1972 in the Vietnam War
| 1972 in the Vietnam War | |||
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← 1971
1973 →
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| Belligerents | |||
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Anti-Communist forces:  South Vietnam United States South Korea Australia New Zealand Khmer Republic Thailand Kingdom of Laos Republic of China
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Communist forces:  North Vietnam Viet Cong Khmer Rouge Pathet Lao Soviet Union
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| Strength | |||
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South Vietnam: 1,048,000 |
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| Casualties and losses | |||
| US: 641 killed South Vietnam: Killed |
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Anti-Communist forces:
Communist forces:
South Vietnam: 1,048,000
United States: 24,000 (end of the year)
South Korea: 36,790
Thailand : 40
Australia : 130
Philippines: 50
1972 in the Vietnam War saw foreign involvement in South Vietnam slowly declining. Two allies, New Zealand and Thailand, which had contributed a small military contingent, left South Vietnam this year. The United States continued to participate in combat, primarily with air power to assist the South Vietnamese army, while negotiators in Paris tried to hammer out a peace agreement and withdrawal strategy for the United States. One American operation that was declassified years after the war was Operation Thunderhead, a secret mission that attempted to rescue POWs.
U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam numbered 133,200, a reduction from more than 500,000 in 1968.
The Cambodian army withdrew from the town of Ponhea Kraek (Krek) near the Fishhook abandoning the last remaining road link between Cambodia and South Vietnam. Further south in the Parrot's Beak the South Vietnamese army (ARVN)) began Operation Prek Ta against the North Vietnamese forces (PAVN) in that area of Cambodia. The objective of the offensive was to disrupt the preparations of the North Vietnamese for an anticipated offensive on Tết, 15 February.
Le Duc Tho, Politburo member and secret negotiator for North Vietnam in the Paris peace talks, cabled the head of COSVN in South Vietnam that "we and the enemy are preparing for a ferocious confrontation...during the upcoming spring and summer." In addition to supporting the North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam, Tho instructed COSVN to devote attention to attacking the pacification program and to the political struggle in the cities of South Vietnam.
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