Battle of Xuan Loc

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle of Xuan Loc

Date	April 9-20, 1975
Location	Xuan Loc, South Vietnam
Result	Decisive North Vietnamese victory.

Combatants

North Vietnam

South Vietnam

Commanders

Hoang Cam,
Hoang The Thien

Le Minh Dao

Strength

40,000

6,000

Casualties

5,000~ dead and wounded

2,500 dead and wounded

Vietnam War
Ap Bac – Binh Gia –Pleiku – Song Be – Dong Xoai – Gang Toi – Ia Drang – Hastings – A Shau – Duc Co –Long Tan – Attleboro – Cedar Falls – Tra Binh Dong – Junction City – Hill 881 – Ong Thanh – Dak To – 1st Tet – Khe Sanh – 1st Saigon – Hue – Lang Vei – Lima Site 85 – Kham Duc – Dewey Canyon – 2nd Tet – Hamburger Hill – Binh Ba – Cambodia – Snuol – FSB Ripcord – Lam Son 719 – Ban Dong –FSB Mary Ann – Easter '72 – 1st Quang Tri –Loc Ninh – An Loc – Kontum – 2nd Quang Tri –Phuoc Long – Ho Chi Minh – Buon Me Thuot – Xuan Loc – Truong Sa –2nd Saigon – Rolling Thunder – Barrell Roll – Pony Express – Steel Tiger – Tiger Hound – Tailwind – Commando Hunt – Linebacker I – Linebacker II – Chenla I – Chenla II – SS Mayagüez

The Battle of Xuan Loc was the last major battle of the Vietnam War. Over a period of twelve days, the ARVN 18th Infantry Division attempted to stop three VPA divisions from overunning Xuan Loc.

In regards to Saigon, General Van Tien Dung planned to launch a five pronged drive on the South Vietnamese captial, but wishing to avoid the same level of destruction inflicted during the Tet Offensive. As a result, General Dung made a decision to throw his regular units against the ARVN, and try to destroy the irreplaceable South Vietnamese units to prevent them from regrouping in Saigon.

During the fight for Xuan Loc both sides displayed feats of courage, leadership and determination. For the soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in particular, the battle proved that they were determined fighters, contrary to a percentage of Western media which often portray them as cowards.

1 Setup
2 Battle
3 Aftermath
4 Order Of Battle
- 4.1 North Vietnam
- 4.2 South Vietnam
5 References
6 External Link

[edit] Setup

Following their victories in the Central Highlands, the Communist forces were applying pressure on the South Vietnamese on all battlefields. Xuan Loc, located in Long Khanh Province, was a small town that occupied the key roads into the capital, Saigon.

The main North Vietnamese formation moving towards Xuan Loc were the 341st, 6th and 7th Divisions. Defiantly blocking their way were the ARVN 18th Divisions, Long Khanh provincial forces, and 82nd Ranger Battalion. On 12 April 1975, the 1st Airborne Brigade, made up of four Airborne Battalions and one Airborne artillery battalion, was moved into the area of operations by helicopter.

[edit] Battle

Following the initial assault on April 9, the 341st VPA Division bombarded Xuan Loc with more than four thousand rounds of artillery fire. North Vietnamese tank and infantry began moving into the streets of Xuan Loc, and the battle which followed was unique in many respects for the Vietnam War, involving units of divisional size, devastatingly effective VNAF airpower and sophisticated US-made BLU-82 Daisy Cutters. Between the 3rd and 11th of April, North Vietnamese units attempted to push into Xuan Loc, but the 43rd and 52nd ARVN Regiments held their ground as one assault after another was beaten back.

When the situation in the area was temporarily stablised, the South Vietnamese air force began resupplying the ground forces. On April 12, 93 tons of artillery ammunition was flown in by CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and another 100 tons arrived the following day. While resupplying efforts were underway, flights of A-1 Skyraiders were called in to provide close-air-support as South Vietnamese C-130s blasted North Vietnamese formations using Daisy Cutter bombs.

On April 13 the North Vietnamese forces resumed their attack, fighting with the 1st Battalion of the 43rd ARVN Regiment.

After 12 days and nights of ferocious combat against the North Vietnamese Army, the ARVN defenders gradually give ground when Military Region III headquarters ordered the 18th Infantry Division and other units to pull back to Bien Hoa. The 18th Division had to fight its way out with the supporting armoured task force losing half of its equipment. Coincidentally, the 6th VPA Division was also moving the same direction as the ARVN, with 130mm artillery pieces aimed at Bien Hoa airbase. On the morning of April 16, artillery and rocket strikes damaged six F-5s and 14 A-37s. The artillery attack on Bien Hoa also marked the end of organised resistance after heavy assaults on ARVN positions along Routes 1 and 20. On April 20, all resistance were ended with the 1st ARVN Airborne Brigade withdrawing towards Ba Ria in Phuoc Tuy where it continued to fight.

In contrast to the general impression of total collapse on the part of the ARVN, the events at Xuan Loc was described as 'heroic and gallant' by the South Vietnamese defenders. It was one of the few places where the ARVN, though outnumbered, stood and fought with a tenacity which stunned their opponents. The stand of the ARVN so impressed the rest of the entire South Vietnamese Army, that previously routed, they grew confident again. News reporters were flown in from around the world to witness the battlefield strewn with VPA casualties, repelled in assault after assault with heavy losses, including at least 37 T-54 tanks destroyed or knocked out.

[edit] Aftermath

With Xuan Loc and all of Long Khanh Province secured, the gateway to Saigon was opened for North Vietnam's final assault. The only thing stood on their way were small pockets of desperate ARVN defenders.

For South Vietnam and its government, the fall of Xuan Loc was another painful blow following the loss of the Central Highlands. But for the men of the 18th Infantry Division and other units, inside a larger defeat they could find a personal victory, as they proved for the last time during this decade-long conflict that they could stand and fight.

[edit] Order Of Battle

[edit] North Vietnam

341st Division
6th Division
7th Division
Independent 95A Regiment
75th Artillery Group

[edit] South Vietnam

18th Infantry Division
Task Force 43 (43rd Regiment, 5th Armoured Cavalry Squadron, 82nd Ranger Battalion and Regional Forces)
48th Regiment
52nd Regiment
1st Airborne Brigade
South Vietnamese Air Force 3rd Division
South Vietnamese Air Force 4th Division

[edit] References

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"