East Sea Campaign

East Sea Campaign
Part of the Vietnam War
DateApril 9–29, 1975
Location
Southeastern coast of Vietnam and South China Sea.
Result North Vietnamese victory
Belligerents
 North Vietnam
Viet Cong
 South Vietnam
Commanders and leaders
Chu Huy Mân
Mai Năng
Chung Tấn Cang
Strength
About 2,000 soldiers and sailors
Supported by:
125th Naval Transport Brigade[1]
5,768 military personnel
Supported by:
1 frigate
2 corvettes
1 transport ship
1 patrol boat[2]
Unknown
Casualties and losses
2 killed
8 wounded[3]
113 killed
74 wounded
557 captured[3]
1 escort ship damaged
284 killed
more than 400 captured

The East Sea and Spratly Islands Campaign (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Trường Sa và các đảo trên Biển Đông) was a naval operation which took place during the closing days of the Vietnam War in April 1975. The operation took place on Spratly Islands and other islands in the South China Sea (known in Vietnam as the East Sea). Even though it had no significant impact on the final outcome of the war, the capture of certain South Vietnamese-held Spratly Islands (Trường Sa), and other islands on the southeastern coast of Vietnam by the Vietnam People's Navy (VPN) and the Viet Cong (VC) helped the Socialist Republic of Vietnam assert its sovereignty over the various groups of islands after the reunification of the country in 1975. The North Vietnamese objective was to capture all the islands under the occupation of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), and it eventually ended in complete victory for the North Vietnamese.

  1. ^ Navy High Command, p. 325.
  2. ^ Pham & Khang, pp. 347, 352, 355.
  3. ^ a b Pham & Khang, pp. 348–363.