Major Battles of the Vietnam War - credit of war information to History.com, historynet.com, wikipedia.com and education-portal.com
The Battle of Ap Bac was the first major battle in the Vietnam war. It was fought by the ARVN and NVA at Ap Bac –a village in Dinh Tuong province, approximately 50 miles southwest of Saigon on January 2, 1963. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on a much more superior South Vietnamese troops with American assistance in weapons and planning. It exemplified poor performances in both fighting ability and spirit of the South Vietnamese forces in compared to the Viet Cong.
The Battle of Ap Bac was the first major battle in the Vietnam war. It was fought by the ARVN and NVA at Ap Bac –a village in Dinh Tuong province, approximately 50 miles southwest of Saigon on January 2, 1963. The battle resulted in heavy casualties on a much more superior South Vietnamese troops with American assistance in weapons and planning. It exemplified poor performances in both fighting ability and spirit of the South Vietnamese forces in compared to the Viet Cong.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was really two incidents that occurred betwen North Vietnam and the US in the Gulf of Tonkin. On August 2, 1964, the destroyer USS Maddox, while performing an intelligence patrol, engaged three North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boats of the 135th Torpedo Squadron. A sea battle resulted, in which theMaddox expended over two hundred and eighty 3-inch and 5-inch shells, and in which four USN F-8 Crusader jet fighter bombers attacked the torpedo boats. One US aircraft was damaged, one 14.5 mm round hit the destroyer, three North Vietnamese torpedo boats were damaged, and four North Vietnamese sailors were killed and six were wounded; there were no U.S. casualties.
During the Buddhist holiday of TET, over 80,000 Vietcong troops emerged from their tunnels and attacked nearly every major metropolitan center in South Vietnam. Surprise strikes were made at the American base at Danang, and even the seemingly impenetrable American embassy in Saigon was attacked. During the weeks that followed, the South Vietnamese army and U.S. ground forces recaptured all of the lost territory, inflicting twice as many casualties on the Vietcong as suffered by the Americans. The showdown was a military victory for the United States, but American morale suffered an insurmountable blow.
Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle between regular U.S. and People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) troops. The 2-part battle occurred from November 14 to November 18, 1965 at the Landing Zone X-Ray and Albany in La Drang Valley, Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Despite heavy casualties on both sides, both claimed the battle was a victory of their owns. As a matter of fact, Ia Drang Valley battle was considered essential as it set the blueprint for tactics for both sides during the conflict. American troops continued to reply on air mobility and artillery fire to achieve their battlefield objectives –victory of the so-called “body count”. On the other side, the Viet Cong learned that by quickly engaging their combat forces close to the enemy (fighting at close range), they could neutralize American advantages.
The Battle of Khe Sanh took place in Quang Tri province, North-western South Vietnam from January 21, 1968, when PAVN troops began a heavy artillery bombardment on the U.S. Marine garrison at Khe Sanh. For the next 77 days, ARVN and U.S. Marines fought an extensive fight until Operation Pegasus ended the siege. Khe Sanh turned out to be one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.
Aftermath, both sides claimed victory despite heavy casualties on the communists and the fact that the U.S. had to abandon a key combat base due to enemy pressure for the first time. Although the U.S. officials expected a full-scale offensive from the North Vietnamese troops, it never came.
Aftermath, both sides claimed victory despite heavy casualties on the communists and the fact that the U.S. had to abandon a key combat base due to enemy pressure for the first time. Although the U.S. officials expected a full-scale offensive from the North Vietnamese troops, it never came.
The Battle of Hamburger Hill was fought between the U.S. and ARVN against PAVN forces from May 10th to 20th, 1969. It took place on Hill 937 (as it was 937-meter above the sea) which would be later known as “Hamburger Hill” due to its grinding nature as a reference to a similar battle called “The Battle of Pork Chop Hill”during the Korean war.
The battle was part of Operation Apache Snow with the goal of clearing PAVN from the remote A Shau Valley in Thua Thien –Hue province, South Vietnam. Although the hill was of little strategic value, U.S. commanders ordered direct assaults, causing unnecessarily high casualties, only to abandon it soon after on June 7. As a result, the battle caused lots of public outrage and controversy when reached Washington.
Some consider this battle as a turning point for Americans in the conflict as it became more and more unpopular at home. Many American people felt the Battle of Hamburger Hill as a pointless battle in a meaningless war. In fact, many started to doubt whether they should be involved in Vietnam and the anti-war movements were reaching its peak. Under extensive public and political pressure, General Creighton Abrams dropped “maximum pressure”in favour of “protective reactiion”policy to lower casualties while at the same time President Nixon announced the first troop withdrawal from South Vietnam.
The battle was part of Operation Apache Snow with the goal of clearing PAVN from the remote A Shau Valley in Thua Thien –Hue province, South Vietnam. Although the hill was of little strategic value, U.S. commanders ordered direct assaults, causing unnecessarily high casualties, only to abandon it soon after on June 7. As a result, the battle caused lots of public outrage and controversy when reached Washington.
Some consider this battle as a turning point for Americans in the conflict as it became more and more unpopular at home. Many American people felt the Battle of Hamburger Hill as a pointless battle in a meaningless war. In fact, many started to doubt whether they should be involved in Vietnam and the anti-war movements were reaching its peak. Under extensive public and political pressure, General Creighton Abrams dropped “maximum pressure”in favour of “protective reactiion”policy to lower casualties while at the same time President Nixon announced the first troop withdrawal from South Vietnam.
The Easter Offensive was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN, the regular army of South Vietnam) and the US military between March 30 and October 22, 1972. This conventional invasion (the largest offensive operation since 300,000 Chinese volunteers had crossed the Yalu River into North Korea during the Korean War) was a radical departure from previous North Vietnamese offensives. The offensive was not designed to win the war outright but to gain as much territory and destroy as many units of the ARVN as possible, to improve the North's negotiating position as the Paris Peace Accords drew towards a conclusion.
The US 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 North Vietnamese army. This first attempt by theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to invade the south since 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.
The US 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 North Vietnamese army. This first attempt by theDemocratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) to invade the south since 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.
The Battle of Xuan Loc, known as “The last stand at Xuan Loc”–the last major battle of the Vietnam war, began on April 9, 1975 and ended on April 20, 1975 in the town of Xuan Loc, Dong Nai Province, South Vietnam. The battle was the last-ditch effort of the last military unit of the ARVN to stop PAVN’s progress and save South Vietnam after devastating defeats in the Central Highlands and cities of Hue and Da Nang.
Despite initial success in keeping the Viet Cong out of the town, the last ARVN unit was eventually forced to withdraw after Xuan Loc was totally isolated. The Battle of Xuan Loc was not only a terrible blow to the ARVN who lost almost all their units after the costly defeat but also led to President Thieu’s resignation. For the PAVN, they had already controlled almost two third of South Vietnam’s territory and most importantly, the gateway to Saigon was now widely open.
Despite initial success in keeping the Viet Cong out of the town, the last ARVN unit was eventually forced to withdraw after Xuan Loc was totally isolated. The Battle of Xuan Loc was not only a terrible blow to the ARVN who lost almost all their units after the costly defeat but also led to President Thieu’s resignation. For the PAVN, they had already controlled almost two third of South Vietnam’s territory and most importantly, the gateway to Saigon was now widely open.
The decisive victory in Xuan Loc opened the way for PAVN to encircle Saigon. By April 27, there were 100,000 PAVN troops around the city. The ARVN had around 60,000 troops left for the defence of their capital. However, most of them either joined the mass exodus getting out of the city or were too battered and leaderless to fight. The fate of Saigon and South Vietnam was quickly sealed, preceded by the final evacuations from the U.S. and its allies. The Vietnam war was finally ended.
The fall of Saigon and South Vietnam led to the reunification of Vietnam under the Communist rule with the city renamed after their revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh.
The fall of Saigon and South Vietnam led to the reunification of Vietnam under the Communist rule with the city renamed after their revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh.