Saigon Bridge, known as Newport Bridge () before 1975, is a
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
crossing the
Saigon River
The Saigon River ( vi, Sông Sài Gòn) is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung in southeastern Cambodia, flows south and south-southeast for about and empties into the Soài Rạp, which in its turn empties into the ...
, connecting
Bình Thạnh District and
District 2 District 2 may refer to:
Places by country
*II District, Turku, in Finland
* District 2, Düsseldorf, Germany
*District 2, Grand Bassa County, a district in Liberia
*District 2, an electoral district of Malta
*District 2, a police district of Mal ...
,
Ho Chi Minh City, on the
Hanoi Highway. The bridge has four lanes for cars and two lanes for motorcycles and bicycles. It was the only bridge linking
District 1 District 1 may refer to:
* I District, Turku, in Finland
* District 1, Düsseldorf, a district in Düsseldorf, Germany
* Sector 1 (Bucharest), also known as District 1, in Bucharest, Romania
* District I, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary
* Distric ...
to the new
Thu Thiem New Urban Area in District 2 until the
Thủ Thiêm Bridge opened in 2008 and the
Saigon River Tunnel opened in 2011. The bridge was one of the most vital gateways for vehicles traveling from northern and central Vietnam to the city, and therefore was a key point of contention during the
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...
in 1968 and the
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, t ...
in 1975. In 2013, a new parallel bridge,
Saigon 2 Bridge
Saigon 2 Bridge () is a bridge crossing the Saigon River, connecting Bình Thạnh District and District 2, Ho Chi Minh City, on the Hanoi Highway. It is parallel to the Saigon Bridge
Saigon Bridge, known as Newport Bridge () before 1975, is ...
, was opened to ease congestion on the bridge.
Vietnam War
On 5 May 1968 during the
May or "mini-Tet" Offensive, a 300-man
Vietcong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
(VC) regiment attacked the bridge and the adjacent Newport dock facility but were driven off by
Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) forces. On the morning of 12 May VC gunners from the 4th Thu Duc Battalion scored a direct hit on the bridge with a recoilless rifle, sending a chunk of steel-reinforced concrete almost sixty meters long and half the width of the bridge crashing into the river. The VC then promptly packed up his weapons and hustled away before helicopter gunships could retaliate. For the Allies, the damage inflicted on the bridge proved to be little more than an inconvenience. The temporary loss of one lane did not seriously impede traffic, and over the next four weeks engineers repaired the otherwise intact bridge.
By 28 April 1975 as the
People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) continued their
advance on Saigon, the Vietcong seized the Thảo Điền area at the eastern end of the bridge and attempted to seize the bridge but were repulsed by the ARVN
12th Airborne Battalion. On the morning of 30 April PAVN sappers attempted to seize the bridge but were repulsed by the ARVN Airborne. At 09:00 the PAVN tank column approached the bridge and came under fire from ARVN tanks which destroyed the lead
T-54
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...
, killing the PAVN Battalion commander. The ARVN and PAVN continued to exchange tank and artillery fire until 10:24, when the ARVN commander received President
Dương Văn Minh
Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm ...
's capitulation order over the radio. While the bridge was rigged with approximately 4000lbs of demolition charges, the ARVN stood down and at 10:30 the PAVN column crossed the bridge.
References
External links
Video showing damage to the bridge caused by a Vietcong sapper attack in May 1968AP report of fighting at the bridge in April 1975
Transport in Ho Chi Minh City
Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City
Road bridges in Vietnam
Bridges over the Saigon River
Bridges completed in 1961
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