It was April 8, 1972, An Lộc was hit by rockets and mortar shells, raising clouds of dust and rubble from the red earth streets. Thousands of refugees tried to reach Saigon, not realizing that the North Vietnamese had now squeezed the city. Many of them were killed or deported elsewhere. The bombardment continued for several days and An Loc became a ghost town. As the din of battle grew ever closer, people had scrambled to take the things dearest to them and then hide in the well-shaped shelters that had been built under the houses at the beginning of the conflict.
As reported later by some prisoners, the first tanks entered the city but without fuel reserves, because the tankers had been told that the city had surrendered, thus creating panic and confusion. It was said that the tanks prowled An Loc as if they owned the city. Suddenly the rumor came out that a single shot of LAW, the light anti-tank weapon that fired rockets capable of piercing steel, was enough to knock out enemy tanks. By April 13, the blackened hulks of 18 tanks littered the streets of the city, while American and South Vietnamese planes had destroyed at least another ten, but the battle was only just beginning.
While the reinforcement columns still remained blocked south of An Loc, the defenders of the city watched the sky, where anything could come from. C-123 planes, flying at high altitudes due to intense anti-aircraft fire, dropped tons of material with parachutes. Subsequently, South Vietnamese counterintelligence revealed that the enemy intended to destroy An Loc and raze it to the ground if it could not be conquered in a very short time. And for over three months the inhabitants remained locked up in underground shelters, suffering one of the most terrifying artillery bombardments in history, over an area of one kilometre, as many as 78 rockets, bullets and grenades arrived.
The shelters soon became too crowded and many refugees, adults and children had to seek shelter in the church of San Giuseppe, we are talking about two thousand people. One day, during a function, a grenade that entered from the roof exploded on the altar, 200 injured, 40 dead including the priest.
Meanwhile the enemy entered the houses and took possession of them and so on every day. In May, due to the circle of iron and fire that surrounded the city, no reinforcements could get close. Anl Loc's artillery had only one cannon left and the only truck "walked" only on the wheel rims.
The worst drama ahead was sanitation, with wells now depleted or contaminated. Malaria sank victims, mothers gave birth in shelters but few children managed to survive. Over 500 civilians died in one night alone.
It was on the night of May 10 that the cannons of the North Vietnamese subjected An Loc to the most cruel bombardment, it looked like an earthquake, all that remained was to pray. In the morning the tanks arrived, but this time in rage they were ready to receive them, dashing from bunkers and holes dug for cover, and the anti-tank squads opened fire with LAWs at close range. Meanwhile, the roar of gigantic planes was heard, a flight of three planes every 55 minutes, these were B-52s that took off from bases in Thailand, which destroyed the North Vietnamese positions up to 800 meters from the defense perimeter. And while the survivors fled over land and rivers, the bombardments continued for another month, but always with less intensity.
At the beginning of June the civilians began to come out of their dark holes and finally breathe the fresh air and enjoy the warmth of the sun, and although spring was slow to arrive that year, they sat among the rubble in the hope that everything was over . Thousands and thousands of dead, but was An Loc worth this price? and again…but why?
