1975
January 8,
1975 - NVA general staff plan for the invasion of South Vietnam by 20 divisions
is approved by North Vietnam's Politburo. By now, the Soviet-supplied North
Vietnamese Army is the fifth largest in the world. It anticipates a two year
struggle for victory. But in reality, South Vietnam's forces will collapse in
only 55 days.
January 14,
1975 - Testifying before Congress, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger
states that the U.S. is not living up to its earlier promise to South Vietnam's
President Thieu of "severe retaliatory action" in the event North
Vietnam violated the Paris peace treaty.
January 21,
1975 - During a press conference, President Ford states the U.S. is unwilling
to re-enter the war.
February 5,
1975 - NVA military leader General Van Tien Dung secretly crosses into South
Vietnam to take command of the final offensive.
March 10,
1975 - The final offensive begins as 25,000 NVA attack Ban Me Thuot located in
the Central Highlands.
March 11,
1975 - Ban Me Thuot falls after half of the 4000 South Vietnamese soldiers
defending it surrender or desert.
March 13,
1975 - President Thieu decides to abandon the Highlands region and two northern
provinces to the NVA. This results in a mass exodus of civilians and soldiers,
clogging roads and bringing general chaos. NVA then shell the disorganized
retreat which becomes known as "the convoy of tears."
March 18,
1975 - Realizing the South Vietnamese Army is nearing collapse, NVA leaders
meet and decide to accelerate their offensive to achieve total victory before
May 1.
March 19,
1975 - Quang Tri City falls to NVA.
March 24,
1975 - Tam Ky over-run by NVA.
March 25,
1975 - Hue falls without resistance after a three day siege. South Vietnamese
troops now break and run from other threatened areas. Millions of refugees flee
south.
March 26,
1975 - Chu Lai is evacuated.
March 28,
1975 - Da Nang is shelled as 35,000 NVA prepare to attack.
March 30,
1975 - Da Nang falls as 100,000 South Vietnamese soldiers surrender after being
abandoned by their commanding officers.
March 31,
1975 - NVA begin the 'Ho Chi Minh Campaign,' the final push toward Saigon.
April 9,
1975 - NVA close in on Xuan Loc, 38 miles from Saigon. 40,000 NVA attack the
city and for the first time encounter stiff resistance from South Vietnamese
troops.
April 20,
1975 - U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin meets with President Thieu and pressures
him to resign given the gravity of the situation and the unlikelihood that
Thieu could ever negotiate with the Communists.
April 21,
1975 - A bitter, tearful President Thieu resigns during a 90 minute rambling TV
speech to the people of South Vietnam. Thieu reads from the letter sent by
Nixon in 1972 pledging "severe retaliatory action" if South Vietnam
was threatened. Thieu condemns the Paris Peace Accords, Henry Kissinger and the
U.S. "The United States has not respected its promises. It is inhumane. It
is untrustworthy. It is irresponsible." He is then ushered into exile in
Taiwan, aided by the CIA.
April 22,
1975 - Xuan Loc falls to the NVA after a two week battle with South Vietnam's
18th Army Division which inflicted over 5000 NVA casualties and delayed the 'Ho
Chi Minh Campaign' for two weeks.
April 23,
1975 - 100,000 NVA soldiers advance on Saigon which is now overflowing with
refugees. On this same day, President Ford gives a speech at Tulane University
stating the conflict in Vietnam is "a war that is finished as far as
America is concerned."
April 27,
1975 - Saigon is encircled. 30,000 South Vietnamese soldiers are inside the
city but are leaderless. NVA fire rockets into downtown civilian areas as the
city erupts into chaos and widespread looting.
April 28,
1975 - 'Neutralist' General Duong Van "Big" Minh becomes the new
president of South Vietnam and appeals for a cease-fire. His appeal is ignored.
April 29,
1975 - NVA shell Tan Son Nhut air base in Saigon, killing two U.S. Marines at
the compound gate. Conditions then deteriorate as South Vietnamese civilians
loot the air base. President Ford now orders Operation Frequent Wind, the
helicopter evacuation of 7000 Americans and South Vietnamese from Saigon, which
begins with the radio broadcast of the song "White Christmas" as a pre-arraigned
code signal.
At Tan Son
Nhut, frantic civilians begin swarming the helicopters. The evacuation is then
shifted to the walled-in American embassy, which is secured by U.S. Marines in
full combat gear. But the scene there also deteriorates, as thousands of
civilians attempt to get into the compound.
Three U.S.
aircraft carriers stand by off the coast of Vietnam to handle incoming
Americans and South Vietnamese refugees. Many South Vietnamese pilots also land
on the carriers, flying American-made helicopters which are then pushed
overboard to make room for more arrivals. Filmed footage of the $250,000
choppers being tossed into the sea becomes an enduring image of the war's end.
April 30,
1975 - At 8:35 a.m., the last Americans, ten Marines from the embassy, depart
Saigon, concluding the United States presence in Vietnam. North Vietnamese
troops pour into Saigon and encounter little resistance. By 11 a.m., the red
and blue Viet Cong flag flies from the presidential palace. President Minh
broadcasts a message of unconditional surrender. The war is over.
SOURCE:
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