Battle of Kontum

Battle of Kontum
Part of the Vietnam War
Date2 May - 1 July 1972
Location14°21′22″N 108°0′28″E / 14.35611°N 108.00778°E / 14.35611; 108.00778 (Kontum)
Result South Vietnamese and U.S. victory
Belligerents
 South Vietnam
 United States
Vietnam North Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
South Vietnam Ngô Du (replaced by Nguyễn Văn Toàn)
South Vietnam Ly Tong Ba
United States John Paul Vann 
United States John G. Hill Jr.
Hoang Minh Thao
Units involved

South Vietnam II Corps

Supported by:
United States 17th Air Cavalry
United States U.S. Air Force

Vietnam B-3 Front

Viet Cong local forces
~40.000, backed by 30 tanks
Casualties and losses
In this battle: 1000+
During the Central Highlands campaign: (PAVN estimate) 41,000 killed, wounded or captured[1]
During the Central Highlands campaign: (U.S. estimate) 20,000–40,000[2][3]
24 T-54 and Type 59 tanks destroyed
5 PT-76s destroyed[citation needed]

The lead-up to the Battle of Kontum began in mid-1971, when North Vietnam decided that its victory in Operation Lam Son 719 indicated that the time had come for large-scale conventional offensives that could end the war quickly. The resulting offensive, planned for the spring of 1972, would be known as the Easter Offensive in the South and the Nguyen Hue Offensive in the North, Nguyen Hue being a hero of Vietnamese resistance against the Chinese in 1789. The Easter Offensive would make use of fourteen divisions and would be the largest in the war.[4]

The 1972 Easter Offensive/Nguyen Hue Campaign began with a massive attack on the Demilitarized Zone with 30,000 People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) soldiers and more than 100 tanks. Two thrusts of equivalent size, one towards Saigon and a third to the Central Highlands and provincial capital of Kontum began soon after. The North Vietnamese knew that if they could capture Kontum and the Central Highlands, they would cut South Vietnam in half.[5]

The Battle for Kontum would pit the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 22nd and (later) the 23rd Divisions under the command of Lt. Gen. Ngô Du and later Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Toàn against the equivalent of three PAVN divisions, the 320th and 2nd Divisions plus combat units of the 3rd Division, B-3 Front, and local Viet Cong forces under the command of Lt. Gen. Hoang Minh Thao.[6]: K-1 

There were two factors that persuaded North Vietnam that all out assaults of this kind could be successful. First, due to President Nixon's Vietnamization policy, there were no American divisional forces in the Central Highlands, only advisers and U.S. aviation units including Air Cavalry helicopter units from the 7/17 Air Cavalry Squadron. By June of that year there were less than 50,000 U.S. forces in all of Vietnam.[4]: 23 

Second, the North Vietnamese had persuaded the Soviets and Chinese to provide 400 PT-76, T-34-85, T-54s, and Type 59 tanks before the spring offensive.[4]: 120 

  1. ^ "Chiến dịch Tây Nguyên năm 1972 (24/4 – 6/6/1972) | Hồ sơ - Sự kiện - Nhân chứng".
  2. ^ Andrade, Dale (1995). Trial By Fire: The 1972 Easter Offensive, America's Last Vietnam Battle. Hippocrene Books. p. 368. ISBN 0781802865.
  3. ^ Kontum: Battle for the Central Highlands. Project CHECO. 1972. pp. 88–9.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ a b c Fulghum, David; Maitland, Terrence (1984). The Vietnam Experience: South Vietnam on Trial. Boston Publishing Company. p. 116. ISBN 9780939526109.
  5. ^ Sheehan, Neil (1988). A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. Random House. p. 754. ISBN 9780679724148.
  6. ^ "U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Command History 1972, Annex K. Kontum, 1973. MACV" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2015.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.