On 30 March 1972, while peace negotiations had been dragging on for four
years in Paris, the North Vietnamese launched a wide scale offensive in
order to break the stalemate. At that date, practically no American
ground forces remained in South Vietnam where a limited offensive was
expected in the Central Highlands area. But nobody imagined the
magnitude of the multidivisional, armor led onslaught. The blow fell
first across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the North from
South Vietnam (see Volume 1). Following from the initial attack, in a
surprise move, three communist divisions with T-54 tanks attacked from
their sanctuaries in Cambodia just north of Saigon. Their tanks ventured
into the streets of An Loc City where they were checked by a desperate
and heroic stand by the South Vietnamese soldiers and their American
advisers, thus saving the capital of South Vietnam.
Finally, the third prong of the North Vietnamese offensive swept across
the northern Central Highlands, destroying a whole South Vietnamese
division. The communists then resumed their advance, but their tanks
were again entangled in street fighting, this time inside Kontum City.
Furthermore, they were harassed by newly developed helicopter gun ships
armed with antitank missiles. This volume not only details the combat
taking place in these two areas but also the organization of both the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in the South and the People's
Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the North. It particularly emphasizes the
transformation of the former from a mainly infantry force into a modern
motorized force. It also describes how the North Vietnamese learnt the
hard way about the use of their tanks.
The author relies on not only American archives but also on Vietnamese
sources, from both sides. The book contains 130 photos, five maps and 18
color profiles.
Asia@War - following on from our highly successful Africa@War series,
Asia@War replicates the same format - concise, incisive text, rare
images and high quality color artwork providing fresh accounts of both
well-known and more esoteric aspects of conflict in this part of the
world since 1945.
