Tran Van Tra

Tran Van Tra (1918-1996) was a general in the People's Army of Viet Nam, who rose from Viet Minh recruit to senior leadership.

During the Indochinese revolution, he first commanded the Saigon-Cholon area. Returning to the north in 1954, he became deputy chief of staff to Vo Nguyen Giap, then commanded the 330th PAVN division in 1958.

During Joint warfare in South Vietnam 1964-1968
A member of the Party Central Committee in 1960,he returned to the south in 1964 as overall commander, after the death of Nguyen Chi Thanh, although taking command of individual operations. Commanding the B-2 Front in the Saigon area in 1964, he said "Our objectives were limited. We wanted to defeat the most well-trained Saigon regime battalions and defend the liberated zones. We had no expectation of collapse [of the government of South Vietnam]." He was aware that William Westmoreland and Maxwell Taylor were concerned about the collapse of the RVN, but not of their June request for U.S. ground forces.

He described a series of battles, which, while differing in detail with U.S. records, suggests a feeling of confidence. In August 1966, he fought what the PAVN calle dthe Battle of Van Tuong, in Quang Ngai province, which appears to correspond to the U.S. Operation STARLITE.

Tra described the initiative in the 1965-1966 winter offensive, from the PAVN standpoint, beginning with what he called Battle of Nui Thanh in Quang Nam province [possibly the October 28-29, 1965, attack on the Marine Corps Marble Hill helicopter facility on the Tiensha Peninsula, Quang Nam province].

Later, in November, he spoke of a platoon, Ben Cat, defeating 173rd Airborne Brigade troops at the Hill 65 engagement in in Operation Hump. On the 12th, he described destroying a U.S. force with two regiments of the NVA 9th division. U.S. records reflect killing 200 enemy for a loss of 200, and withstanding B-52 strikes. Tra said it was the first use of B-52s, but that actually first came in June, and were prominent in the Battle of the Ia Drang.

Later, he commanded the attacks on Saigon during the Tet Offensive

During South Vietnam's ground war, 1972-1975
He was part of a high-level review in 1973, planning further strategy, then returned to a Southern command post near Locninh, preparing a victory plan for 1976, which he presented his proposal. Le Duc Tho and Van Tien Dung, #2 in the PAVN, disagreed, and he appeald to Le Duan. Tra opbtained the compromise of starting a limited attack against Phuoc Binh, in Phuoc Long Province.

Before the fall
Tra became a deputy to Van Tien Dung, the military commander of the final 1975 invasion, under the overall command of Le Duc Tho with Pham Hung as chief political officer.

Postwar historian
His 1982 critical history of North Vietnamese strategy that put him into political disfavor. "During Tet of 1968, we did not correctly evaluate the specific balance of forces between us and the enemy, did not fully realize the enemy still had considerable capabilities and that our capabilities were limited...we were not only unable to retain the gains we had made but had to overcome a myriad of deficiencies in 1969 and 1970 so that the revolution could stand firm in the storm.