Group 559
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Group 559 was a People's Army of Vietnam unit created during 1959 in the prelude to the Vietnam War. The purpose of this unit was to establish supply lines from North Vietnam to Vietcong paramilitary units in South Vietnam. This task was made more difficult by the presence of a demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border separating the two countries, though the North Vietnamese did send some supplies across the DMZ, their major infrastructure went around it. Group 559 developed road lines through Laos and Cambodia that fed into various areas of northern and western South Vietnam. This system of roads became known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and was used under the supervision of Group 559 to infiltrate weapons, ammunition, and cadres into the South.
Group 759 and Group 959 were created somewhat later, with similar but different missions. Group 759 was charged with infiltrating supplies into South Vietnam by sea, complementing the land based operations of Group 559. Group 959 was created to move supplies to Pathet Lao forces in Laos. [1]
