Combat· Vietnam War
Easter Offensive 1972
The Easter Offensive was North Vietnam's massive conventional invasion of the South, a multi-front assault by regular divisions equipped with tanks and heavy artillery, launched to shatter the South Vietnamese army and seize a decisive victory while American ground forces were all but gone. The main blow in the north came across the Demilitarized Zone, overrunning the forward defenses and capturing Quang Tri before the line could be stabilized. With American ground troops withdrawn, the defense rested on the South Vietnamese, including the Vietnamese Marine Corps, stiffened by their American advisors and by a powerful return of American air and naval firepower. United States Marine aviation and naval gunfire rejoined the fight in strength to help blunt the offensive and support the eventual counterattack that retook Quang Tri. The Easter Offensive was the great test of Vietnamization, the South surviving with massive American support while exposing its continued dependence on that firepower.
Engagements in this conflict (1)
Record no. 711