Word: saigon
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...heaviest fighting took place at Xuan Loc, 40 miles east of Saigon, the capital of Long Khanh province. The Communist attack began Wednesday with a 2,000-round barrage of rockets and artillery and mortar fire, followed by a ground assault supported by tanks. According to Western analysts, Xuan Loc's nearly 6,000 defenders-including units of the 18th ARVN Division, which has its headquarters there-held their ground well...
...General Nguyen Khoa Nam, a hardworking, incorruptible soldier of modest means. As word of the rout in the north spread, General Nam toured the command area, reassuring his troops that they need not fear such a disorderly withdrawal." In sharp contrast, the South Vietnamese commander in the Saigon area, General Nguyen Van Hoan, is generally regarded by Western military observers as not only incompetent but hopelessly corrupt as well. The strong showing by Xuan Loc's defenders also indicates that ARVN is still capable of fighting back. Diplomats in Saigon with close ties to the Communists have indicated that...
However, morale of most ARVN officers and line troops in the Saigon area remains shattered. Even if morale miraculously improves, time-at least two weeks, probably much more-is needed to regroup and refit the units that fled from Military Regions I and II. Since ARVN officers are not known for their organizational abilities, some of the units may never be reconstituted. Of the original 14,000 men in the once acclaimed Marine Division, which fled Thua Thien province, 8,000 escaped to Vung Tau near Saigon. Only 4,000 are still around, the others have melted away...
...Military Region III, Trung radioed his commander that he would have to turn back because his F-5 had engine trouble. Instead of returning to base, he headed for the white, modern Independence Palace, Thieu's presidential residence at the end of Thong Nhut Boulevard in downtown Saigon. After making several passes, Trung dropped four bombs on the palace; two were duds, but two exploded, injuring a government employee...
...siren-like whine of the jet and the explosions triggered pandemonium in the city. Diners crouched in fear behind street food stalls, panicked blue-and-white-uniformed children fled from a nearby school, riot police in green cars closed in on the palace. Radio Saigon proclaimed a 24-hour curfew; shops were quickly shuttered, and traffic was hopelessly snarled as people tried to hurry home...