The 1972 Easter Offensive was a massive attack launched by the North Vietnamese Army on the South Vietnamese defensive positions deployed along the border (17th parallel) between the North and South. Known as the Spring Offensive by the Republic of North Vietnam, it was set in motion on March 30, 1972, during the Vietnam War. For this surprise and vicious onslaught, the North Vietnamese Army employed 160,000 men organized around 14 infantry divisions, reinforced by armored units and backed by artillery. The North Vietnamese also had at their disposal 150,000 reserve troops. The commander of all the North Vietnamese forces was Lê Trọng Tấn. The South Vietnamese Army's I, II, III Corps bore the brunt of the communist attack. The commander of the South Vietnamese I Corps was Hoàng Xuân Lãm, while the II and III Corps were led by Ngô Du and Nguyễn Văn Minh respectively.
When the Easter Offensive was launched, the United States of America, led by Richard Nixon, was already de-escalating the war in Vietnam, withdrawing American combat troops by stages, with the American forces being replaced by US-trained South Vietnamese Army units. This was known as the 'vietnamization' of this armed conflict. Although the 1968 North Vietnamese Tet Offensive had failed to achieve its objectives, it had a negative impact on American society, increasing the peace demonstrations on the streets and the opposition to the war in Southeast Asia. It had also forced Lyndon B. Johnson not to run for a second term in Office. Thus, the Republican candidate, Richard Nixon had won the presidential election in November 1968, promising the American people 'peace with honor'.
Summary
By March 1972, the US Army's high command had been expecting a communist offensive, but the size and fierceness of the onslaught caught the defenders by surprise as the North Vietnamese forces struck on three fronts simultaneously. In the South Vietnamese's I Corps Tactical Zone, North Vietnamese units overran South Vietnam's defensive positions in a month-long battle and captured Quảng Trị city, before moving south in an attempt to seize Huế. North Vietnamese infantry divisions similarly eliminated frontier defense forces in the II Corps Tactical Zone and advanced to seize the provincial capital of Kon Tum, threatening to open a way to the sea, which would have split South Vietnam in two. Northeast of Saigon, in the III Corps Tactical Zone, the communist People's Army of Vietnam also attacked and overwhelmed Lộc Ninh and advanced to attack the capital of Bình Long Province at An Lộc.
Result
Although US Air Force bombing missions (Operation Linebacker) had stopped the Easter Offensive by October 1972, the North Vietnamese forces (People's Army of Vietnam) managed to achieve two important goals: they had invaded and gained valuable territory within South Vietnam for the first time in the war. This territory would be used as a buffer zone and springboard, from which to launch future offensives. The second goal was that they had gotten a better bargaining position at the peace negotiations, which were being conducted in Paris. Thus, the Easter Offensive was a victory for North Vietnam.
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| A North Vietnamese artillery troops operating Soviet-made 122-mm howitzers during the first phase of the Easter Offensive. |
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| A map showing North Vietnamese Army attack on the South Vietnamese positions in the I Corps Zone. |