase and a clear and search operation was followed by the construction of new roads and hamlets. The population

1881-485: The conduct of the offensive was the PAVN chief of staff, General Văn Tiến Dũng . The central questions then became where and with what forces the offensive would be launched and what its goals were to be. North Vietnam had used the border regions of Laos and Cambodia as supply and manpower conduits for a decade and a demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separated the two Vietnams. There, the line of communication would be shortest and forces could be concentrated where "the enemy

1938-663: The declaration of a free-fire zone . The Peninsula later became part of the Tactical Area of Responsibility of the Korean 2nd Marine Brigade in 1966 and then the Americal Division , however despite periodic operations the area remained a VC stronghold. The village of My Lai, scene of the My Lai Massacre , is situated 5 km southwest of the Peninsula. The Marines conducted Operation Bold Mariner on

1995-488: The end of March, allied forces that had been standing by had returned to pacification efforts. U.S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker left for Nepal , and General Abrams went to Thailand to spend the Easter holiday with his family. The ARVN units upon which the initial North Vietnamese attack was to fall included the 1st and 3rd Divisions in Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên Provinces and the 2nd Division , further south. The force

2052-605: The end of three years of political infighting between two factions within the Politburo: those members grouped around Trường Chinh , who favored following the Chinese model of continued low-intensity guerrilla warfare and rebuilding the north, and the "southern firsters" around Defense Minister Võ Nguyên Giáp , supported by First Party Secretary Lê Duẩn (both of whom supported the Soviet model of big offensives). The failure of

2109-587: The exchange of operational areas. With communications fragmented, its units entangled, and the weather bad enough to prevent aerial operations, the 3rd Division offered the massed PAVN forces to the north an irresistible target. The offensive began at noon on 30 March 1972, when an intense artillery barrage rained down on the northernmost ARVN outposts in Quảng Trị Province. Two PAVN divisions (the 304th and 308th – approximately 30,000 troops) supported by more than 100 tanks (in 2 Regiments) then rolled over

2166-492: The face of the enemy", and sentenced to five years in prison. Hoping to break the stalemate that was developing on the northern front, Lieutenant General Trần Văn Quang , commander of the B-4 Front , attacked on 1 April west from the A Shau Valley toward Huế with the 324B Division. Spoiling attacks by the ARVN 1st Division, however, threw off the timetable. On 28 April 29 and 803rd PAVN Regiments seized Firebase Bastogne,

2223-400: The measures necessary to stand and fight. The PAVN advance was slowed by delaying actions for three weeks, and the South Vietnamese launched several counterattacks, but on the morning of 27 April, the North Vietnamese came on again, launching multi-pronged attacks against Đông Hà (which fell on the following day) and advancing to within 1.5 kilometers of Quảng Trị City. General Giai had planned

2280-740: The minefield to rescue a wounded soldier. North Vietnamese sources (1969) made allegations of American use of gas against civilians during mopping up operations. These were discussed in the French Senate in 1969. During the Easter Offensive of 1972 in late April the VC 48th Battalion was reported to have destroyed 23 villages around the Batangan Peninsula, killing 23 civilians and making a further 30,000 homeless in an attempt to disrupt South Vietnamese pacification efforts. Among

2337-521: The new equipment, 25,000 North Vietnamese troops received specialized training abroad, 80 percent of them in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe. A contingent of high-level Soviet military personnel also arrived in Vietnam and stayed until March 1972 in preparation for the offensive. During late 1971, U.S. and South Vietnamese intelligence estimates of communist intentions were mixed. An offensive

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2394-517: The number was to be reduced to 27,000 by 30 November. The U.S. commander, General Creighton W. Abrams , was convinced an offensive was likely but was also convinced that the attack would begin during or near the Tết holidays, at the beginning of the year. He notified Admiral Thomas Moorer , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , that the North Vietnamese might attempt to "duplicate the effects of

2451-477: The old imperial capital of Huế from the west. The North Vietnamese advance had been timed to coincide with the seasonal monsoon , whose 500 feet (152 m) cloud ceilings negated many U.S. airstrikes. PAVN advance elements were soon followed by anti-aircraft units armed with new ZSU-57-2 tracked weapon platforms and man-portable, shoulder-fired Grail missiles , which made low-level bombing attacks hazardous. Camp Carroll , an artillery firebase halfway between

2508-565: The peninsula from 13 January to 7 February 1969. The Marine assault linked up with Operation Russell Beach conducted by the Americal Division 's Task Force Cooksey, composed of elements of the 46th Infantry Regiment and 1st Cavalry Regiment and the ARVN 2nd Division to seal off the southern boundary. Due to constant US bombardment, civilians had lived primarily in bunkers and caves in the region. The Marines evacuated numerous civilians for screening, eventually totaling some 11,900 people. Following

2565-484: The scale of the offensive and the method of attack, giving PAVN "the inestimable benefit of shock effect, a crucial psychological edge over defenders who had expected something quite different." On 1 April, South Vietnamese General Giai, ordered a withdrawal of the 3rd Division south of the Cửa Việt/ Thach Han River in order for his troops to reorganize. The following morning, ARVN armoured elements held off

2622-476: The strongest anchor on Huế's western flank. This made Firebase Checkmate untenable, and it too was evacuated that night. This exposed Huế to a direct thrust along Route 547. On 2 May PAVN forces south of Huế tried to surround the city. The PAVN also attempted to press their attack southward down Highway 1 and across the Mỹ Chánh River to Huế, but, fortunately for the South Vietnamese, after Trưởng took command,

2679-451: The villages destroyed were two housing survivors of the Mỹ Lai massacre. The Ba Làng An Peninsula is a rich and productive agricultural region encompassing approximately 48 square km of flat, fertile farmland and rolling hills. Today the beaches of the cape are a centre for tourism and diving. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of

2736-653: The wake of the failed South Vietnamese Operation Lam Son 719 , the Hanoi leadership began discussing a possible offensive during the 19th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Workers' Party in early 1971. Convinced that they had destroyed South Vietnam's best units during Lam Son 719, by December, the Politburo had decided to launch a major offensive early in the following year. 1972 would be

2793-488: The west, Fire Support Bases Bastogne and Checkmate had fallen after staunch ARVN defense and massive B-52 bomber strikes, which inflicted heavy casualties. Giai evacuated the last of his forces from Quảng Trị City, which fell to PAVN forces on 2 May. That same day General Lam was summoned to Saigon for a meeting with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu . He was relieved of command of I Corps and replaced by Lieutenant General Ngô Quang Trưởng , commander of IV Corps. Trưởng's mission

2850-628: Was allowed to return in April 1969 together with South Vietnamese government institutions VC losses in Operation Russell Beach were 158 killed and 116 suspects detained and 55 individual and six crew-served weapons captured. U.S. losses were 56 killed. In March 1970, a patrol from the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment walked into a minefield on the Peninsula. By his own account, the battalion commander, Lt Col Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. , flew there in his command helicopter and walked into

2907-570: Was expected, but intelligence as to its timing, location, and size were confusing. The communists had mounted the Tet Offensive in 1968, but it had been conducted mainly by Vietcong (VC) in the initial phase, which had been destroyed in the process. Without VC support, a large-scale PAVN offensive was considered highly unlikely. A PAVN thrust across the DMZ was also considered unlikely. Past infiltration and offensive operations had been conducted through and from Laotian and Cambodian territory and

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2964-513: Was given a title steeped in Vietnamese history. In 1773, the three Tây Sơn brothers (so-called because of the place of their origin) united a Vietnam divided by civil war and social unrest. The youngest brother, Nguyễn Huệ, then defeated an invading Chinese army on the outskirts of Hanoi in 1788. The campaign eventually employed the equivalent of 14 divisions. There was the distinct possibility of destroying or at least crippling large elements of

3021-410: Was illustrated in an article in a 1972 party journal: "It doesn't matter whether the war is promptly ended or prolonged...Both are opportunities to sow the seeds; all we have to do is to wait for the time to harvest the crop." The northern leadership was taken aback during the summer of 1971, when an announcement was made that U.S. President Richard Nixon would visit the People's Republic of China, on

3078-410: Was joined by tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians fleeing from the fighting. As the mass of humanity jostled and shoved its way south on Highway 1, it presented an inviting target for North Vietnamese artillerists. They were soon joined by PAVN infantry, who moved by the flank to attack the column. ARVN units, with no leadership and all unit cohesion gone, could muster no defense. Meanwhile, to

3135-414: Was led by cast-off officers and sergeants from other units. Like other ARVN units at this stage of the conflict, the division suffered from a dearth of American advisors, who then served only at regimental, brigade, and divisional headquarters. Because of the general belief that the North Vietnamese would not violate the sacrosanct boundary, the unit was stationed in the relatively "safe" area directly below

3192-472: Was supplemented by two brigades of Marines (the 147th and 258th), the 51st Infantry Regiment, the 1st Ranger Group and Regional and Popular Forces , approximately 30,000 men. The units were in static defensive positions and lacked adequate mobile reserves. Bearing the initial brunt of the attack would be the 3rd Division, which had been created in October 1971 and was located in an arc of outposts near

3249-404: Was to defend Huế, minimize further losses, and retake captured territory. Although saddled with raw troops and constantly countermanded by his superiors, General Giai had conducted a reasonably good defense. Even Trưởng pleaded his case with Thiệu, wanting to keep Giai in command of the 3rd Division. It was in vain. Giai, who was to be made the scapegoat for the collapse, was tried for "desertion in

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