Saigon, fall of

Saigon, fall of (30 Apr. 1975) The occupation of the capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) by the northern Vietnamese People's Army, which marked the end of the Vietnam War. Despite the end of direct US military involvement after the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, the President of the Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Van Thieu, continued fighting the Vietcong. In January 1975 the People's Army captured Phuoc Binh, eighty miles north of the city. Ban Me Thuot in the central highlands fell next, while further north Hue fell on 26 March and Da Nang, which had been the US naval base, on 29 March. Though Nguyen Van Thieu still had over a million men under arms, his forces collapsed in panic, with soldiers trying desperately to reach any port to escape. As the People's Army moved into Saigon, Nguyen Van Thieu resigned on 20 April. By 28 April Saigon's port had fallen, while US helicopters continued to carry away the last US personnel and as many Vietnamese refugees as could crowd into them. On 30 April North Vietnamese troops entered the city, soon renamed Ho Chi Minh City.