Army of the Republic of Vietnam

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The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). Just after the end of the Vietnam War, after the fall of Saigon, it was dissolved, and while some fled to the US, hundreds of thousands of its members were sent to reeducation camps by the communist government.

1 National Army of Vietnam
2 ARVN
3 Final Campaigns
4 Collapse
5 Possible reasons for low ARVN morale
6 Notable ARVN generals
7 References
8 External links

[edit] National Army of Vietnam

On March 8, 1949, after the Elysee accord Vietnam was recognized as an independent country and its Army was built to fight side by side with the Armed Forces of France against the communist and nationalist Viet Minh forces lead by Ho Chi Minh. This force was named the "National Army of Vietnam" and was officered by French trained personnel or French army veterans such as the army's chief of staff, General Nguyen Van Hinh. The French referred to the formation of this organization as the "yellowing" of the French army in Indochina.

In 1952, Vietnamese forces were made up of sixty battalions but never played a significant role in the French war against the Viet Minh. The French used them mostly to garrison sectors they considered unimportant and to free up French forces for significant operations. They were, for example, used in such a way to man the "DeLattre Line" while French troops made attacks in North Vietnam. A small number (mostly paratroopers) fought at the battle of Dien Bien Phu where they famously went into action (reportedly) singing the French national anthem (This oft-cited report may not be plausible as even the men of the Vietnam National Army who fought with the French tried to display a certain amount of Vietnamese nationalism in order not to look too much like puppets of the French. They would probably have sung the national anthem of the then French-sponsored State of Vietnam call "Tieng Goi Thanh Nien" (Call to Youth) which, ironically was authored earlier by Luu Huu Phuoc, a pro-Viet Minh Vietnamese composer). Generally, there was not much incentive for public support of this French controlled army. Desertions were high and their equipment was often sub-standard, with all of the best material going to the French units. According to the Geneva Accord was signed on July 20, 1954, the army was disbanded and only a militia allowed to remain.

[edit] ARVN

On October 26, 1956, the military was reorganized by the administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem who then established the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The air force was known as the VNAF. Early on, the focus of the army was the guerrilla fighters of the Vietnam National Liberation Front (NLF), a shadow government formed to oppose the Diem administration. The United States, under President John F. Kennedy sent advisors and a great deal of financial support to aid ARVN in combating the Communist insurgents. A major campaign, developed by Ngo Dinh Nhu and later resurrected under another name was the "Strategic Hamlet Program" which was regarded as unsuccessful by western media because it was "inhumane" to move villagers from the countryside to fortififed villages. Later historians however, argue it did a good job in stopping the Vietcong insurgents. ARVN and President Diem began to be criticized by the foreign press when the troops were used to crush armed anti-government religious groups like the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao as well as to raid Buddhist temples, which according to Diem, were harboring Communist guerrillas. Diem also crushed the armed forces of the Binh Xuyen crime syndicate, which were supported by the French.

In 1963 Ngo Dinh Diem was killed in a coup d'etat carried out by ARVN officers, supported by the CIA. In the confusion that followed, General Duong Van Minh took control, but was only the first in a succession of ARVN generals to assume the presidency of South Vietnam. During these years, the United States began taking full control of the war against the communist NLF and the role of the ARVN became less and less significant. They were also plagued by continuing problems of severe corruption amongst the officer corps. Although the U.S. was highly critical of them, the ARVN continued to be entirely U.S. armed and funded.

South Vietnamese M-48 during military parade

Although the US media has often portrayed the Vietnam war as an exclusively American vs Vietnamese conflict, the ARVN carried the brunt of the fight before and after large-scale US involvement, and participated in many major operations with American troops. An estimated 250 000 South Vietnamese troops died, while around 58 000 U.S. troops were killed during the civil war.

[edit] Final Campaigns

Starting in 1969 President Richard M. Nixon started the process of "Vietnamization" pulling out American forces and rendering the ARVN capable of fighting an effective war against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) of the North (Also called NVA for North Vietnamese Army) and the allied National Liberation Front. Slowly, ARVN began to expand from its counter-insurgency role to become the primary ground defense against the NLF and PAVN. From 1969-1971 there were about 22 000 ARVN combat deaths per year. Starting in 1968, South Vietnam began calling up every available man for service in the ARVN, reaching a strength of a million soldiers by 1972. In 1970 they performed well in the Cambodian Incursion and were executing three times as many operations as they had during the American war period. However, the ARVN equipment continued to be of lower standards than their American and South Korean allies, even as the U.S. tried to upgrade ARVN technology. But the officer corps was still the biggest problem. Leaders were too often poorly trained, corrupt, lacking morale and inept.

However, forced to carry the burden left by the Americans, the South Vietnamese army actually started to perform rather well and in 1970 was clearly winning the war against the Communists, though with continued American air support. The exhaustion of the North was becoming evident and the Paris talks gave some hope of a negotiated peace if not a victory.

In 1972, General Vo Nguyen Giap launched the "Easter Offensive", the first all out invasion of South Vietnam by the Communist North. The assault combined infantry wave assaults, artillery and the first massive use of tanks by the North Vietnamese. The ARVN took heavy losses, but managed to hold on and stand their ground. The Communists took Quang Tri province and some areas along the Lao and Khmer borders.

President Richard Nixon dispatched more bombers to provide air support for the ARVN when it seemed that South Vietnam was about to be overrun. In desperation, President Nguyen Van Thieu fired the incompetent General Lam and replaced him with General Ngo Quang Truong. He gave the order that all deserters would be executed and pulled enough forces together so that the North Vietnamese army failed to take Hue. Finally, with considerable U.S. air and naval support, as well hard fighting by the ARVN soldiers, the Easter Offensive was halted. ARVN forces counter-attacked and ultimately succeeded in driving the NVA out of South Vietnam, though they did retain control of northern Quang Tri province near the DMZ.

By 1973 and 1974 the United States had almost completely retreated from Vietnam and the ARVN was left to fight alone, though with massive technological support, having roughly four times as many heavy weapons as their enemies. These figures are deceptive however, as U.S. aid was continuously cut while at the same time the North Vietnamese were given more and more Soviet and Chinese support.

In the fall of 1974, Nixon resigned under the pressure of the Watergate scandal and was succeeded by Gerald Ford. Congress cut funding to South Vietnam for the upcoming fiscal year from 1 billion to 700 million dollars. Historians have directly attributed the fall of Saigon in 1975 to the cessation of American aid. Without the necessary funds, South Vietnam found it logistically and financially hard to defeat the North Vietnamese army. Moreover, the withdrawal of aid encouraged North Vietnam to begin an effective military offensive against South Vietnam. This was strengthened by the fact that Nixon had promised Thieu a "severe retaliation" if the Communists broke the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. The new American government did not found themselves bound to this promise.

The U.S. had provided the ARVN with 640 000 M-16 rifles, 34 000 M79 grenade launchers, 40 000 radios, 20 000 quarter-ton trucks and 56 M48 tanks. The air force had 200 A1, A-37 and F-5 fighters, 30 AC-47 gunships and 600 transport, training and reconnaissance aircraft. The army also had 500 helicopters (the U.S. fighting force had more than 3000 in 1969). Despite such impressive figures, the Vietnamese were not as well equipped as the G.I.s they replaced, and still were severely outnumbered by the NVA, which had the world's fifth largest army in 1975.

[edit] Collapse

The severe cut in American aid and the resignation of Nixon, prompted Hanoi to make an all-out effort to conquer the South. As the North Vietnamese Communist Party Secretary Le Duan observed in December 1974: “The Americans have withdrawn... this is what marks the opportune moment.”

In 1975, after the end of American involvement, North Vietnam launched a final campaign starting at Phuoc Long to capture Saigon. The North called this military offensive the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. This time, the ARVN collapsed against the rejuvenated North Vietnamese army. The ARVN had previously held its ground with US air support, but this time, the US held back its forces. The VNAF had only a fraction of the effectiveness and power of the US air forces, with nothing more powerful than converted trainers such as the A-37 and the tiny F-5 Freedom Fighter that had been spurned by the USAF. It had no offensive forces such as the F-4 Phantom which had been requested, but rejected, let alone the massive B-52 which could decimate troop concentrations.

Thieu ordered a withdrawal from Northern areas. Thieu angrily blamed the US for his decision, saying, "If [the U.S.] grant full aid we will hold the whole country, but if they only give half of it, we will only hold half of the country." The retreat proved to be a tactical blunder, causing mass panic and desertation. City after city fell to the Communists with civilians turning into what was dubbed, a "convoy of tears" - a massive refugee wave fleeing towards Saigon. The ARVN soldiers, some being abonded by their leaders, deserted and tried to find their families, preventing them from falling into Communist hands.

The South, depleted of even Congressional funding, had very little choices left. One political option was to try to negotiate a coalition government with the North. Indeed, after President Thieu's resignation, Vice President Tran Van Huong became President, but even the elderly Huong was feared by some to be unacceptable as a negotiator with Hanoi's leaders. Thus, due to the quickly deteriorating situation, General Huong was replaced by General Duong Van Minh (Big Minh), who was sworn in as President. Big Minh was one of the main generals in charge of the coup in 1963 that had overthrown and killed then President Ngo Dinh Diem.

General Cao Van Vien, Chief of Staff of the ARVN, had opposed the Diem coup, and believed he could not work effectively with the new President and was granted permission by Huong to resign.

In the meantime, the 18th Division, commanded by General Le Minh Dao and supported by VNAF air units put up strong resistance at the Battle of Xuan Loc, dropping massive daisy cutter bombs on ground forces. 6000 ARVN troops held back 40 000 NVA troops for two weeks, inflicting 5000 casualties on the enemy, but eventually fell to overwhelming forces. On April 30, 1975, the Fall of Saigon was a fact, and the Communists captured the city, placing the NLF flag over the Independence Palace. General Duong Van Minh, recently appointed president by Tran Van Huong, surrendered the city and government bringing the Republic of Vietnam and also the Army of the Republic of Vietnam to a final end.

When General Duong Van Minh ordered the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam, ARVN generals Pham Van Khu, Nguyen Khoa Nam, Le Van Hung, Le Nguyen Vy and Tran Van Hai committed suicide rather than surrender to the enemy.

[edit] Possible reasons for low ARVN morale

After the coup of Ngo Dinh Diem, the ARVN was increasingly seen as a puppet of the United States. This was a problem for many nationalistic Vietnamese, whom refused to be seen as a 'little brother' of the Americans. The ARVN was also a direct replacement of the Vietnamese subunit of the French imperialists. Most Vietnamese detested the imperialists, and the Communists often portrayed the Americans as the new imperialists with the ARVN as puppets. The North Vietnamese and many South Vietnamese civilians fell victim to such propaganda. The fact that the Americans had supported the French in their imperialism in Vietnam further alienated some nationalists.

The ARVN also suffered from the filtering of the South Vietnamese school system, which up until 1972, allowed the students with the best grades to pursue another path than military, resulting in a lack of talent. After the North launched the Easter Offensive, everyone of military age was called in to serve the country. However, by this time, corruption and low morale was widespread, with political favoritisism and bribery making way for high military positions.

Some South Vietnamese also saw a link between the arrival of the Americans and the detoriating virtues of the culture of Vietnam, with prostitution and drug use among the civilians increasing. The Vietnamese especially frowned upon prostitutes selling themselves to American soldiers, derogating the value of Vietnamese women. Prostitution increased under the French occupation, was made illegal under Ngo Dinh Diem, and became widespread again after his assasination.