Operations Enhance and Enhance Plus
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Operations Enhance and Enhance Plus in the Vietnam War were the transfer of American military equipment and bases to the South Vietnamese government in advance of the Paris Peace Accords which ended American involvement in the war. The two operations were conducted between May and September 1972.
Operation Enhance
In late March 1972, communist North Vietnam launched what is called by the United States the Easter Offensive against South Vietnam. The communist objective was to weaken the South Vietnamese armed forces, capture additional South Vietnamese territory, and weaken American resolve to continue to assist South Vietnam. The Eastern Offensive was carried out in the context that North Vietnam was negotiating a peace agreement with the United States and wished to strengthen its position in South Vietnam prior to completing the agreement.[1]
The Easter Offensive put the military forces of South Vietnam under intense pressure. After the fall of the provincial capital of Quang Tri and the capability of the South Vietnamese to stave off North Vietnam in doubt, U.S. President Richard Nixon on 17 May directed that a maximum of U.S. equipment and material be given to South Vietnam as quickly as possible. On 19 May, Nixon approved a list of equipment to be provided to South Vietnam by 1 August and Project Enhance began. Nixon also wanted to build up South Vietnamese military equipment so that, if the anticipated peace agreement declared a moratorium on introducing new military equipment, South Vietnam would have adequate supplies.[2]
Operation Enhance provided South Vietnamese armed forces with artillery and anti-tank weapons, 69 helicopters, 55 jet fighters, 100 other aircraft, and 7 patrol boats.[3]
Operation Enhance Plus
References
- '^ Andrade, Dale (1995), Trial by Fire, New York: Hippocrene Books, p. 43
- ^ Webb, William J. and Poole, Walter S. (2007), The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the War in Vietnam 1971-1973, Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, pp 213-215
- ^ Isaacs, Arnold R. (1983), Without Honor: Defeat in Vietnam and Cambodia, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, p. 511
[Category:History of South Vietnam]]