Re-establishing the Honor of South Vietnam: Reanalyzing the Tet, Easter, and Spring Offensives

South Vietnam, its people, and its soldiers in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), have largely been derided as "corrupt" and "incompetent" "cowards" who ran away from the fight the moment the Communists attacked. Mostly, the Western public typically does not even recognize their significance on the battlefield. This is because the media pushed the "traditional" narrative of the war: the view of an American vs. unified Vietnamese war. Now, military historians are starting to come back and re-analyze the battles of 1972 and 1975. What they find is a completely different story than has been told up until now. During the Easter Offensive of 1972, the ARVN managed to hold off 10 People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) divisions, as long as they had American air and logistical support. The ARVN held its ground without American ground forces. The ARVN additionally went up against MBTs and mechanized infantry, something American soldiers never went against in Vietnam. In 1975, the logistics of the ARVN completely ran out, forcing many soldiers to abandon their posts to try to feed their families. The ARVN also relied on the combined-arms warfare style of the United States which emphasizes air power. Due to the United States backing out, the ARVN was severely crippled. However, the PAVN still received artillery from the USSR and CCP. The ARVN still continued to fight numerous battles: Thuong Duc, Phuoc Long, Xuan Loc, and Tan Son Nhut to survive. These battles involved division-sized units (10,000 men), which show that South Vietnam was still willing to fight. She just simply ran out of food and ammo. 00:00 Introduction 00:06 American Perspective 00:42 Communist Perspective 02:11 Introducing the War's timeline 02:46 South Vietnam introduction 03:49 Covering the mainstream coverage 04:30 North Vietnam's political situation in 1967 05:54 The Tet Offensive of 1968 09:09 The Easter Offensive of 1972 15:16 Nguyen Van Thieu and the Peace Accords 16:58 The Spring Offensive of 1975 18:56 South Vietnam's Logistical Situation 20:58 The Fall of Saigon 25:03 Aftermath 26:40 Further Reading MUST WATCH/READS ~ MAIN SOURCES: *Recommended reads *Moyar, Mark. “Vietnam: Historians at War,” Academic Questions 21 (2008). Moise, E. E. (1976). “Land Reform And Land Reform Errors in North Vietnam.” Pacific Affairs, 49(1). Pribbenow, Merle L. "General Võ Nguyên Giáp and the Mysterious Evolution of the Plan for the 1968 Tet Offensive." Journal of Vietnamese Studies 3, no. 2 (2008). Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History: The First Complete Account of Vietnam at War. New York: The Viking Press, 1983. Hastings, Max. Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy 1945-1975. London: William Collins, 2018. Burns, Ken. and Novick, Lynn, director. The Vietnam War. Public Broadcasting Service, 2017. 1035 min. Tran, Van Quang, and others. Victory in Vietnam: The Official History of the People’s Army of Vietnam, 1954-1975. trans. Merle Pribbenow. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2002. *Andrade, Dale. America's Last Vietnam Battle: Halting Hanoi's 1972 Easter Offensive. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2001. *Melson, Charles D., and Arnold, Curtis G. U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The War That Would Not End 1971-1973. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, 1991. *McKenna, Thomas. Kontum: The Battle To Save South Vietnam. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 2011. Whitney, Craig R. “Thieu A Question.” New York Times. October 26, 1972. Hoang Van Thai. The Decisive Years: Memoirs of Senior General Hoang Van Thai. Washington, D.C.: Foreign Broadcast Information Service, 1987. *Veith, George. Black April: The Fall of South Vietnam, 1973, 1975. New York: Encounter Books, 2012. *Le Gro, William E. From Cease-Fire to Capitulation. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1981. *Ngo, Quang Truong. The Easter offensive of 1972. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1980.