The War of the flags (also known as Landgrab '73) was a phase of fighting throughout South Vietnam lasting from 23 January to 3 February 1973 as the forces of North and South Vietnam each sought to maximize the territory under their control before the ceasefire in place agreed by the Paris Peace Accords came into effect on 27 January 1973. The fighting continued past the ceasefire date and into early February. South Vietnamese forces made greater territorial gains and inflicted significant losses on the North Vietnamese forces. Background At the end of the Easter Offensive in October 1972 both the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) had suffered severe losses and were exhausted. The PAVN had gained permanent control of large areas of the four northernmost provinces – Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên, Quảng Nam and Quảng Tín – and the western fringes of the II and III Corps sectors, totalling around 10% of South Vietnam. The Paris Peace Talks resumed in October 1972 and the outline of the peace agreement was announced on 26 October 1972. One of the sticking points in the negotiations was North Vietnam's insistence that there should be a ceasefire in place, with the PAVN and Vietcong (VC) retaining control of the areas they occupied. South Vietnamese president Nguyễn Văn Thiệu opposed the continued PAVN occupation, but was coerced by the Nixon Administration to agree to this condition. The final terms of the peace accords were agreed by the parties on 23 January 1973, with signing to take place on 27 January and a country-wide ceasefire in place coming into effect on at 24:00 GMT on 27 January. A joint military commission of South Vietnamese and VC representatives established under the terms of the accords would determine the areas controlled by each side, which was replaced by the International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS), composed of representatives from Canada, Indonesia, Hungary and Poland. MACV and South Vietnamese intelligence learned that the PAVN/VC planned general attacks throughout South Vietnam to take place immediately before the expected date of the ceasefire so as to maximize the areas under their control in the expectation that the ICCS monitors would be in place around the country and able to confirm PAVN/VC control and so forestall any South Vietnamese counterattacks. The ARVN prepared for these attacks and planned attacks of its