Word: xuan
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...North Vietnamese forces overwhelmed the towns of Phan Rang and Phan Thiet, bringing to 19 the number of provincial capitals they have captured. In the Mekong Delta they stepped up their sporadic attacks in an effort to cut Saigon off from its primary source of rice and vegetables. At Xuan Loc, a provincial capital only 40 miles east of Saigon, a valiant defense by outnumbered and outgunned government forces finally appeared to be crumbling at week's end. Only 15 miles north of Saigon, Communist artillerymen launched first assaults on the huge South Vietnamese airbase at Bien Hoa. Using...
...prolonged fighting at Xuan Loc was interpreted, in the beginning, as a test of the ARVN's remaining will to fight. "I vow to hold Xuan Loc," declared the 18th Division commander, Brigadier General Le Minh Dao. "I don't care how many divisions the other side sends against me, I will knock them down...
...building was in ruins," Halstead reported later. "Blackened bodies of North Vietnamese soldiers littered the streets, where heavy house-to-house fighting had obviously taken place not long before. Except for the troops, the town was empty of its 38,000 people." The ARVN fought hard and well at Xuan Loc. But by the time Halstead and other journalists got back to their helicopter they found it surrounded and overrun, not only by frightened civilians but by soldiers who were understandably trying...
...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 Hanoi is "very much aware of the consequences" of a frontal attack on the South Vietnamese capital. Translated, this means that the North Vietnamese...
...possible strategy for a political victory would be to strangle Saigon by cutting off its Delta food supply and capturing the key cities and ports (such as Xuan Loc, Bien Hoa and Vung Tau) surrounding it. That might easily create enough discontent inside the capital to force Thieu's ouster or resignation. A new government might be ready to negotiate with the Communists and give them some sort of governing role. French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing has indicated that his country is prepared to use its "good offices" to help in the evolution of a political solution...