Black April: The Fall of South Vietnam, 1973-75 PDF
Preview Black April: The Fall of South Vietnam, 1973-75
BLACK APRIL PRAISE FOR BLACK APRIL “Veith tells his tale with a flair and passion equal to that of Shelby Foote writing about the American Civil War. In this volume he has substantially elevated the level of scholarship with regard to Vietnam, judiciously analyzing histories, memoirs, and official documents before blending them into his narrative. The result is a superb book that should substantially change popular assumptions about America’s allies in the long Vietnam conflict, the character of the South Vietnamese and their military establishment, and the relevance of all this for current and future American military involvement around the world.” —Dr. Larry Engelmann, professor of history at San Jose State University and author of Tears Before the Rain: An Oral History of the Fall of South Vietnam “George Veith has produced the definitive account of the final battles that preceded the collapse of the Republic of Vietnam and its capitulation to the Communist armed forces of North Vietnam. This is a detailed, exhaustively researched, critically analyzed study of the interplay of politics, strategy, logistics, and personalities in the decline and eventual disintegration of the Republic’s armed forces. Mr. Veith skillfully weaves information from four types of source material into his tragic tale: firsthand accounts and reports from South Vietnamese officers and units, American intelligence reports, North Vietnamese official reports and accounts of the strategy and the battles, and postwar interviews with South Vietnamese military participants. This book should put to rest forever the popular misconceptions that the war in Indochina ended with the withdrawal of American forces, and that the war was lost because the forces of the South lacked the will to fight.” —Colonel William E. Le Gro, former Intelligence Chief of the Defense Attaché Office, Saigon, and author of Vietnam from CeaseFire to Capitulation “Masterful, empathetic, and insightful. Veith knows why South Vietnam still mattered even after America got out, and he tells the story beautifully. Black April is an immensely important work by a historian and writer of the first order.” —Robert Kurson, author of Shadow Divers Photo used on cover, title page, and chapter openers: North Vietnamese T-54 tank destroyed on 11 April 1975 by forces from the South Vietnamese 18th Division during the battle for Xuan Loc. South Vietnamese soldiers were given a monetary reward for destroying North Vietnamese tanks, but they had to prove it; hence the painting on the destroyed tank. The painting on the tank’s hull says: Su Doan, 18, LK 11-4 (18th Division, Long Khanh, 11 April) The painting on the front slope of the tank’s hull says: Chi Doan, 1/5 CXA, Ban Ha Ngay, 11/4/75, Chi Doi 2 – Xa Doi [32 or 52] (1st Tank Troop/5th Squadron. Destroyed 11 April 1975. 2nd Platoon/Tank Crew [32 or 52]) Copyright © 2012 by George J. Veith All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York, 10003. First American edition published in 2012 by Encounter Books, an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc., a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation. Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com Manufactured in the United States and printed on acid-free paper. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper). Maps by Philip Schwartzberg, Meridian Mapping, Minneapolis FIRST AMERICAN EDITION LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Veith, George J., 1957– Black April: the fall of South Vietnam, 1973–1975 / by George J. Veith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-5940-3573-9 1. Vietnam War, 1961–1975. 2. Vietnam War, 1961–1975—United States. I. Title. DS557.7.V45 2011 959.704’3—dc22 2011005905 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated to the men and women, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, 1955–1975, who stood and fought And to the men and women, U.S. Mission, Vietnam, 1973–1975, who so valiantly tried to uphold America’s honor CONTENTS Maps Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations List of Persons Military Forces Introduction CHAPTER 1 “The U.S. will react vigorously”: Signing the Paris Peace Accords CHAPTER 2 “South Vietnam will have both peace and war”: The Collapse of the Accords CHAPTER 3 “Enough to make the angels weep”: Trading Blood for Ammunition CHAPTER 4 “A rainy season like no other”: The War Resumes CHAPTER 5 “Even the gods weep for Phuoc Long”: The Beginning of the End CHAPTER 6 “How can the free world abandon us?”: Preparing for the Strategic Blow CHAPTER 7 “Goodbye for now, Ban Me Thuot”: Beginning the “Great Spring Offensive” CHAPTER 8 “Light at the top, heavy at the bottom”: Decisions That Destroyed a Nation CHAPTER 9 “The Road of Blood and Tears”: The Retreat from the Highlands CHAPTER 10 “Chaos and disintegration”: Surrounding Saigon CHAPTER 11 “How could I abandon this rocky soil?”: Fighting to Save Hue CHAPTER 12 “The hours of hell”: The Collapse of I Corps CHAPTER 13 “The sea is our only hope”: The Battle for the Coastal Cities CHAPTER 14 “Lightning speed, daring, surprise, certain victory”: PAVN Surrounds Saigon CHAPTER 15 “Hold fast the remaining land”: The South Vietnamese Fight Back CHAPTER 16 “No matter what happens, do not stop your attack”: Capturing Phan Rang CHAPTER 17 “I will knock them down!”: ARVN Holds at Xuan Loc CHAPTER 18 “Do not come home until victory is won”: The Fall of Saigon Notes Selected Bibliography Index
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