“This war has already stretched the generation gap so wide that it threatens to pull the country apart.”��"US Sen. Frank Church, May 1970. The oil price shock of October 1973 caused significant damage to the South Vietnamese economy. The Vietcong resumed offensive operations when the dry season began and by January 1974 it had recaptured the territory it lost during the previous dry season. After two clashes that left 55 South Vietnamese soldiers dead, President Thiêu announced on January 4 that the war had restarted and that the Paris Peace Accord was no longer in effect. There had been over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period. Gerald Ford took over as US President on August 9, 1974 after President Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. At that time, Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1 billion a year to $700 million. The US midterm elections in 1974 brought in a new Congress dominated by Democrats, who were even more determined to confront the President on the war. Congress immediately voted in restrictions on funding and military activities to be phased in through 1975 and to culminate in a total cutoff of funding in 1976. The success of the 1973-1974 dry season offensive inspired Trà to return to Hanoi in October 1974 and plead for a larger offensive in the next dry season. This time, Trà could travel on a drivable highway with regular fueling stops, a vast change from the days when Ho Chi Minh Trail was a dangerous mountain trek. Gi?p, the North Vietnamese Defence Minister, was reluctant to approve Trà's plan. A larger offensive might provoke a US reaction and interfere with the big push planned for 1976. Trà appealed over Gi?p's head to First Secretary Lê Duân, who approved of the operation. Trà's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into Phuoc Long Province. The strike was designed to solve local logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether the US would return to the fray. On December 13, 1974, North Vietnamese forces attacked Route 14 in Phuoc Long Province. Phuoc Binh, the provincial capital, fell on January 6, 1975. Ford desperately asked Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before it was overrun. Congress refused. The fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of an American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralised and corruption grew rampant. The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. It was decided that operations in the Central Highlands would be turned over to General Van Tiên Dung and that Pleiku should be seized, if possible. Before he left for the South, Dung was addressed by Lê Duân: "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage as great as we have now." At the start of 1975, the South Vietnamese had three times as much artillery and twice the number of tanks and armoured cars as the opposition. They also had 1,400 aircraft and a two-to-one numerical superiority in combat troops over their Communist enemies. Nevertheless, they faced a well-organised, highly determined and well-funded North Vietnam. Much of the North's material and financial support came from the communist bloc. Within South Vietnam, there was increasing chaos. Their abandonment by the American military had compromised an economy dependent on US financial support and the presence of a large number of US troops. Moreover, South Vietnam had suffered much from the global recession which followed the Arab oil embargo. Dear Egyptian Mail readers, your contributions to and/or comments on articles published in this corner are welcome. We promise to publish whatever is deemed publishable at the end of this series. [email protected]
