Operation Lam Son 719 was the first major offensive waged by the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam (ARVN) outside of its borders. Supported by US airpower, the offensive sought to destroy the Communist supply dumps along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia and Laos, as well as disrupt any offensive by the forces of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and its People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), better known in the USA as the Vietcong. The offensive was also the first large scale test of President Nixon’s policy of “Vietnamization” in which the bulk of the war effort was to be borne by the ARVN as the US forces were withdrawn home.

The Communist high command was well aware an offensive was in the works, and planned a counter-offensive. What ensued was one of the largest battles of the war that resulted in a very costly and controversial outcome. Both sides claimed victory but in the end the overall course of the war was little changed and America’s resolve to exit the conflict only deepened.