page_title: Hue–Da Nang Campaign
section_title: The fight begins
hierarchical_section_title: Hue–Da Nang Campaign / Battle / North Vietnamese plan of attack / The fight begins
caption_attribution_description: View of the South China Sea from the Hai Van Pass.
context_page_description: The Hue–Da Nang Campaign was a series of military actions conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, also known in Vietnam as the American War. The campaign was centred on the cities of Huế and Da Nang, with secondary fronts in the provinces of Quảng Trị and Quảng Ngãi. The campaign began on March 5 and concluded on April 2, 1975.
  During the spring season of 1975, the PAVN High Command in Hanoi made the decision to seize the major South Vietnamese cities of Huế and Da Nang, and also destroy the various South Vietnamese units in I Corps Tactical Zone, led by ARVN General Ngô Quang Trưởng. Originally, the campaign was planned to take place over two phases; during the seasons of spring-summer and autumn. However, as the North Vietnamese forces rolled over South Vietnamese defences on the outskirts of Huế and Da Nang, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu ordered General Trưởng to abandon all territories under his control, and pull his forces back to the coastal areas of I Corps.
context_section_description: Before the North Vietnamese finalised their plan to capture Da Nang, the 2nd Corps had already begun making preparations for the final attack on the city. On March 24, the PAVN 325th Division fought with the 258th Marine Brigade and the 914th Regional Force Battalion at north Hai Van, and overran Phuoc Tuong, Nuoc Ngot, Tho Son and Thua Luu. Consequently, PAVN forces captured enemy artillery positions in Phuoc Tuong, and made good use of it during the following weeks. On March 27, with air-support from A-37 attack aircraft from Da Nang, the 258th Marine Brigade and the 914th Regional Force Battalion tried to hold off PAVN forces at Phu Gia and Hai Van, but they were pushed back and sustained heavy casualties in the process. The PAVN 325th Division then continued their advance through So Hai, Loan Ly, An Bao and Lăng Cô. Soon afterwards, more than 30 artillery pieces belonging to the PAVN 84th and 164th Artillery Regiments were placed at various high points in Son Thach, Son Khanh and Mui Trau; beginning at 5:30am on March 28, PAVN artillery units bombarded South Vietnamese positions around Da Nang. Meanwhile, the 369th Marine Brigade quickly abandoned their position at Son Ga, after they had detected elements of the PAVN 304th Division conducting reconnaissance missions on the battlefield. On March 28, the PAVN 66th Regiment, 304th Division attacked and captured the administrative area of Ai Nghia and Nuoc Man airfield, while the PAVN 24th Regiment attacked Hoa Cam and Toa in the outskirts of Da Nang.
  The 369th Marine Brigade then tried to pull back towards An Dong and My Khe, but they were pursued by the PAVN 2nd Division. Meanwhile, the 3,000 South Vietnamese soldiers at Hoa Cam mutinied against their commanding officers, and surrendered to the PAVN. South of Da Nang, the PAVN 2nd Division, with support from tank and artillery units was able to overrun Ba Ren at around 9:00 am on March 28. In response, General Trưởng ordered Air Force Brigadier-General Nguyen Van Khanh to send a squadron of four A-37 bombers to destroy the main bridges at Ba Ren and Cau Lau, but they could not prevent the PAVN 2nd Division from crossing the river using canoes, and other small river craft. At 5:55 am on March 29, the outer South Vietnamese defence line located south of Da Nang succumbed to the PAVN. At 6:30 am on the same day, the last South Vietnamese strongholds in and around Hai Van were overrun by the PAVN. The PAVN 325th Division then secured Lien Chieu, the Nam O Bridge and the Trinh Me The Bridge, thereby clearing the main road for the supporting tank and armored units to advance on Son Tra. As PAVN troops were closing in, General Trưởng and other high-ranking South Vietnamese officers were airlifted out to the coastal areas, where they boarded the navy transport ship HQ-404. At 12:00 pm, the ARVN 1st Brigade Headquarters was finally captured. At 12:30 pm, the 9th Regiment, 304th Division also captured the ARVN 3rd Infantry Division Headquarters, and quickly established their control over the entire Phuoc Tuong area.
  By the time Da Nang fell into North Vietnamese hands, South Vietnamese commanders on the ground simply lost control of their men as military discipline collapsed. On March 28, about 6,000 soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division deserted, and left the battlefield. And then the soldiers of the ARVN 3rd Infantry Division also retreated, thereby leaving the rear of the Marine Division exposed to enemy attacks. Since March 25, from the CIA Station in Da Nang, Al Francis and the U.S. Embassy in Saigon began formulating an evacuation plan, in order to evacuate U.S. citizens and South Vietnamese government officials out from Da Nang. As part of the plan, aircraft belonging to civilian airliners were to be used. And in addition to the South Vietnamese navy vessels of I Corps, U.S. General Homer D. Smith also provided five barges, six passenger liners, and three cargo ships to help with the evacuation process. Even though the evacuation plan was designed to be carried out in an orderly manner, chaos and confusion quickly descend
caption: The Hải Vân Pass
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot G10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2009:07:24 06:51:16", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "240", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5108", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4250", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1000", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:07:24 06:51:16", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:07:24 06:51:16", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "319/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "61/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4416", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3312", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "4416", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "3312", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "3232", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1104000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1104000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}