PAVN/PLAF forces opened the assault on Buôn Ma Thuột, triggering the Central Highlands Campaign and precipitating the rapid unravelling of ARVN positions in the highlands—an essential precondition for the later drive on Saigon.
After follow-on attacks, communist forces gained full control of Buôn Ma Thuột, collapsing South Vietnam’s key Central Highlands strongpoint and accelerating the chain of withdrawals and defeats that followed.
As ARVN defenses in I Corps disintegrated, Huế fell—part of the rapid sequence of losses in the north that cleared the way for a southward advance and concentrated pressure on Saigon.
PAVN forces took Đà Nẵng, South Vietnam’s principal central-city bastion. The fall of the city and its bases further shifted the balance decisively, enabling momentum and logistics for the final campaign toward Saigon.
Communist forces captured Nha Trang, continuing the rapid coastal advance and shrinking South Vietnam’s remaining defensive depth between the front and the capital region.
The last major battle of the war opened at Xuân Lộc, where ARVN attempted to block the main eastern approach to Saigon. The battle’s outcome would determine whether South Vietnam could form a stable final defensive line.
Phan Rang fell, weakening the remaining eastern defenses guarding approaches to Saigon and helping set conditions for the final concentric assault plan later used in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.
ARVN forces evacuated/abandoned Xuân Lộc after sustained pressure, removing the final large-scale organized barrier on the key route toward Saigon and sharply intensifying the political crisis in the capital.
Facing military collapse and hopes (ultimately unrealized) for negotiations, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu resigned and transferred power to Vice President Trần Văn Hương, further destabilizing decision-making as Saigon’s defenses crumbled.
PAVN initiated the opening attacks of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, tightening the encirclement of Saigon and striking outlying defenses to enable a rapid thrust into the city with minimal street fighting.
With Saigon under imminent assault, Dương Văn Minh assumed the presidency after Trần Văn Hương, amid expectations in some quarters that a political change might facilitate a ceasefire—an expectation overtaken by battlefield realities.
After attacks disrupted fixed-wing evacuations, the U.S. executed Operation Frequent Wind, the final helicopter airlift from Saigon (DAO compound and U.S. Embassy), evacuating thousands of Americans and at-risk Vietnamese.
North Vietnamese forces entered Saigon; President Dương Văn Minh broadcast an unconditional surrender order, directing ARVN units to cease hostilities, effectively ending the Republic of Vietnam’s authority.
Ho Chi Minh Campaign and the Fall of Saigon (April 1975)
