Editing Viet Cong (section)

===Vietnamization===
The Tet Offensive increased American public discontent with participation in the Vietnam War and led the U.S. to gradually withdraw combat forces and to shift responsibility to the South Vietnamese, a process called [[Vietnamization]]. Pushed into Cambodia, the VC could no longer draw South Vietnamese recruits.<ref name="Porter-26"/> In May 1968, Trường Chinh urged "protracted war" in a speech that was published prominently in the official media, so the fortunes of his "North first" faction may have revived at this time.<ref>Ang, p. 138.</ref> COSVN rejected this view as "lacking resolution and absolute determination."<ref>Ang, p. 139.</ref> The Soviet invasion of [[Czechoslovakia]] in August 1968 led to intense Sino-Soviet tension and to the withdrawal of Chinese forces from North Vietnam. Beginning in February 1970, Lê Duẩn's prominence in the official media increased, suggesting that he was again top leader and had regained the upper hand in his longstanding rivalry with Trường Chinh.<ref>Ang, p. 53.</ref> After the overthrow of Prince [[Sihanouk]] in March 1970, the VC faced a hostile Cambodian government which authorized a U.S. offensive against its bases in April. However, the capture of the [[Plain of Jars]] and other territory in Laos, as well as five provinces in northeastern Cambodia, allowed the North Vietnamese to reopen the Ho Chi Minh trail.<ref name="Ang52">Ang, p. 52.</ref> Although 1970 was a much better year for the VC than 1969,<ref name="Ang52"/> it would never again be more than an adjunct to the PAVN. The 1972 [[Easter Offensive]] was a direct North Vietnamese attack across the DMZ.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vietnampix.com/popvc.htm|title=The Vietcong|website=www.vietnampix.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005082704/http://vietnampix.com/popvc.htm|archive-date= October 5, 2022}}</ref> Despite the [[Paris Peace Accords]], signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued. In March, Trà was recalled to Hanoi for a series of meetings to hammer out a plan for an enormous offensive against Saigon.<ref>Karnow, p. 673.</ref>[[File:VC carrying POW in litter DD-ST-99-04295.JPG|thumb|left|Viet Cong soldiers carry an injured American POW to a [[prisoner swap]] in 1973. The VC uniform was a floppy jungle hat, rubber sandals, and green fatigues without rank or insignia.<ref>{{cite web |author= Tran Van Tra |title= Vietnam: History of the Bulwark B2 Theatre |url= http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/tra/csirp_vhbbt.html#48 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090528195125/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/tra/csirp_vhbbt.html#48 |archive-date= May 28, 2009 }}</ref>]]