Liberation of Phan Rang town and the entire Ninh Thuan province

On April 16, 1975, we smashed the enemy's Phan Rang defense line, liberating Phan Rang town and the entire Ninh Thuan province. General and Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap sent a telegram praising all the officers and soldiers who won the victory in Phan Rang.

At dawn on April 16, 1975, the enemy forces participating in the attack on the Phan Rang defense line opened fire simultaneously. The 101st Regiment of the 325th Division had 4 PT.85 armored vehicles leading the attack on the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Special Forces Regiment defending in Hoi Dien, An Xuan, then advanced towards the Ca Du intersection, Dai Son hamlet. The enemy troops resisted weakly.

On Route 1, the enemy called in artillery and aircraft to support our attacks. Our troops both mobilized and fought off the enemy on the ground, while using machine guns and anti-aircraft guns to fight back against the aircraft.

The 3rd Division of Military Region 5 and the 25th Regiment coordinated with the 325th Division's deep thrust to attack a number of targets in Phan Rang town and Thanh Son airport.

After two hours of fighting, our troops completely controlled the town. A part of us quickly went to occupy Tan Thanh and Ninh Chu ports. Another part followed Route 1 to the south of the town and occupied Dao Long bridge, Phu Quy district.

At 9:40 a.m., our tanks entered Gate 1 of Thanh Son Airport. At 10:00 a.m., Regiment 101 and Division 3 defeated enemy counterattacks and occupied Thanh Son Airport. All more than 10,000 enemy troops in Phan Rang were destroyed and disintegrated.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Vinh Nghi - Forward Commander of the 3rd Army Corps of the Republic of Vietnam and Brigadier General Pham Ngoc Sang - Commander of the 6th Air Division along with many enemy officers and soldiers were captured alive. We captured many weapons and war vehicles including intact A37 aircraft. On that day, Ninh Thuan province was completely liberated.

The fall of Phan Rang weakened and shook the enemy's main defense line in the east from Phan Thiet to Xuan Loc, creating a position for the Liberation Army to continue along Route 1 to liberate Saigon.

At 10:00 p.m. on April 16, 1975, General Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap sent a telegram praising all officers and soldiers for their victory in Phan Rang.

On the same day, the Central Military Commission sent a telegram to the 2nd Army Corps ordering: Quickly pursue the enemy, develop rapid, bold, and unexpected attacks to win new victories, urgently consolidate forces, continue combat operations, and undertake tasks in time to participate in the campaign to liberate Saigon.

On April 16, 1975, at the Command Center in Dong Xoai, the 1st Corps Command organized the assignment of tasks to its subordinate units. Several units of the 3rd Corps such as: Artillery Regiment 675, Air Defense Regiment 593, Engineer Regiment 575 and Battalion 1 (Engineer Regiment 7), Signal Regiment 29, Special Forces Regiment 198 and the logistics force of the 3rd Corps were present at the assembly location and deployed preparations for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

NDO

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/chinh-tri/ngay-16-4-1975-giai-phong-thi-xa-phan-rang-va-toan-tinh-ninh-thuan-157140.html