1972 in the Vietnam War

1972 in the Vietnam War saw foreign involvement in South Vietnam slowly declining. Two allies of America New Zealand and Thailand which had contributed a small but effective military contingent left South Vietnam this year. America still fought tenaciously while negotiators in Paris tried to hammer out a withdrawal strategy for the United States. One American Operation that was later declassified years after the war was Operation Thunderhead which was a highly classified mission that attempted to rescue escaped POWs.

March
All Thai troops from the Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force leave the country.
 * March

The Easter Offensive, officially, the Nguyen Hue Offensive and also (Chiến dịch Xuân hè 1972 in Vietnamese) was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN, the regular army of North Vietnam) against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN, the regular army of South Vietnam) and the United States. The First Battle of Quảng Trị resulted in the first major victory for the North Vietnamese Army during the Nguyen Hue Offensive of 1972.
 * March 30 - October 22, 1972
 * March 30-May 1

April

 * April 4–7

The Battle of Loc Ninh was a major battle fought during the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive and lasted from 4–7 April 1972. Loc Ninh was a small district town in Binh Long Province, approximately 60 mi north of the capital of Saigon.

The Battle of An Lộc was a major battle that lasted for 66 days and culminated in a decisive victory for South Vietnam. In many ways, 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.
 * April 13 – July 20

The Battle of Dong Hoi was a clash between United States Navy warships and three North Vietnamese air force MiG-17F fighter bombers, several torpedo boats and shore batteries on April 19, 1972 during the Vietnam War.
 * April 19

May
The Battle of Kontum was fought during North Vietnam's Nguyen Hue Campaign or the Easter Offensive.
 * May 2 – July 1

June
Operation Thunderhead was a highly classified combat mission conducted by U.S. Navy SEAL Team One and Underwater Demolition Team (UDT)-11 in 1972. The mission was conducted off the coast of North Vietnam to rescue two U.S. airmen said to be escaping from a prisoner of war prison in Hanoi.
 * June 3–12

The Second Battle of Quang Tri (Thành cổ Quảng Trị) began on June 28 and lasted 81 days until September 16, 1972, when the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) defeated the North Vietnamese at the ancient citadel of Quảng Trị and recaptured most of the province.
 * June 28 – September 16

December

 * December 14

All members of the New Zealand armed forces are withdrawn from South Vietnam.