Fall of Saigon

The capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975, ended the Vietnam War and the Republic of Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh Campaign: The North Vietnamese offensive that defeated South Vietnam and captured Saigon in 1975. Its rapid advance culminated in the capture of Saigon.
Vietnam War: A war from 1955 to 1975 involving North and South Vietnam and major international powers. The city's capture ended this wider conflict.
Duong Van Minh: The South Vietnamese president who announced his government's surrender on April 30, 1975. He ordered South Vietnamese forces to lay down their arms.
Reunification of Vietnam: The process by which North and South Vietnam were combined into one state in 1976. Saigon's capture made the formal reunification of Vietnam possible.
United States withdrawal from Vietnam: The removal of U.S. military forces from Vietnam, completed under the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. The withdrawal left South Vietnam to face the final offensive without U.S. combat troops.
Battle of Xuan Loc: A major 1975 battle in which South Vietnamese forces tried to halt the North Vietnamese advance toward Saigon. Its defeat opened the eastern approach to Saigon.
Paris Peace Accords: The 1973 agreement intended to end the Vietnam War and establish a ceasefire. The accords withdrew U.S. combat forces but did not stop fighting between the Vietnamese sides.
Nguyen Van Thieu: The president of South Vietnam from 1967 until his resignation in April 1975. His departure preceded the final collapse of South Vietnam's government.
Boat people: Refugees who fled Vietnam by sea, especially after the communist victory in 1975. The fall prompted waves of dangerous departures from Vietnam.
Saigon execution of a Viet Cong prisoner: A 1968 photograph by Eddie Adams showing South Vietnamese police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing Nguyen Van Lem. The widely circulated image shaped international perceptions of the war before its final year.

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