دانلود کتاب حمله عید پاک ویتنام ۱۹۷۲

Zone (DMZ) – that separated North Vietnam from the South – were suddenly shelled by hundreds of heavy guns and multiple rocket launchers (MRL). Shell-shocked soldiers in a series of outposts along the former ‘McNamara Line’ scrambled out of their bunkers only to be then met by the accompanying onslaught of the regular North Vietnamese divisions – supported by hundreds of tanks that smashed through their defensive lines. Thus began one of the fiercest campaigns of the Vietnam War, but also one of the less well-documented, as most American ground troops had been withdrawn following the introduction of the ‘Vietnamization’ policy which aimed to hand the South Vietnamese greater war-effort responsibilities. The nature of the war itself at this point had changed dramatically – evolving from a guerrilla one into a conventional conflict that set the trend until the fall of Saigon three years later. The North Vietnamese would learn the hard way how to conduct mechanized operations against a far better organized southern force (the previous volume in this series The Easter Offensive – Invasion across the DMZ looks in great detail at the context of the fighting, along with the growth of both armies: The South Vietnamese Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the People Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the North). The campaign pitted two sides that had both been significantly modernized and expanded, with the South Vietnamese – aided by America – between 1969–1972 increasing the size of its military forces from 825,000 to over one million – with 120 infantry battalions in 11 divisions, supported by 58 artillery battalions, 19 armored cavalry regiments, and many engineer and new tank squadrons. After years of neglect, Washington also gave top priority to equipping the ARVN with over one million M16 rifles being delivered, as well as 12,000 M60 machine guns; 40,000 M79 grenade launchers, 790 4.2inch (107mm) mortars, 10,000 radios and 20,000 trucks. In addition, to confront the North Vietnamese T-54s, around 56 M48 medium tanks were also delivered by 1972.