ORDER OF BATTLE // April 9, 1975
Battle of Xuan Loc
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 65,000–70,000 estimated
North Vietnam
40,000
Medium-confidence figure
South Vietnam
25,000–30,000
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Xuân Lộc was the last major battle of the Vietnam War, fought over twelve days in April 1975 as ARVN forces attempted to block the final North Vietnamese advance on Saigon. The ARVN committed nearly all its remaining mobile forces, anchored by the 18th Division under Brigadier General Lê Minh Đảo, to hold the strategic crossroads town against a substantially larger PAVN force of roughly 40,000 troops. Despite inflicting an estimated 5,000 casualties on the attacking PAVN 4th Army Corps, the outnumbered defenders—estimated at 25,000–30,000—could not prevent the town's fall. The capture of Xuân Lộc by Major General Hoàng Cầm's forces opened the route to Saigon, removing the last significant obstacle before the South Vietnamese capital and effectively signaling the imminent collapse of the Republic of Vietnam.
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