Easter Offensive - Offensive

Offensive

The offensive began at noon on 30 March 1972, when an intense artillery barrage rained down on the northernmost ARVN outposts in Quảng Trị Province. Two PAVN divisions (the 304th and 308th – approximately 30,000 troops) supported by more than 100 tanks (in 2 Regiments) then rolled over the Demilitarized Zone to attack I Corps, the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese 308th Division and two independent regiments assaulted the "ring of steel", the arc of ARVN firebases just south of the DMZ. From the west, the 334B PAVN Division, including an armoured regiment, moved out of Laos along Route 9, past Khe Sanh, and into the Quảng Trị River Valley. Significantly, allied intelligence had failed to predict either the scale of the offensive or the method of attack, giving PAVN "the inestimable benefit of shock effect, a crucial psychological edge over defenders who had expected something quite different."

On 1 April, South Vietnamese General Giai, ordered a withdrawal of the 3rd Division south of the Cua Viet River in order for his troops to reorganize. The following morning, ARVN armoured elements held off a PAVN offensive briefly when the crucial Highway QL-1 bridge over the Cue Viet River at Đông Hà was blown up by Capt. John Ripley, adviser to the 3rd Vietnamese Marine Battalion. The initial PAVN units were then joined by the 320B and 325C Divisions. Simultaneously, the 324B Division moved out of the A Shau Valley and advanced directly eastward toward Fire Bases Bastogne and Checkmate, which protected the old imperial capital of Huế from the west.

The North Vietnamese advance had been timed to coincide with the seasonal monsoon, whose 500 feet (152 m) cloud ceilings negated many U.S. airstrikes. PAVN advance elements also soon followed by antiaircraft units armed with new ZSU-57-2 tracked weapon platforms and man-portable, shoulder-fired Grail missiles, which made low-level bombing attacks hazardous.

Camp Carroll, an artillery firebase halfway between the Laotian border and the coast, was the linchpin of the South Vietnamese northern and western defense line and was the strongest obstacle to the North Vietnamese before Quảng Trị City. On 2 April Colonel Pham Van Dinh, commander of the 56th ARVN Regiment, surrendered the camp and his 1,500 troops with barely a shot being fired. Later in the day, ARVN troops abandoned Mai Loc, the last western base. This allowed North Vietnamese forces to cross the Cam Lo bridge, 11 kilometers to the west of Dong Ha. PAVN then had almost unrestricted access to western Quảng Trị Province north of the Thach Han River.

The PAVN advance was slowed by delaying actions for three weeks, and the South Vietnamese launched several counterattacks, but on the morning of 27 April, the North Vietnamese came on again, launching multi-pronged attacks against Dong Ha (which fell on the following day) and advancing to within 1.5 kilometers of Quảng Trị City. General Giai had planned a staged withdrawal from the city to consolidate south of the Thach Han, but bewildered by conflicting orders from Lam and Giai, most ARVN formations splintered and then collapsed, conceding most of the province north of the city. On 29 April, Giai ordered a general retreat to the My Chanh River, thirteen kilometers to the south. U.S. military advisors in Quảng Trị called for emergency helicopter extraction and, on 1 May 132 survivors were evacuated from Quảng Trị, including 80 U.S. soldiers.

The exodus of ARVN forces was joined by tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians fleeing from the fighting. As the mass of humanity jostled and shoved its way south on Highway 1, it presented an inviting target for North Vietnamese artillerists. They were soon joined by PAVN infantry, who moved by the flank to attack the column. ARVN units, with no leadership and all unit cohesion gone, could muster no defense. Meanwhile, to the west, Fire Support Bases Bastogne and Checkmate had fallen after staunch ARVN defense and massive B-52 bomber strikes, which inflicted heavy casualties. On 21 April Abrams notified the U.S. Secretary of Defense that

In summary...the pressure is mounting and the battle has become brutal...the senior military leadership has begun to bend and in some cases to break. In adversity it is losing its will and cannot be depended upon to take the measures necessary to stand and fight.

Giai evacuated the last of his forces from Quảng Trị City, which fell to PAVN forces on 2 May. That same day General Lam was summoned to Saigon for a meeting with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu. He was relieved of command of I Corps and replaced by Lieutenant General Ngo Quang Truong, commander of III Corps and one of the ablest ARVN generals. Truong's mission was to defend the old imperial capital of Huế, minimize further losses, and retake captured territory. Although saddled with raw troops and constantly countermanded by his superiors, General Giai had conducted a reasonably good defense. Even Truong pleaded his case with Thieu, wanting to keep Giai in command of the 3rd Division. It was in vain. Giai, who was to be made the scapegoat for the collapse, was tried for "desertion in the face of the enemy", and sentenced to five years in prison.