Word: arvn
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Saigon had decided abruptly to abandon much of its territory to the Communist forces, sending long lines of forlorn refugees stumbling southward from northern provinces and the Central Highlands. They were joined by demoralized ARVN soldiers, whose rushed retreat was aimed strategically, and perhaps wisely, at reinforcing the defenses of Saigon and the Mekong Delta...
...fact, however, the Paris agreement made no specific commitment to continued U.S. military aid, although it did permit each side to replace its then existing military equipment. This could be construed as an implied U.S. obligation to resupply the ARVN, although the agreement was also based on the premise that the righting was to sputter out and stop. Kissinger was on shaky ground, too, in assuming that the U.S. Congress would remain committed to indefinite continuance of military aid whatever the sense of the nation at the time. The accords did not require and did not receive ratification by Congress...
...surrender of the provinces was unutterable tragedy for the true victims of the war, the South Vietnamese people. Helped by retreating ARVN soldiers, upwards of half a million refugees trekked by military convoy, on motorcycle, buffalo cart, bicycle or foot toward areas still held by the government. Some 200,000 people fled Quang Tri and Hué for Danang (see box page 34). Hundreds of thousands from the Central Highlands streamed eastward toward the coast. In Military Region II, just south of fallen Darlac, the resort town of Dalat was rapidly being emptied, even though there seemed...
Thieu's decision to retreat stemmed from his revised estimates of the North Vietnamese buildup in the country. The Pentagon believes that there are now 16 North Vietnamese divisions in South Viet Nam. Apparently the President also decided that ARVN'S strategic position in the northern and Highlands provinces had eroded beyond repair after the successful Communist attack on Ban Me Thuot two weeks ago. For three days the South Vietnamese forces tried hard to repel a cleverly executed Communist tank and infantry assault on the city, which sits astride Route 14, the main inland north-south road...
Nonetheless, Thieu seems in no imminent danger of falling. Saigon still firmly controls over 50% and partially controls another 40% of the South Vietnamese population. Despite the desertions and casualties, ARVN still has an imposing numerical superiority over the Communists (850,000 troops...