Battle of An Lộc

Battle of An Lộc
	Part of the Easter Offensive in the Vietnam War
	; An Lộc, as viewed from the air in 1972.
Date	April 13, 1972 – July 20, 1972 ; (3 months and 1 week)
Location	An Lộc, Bình Long Province, South Vietnam
Result	South Vietnamese and U.S. victory
Belligerents
North Vietnam Viet Cong;	South Vietnam; United States
Commanders and leaders
Trần Văn Trà ; Bùi Thanh Vân ; Đàm Văn Ngụy ; Nguyễn Thới Bưng	Nguyễn Văn Minh; Lê Văn Hưng; Lê Nguyên Vỹ; James Hollingsworth; Richard J. Tallman †
Strength
Overall ~ 31,640+ 5th Division ~ 9,230 174th,275th,E6 Regt; 7th Division ~ 8,600 141st,165th,209th Regt; 9th Division ~ 10,680 271st,272nd,95th Regt; 101st Regiment ~ 760; 205th Regiment ~ 1,250; 203rd Tank Regiment ~ 800; D20 & D21 Tank Bn.s; 429th Sapper Group ~ 320; Fire support: 69th Artillery Command ~ 3,830; 42d Artillery Regt; 208th Rocket Regt; 271st AAA Regt;	At An Loc: 7,500; 5th Division: 7th Regiment, 850; 8th Regiment, 2,100; 9th Regiment, 200; 18th Division Task Force 52: 500; 3rd Ranger Group: 1,300; Binh Long Provincial Forces: 2,000; Miscellaneous units: 300 Reinforcements: 25,000+; 1st Airborne Brigade; 81st Airborne Ranger Group; 21st Division; Air support: U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy
Casualties and losses
U.S. estimate: 10,000 killed and 15,000 wounded; Vietnamese figures: ~2,000 killed and 5,000 wounded ~40 tanks and APCs destroyed or damaged	2,280 killed; 2,091 missing; 8,564 wounded; 38 tanks and APCs, 32 howitzers, 10 aircraft and 20 helicopters destroyed

The Battle of An Lộc was a major battle of the Vietnam War that lasted for 66 days and culminated in a victory for South Vietnam. The struggle for An Lộc in 1972 was an important battle of the war, as South Vietnamese forces halted the North Vietnamese advance towards Saigon capital. This fighting which ensued became the most protracted conflict of the 1972 Easter Offensive.

During the first month of the battle, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 5th Division was outnumbered by a combined force consisting of three People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) divisions. The An Lộc defenders were later reinforced by the elite 81st Ranger Group and the 1st Airborne Brigade, brought in by air after failing to pass the PAVN block at Tàu Ô.^: 122 Other reinforcement was the 21st Division, which was plagued by a very slow move from the Mekong Delta and cleared QL-13 after protracted fighting.^: J-26