reconnaissance units sent reports back to Hanoi, informing the naval command of RVN ships leaving their positions in Namyit and Sin Cowe. Upon hearing the news of the South Vietnamese withdrawal, the VPN command ordered the 126th Battalion to capture the remaining islands. On April 27 and 28, the PAVN 126th Battalion marched onto Namyit and Sin Cowe without opposition. On April 29, 1975, the VPN had successfully completed their mission in capturing all of the islands of the Spratly group that had been held by South Vietnam. Phú Quý Island Phú Quý island, also known as Cu Lao Thu, is located off the coast of southern Vietnam. The island is about away from Phan Thiết, and away from Cam Ranh Bay. The island is about 21 square kilometers in size, and in 1975 it had a population of about 12,000 people. At the end of March 1975, the ARVN maintained a security team on Phú Quý, which included one police platoon and 4,000 members of the People's Self-Defense Forces. From April 1975, the local ARVN forces on Phú Quý were joined by an additional 800 ARVN soldiers, who escaped from the mainland town of Hàm Tân when PAVN forces captured it. On April 22, the RVN deployed the HQ-11 corvette and one small patrol boat to defend the island from VPN attack. On April 26, 1975, the PAVN South Central Coast Command at Cam Ranh Base and the 125th Naval Transport Brigade of the VPN began transporting members of the 407th Special Forces Battalion from Military Region 5, and elements of the 95th Regiment towards Phú Quý. At 1.50 am on April 27, 1975, the VPN/PAVN landed on the island and the fight for Phú Quý Island began. Caught by surprise, South Vietnamese units retreated to the administrative center of the island, where they organized their defenses in an attempt to push back the North Vietnamese forces. While at sea, the RVN's HQ-11 escort ship clashed with boats from the VPN 125th Navy Transport Brigate, but ultimately the long-range artillery used by the VPN proved too much for the HQ-11 and it retreated from the island with significant damage. After several hours of waiting, the commander of the HQ-11 decided to pull anchor and escaped to the Philippines when further reinforcements from the RVN failed to arrive. At 6.30 am remnants of the ARVN gave up and ended their