#i corps

Easter Offensive

Dates: 30 March 1972 - October 1972

Area of Operation: I Corps provinces; Binh Long Province; Central Highlands

Allied Units: South Vietnamese military (ARVN, VNN, VNMC, VNAF), USAF, USN

Allied Casualties: ARVN 10000 KIA, 33000 WIA, 3500 MIA

Enemy Units: 14 NVA divisions

Enemy Casualties: Estimated up to 100,000 killed

Objective: To deal a decisive blow against South Vietnam with a three pronged attack. To force the US to peace negotiations that would result in favorable terms for North Vietnam.

Significance/Notes:

North Vietnamese troops used conventional warfare tactics on a level not previously seen in their fight to conquer South Vietnam. This included the use of T-54 tanks and other advanced weaponry from the Soviet Union and China. Large quantities of these tanks and the large-caliber artillery would be destroyed or captured.

Leaders in North Vietnam believed that the anti-war sentiment in the US would prevent Pres. Nixon from sending more American troops back into Vietnam. Ultimately they hoped it would force Nixon to negotiate peace with terms favorable to the DRV.

Nixon did retaliate militarily through the commencement of Operation Linebacker I, bombing North Vietnam, and also ordered the mining of Haiphong Harbor.

Due to the withdrawal of American forces, most units the NVA faced were ARVN units. Though ARVN units in the northern provinces were overrun, they held elsewhere with the aid of American airpower and military advisers.

Held more territory in South Vietnam than at any previous point. Though the blow had not been as devastating as intended and ARVN units held in many areas, the North Vietnamese leadership still considered the offensive to be successful and believed they now had a stronger position at the bargaining table.

Sources:

Vietnam War Almanac by James H. Willbanks

The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History edited by Spencer C Tucker

Dictionary of the Vietnam War edited by James S. Olson

Images: [map], [1], [2], [3]

Further Reading:

Trial By Fire: The 1972 Easter Offensive, America’s Last Vietnam Battle by Dale Andrade

The Easter Offensive: The Last American Advisors, Vietnam, 1972 by Col. Gerald H. Turley

The Easter Offensive, Vietnam 1972. Volume 1: Invasion across the DMZ by Albert Grandolini

The Easter Offensive, Vietnam 1972. Volume 2: Tanks in the streets by Albert Grandolini

OPERATION SWIFT

Dates: 4 Sep 1967 - 15 Sep 1967

Area of Operation: Quang Nam and Quang Tin Provinces, I Corps

Allied Units: USMC 1st and 3d Battalions 5th Marines, 2d Battalion 11th Marines; ARVN 21st Ranger Battalion, 37th Ranger Battalion, 39th Ranger Battalion, 3d Battalion 4th Regiment, 3d Battalion 6th Regiment

Allied Casualties: US 127 KIA, 362 WIA

Enemy Units: NVA 2d Division

Enemy Casualties: 517 KIA, 8 POW

Objective: Prevent disruption of national elections; search and destroy

Significance/Notes: The battles of the Que Son Valley during Operation Swift resulted in the awarding of three Medals of Honor. Lt Vincent Capodanno, a chaplain, Sgt Lawrence Peters, and Sgt Rodney Davis were all killed during the fighting.

Sources:

The Vietnam Center and Archive (at Texas Tech Univ)

Vietnam War Almanac by James H. Willbanks

Other links:

Operation Swift

“Sorting through the chaos of Operation Swift in Vietnam” by Hugh Lessig

“Operation Swift: Continuing Operations in the Que Son Valley” (Scans of an article in Leatherneck magazine, 2007)

this is the front cover of a US Military summary made during the occupation of Japan. the other cover pages are simpler -- I can imagine how they've been drawn or inked -- but this one seems unique?

something about the photo with the negative space of the hand, and then the drawing on top of it. and the photo fades into the background. i'm not familiar with graphic design before the digital age...and hey, maybe this was simply done?

would anyone know how they'd be able to create this in 1946?

National Science Foundation Lean Startup And ‘De-Risking’ Techniques From ‘I Corps’

“NATIONAL DEFENSE MAGAZINE” By Maj. Ray K. Ragan “The I-Corps program teaches academics and entrepreneurs about lean startup techniques and how they can be used to de-risk a startup long before years and millions of dollars are spent. The lessons from I-Corps along with many others from the lean startup community are prescriptive for modern defense innovation and acquisition, and may provide…