Key Facts
- Duration
- March 5 – April 2, 1975 (28 days)
- Territory lost by South Vietnam
- All of I Corps Tactical Zone
- Key cities captured
- Huế and Da Nang by March 29, 1975
- ARVN corps destroyed
- 2 (I Corps and remnants of II Corps)
- PAVN formation
- 2nd Army Corps
Strategic Narrative Overview
The campaign opened on March 5, 1975, with PAVN forces pressing South Vietnamese defences on the outskirts of Huế and Da Nang. President Thiệu's order for General Trưởng to withdraw to coastal areas triggered a collapse of organised resistance. The PAVN 2nd Army Corps systematically destroyed ARVN units during the retreat, fully encircling and capturing both Huế and Da Nang by March 29.
01 / The Origins
By early 1975, North Vietnam's high command in Hanoi assessed that South Vietnamese forces were overstretched and politically weakened following the withdrawal of U.S. combat support. The PAVN planned a two-phase campaign to capture the major coastal cities of Huế and Da Nang in I Corps Tactical Zone, aiming to destroy South Vietnamese military units there and seize strategic northern provinces.
03 / The Outcome
By April 2, 1975, South Vietnam had lost all northern provinces and two army corps. A last-ditch attempt by ARVN General Phạm Văn Phú to establish a defensive line near Qui Nhơn to cover the retreating 22nd Infantry Division also failed. The campaign's rapid success far exceeded North Vietnamese expectations and directly precipitated the final offensive against Saigon.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Ngô Quang Trưởng, Phạm Văn Phú.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.