Battle for Buon Ma Thuot
Part of Vietnam War
Date March 10-March 12, 1975 Location Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam Result • Decisive North Vietnamese Victory • Evacuation of the Central Highlands • Deterioration of South Vietnamese defences
Combatants
Army of the Republic of Vietnam	Vietnam People's Army
Commanders
Maj. Gen. Pham Van Phu	Gen. Van Tien Dung
Strength
4,000	Three VPA Divisions
Casualties
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle for Buon Ma Thuot was part of the North Vietnamese campaign to capture the Central Highlands following the victory at Phuoc Long on January 6, 1975. Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~520,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in leap years). ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Buon Ma Thuot is a capital city of Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. ... Municipality of Central Highlands The Municipality of Central Highlands is a local government area of Tasmania. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Vietnam. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_North_Vietnam. ... The Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) is the term used by the Vietnamese for their armed forces. ... Văn Tiến Dũng (May 2, 1917 – March 17, 2002) was Chief of the General Staff for the Peoples Army of Vietnam from 1953 to 1978 and Minister of Defense of Vietnam from December, 1980 to 1986. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~520,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead... Combatants Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders unknown battalion commander Bui Dinh Dam John Paul Vann Strength 350 1,400 Casualties 18 dead 39 wounded 83 dead 108 wounded The Battle of Ap Bac was a small-scale action early in the Vietnam War that resulted in the first... Combatants Viet Cong South Vietnam United States Commanders Gen. ... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army National Liberation Front Army of the Republic of Vietnam Commanders General Van Tien Dung President Nguyen Van Thieu (Until April 5) Strength 300,000+ (est. ... Combatants North Vietnam United States Commanders Nguyen Huu An Col. ... Combatants Australia New Zealand United States North Vietnam Commanders Maj Harry Smith Nguyen Thanh Hong Strength 108 (not including supporting personnel/reinforcements) 2,500 (Disputed) Casualties 18 dead 24 wounded At least 245 dead 750 wounded (Captured documents and prisoner interrogations suggest there were 500-800 dead and around 1... The battle of Dak To was a major battle of the Vietnam war that took place between November 3 and November 22, 1967. ... Khe Sanh was a United States Marines military base in the Republic of Vietnam (the south) constructed near the border with Laos and just south of the border with North Vietnam which became the scene of a large offensive operation by the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN, also known... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam Commanders Gen. ... Combatants United States, South Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia North Vietnam, National Liberation Front Commanders William Westmoreland Võ Nguyên Giáp Strength 50,000+ (estimate) 85,000+ (estimate) Casualties USA/AUS/SKOR: 1,536 dead, 7,764 wounded, 11 missing, ARVN: 2,788 dead, 8,299 wounded, 587 missing, Total... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Tet 1969 refers to the attacks mounted by principally North Vietnamese forces in February 1969 in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. ... Combatants United States North Vietnam Commanders Melvin Zais Uncertain Strength est. ... The Easter Offensive (also known as the Nguyen Hue Offensive) was a military campaign in the Vietnam War. ... Combatants Vietnam Peoples Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam Commanders General Van Tien Dung General Hieu Strength 40,000 5,000 Casualties 3 Divisions destroyed 30% of total strength The Battle of Xuan Loc was the last major battle of the Vietnam War. ... The Secret War (1962-1975) was the Laos front of the Second Indochina War. ... pwtha This iconic image shows South Vietnamese civilians scrambling to board a United States military helicopter during the U.S. evacuation of Saigon. ... Tay Nguyen, translated as Central Highlands is one of the regions of Vietnam. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

Buon Ma Thuot was selected as the first objective during the Central Military Party Committee session on January 9. In order to achieve their objectives, General Vo Nguyen Giap put emphasis on secrecy and surprise to force the South Vietnamese army to defend the northern areas of the Central Highlands, as major North Vietnamese units would launch diversionery attacks elsewhere. January 9 is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Vo Nguyen Giap General Vo Nguyen Giap (born 1912) is a Vietnamese four-star general, who was the military leader of the Viet Minh guerrilla group under Ho Chi Minhs political leadership, and of the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. ...

The Battle

To keep all military operations secret, radio signals were kept silent and the only radio broadcasts made were misleading messages intended to suggest that General Van Tien Dung would attack Pleiku. During March 8-9, the VPA 9th Regiment, 10th and 320th Divisions launched simultaneous attacks throughout Darlac and Quang Duc. In Quang Duc the ARVN were forced to withdraw as artillery bombardment pushed the ARVN 53rd Infantry Regiment and 2nd Battalion from its defences. Văn Tiến DÅ©ng (May 2, 1917 – March 17, 2002) was Chief of the General Staff for the Peoples Army of Vietnam from 1953 to 1978 and Minister of Defense of Vietnam from December, 1980 to 1986. ... Pleiku is a town in central Vietnam seated in the central highland region. ... March 8 is the 67th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (68th in Leap years). ...   This article is about the year 9. ... The Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) is the term used by the Vietnamese for their armed forces. ...

Finally at 1:55AM on March 10, the Vietnam People's Army launched a violent artillery barrage on the city and at Phung Duc airfield. March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in leap years). ... The Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) is the term used by the Vietnamese for their armed forces. ...

By morning the 320th VPA Division had penetrated the city. General Phu's attempt to reinforce Buon Ma Thuot with two Regional Force Battalions from Ban Don failed under heavy enemy fire, at the same time, twelve aircrafts belonging to the 2nd and 6th Air Divisions were destroyed by heavy fighting at the airfield. Only three helicopters were managed to be piloted out.

The 23rd ARVN Division continued their resistance along with the 2nd Company, 4th Company, 8th Armoured Cavalry, 1st Battalion, 53rd Infantry, 243rd and 242nd Regional Forces around Buon Ma Thuot. On March 11, the North Vietnamese consolidated their control over the city. March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ...

On March 12, General Phu announced the end of all resistance, the worn down ARVN soldiers and their families were evacuated from the city. March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ...

Aftermath

The Central Highlands consists of Dac Lac, Gia Lai, Kontum and Lam Dong Provinces has always been an important strategic military staging area and whoever control the Central Highlands will have the advantage. For that reason, the South Vietnamese military had always maintained a heavy military presence there. However, after the fall of Buon Ma Thuot, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered the northern provinces to be adandoned to 'lighten the top and keep the bottom'. Following the decision the South Vietnamese army went into panic as soldiers and their families flood the main roads and pathways in a mass exodus towards the coast. The phenomenon resulted in a total collapse of South Vietnamese morale. Municipality of Central Highlands The Municipality of Central Highlands is a local government area of Tasmania. ... Gia Lai Province is a province in Vietnam. ... There is a historical website that is nonprofit dedicated to the 1972 Easter Offensive in the Kontum area. ... Lam Dong (Vietnamese Lâm Đồng ) is one of the fifty-nine Provinces of Vietnam located in the Central Highlands (Tây Nguyên) region. ... Municipality of Central Highlands The Municipality of Central Highlands is a local government area of Tasmania. ... Buon Ma Thuot is a capital city of Dak Lak Province, Vietnam. ... President Nguyen Van Thieu Nguyen Van Thieu, (April 5, 1923 – September 29, 2001) was a former General and President of South Vietnam. ...

References

Caputo, Philip (2005)10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the Vietnam War. Atheneum Books, USA.

Dougan.C, Doyle.E, Lipsman.S, Martland.T, Weiss.S (1983) The Vietnam Experience: Setting the Stage. Boston Publishing Company, USA.