On the Xuan Loc front on April 11, fighting continued to be intense both inside and on the outskirts of Xuan Loc Town. Division 7 continued its assault on the rear base of the Armoured Regiment 5 and the Task Force 52 of Division 18 of the puppet army, but they were blocked by the enemy.
Division 341 advanced to the southwest junction near the rear base of Task Force 43 and the airfield, but it was also stopped by enemy forces. Division 6 continued engaging the enemy along its designated direction.
The enemy kept sending in reinforcements, concentrating 50% of their infantry, 60% of their artillery, and nearly all of 3rd Corps’ armoured vehicles in Xuan Loc – Long Khanh. Each day, more than 80 air support sorties were flown, including the use of CBU bombs which caused significant damage to our forces. The battle here was extremely intense.
In response to the situation, the Regional Command suggested: “With the current force, we should primarily shift to attacking the enemy from the outer perimeter, leaving only one division with technical weapons to firmly hold the occupied areas in the town and encircle the remaining enemy areas. There is no need to deploy another division.” They also gave the direction to: “Change the method of attack, meaning shift to a new strategic formation, redirect the offensive from frontal assaults to concentrating forces to strike the enemy from behind.”
At the same time, a large force of Vietnamese troops was ordered to cut Highway 15 (Long Binh – Ba Ria) and control the Long Tau River and Bien Hoa Airfield.
At 4 am on April 11, Group C.75 — consisting of ships 673, 674, and 675 of Group 125, carried Team 1 of Naval Commando Regiment 126 and a firepower unit of water commandos from Battalion 471, Military Region 5 — departed from Da Nang military port to liberate Song Tu Tay Island in the northeast of the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. Our naval ships, disguised as fishing boats with no numbers or flags, departed just before dawn.
On the Vinh Tra front (Military Region 9), under orders from the Regional Command, on the night of April 11 and early morning of April 12, Regiment 1 (minus one battalion) inflicted heavy damage on the Ba Cang sub-region, destroying enemy artillery positions. Regiment 3 inflicted major losses on the Binh Minh sub-region (Cai Von), eliminated the Dong Thanh Commune sub-region, wiped out and forced the withdrawal of 13 enemy outposts, and liberated a section of the southern Hau River. North of Cai Von, Battalion 1 of Vinh Long Province destroyed the base of a local security battalion and the My Thuan sub-region.
On April 11, the vanguard of the 2nd Corps reached Cam Ranh. Division 3, supported by the people of provinces Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Khanh Hoa with transportation means, managed to move its entire force to northern Phan Rang to organise combat.
During the first three months of Spring 1975, the Viet Bac and Tay Bac regions exceeded their targets of three troop transfers. After training, the troops were promptly deployed to the South.
