Explain the communist victory in South Vietnam in 1975.

When the Paris Peace Agreement was signed in January 1973, it was meant to bring
peace with honour for both the US and South Vietnam. Yet within two years, the war
had recommenced and the NVA/VC were pressing at the gates of Saigon. The fact and
rapidity of the communist victory can be explained by seven different factors.
1.

South Vietnam could not survive under the conditions created by the peace
agreement, given that this divided the country in two and gave recognition to the
VC. It also allowed 150,000 NVA troops to remain in the country

2.

Despite all the equipment the US left behind, the ARVN was poorly trained
and badly led. Only a few elite units were a match for the enemy.

3.

The Thieu regime was unpopular, because it was so corrupt. There simply
werent enough people who were willing to put their lives on the line to defend it.

4.

Watergate crippled the American governments ability to support South

Vietnam. Nixon was forced to resign and his successor, Gerald Ford, had no
mandate or desire to reinvolve America in Southeast Asia. Congress also cut
economic aid.

5.

Without unlimited US funding, the South could not afford to maintain its
massive army. Spare parts, ammunition and fuel were all in short supply
especially fuel, which quadrupled in price in 1973. Hence, much of the ARVNs
military equipment could not be used. The communists, on the other hand, were
not as dependent upon vehicles and planes, and got their oil from Russia, which
provided it free of charge.

6.

By 1974, the US Congress was unwilling to approve a resumption of bombing

over South Vietnam, for fear such actions would drag America back into the war.
Hence, when the communist attack came, the US gave no military support to the
South.

7.

When the North invaded in March 1975, President Thieu decided to abandon
the northern provinces and concentrate his forces further south. This allowed the
NVA to cut the ARVN off and destroy it. By the end of April, Saigon was lost and
the war over.

Hence it can be seen that South Vietnam was unable to survive without the support
of the United States the nation that had brought it into existence.