PART 2: FROM OPENING DAY TO FULL DAY
After President Nguyen Van Thieu and many high-ranking officials emigrated abroad, some remaining generals of the army of the Republic of Vietnam government promoted to occupy the presidential seat, but that attempt did not receive the support of the US and France... At this time, the Vietnam People's Army formed a position to surround Saigon from 5 directions: Northwest - 3rd Army; North - 1st Corps; Southeast direction - 2nd Army Corps; East - 4th Army Corps; west and southwest - 232 Division and 8th Division (8th Military Region). The armies had gathered at the attack springs.
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Faced with the US and South Vietnamese government's act of sabotaging the Paris Agreement, the South Vietnamese people and liberation army resolutely counter-attacked and attacked, smashing all military forces and the henchman government apparatus. Source: War Remnants Museum
On the morning of April 26, 1975, the forward division of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign Command moved to Cam Xe, north of Dau Tieng. At 5:00 p.m. on April 26, 1975, the Ho Chi Minh campaign began. The legions participated in the campaign in 5 directions to attack the defense line in the coastal areas, broke through the outer defense links of the Republic of Vietnam army, cut off road and waterway traffic to the Mekong Delta and out to sea, controlled Bien Hoa, Tan Son Nhat, Tra Noc (Can Tho) airfields, suppressed important artillery formations, surrounded Saigon in all directions, and prevented troops from advancing in the area, simultaneously into the enemy's lair.
Northern: Army Corps 1 (Brigade Determined to Win), the task of Corps 1 is to surround and destroy the enemy in Phu Loi, Ben Cat, Binh Duong, Lai Khe, Tan Uyen; prevent the Republic of Vietnam 5th Division from withdrawing to the inner city and neutralize this unit; attacked and captured the General Staff of the Republic of Vietnam, the army command posts in Go Vap, Binh Thanh; organized a combined attack force with other corps at the Independence Palace. Due to the urgent need to move in from the North by all means of water, land and air, 1st Corps began to attack a day later than other units.
Northwest direction: 3rd Army Corps (Central Highlands Army) - Unlike the 2nd Army, the 3rd Corps had to attack on a narrow front from 7 to 10 km but with a depth of mission up to 100 km. The mission of the Corps in phase 1 was to use the 316th Division and its combined forces to intercept the Republic of Vietnam 25th Division at Go Dau, Trang Bang, cut the 1B road, encircle and separate the Army of the Republic of Vietnam from sending units in the Northwest of Saigon to Dong Du and Cu Chi. In the second phase, the Corps was tasked with capturing the Dong Du base, Tan Son Nhat airport, Tan Binh and Phu Nhuan districts, sending a part of the force to penetrate deeply and combine with other units at the Independence Palace.
In the East and Southeast, at 18:00 on April 26, 1975, after the heavy bombardment of dozens of artillery positions on enemy targets in Trang Bom, Ho Nai, Bien Hoa, Nuoc Trong, Long Thanh, Duc Thanh, Ba Ria, the infantry divisions of the 4th and 2nd Army Corps of the Vietnam People's Army began to attack.
In the Eastern, the 341st Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps, reinforced with 01 tank battalion, 01 mixed anti-aircraft artillery battalion and regimental and battalion - level tactical fire, led by Colonel Tran Van Tran as Division Chief, and Colonel Nguyen Do as Political Commissar directly commanded, opened fire to capture the Trang Bom area - a key link in the enemy's forward defense line. Many intense battles lasting for hours between tanks and armored vehicles of the two sides took place fiercely. Working closely with the 4th Army Corps. Southeast, on the afternoon of April 26, the 2nd Corps for the 3rd Infantry Division, reinforced with a company of T54 tanks, commanded by Division Chief Lam Ba Khue, occupied Duc Thanh Branch. After 2 hours of fighting in an overwhelming position, the liberation army mastered the areas of Binh Gia, Ngai Giao, and Nui Dat, supported guerrillas and local people to revolt to liberate Xuyen Moc and Long Le; then the division moved to pursue the retreating enemy. At 21:00 on the same day, the 141st Infantry Regiment and 4th Tank Company, supported by artillery fire, attacked Vung Tau town. Before the superior strength of the attacking force, the army of the Republic of Vietnam weakly reacted and fled.
Coordinating with the main armies in the East and Southeast, the main army units of the South including special forces and commandos supported by guerrillas in the suburbs, also actively captured important targets as planned.
On the main offensive direction of the Northwest, the 3rd Army Corps entered the battle with an overwhelming momentum although the enemy forces in this direction were still large, with strong firepower, defense in depth, and many solid strongholds. The main task of the 3rd Army Corps is: “Organize a continuous raiding force, knocking down the enemy, capturing key targets in the city… Attacking outside and raiding inward are simultaneous, not divided into steps. The main task is inside. The combat targets of the 3rd Army Corps were Tan Son Nhat Airport and the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. In order to create favorable conditions for the 10th Division to penetrate deeply into Tan Son Nhat airport and the General Staff of the Republic of Vietnam Army, the 316th Infantry Division, the 320A Infantry Division and the 198th Special Forces Regiment had to capture or control many important targets, especially four in Trang Bang, Dong Du, Bong Bridge, and Sang Bridge on Road 1 and Road 15.
On the two days of April 25 and 26, 1975, with close artillery coordination between the corps, on the basis of accurate calculation of gunnery elements, the artillery fire of the Vietnam People's Army effectively suppressed a series of enemy artillery positions in Lao Tao, Phuoc Hiep, Suoi Sau, Tra Vo, Bong Trang, Ben Nuong, Bau Nau, Cam Giang..., creating favorable conditions for the South Vietnamese army to approach infantry bases. With effective support from the campaign artillery, on the afternoon of April 26, the 316th Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel, Division Commander Dam Van Nguy, launched an offensive to wipe out a series of posts of the Republic of Vietnam army along National Highway 1, sections from Phuoc My to near Trang Bang, from Bau Nau to Tra Vo on Route 22, mastering Suoi Ao, Trung Hang, and controlling the enemy's 25th infantry regiments Dong.Du , Cu Chi.
When the 3rd Army Corps advanced in the Northwest, the 1st Corps in charge of the North of the campaign also used a part of its force to capture the assigned targets. Along with the 4 offensive directions of the campaign, on April 26, 1975, the 232nd Division Command used the 5th Infantry Division, the 8th Infantry Division (Military Zone 8) reinforced with the 341st Engineer Battalion and local armed forces, to attack a series of positions held by the 22nd Division of the Republic of Vietnam government along the two rivers Vam Co Dong and Vam Co Tay, Long An province. Division 5, commanded by Division Chief Nam Thuoc, concentrated all forces to capture Thu Thua district capital and Tan An town. The 8th Division daringly penetrated deep, supported by the local armed forces, suddenly attacked to liberate My Tho city. The fact that the 5th and 8th Divisions (Military Region 8) mastered the above key objectives and completely cut off National Highway 4, isolating Saigon from the Mekong Delta.
The victorious Ho Chi Minh campaign ended on April 30, 1975, contributed to ending 30 years of the arduous war against France and the US against foreign invaders of the Vietnamese nation, and at the same time had a great meaning that it opened an era of independence, freedom, and reunification for the country.