Fall of Saigon

Saigon, South Vietnam (present-day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
Fall of Saigon
	Part of the 1975 spring offensive of the Vietnam War
	; A CIA officer helps evacuees up a ladder onto an Air America Bell 204/205 helicopter at 22 Gia Long Street on 29 April 1975
Date	30 April 1975
Location	Saigon, South Vietnam; (present-day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)10°46′41″N 106°41′46″E / 10.77806°N 106.69611°E
Result	North Vietnamese victory
Belligerents
North Vietnam Viet Cong;	South Vietnam Supported by:; United States;
Commanders and leaders
Lê Duẩn; Võ Nguyên Giáp; Văn Tiến Dũng; Trần Văn Trà; Lê Đức Anh; Nguyễn Hữu An; Lê Trọng Tấn	Dương Văn Minh ; Nguyễn Văn Huyền; Vũ Văn Mẫu; Phạm Văn Phú †; Nguyễn Khoa Nam †
Strength
270,000 regulars; 180,000 irregulars and guerrillas	31,000
Casualties and losses
At least 108 killed; At least 8 tanks and 1 armored vehicle destroyed or damaged;	Most soldiers captured or deserted; Some evacuated with the American fleet.; Dozens of tanks, armored vehicles and aircraft were destroyed or captured;

The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (Vietnamese: Ngày giải phóng miền Nam, thống nhất đất nước), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the South Vietnamese government and the evacuation of thousands of U.S. personnel and South Vietnamese civilians, and marked the end of the Vietnam War. The aftermath ushered in a transition period under North Vietnamese control, culminating in the formal reunification of the country as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under communist rule on 2 July 1976.^[3]

The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC), under the command of General Văn Tiến Dũng, began their final attack on Saigon on 29 April 1975, with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces commanded by General Nguyễn Văn Toàn suffering a heavy artillery bombardment. By the afternoon of the next day, the PAVN/VC had occupied the important points of the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese Presidential Palace.

The capture of the city was preceded by Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of almost all American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians who had been associated with the Republic of Vietnam. A few Americans chose not to be evacuated. United States ground combat units had left South Vietnam more than two years prior to the fall of Saigon and were not available to assist with either the defense of Saigon or the evacuation.^[4] The evacuation was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.^[5]^: 202 In addition to the flight of refugees, the end of the war and the institution of new rules by the communist government contributed to a decline in the city's population until 1979,^[6] after which the population increased again.^[7]

On 2 July 1976, the National Assembly of the unified Vietnam renamed Saigon in honor of Hồ Chí Minh, the late Chairman of the Workers' Party of Vietnam and founder of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam).^[8] 30 April is still commemorated in Vietnam as a national holiday called Reunification Day.^[9]

^ Ho Chi Minh Campaign (30 April 1975) (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Hồ Chí Minh lịch sử (30/4/1975))
^ "Trận chiến bi hùng của Bộ đội xe tăng Trung đoàn 273: 9 xe bị bắn cháy ngay trước giờ toàn thắng". Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
^ Walsh, Kenneth T. (30 April 2015). "The U.S. and Vietnam: 40 Years After the Fall of Saigon". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018..
^
Multiple sources:
- "Last American Ground Combat Unit Is Deactivated in South Vietnam". The New York Times. 12 August 1972. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- John J. Valdez. "The Last to Leave". fallofsaigon.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. I think we got all the Americans out who wanted to leave. Some of them elected to stay there, mostly reporters. (originally published in the May 1975 issue of Leatherneck Magazine)
- Krich, Claudia (3 May 2015). "Eyewitness to the 'fall' of Vietnam: It was not a bloodbath". The Davis Enterprise. p. B5. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. (The article describes the experiences of three American women who stayed in Saigon)
- Laurie, Jim. "Vietnam 2015 – 40 years on". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. (Article by an American journalist who chose not to be evacuated)
- "Americans who stayed on may be source of sightings". New Straits Times. 3 August 1991. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. (Article asserting that about 70 Americans stayed behind and containing details of some individual cases)
- "The Last Days in Vietnam". Movie review. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. This is a story about a few brave, good people who stayed behind in order to not leave anyone behind. (mentions NBC correspondents Jim Laurie and Neil Davis who stayed after the evacuation)
^ Dunham, Maj. George R.; Quinlan, Col. David A. (1990). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–1975 (Marine Corps Vietnam Operational Histories Series) (PDF). Washington DC: History & Museums Division; Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. ISBN 978-0-16-026455-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Desbarats, Jacqueline. "Repression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Executions and Population Relocation", from The Vietnam Debate (1990) by John Morton Moore.
^ Bharath, Deepa (29 April 2011). "O.C. Black April events commemorate fall of Saigon". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
^ "Quốc hội quyết nghị lấy tên nước là Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam" [The National Assembly resolved to name the country the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.]. People's Army Newspaper (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 17 August 2023.
^ Quân, Tin Liên (1 May 2016). "Nhiều hoạt động kỷ niệm 41 năm ngày Giải phóng miền Nam, thống nhất đất nước (30/4/1975 – 30/4/2016)" [Many activities to celebrate the 41st anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2016)]. Hànộimới (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 30 April 2018.

[1] Ho Chi Minh Campaign (30 April 1975) (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Hồ Chí Minh lịch sử (30/4/1975))

[2] "Trận chiến bi hùng của Bộ đội xe tăng Trung đoàn 273: 9 xe bị bắn cháy ngay trước giờ toàn thắng". Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.

[3] Walsh, Kenneth T. (30 April 2015). "The U.S. and Vietnam: 40 Years After the Fall of Saigon". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018..

[:0-4] Multiple sources:
"Last American Ground Combat Unit Is Deactivated in South Vietnam". The New York Times. 12 August 1972. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

John J. Valdez. "The Last to Leave". fallofsaigon.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. I think we got all the Americans out who wanted to leave. Some of them elected to stay there, mostly reporters. (originally published in the May 1975 issue of Leatherneck Magazine)

Krich, Claudia (3 May 2015). "Eyewitness to the 'fall' of Vietnam: It was not a bloodbath". The Davis Enterprise. p. B5. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. (The article describes the experiences of three American women who stayed in Saigon)

Laurie, Jim. "Vietnam 2015 – 40 years on". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. (Article by an American journalist who chose not to be evacuated)

"Americans who stayed on may be source of sightings". New Straits Times. 3 August 1991. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. (Article asserting that about 70 Americans stayed behind and containing details of some individual cases)

"The Last Days in Vietnam". Movie review. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. This is a story about a few brave, good people who stayed behind in order to not leave anyone behind. (mentions NBC correspondents Jim Laurie and Neil Davis who stayed after the evacuation)

[5] "Last American Ground Combat Unit Is Deactivated in South Vietnam". The New York Times. 12 August 1972. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

[6] John J. Valdez. "The Last to Leave". fallofsaigon.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. I think we got all the Americans out who wanted to leave. Some of them elected to stay there, mostly reporters. (originally published in the May 1975 issue of Leatherneck Magazine)

[7] Krich, Claudia (3 May 2015). "Eyewitness to the 'fall' of Vietnam: It was not a bloodbath". The Davis Enterprise. p. B5. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. (The article describes the experiences of three American women who stayed in Saigon)

[8] Laurie, Jim. "Vietnam 2015 – 40 years on". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. (Article by an American journalist who chose not to be evacuated)

[9] "Americans who stayed on may be source of sightings". New Straits Times. 3 August 1991. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. (Article asserting that about 70 Americans stayed behind and containing details of some individual cases)

[10] "The Last Days in Vietnam". Movie review. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. This is a story about a few brave, good people who stayed behind in order to not leave anyone behind. (mentions NBC correspondents Jim Laurie and Neil Davis who stayed after the evacuation)

[Dunham-5] Dunham, Maj. George R.; Quinlan, Col. David A. (1990). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–1975 (Marine Corps Vietnam Operational Histories Series) (PDF). Washington DC: History & Museums Division; Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. ISBN 978-0-16-026455-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[:1-6] Desbarats, Jacqueline. "Repression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Executions and Population Relocation", from The Vietnam Debate (1990) by John Morton Moore.

[OC_Register2-7] Bharath, Deepa (29 April 2011). "O.C. Black April events commemorate fall of Saigon". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2014.

[8] "Quốc hội quyết nghị lấy tên nước là Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam" [The National Assembly resolved to name the country the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.]. People's Army Newspaper (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 17 August 2023.

[9] Quân, Tin Liên (1 May 2016). "Nhiều hoạt động kỷ niệm 41 năm ngày Giải phóng miền Nam, thống nhất đất nước (30/4/1975 – 30/4/2016)" [Many activities to celebrate the 41st anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2016)]. Hànộimới (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 30 April 2018.

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