Battle of Xuan Loc - Background

Background

In the first half of 1975, the government of the Republic of Vietnam was in deep political turmoil, which reflected the military situation on the battlefield. At least two assassination attempts specifically targeting President Nguyen Van Thieu were foiled. On January 23, a South Vietnamese army officer tried to shoot President Thieu with his pistol but he failed. The officer was subsequently tried by the military court. On April 4, South Vietnamese pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung bombed the Independence Palace with his F-5 Tiger. It later turned out that the pilot had been an undercover member of the Viet Cong since 1969. Following those failed assassination attempts, President Nguyen Van Thieu grew suspicious of his own military commanders.

On April 2, the South Vietnamese Senate recommended the formation of a new government with Nguyen Ba Can as the new leader. As a result, Prime Minister Tran Thien Kiem resigned from his position. President Nguyen Van Thieu, in response to the Senate’s recommendations, immediately approved Tran Thien Kiem’s resignation and swore in Nguyen Ba Can as the new Prime Minister. On April 4, while announcing the changes of government on Saigon television, President Nguyen Van Thieu also requested the arrest of three army commanders; Major General Pham Van Phu for the debacle in the Central Highlands, General Pham Quoc Thuan for his failure to hold Nha Trang, and Lietenant General Du Quoc Dong for the loss of Phuoc Long. General Ngo Quang Truong, commander of I Corps Tactical Zone, was spared as he was undergoing medical treatment.

During a meeting with U.S. General Frederick C. Weyand on April 3, President Nguyen Van Thieu outlined his final strategy to defend South Vietnam, vowing to hold what is left of his country against Communist North Vietnam. In his strategy, President Nguyen Van Thieu decided that Xuan Loc would be the center of his country’s resistance, with Tay Ninh and Phan Rang on either side. Eventually, the meeting became more intense when Nguyen Van Thieu produced a letter written by former U.S. President Richard Nixon, which promised military retaliation against North Vietnam if they violated the terms of the Paris Peace Accord. The meeting then concluded with Nguyen Van Thieu accusing the United States Government of selling out his country the moment they signed the Paris Peace Accords with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

In contrast to the situation faced by their opponents in Saigon, the North Vietnamese government were buoyed by the victories achieved by their armies since December 1974. By April 8, 1975, the North Vietnamese military had captured all the provinces in South Vietnam’s I and II Corps Tactical Zones, as well as Phuoc Long Province. While the South Vietnamese army were disintegrating all over the battlefield, North Vietnam had two army corps moving towards the last South Vietnamese stronghold at Xuan Loc. The North Vietnamese 4th Army Corps, which overran Phuoc Long several months earlier, approached Xuan Loc from the north-east after they conquered Tay Ninh, Binh Long and Long Khanh. The 3rd Army Corps, on the other hand, moved towards Xuan Loc from the north-west after they defeated the South Vietnamese army in the Central Highlands.