On April 17, 1975, General and Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap sent telegram no. 58B/DK to the Command of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, stating clearly: “The mission to strike Bien Hoa, Tan Son Nhat and Can Tho airfields is of great importance, paralysing the enemy air force and rapidly undermining their morale and combat capabilities. Reviewing the plan to attack Bien Hoa Airfield and quickly preparing to deploy firepower against Tan Son Nhat Airfield is necessary. As for Can Tho Airfield, consider reinforcing firepower, as this airfield is becoming increasingly important to the defence plan for Saigon as well as the evacuation plan of the US and puppet forces.”
From April 14 to April 17, 1975, in Binh Thuan, enemy forces in the Binh Thuan Subsector tried to resist attacks by Regiment 812 of Military Region 6. Many fierce battles took place in this area. Along Route 8, on the night of April 17, Battalion 200C launched an assault and wiped out all enemy troops occupying Ta Don high point, the final stronghold in the northeast of Phan Thiet.
In Phan Thiet, at 17:00 on April 17, the vanguard of Corps 2, led by Regiment 18 (Division 325), began its march to attack and liberate Phan Thiet Town.
Upon detecting Vietnamese advancing troops, the enemy used aircraft and naval artillery to attack the Vietnamese formation, causing some casualties. The fighting here was quite intense, both for the leading force and the units following behind.
On the night of April 17, the enemy used sea vessels to deploy several commando companies into Tuy Phong District (north of Phan Thiet) to join up with remnants of Airborne Brigade 3 on Mount Gio and other local enemy forces to ambush our troops. Division 325 dispatched infantry and reconnaissance units to sweep the area and capture all enemy forces.
At the Xuan Loc – Long Khanh front, on April 16 and 17, the forward command post of the Republic of Vietnam Corps 3 at Trang Bom organised a counterattack using a large force of armoured vehicles, artillery, and air support. Fierce fighting broke out at Hung Nghia and Hill 122. Division 6 and Regiment 95 annihilated one battalion, captured over 100 prisoners, and pushed the enemy back to Bau Ca.
At the same time, the Signal Corps organised training courses for hundreds of commanding and technical officers on policies in newly liberated areas and essential information about the enemy's communications system. Simultaneously, the Corps formed takeover units to be rapidly deployed to the battlefields.
