The Fall of Saigon was the capture / liberation of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under Communist rule. North Vietnamese forces under the command of the Senior General V?n Ti?n D?ng began their final attack on Saigon, which was commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan on April 29, with a heavy artillery bombardment. By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points within the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. South Vietnam capitulated shortly after. The city was later renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in posthumous honour of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh who had died in 1969.