Battle of Kontum

The objective PAVN forces during the third phase of the Nguyen Hue Offensive was to seize the cities of Kontum and Pleiku, thereby overrunning the Central Highlands. This would then open the possibility of proceeding east to the coastal plains, splitting South Vietnam in two. The highlands offensive was preceded by NLF diversionary operations that opened on 5 April in coastal Binh Dinh Province which aimed at closing Highway 1, seizing several ARVN firebases, and diverting South Vietnamese forces from operations further west. North Vietnamese forces, under the command of Lieutenant General Hoang Minh Thao, commander of the B-3 Front, included the 320th and 2nd PAVN Divisions in the highlands and the 3rd PAVN Division in the lowlands - approximately 50,000 men.

Arrayed against them in II Corps were the ARVN 22nd and 23rd Divisions, two armored cavalry squadrons, and the 2nd Airborne Brigade, all under the command of Lieutenant General Ngo Dzu. It had become evident as early as January that the North Vietnamese were building up for offensive operations in the tri-border region and numerous B-52 strikes had been conducted in the area in hopes of slowing the build-up. ARVN forces had also been deployed forward toward the border in order to slow the PAVN advance and allow the application of airpower to deplete North Vietnamese manpower and logistics. The Binh Dinh offensive, however, threw General Dzu into a panic and almost convinced him to fall for the North Vietnamese ploy and divert his forces from the highlands.

John Paul Vann, director of the U.S. Second Regional Assistance Group, reassured Dzu that it was only a ruse and to remain ready for the main blow, which he was convinced would come from western Laos. John Vann, although a civilian, had been granted the unique authority to command all U.S. military advisors within his region. Vann worked day and night, utilizing his extensive civilian and military contacts to channel U.S. support (especially air sup...

By the time the North Vietnamese launched their Easter Offensive, most of America's combat troops had returned home; those remaining were primarily advisers assigned to South Vietnamese units. Andrade, an editor of Vietnam magazine, explains why their efforts were crucial to the outcome of the 1972 battles in Quang Tri Province, the Central Highlands and during the siege of An Loc