Tanks in the Easter Offensive 1972

Download Tanks in the Easter Offensive 1972 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1472849000
Total Pages : 49 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Tanks in the Easter Offensive 1972 by : William E. Hiestand

Download or read book Tanks in the Easter Offensive 1972 written by William E. Hiestand and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-02-17 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study explains how the armies of North and South Vietnam, newly equipped with the most modern Soviet and US tanks and weaponry, fought the decisive armored battles of the Easter Offensive. Wearied by years of fighting against Viet Cong guerillas and North Vietnamese regulars, the United States had almost completely withdrawn its forces from Vietnam by early 1972. Determined to halt the expansion and improvement of South Vietnamese forces under the U.S. “Vietnamization” program, North Vietnam launched a major fourteen-division attack in March 1972 against the South that became known as the “Easter Offensive.” Hanoi's assault was spearheaded by 1,200 tanks and was counteracted on the opposite side by Saigon's newly equipped armored force using U.S. medium tanks. The result was ferocious fighting between major Cold War-era U.S. and Soviet tanks and mechanized equipment, pitting M-48 medium and M-41 light tanks against their T- 54 and PT-76 rivals in a variety of combat environments ranging from dense jungle to urban terrain. Both sides employed cutting-edge weaponry for the first time, including the U.S. TOW and Soviet 9M14 Malyutk wire-guided anti-tank missiles. This volume examines the tanks, armored forces and weapons that clashed in this little-known campaign in detail, using after-action reports from the battlefield and other primary sources to analyze the technical and organizational factors that shaped the outcome. Despite the ARVN's defensive success in October 1972, North Vietnam massively expanded its armor forces over the next two years while U.S. support waned. This imbalance with key strategic misjudgments by the South Vietnamese President led to the stunning defeat of the South in 1975 when T54 tanks crashed through the fence surrounding the Presidential palace and took Saigon on 30 April 1975.

Hell in An Loc

Download Hell in An Loc PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of North Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 1574412760
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (744 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hell in An Loc by : Quang Thi Lâm

Download or read book Hell in An Loc written by Quang Thi Lâm and published by University of North Texas Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Three days before Easter last spring, the North Vietnamese struck South Vietnam with a fury unknown to the Vietnam war since the Tet offensive four years earlier. They poured south across the DMZ, smashed into the central highland from Laos, crossed the border from Cambodia and, with an army of 36,000 men and 100 Russian-made tanks, raced toward Saigon, boasting that they'd be in the city by May 19, Ho Chi Minh's birthday. From one end of the country to the other, bases and villages fell before the savagery of their onslaught. By April 5, all that blocked them from Saigon was a ragtag band of 6,800 South Vietnamese regulars and militiamen and a handful of American advisors holed up in An Loc, a once-prosperous rubber-plantation town of 15,000 astride Highway 13, which led to the capital, 60 miles to the south ... In Thi's opinion, reporting the victory of An Loc would contradict the U.S. media's basic premise that the war could not be won because ARVN was a corrupt and ineffective force. Subsequent published studies of the conflict provide a wealth of details about the use of U.S. airpower and the role of the U.S. advisors, but they fail to provide equal coverage to the activities and performance of ARVN units participating in the siege. Thi believes that it is time to set the record straight. Without denying the tremendous contribution of the U.S. advisors and pilots to the success of An Loc, this book is written primarily to tell the South Vietnamese side of the story and, more importantly, to render justice to the South Vietnamese soldier who withstood ninety-four days of horror and prevailed"--Publisher's website.

Kontum

Download Kontum PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813140366
Total Pages : 378 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Kontum by : Thomas P. McKenna

Download or read book Kontum written by Thomas P. McKenna and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2011-09-09 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive. Almost all of the American forces had already withdrawn from Vietnam except for a small group of American advisers to the South Vietnamese armed forces. The 23rd ARVN Infantry Division and its American advisers were sent to defend the provincial capital of Kontum in the Central Highlands. They were surrounded and attacked by three enemy divisions with heavy artillery and tanks but, with the help of air power, managed to successfully defend Kontum and prevent South Vietnam from being cut in half and defeated. Although much has been written about the Vietnam War, little of it addresses either the Easter Offensive or the Battle of Kontum. In Kontum: The Battle to Save South Vietnam, Thomas P. McKenna fills this gap, offering the only in-depth account available of this violent engagement. McKenna, a U.S. infantry lieutenant colonel assigned as a military adviser to the 23rd Division, participated in the battle of Kontum and combines his personal experiences with years of interviews and research from primary sources to describe the events leading up to the invasion and the battle itself. Kontum sheds new light on the actions of U.S. advisers in combat during the Vietnam War. McKenna's book is not only an essential historical resource for America's most controversial war but a personal story of valor and survival.

America's Last Vietnam Battle

Download America's Last Vietnam Battle PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700611312
Total Pages : 566 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis America's Last Vietnam Battle by : Dale Andradé

Download or read book America's Last Vietnam Battle written by Dale Andradé and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2000-12-31 with total page 566 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched a massive military offensive designed to deliver the coup de grace to South Vietnam and its rapidly disengaging American ally. But an overconfident Hanoi misjudged its opponents who, led by American military advisers and backed by American airpower, were able to hold off the North's onslaught in what became the biggest battle of a very long war. Dale Andrade rescues this epic engagement from its previous neglect to tell a riveting tale of heroism against great odds. Originally published in cloth in 1995 as Trial by Fire and drawing upon recent Vietnamese-language sources, this new paperback edition will finally allow a true classic on the war to reach the wide readership it deserves.

Powerful and Brutal Weapons

Download Powerful and Brutal Weapons PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674027094
Total Pages : 415 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Powerful and Brutal Weapons by : Stephen P Randolph

Download or read book Powerful and Brutal Weapons written by Stephen P Randolph and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As America confronts an unpredictable war in Iraq, Randolph returns to an earlier conflict that severely tested our civilian and military leaders. In 1972, America sought to withdraw from Vietnam with its credibility intact, with President Nixon and National Security Advisor Kissinger hoping that gains on the battlefield would strengthen their position at the negotiating table. Randolph's intimate chronicle of the commander-in-chief gains us unprecedented access to how these strategic assessments were made and played out.

North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive

Download North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 152675715X
Total Pages : 138 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive by : Stephen Emerson

Download or read book North Vietnam's 1972 Easter Offensive written by Stephen Emerson and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the end of 1971, in what Hanoi called the American War and at the height of the Cold War, the fighting had dragged on for eight years with neither side gaining a decisive advantage on the battlefield and talks in Paris to the end the war were going nowhere. While the United States was steadily drawing down its ground forces in South Vietnam, Washington was also engaging in a grand effort to build up and strengthen Saigon’s armed forces to the point of self-sufficiency. Not only had the ranks of Saigon’s forces swelled in recent years, but they were now being equipped and trained to use the latest American military equipment. Perhaps now was the time for Hanoi to take one last gamble before it was too late. With the rumble of men and mechanized equipment breaking the early morning silence, some 40,000 North Vietnamese troops advanced across the demilitarized zone into South Vietnam on March 30, 1972 in what would become the largest conventional attack of the war. Ill-prepared and poorly led, South Vietnamese troops in the far north were quickly routed in the face of the ensuing onslaught. Likewise, coordinated attacks across the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon and into the central highlands in the coming weeks gained steam and in due course as many as 200,000 men along with T-54/55 main battle tanks, 130mm towed artillery, ZSU-57 self-propelled ant-aircraft guns, and hundreds of trucks and armored personnel carriers were engaged across three battlefronts. Soon Saigon’s beleaguered forces were being pushed to the brink of defeat in what appeared to be the end for the Thieu government. Ultimately, however, the timely and massive intervention by U.S. and South Vietnamese air power, along with the bravery of some South Vietnamese commanders and their American advisers saved the day. Hanoi’s gamble had failed and in its wake lay up to 100,000 dead and South Vietnamese roads littered with the smoldering wrecks of North Vietnamese military equipment. Moreover, it would be another three years before the North had recovered enough to try again.

The Battle of An Loc

Download The Battle of An Loc PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780253344816
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (448 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Battle of An Loc by : James H. Willbanks

Download or read book The Battle of An Loc written by James H. Willbanks and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A firsthand account of a desperate battle fought during Hanol's 1972 Easter Offensive.

Break in the Chain—Intelligence Ignored

Download Break in the Chain—Intelligence Ignored PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 1612009921
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Break in the Chain—Intelligence Ignored by : W. R. Baker

Download or read book Break in the Chain—Intelligence Ignored written by W. R. Baker and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2021-07-31 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A riveting combination of war memoir and analysis providing “valuable insights” into the role of military intelligence in Vietnam (International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence). For the first two weeks of the Easter Offensive of 1972, the 571st Military Intelligence Detachment provided the only pertinent collateral intelligence available to American forces. Twice daily, the Detachment provided intelligence to the USS Buchanan (DDG-14), US Navy SEALS, and Special Forces units, including tactical and strategic forecasts of enemy movements, information that was otherwise unavailable to U.S. units and advisors in-country. Bob Baker was an intelligence analyst who was there. In the weeks before the offensive, vital agent reports and verbal warnings by the 571st MI Detachment had been ignored by all the major commands; they were only heeded, and then only very reluctantly, once the offensive began. This refusal to listen to the intelligence explains why no Army or USMC organizations were on-call to recover prisoners discovered or U.S. personnel downed behind enemy lines, as in the BAT-21 incident, as the last two Combat Recon Platoons in Vietnam had been disbanded six weeks before the offensive began. The lessons and experiences of Operation Lam Son 719 in the previous year were ignored, especially with regard to the NVA’s tactical use of tanks and artillery. In his memoir, Baker, the only trained military intelligence analyst with the 571st MI Detachment in 1972, reveals these and other heroics and blunders during a key moment in the Vietnam War.

The Bridge at Dong Ha

Download The Bridge at Dong Ha PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1612511570
Total Pages : 120 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Bridge at Dong Ha by : Estate of John G. Miller

Download or read book The Bridge at Dong Ha written by Estate of John G. Miller and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1996-08-19 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the true story of the legendary Vietnam War hero John Ripley, who braved intense enemy fire to destroy a strategic bridge and stall a major North Vietnamese invasion into the South in April 1972. Told by a fellow Marine, the account lays bare Ripley's innermost thoughts as he rigged 500 pounds of explosives by hand-walking the beams beneath the bridge, crimped detonators with his teeth, and raced the burning fuses back to shore, thus saving his comrades from certain death. First published in 1989, the book has broad appeal as a riveting tale of adventure. But John Miller has taken this daring act of heroism beyond the specifics of time and place to provide new insights into the nature of war and warriors, characteristics that have remained unchanged for centuries and will remain valid for generations to come. It has been on the Marine Corps Commandant's recommended reading list since 1990. Newly illustrated by Col. Charles Waterhouse, USMCR (Ret.).

The Easter Offensive - Vietnam 1972: Invasion across the DMZ

Download The Easter Offensive - Vietnam 1972: Invasion across the DMZ PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Helion & Company Limited
ISBN 13 : 9781910294079
Total Pages : 72 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (94 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Easter Offensive - Vietnam 1972: Invasion across the DMZ by : Albert Grandolini

Download or read book The Easter Offensive - Vietnam 1972: Invasion across the DMZ written by Albert Grandolini and published by Helion & Company Limited. This book was released on 2015 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 30 March 1972 the South Vietnamese positions along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separated the North from South Vietnam were suddenly shelled by hundreds of heavy guns and multiple rocket launchers. Caught in a series of outposts of what was the former 'McNamara Line', the shocked defenders had just enough time to emerge from their bunkers at the end of the barrage before they were attacked by regular North Vietnamese Army divisions, supported by hundreds of armored vehicles that crashed though their defensive lines along the border. Thus began one of the fiercest campaigns of the Vietnam War but also one of the less well documented because by then most of the American ground forces had been withdrawn. Following on from the details of the downsizing of American forces and the setting up of the 'Vietnamization' policy, the build up of both the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in the South and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the North is discussed at length. A special emphasis is devoted to the study of the development the North Vietnamese armored corps that would spearhead the coming offensive. Consequently, the nature of the war changed dramatically, evolving from a guerrilla one into a conventional conflict. The South Vietnamese resistance shuddered, and then crumbled under the communist onslaught, putting Hue the ancient imperial capital at risk. It was only thanks to US airpower, directed by a small group of courageous American advisers, which helped to turn the tide. Under the command of a new capable commander, the South Vietnamese then methodically counterattacked to retake some of the lost ground. This culminated in the ferocious street fighting for Quang Tri. This first volume describes the combat taking place in the northern part of South Vietnam, and uses not only American archives but also Vietnamese sources, from both sides. The book contains 130 photos, five maps and 18 color profiles. Asia@War - following on from our highly successful Africa@War series, Asia@War replicates the same format - concise, incisive text, rare images and high quality color artwork providing fresh accounts of both well-known and more esoteric aspects of conflict in this part of the world since 1945.

Walker Bulldog Vs T-54

Download Walker Bulldog Vs T-54 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 147283612X
Total Pages : 81 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Walker Bulldog Vs T-54 by : Chris McNab

Download or read book Walker Bulldog Vs T-54 written by Chris McNab and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-06-18 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the later stages of the Vietnam War, the US-made M41 Walker Bulldog light tank fought the Soviet-designed T-54 main battle tank in a series of battles in Laos and Vietnam. Fully illustrated, this engaging study investigates the origins, combat record, and legacy of these two armored fighting vehicles. Illustrated with full-color artwork as well as rare and revealing photographs from both sides, this book studies these two iconic tanks in Vietnamese service, examining how their differing designs and fighting doctrines affected their performance in this unique theater of combat. During the Vietnam War, both the United States and the Soviet Union supplied all manner of weapon systems to the opposing sides, including tanks and armored vehicles. Two tanks in particular took momentary prominence in the later years of the conflict. On the South Vietnamese side, it was the US M41 Walker Bulldog; for the communist North Vietnamese, the Soviet-supplied T-54 main battle tank was the core of their armored power. In their first major engagement, during Operation Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), it was the Walker Bulldog in the ascendant, but in later battles the T-54s inflicted heavy losses on their lighter opponents, taking the advantage through their superior maneuverability and gunnery.

Abandoning Vietnam

Download Abandoning Vietnam PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 412 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Abandoning Vietnam by : James H. Willbanks

Download or read book Abandoning Vietnam written by James H. Willbanks and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon both archival research and his own military experiences in Vietnam, Willbanks focuses on military operations from 1969 through 1975. He begins by analyzing the events that led to a change in U.S. strategy in 1969 and the subsequent initiation of Vietnamization. He then critiques the implementation of that policy and the combat performance of the South Vietnamese army (ARVN), which finally collapsed in 1975.

The Easter Offensive

Download The Easter Offensive PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Leatherneck Classics
ISBN 13 : 9781591148814
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (488 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Easter Offensive by : Gerald H. Turley

Download or read book The Easter Offensive written by Gerald H. Turley and published by Leatherneck Classics. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thoroughly documented chronology of the April 1972 invasion of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese Army, called the Easter Offensive, serves both as a historical lesson and a remarkable war memoir. On the Marine Corps Commandant's professional list for years, it is told with authority and compassion by a crucial player, an American Marine who was a senior advisor to the Vietnamese Marines. When first published in hardcover in 1984, it was a selection of the Military Book Club.

Combat at Close Quarters

Download Combat at Close Quarters PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Government Printing Office
ISBN 13 : 9780945274735
Total Pages : 86 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (747 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Combat at Close Quarters by : Edward J. Marolda

Download or read book Combat at Close Quarters written by Edward J. Marolda and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work describes riverine combat during the Vietnam War, emphasizing the operations of the U.S. Navy’s River Patrol Force, which conducted Operation Game Warden; the U.S. Army-Navy Mobile Riverine Force, the formation that General William Westmoreland said “saved the Mekong Delta” during the Tet Offensive of 1968; and the Vietnam Navy. An important section details the SEALORDS combined campaign, a determined effort by U.S. Navy, South Vietnamese Navy, and allied ground forces to cut enemy supply lines from Cambodia and disrupt operations at base areas deep in the delta. The author also covers details on the combat vessels, helicopters, weapons, and equipment employed in the Mekong Delta as well as the Vietnamese combatants (on both sides) and American troops who fought to secure Vietnam’s waterways. Special features focus on the ubiquitous river patrol boats (PBRs) and the Swift boats (PCFs), river warfare training, Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., the Black Ponies aircraft squadron, and Navy SEALs. This publication may be of interest to history scholars, veterans, students in advanced placement history classes, and military enthusiasts given the continuing impact of riverine warfare on U.S. naval and military operations in the 21st century. Special Publicity Tie-In: Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (Commemoration dates: 28 May 2012 - 11 November 2025). This is the fifth book in the series, "The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War." TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction The First Indochina War The Vietnam Navy River Force and American Advisors The U.S. Navy and the Rivers of Vietnam SEALORDS The End of the Line for U.S. and Vietnamese River Forces Sidebars: The PBR Riverine Warfare Training Battle Fleet of the Mekong Delta High Drama in the Delta Vice Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. Black Ponies The Swift Boat Warriors with Green Faces Suggested Reading

Fourth Arm of Defense

Download Fourth Arm of Defense PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Government Printing Office
ISBN 13 : 9780945274964
Total Pages : 88 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (749 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fourth Arm of Defense by : Salvatore R. Mercogliano

Download or read book Fourth Arm of Defense written by Salvatore R. Mercogliano and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2017 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication is the eighth in the series The U.S. Navy and the Vietnam War. The publication focuses on the sealift and logistic operations during the war and includes a number of photographs as well as sidebars detailing specific people and ships involved in the logistic operations. This historical pictorial reference would be of interest to students, historians, members of the military, specifically the Navy, and military leaders, veterans, Vietnam War veterans, and the U.S. merchant marines.

The Limits of Air Power

Download The Limits of Air Power PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
ISBN 13 : 9780803264540
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (645 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Limits of Air Power by : Mark Clodfelter

Download or read book The Limits of Air Power written by Mark Clodfelter and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracing the use of air power in World War II and the Korean War, Mark Clodfelter explains how U. S. Air Force doctrine evolved through the American experience in these conventional wars only to be thwarted in the context of a limited guerrilla struggle in Vietnam. Although a faith in bombing's sheer destructive power led air commanders to believe that extensive air assaults could win the war at any time, the Vietnam experience instead showed how even intense aerial attacks may not achieve military or political objectives in a limited war. Based on findings from previously classified documents in presidential libraries and air force archives as well as on interviews with civilian and military decision makers, The Limits of Air Power argues that reliance on air campaigns as a primary instrument of warfare could not have produced lasting victory in Vietnam. This Bison Books edition includes a new chapter that provides a framework for evaluating air power effectiveness in future conflicts.

Nixon's Trident: Naval Power in Southeast Asia, 1968-1972

Download Nixon's Trident: Naval Power in Southeast Asia, 1968-1972 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Government Printing Office
ISBN 13 : 0160928699
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (69 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Nixon's Trident: Naval Power in Southeast Asia, 1968-1972 by : John Darrell Sherwood

Download or read book Nixon's Trident: Naval Power in Southeast Asia, 1968-1972 written by John Darrell Sherwood and published by Government Printing Office. This book was released on 2015-05-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This commemoration booklet focuses on naval air power during the final years of the Vietnam War. For much of this period, Navy aircraft sought to hamper the flow of supplies down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos—a huge investment in air power resources that ultimately proved fruitless. After North Vietnam’s invasion of the South in 1972, however, Navy tactical aviation, as well as naval gunfire support, proved critical, not only in blunting the offensive but also in persuading North Vietnam to arrive at a peace agreement in Paris in1973. The Navy’s forward presence saved the day in 1972 and allowed President Nixon to finally achieve “peace with honor.”