The historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign - an immortal epic

41 years ago, with the 1975 Spring Strategic Offensive, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, our army and people successfully ended the long resistance war against the US to save the country, the North and the South reunited, the country was filled with joy. The war is over, Vietnam has now renewed and grown stronger, but the great Spring victory of 1975 still lives forever in the memories of each generation of Vietnamese people with its extremely profound historical significance.

As early as March 25, 1975, the Resolution of the Party Central Committee's Politburo affirmed that the strategic opportunity had come, and that it was necessary to concentrate forces and means as quickly as possible to liberate the South before the rainy season. The campaign to liberate Saigon - Cho Lon city was decided by the Politburo to be called the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

From the beginning of April 1975, our army and people lived in the most heroic and vibrant days of our nation's history. Our entire nation marched into a historic Spring with the spirit of "going fast, fighting fast, winning" and the spirit of "lightning speed, daring, surprise, sure victory".

On April 9, we attacked Xuan Loc town, an important enemy defense base protecting Saigon from the Northeast. On April 16, our troops broke through Phan Rang defense. On April 21, the enemy troops in Xuan Loc fled, and the gateway to Saigon from the Northeast was opened. Immediately after the loss of Xuan Loc, President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned.

Ho Chi Minh Campaign

The map recreates the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, ending the resistance war against American invasion and unifying the country.

At exactly 5:00 p.m. on April 26, our troops were ordered to open fire to start the campaign, with five troops from all directions breaking through the outer defense line and entering Saigon city. On April 28, our artillery positions fired at Tan Son Nhat airport. At dawn on April 29, all troops simultaneously launched a general attack on the city center, capturing the enemy's headquarters.

On the morning of April 30, 1975, Division 10, Corps 3 captured Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Capture of the Independence Palace

At 10:45 a.m. on April 30, four of our tanks crashed into the gate of the Independence Palace, capturing the entire Saigon puppet government. President of the Saigon puppet government, Duong Van Minh, declared unconditional surrender and ordered the puppet army to surrender. At 11:30 a.m. on the same day, the flag of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam flew over the roof of the Saigon puppet government's Presidential Palace, signaling the complete victory of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign. On May 2, 1975, the last localities of the South were liberated.

Liberation Army tanks crashed through the gate of the Independence Palace on April 30, 1975.

Historical significance

The 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising with the opening battle of Buon Ma Thuot and the Central Highlands Campaign, followed by the Hue - Da Nang Campaign, and finally the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign was completely victorious in nearly 2 months of continuous and resilient fighting (from March 18, 1975 to May 2, 1975). It was the most glorious victory in the resistance war against the US to save the country, marking the complete and total victory of the resistance war against the US, a major event in the history of the nation, an event that had a great impact on the world situation. After 21 years of waging war, 5 US Presidents ran 4 new colonial strategic plans and carried out aggressive wars, the US imperialists gradually escalated, turning the war of aggression against Vietnam into the largest war in the world since World War II. The Southern army and people, with their determination and will to defeat the US with a people's war strategy, successively defeated their war of aggression, and the Great Victory in Spring 1975 was the greatest victory that decided the fate of the US imperialists' war of aggression.

Saigon people took to the streets to celebrate the victory.

The victory in the spring of 1975 crushed more than 1 million puppet troops, completely overthrew the puppet regime of the US in the South, forced American advisors to leave the South, and puppet President Duong Van Minh had to declare unconditional surrender. That victory liberated the people of the South from the domination of the imperialists and their puppets.

The great victory in the spring of 1975 marked the end of 21 years of resistance war against the US, and at the same time ended 30 years of war for national liberation and defense of the Fatherland, permanently ending the domination of French-American imperialism and feudalism, washing away the humiliation and pain of losing the country for more than a century of the Vietnamese people.

Old colonialism, neo-colonialism and reactionary forces were the causes of the division of the country. French colonialism divided our country into 3 regions in the 5 regions of French Indochina, erasing the name of Vietnam from the world map. American imperialism and the Ngo Dinh Diem puppet regime divided the country into 2 regions, the South and the North, along the 17th parallel. The great victory in the Spring of 1975 eliminated all dividing lines of the country, the country was unified in terms of territory, which was a favorable condition for the two regions, the South and the North, to unify the country in terms of state and unify in other areas.

The Party's people's democratic revolutionary line is the goal of the revolution, the nation's belief. The victory of the resistance war against France created conditions for the North to complete the people's national democratic revolution, the great victory in the Spring of 1975 overthrew the imperialist regime and its lackeys, opening the way for the complete completion of the people's democratic revolution, eliminating the feudal class and the bourgeoisie in the South.

The country was no longer under the shadow of foreign invaders, the puppet regime had been overthrown, the Great Victory in Spring 1975 was a major event in the nation's history, opening a new era, an era of independence, national unity and progress towards building socialism.

The 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising was one of the greatest victories, one of the most glorious feats of arms in the history of the nation's resistance against foreign invaders. The Ho Chi Minh Campaign - the battle that ended the resistance war against the US to save the country - together with the battles of Bach Dang (1288), Chi Lang (1427), Dong Da (1789), Dien Bien Phu (1954) marked a glorious milestone in the development of our country's history, highlighting the indomitable tradition of our nation in the fight against foreign invaders and defending the Fatherland.

The close solidarity of the three Indochinese peoples was deeply demonstrated during the resistance war against the US to save the country on a unified battlefield to fight a common enemy with the same goal of national liberation. The great victory in the spring of 1975 not only opened a new turning point in the nation's history but also created a great opportunity for the Cambodian people to liberate the country on April 17, 1975, and for the Lao people to gain independence on December 2, 1975.

For the US empire, the failure in the South in 1975 was the failure of the most costly war, the greatest and heaviest defeat in the 200-year history of the US empire. That defeat had a profound impact on the internal affairs of the US, and undermined the prestige and position of the US in the international arena.

For the world, the Great Victory of Spring 1975 crushed the biggest counterattack on the revolutionary forces of the imperialist ringleader, broke the defense line blocking the national liberation movement and the expansion of socialism in Southeast Asia, and contributed to upsetting the global strategy of the US empire.

The victory of Spring 1975 decided the dissolution of the US-led SEATO military bloc in September 1975, contributing to bringing peace, security and harmony to the Southeast Asian region.

The great victory of the Spring of 1975 in particular and the resistance war against the US in general was not only a victory of the Vietnamese people but also a victory of socialism and the national liberation movement all over the world. That victory contributed to strengthening the power of socialism, narrowing the battlefield of imperialism, creating favorable conditions for the development of the national liberation movement in the world.

The great victory of Spring 1975 was a strong source of encouragement for the national liberation movement and the progressive democratic movement in the world, continuing to prove a truth of today's era: A nation determined to fight imperialism with the right leadership and international sympathy and support will certainly win even if it has to confront the imperialist ringleader.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, our army and people have fulfilled President Ho Chi Minh's wish: The people of the North and South have reunited as one family. In the contest between the Vietnamese will and the American military power, despite the arduous fighting, sacrificing many lives and property, the spirit and will of the Vietnamese people determined to gain national independence and unify the country were completely victorious. That glorious victory will forever be the pride of each generation of Vietnamese people, a great spiritual motivation for us to steadfastly and firmly follow the path that the Party, beloved Uncle Ho and our people have chosen: National independence, democracy and socialism; continuing the cause of innovation, industrialization and modernization, building and developing the country, standing shoulder to shoulder with friends around the world as beloved Uncle Ho always wished.

Thai Binh (Synthetic)