1973 in the Vietnam War agreement whether or not Thieu agreed. South Vietnamese President Thieu notified the U.S. government that he would sign the Paris Peace Accords on behalf of South Vietnam. Knowing that the peace agreement called for a cease fire in place, Thieu ordered his armed forces to regain as much territory as possible prior to the ceasefire agreement. South Vietnamese forces established forward posts in communist-controlled areas to bolster their claim to the surrounding land. This was the beginning of what was called the "land grab." Former U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson, whose presidency was marred by the Vietnam War, died. President
1972 in the Vietnam War The United States Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed the performance of South Vietnamese armed forces thus far in the Easter offensive as "encouraging." The city of Quang Tri was captured by the communist forces, the only provincial capital to fall to them during the Easter Offensive. The preceding week saw South Vietnamese casualties, especially near Quang Tri, reach their highest level of the entire Vietnam War. Two combat divisions of South Vietnam collapsed and fled the fighting. President Nixon withdrew his demand for a withdrawal of all North Vietnamese forces from South Vietnam as a precondition for a peace agreement.