Battle of Xuan Loc

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Battle of Xuan Loc
Part of: Vietnam War
date April 9-20, 1975
place Xuan Loc
output North Vietnamese victory
Parties to the conflict

Vietnam North 1955North Vietnam North Vietnam

Vietnam SudSouth Vietnam South Vietnam

Commander

Hoàng Cầm

Lê Minh Đảo

Troop strength
40,000 soldiers 6,000 soldiers
losses

5,000 dead and wounded

2,500 dead and wounded

The Battle of Xuan Loc was the last major battle of the Vietnam War . Twelve days trying the 18th ARVN - Division to keep the city Xuan Loc. They faced superior units from three divisions.

The North Vietnamese General Van Tien Dung planned the attack on Saigon . In order to avoid further serious damage as in the Tet Offensive , important units of the ARVN should be destroyed before the city so as not to be able to entrench themselves there. One of these units was stationed at Xuan Loc.

During the fighting for the place, the ARVN proved one last time that it too consisted of well-trained and loyal soldiers. In the media at the time, the army was mostly portrayed as poorly trained and unmotivated.

Lineup

After their victories in the central highlands of the country, the NVA troops moved further south and involved the ARVN in numerous battles. Xuan Loc, a small town in Long Khanh Province, was also the target of an attack because important roads to Saigon and other major cities crossed there. The North Vietnamese force consisted of the 341st, 6th and 7th Divisions. They faced the 18th ARVN division, which was supported by airborne units flown in by helicopter and local militias .

course

After their first brief attack on April 9, the NVA began bombarding Xuan Loc with artillery over a wide area. Then they advanced from three directions across the streets with tanks and infantry units on the city. The battle that followed was untypical for the Vietnam War, as entire divisions were involved in the fighting and many tanks and other large arms were used.

Up until April 11, all attacks by the ARVN regiments could be repulsed. After the situation calmed down somewhat, the ARVN troops were supplied with new ammunition by air transport by American helicopters, a total of 193 tons were flown in. In addition, marching columns of the Viet Cong were bombed from US planes. The attack began again on April 13, but the South Vietnamese were able to hold their positions.

After a few days of hard fighting, the ARVN units had to withdraw on the orders of the South Vietnamese High Command and fight their way free. The armored units in particular now suffered heavy losses and lost half of their vehicles. In addition, a Viet Cong artillery regiment moved in the same direction to attack an airfield .

After this attack on April 16, the last organized resistance on streets 1 and 20 collapsed. On April 20, the airborne unit left Xuan Loc, ending the battle. The unit later reformed and continued to fight.

In contrast to the prevailing impression of the ARVN until then, eyewitness reports at Xuan Loc indicated that the soldiers fought resolutely. It was one of the few battles in which ARVN troops did not retreat from superior opponents or deserted en masse. This also motivated the rest of the army, so that many units regrouped and resumed combat. The resistance also surprised the NVA troops, who suffered heavy losses, including 37 T-54 tanks that were eliminated by the ARVN. The government of South Vietnam had reporters flown in from the USA, among others, to document the heavy NVA losses.

consequences

After Xuan Loc had also fallen, there was not much in the way of the NVA troops on their way to Saigon. Resistance was only occasionally offered.

literature

  • Davidson, Philip. B (1988). Vietnam at War. Xuan Loc. Novato: Presidio Press
  • Colonel Hua Yen Len, Chief of Staff for Operations, 18th Infantry Division (1988). The Line of Steel at Xuan Loc: 12 Days and Nights of Ferocious Combat

Web links