The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive by North Vietnam, or the Red Fiery Summer as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and the United States military between 30 March and 22 October 1972, during the Vietnam War.
North Vietnamese Type 59 tank captured by ARVN 20th Tank Regiment south of Đông Hà
PAVN 122mm artillery battery goes into action on the Kon Tum front
PAVN offensive in I Corps
ARVN M-48 tanks are positioned near the Dong Ha River overlooking QL-9 during the Easter Offensive, 10 April 1972
The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army, also recognized as the Vietnamese Army or the People's Army, is the national military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wing of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The PAVN is a part of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard. Vietnam does not have a separate Ground Force or Army service. All ground troops, army corps, military districts and special forces belong to the Ministry of National Defence, directly under the command of the CPV Central Military Commission, the Minister of National Defence, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. The military flag of the PAVN is the National flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam defaced with the motto Quyết thắng added in yellow at the top left.
Vietnamese troops in Vietnam War, 1967
Infiltrators on the move in Laos down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
PAVN's structure
PAVN soldiers during a parade in 2015.