Ngô Quang Trưởng
Ngô Quang Trưởng | |
|---|---|
Trưởng circa 1972 | |
| Born | 13 December 1929 Kiến Hòa, Cochinchina, French Indochina |
| Died | 22 January 2007 (aged 77) Falls Church, Virginia, U.S. |
| Allegiance | South Vietnam |
| Branch | French Army Vietnamese National Army Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
| Years of service | 1954–1975 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General (Trung Tướng) |
| Commands | 1st Division (1966–1970), IV Corps (1970–1972), I Corps (1972–1975) |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Saigon (1955), Buddhist Uprising, Battle of Huế, Easter Offensive, Hồ Chí Minh Campaign |
Ngô Quang Trưởng (13 December 1929 — 22 January 2007) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Trưởng gained his commission in the Vietnamese National Army in 1954 and moved up the ranks over the next decade, mostly in the Airborne Brigade. In 1966, Trưởng commanded a division for the first time after he was given command of the 1st Division after helping to quell the Buddhist Uprising. He rebuilt the unit after this divisive period and used it to reclaim the city of Huế after weeks of bitter street fighting during the Tết Offensive.
In 1972, he was made the commander of I Corps after incompetent leadership by General Hoàng Xuân Lãm resulted in a South Vietnamese collapse in the face of the Easter Offensive, a massive conventional invasion by North Vietnam. He stabilized the ARVN forces before turning back the communists.
In 1975, the communists attacked again. This time, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu gave contradictory orders to Trưởng as to whether he should stand and fight or give up some territory and consolidate. This led to the demoralization of I Corps and its collapse, allowing the communists to gather momentum and overrun South Vietnam within two months. Trưởng fled South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and settled in Virginia in the United States.