Army of the Republic of Vietnam
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). At 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.
On
March 8,
1949, after the signing of 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 however they never played a significant role in the French war against the Viet Minh. The French used them mostly to garrison sectors they considered unimportant, 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-Vietminh 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.
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 Nationalist insurgents. A major campaign, developed by
Ngo Dinh Nhu and later resurrected under another name was the "
Strategic Hamlet Program" which was unsuccessful. ARVN and President Diem began to be criticized by the foreign press when the troops were used to crush anti-government religious groups like the
Cao Dai and
Hoa Hao as well as to raid
Buddhist temples, which Diem claimed were harboring Communist guerrillas.
In
1963 Ngo Dinh Diem was killed in a coup d'etat organized by the
CIA and carried out by ARVN officers. 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 among the officer corps. Although the U.S. was highly critical of them, the ARVN continued to be entirely U.S. armed and funded.
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 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 officer corps was still the biggest problem. Leaders were often poorly trained, inept and the equipment continued to be sub-standard as the U.S. tried to upgrade ARVN technology.
Relations with the public also remained poor as their only counter to NLF organizing was to resurrect the "Strategic Hamlet Program", which the peasants resented. Disapproving Americans called this "barbed wire diplomacy". 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.
The most crucial moment of truth for the ARVN came with General
Vo Nguyen Giap's 1972 "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 the ARVN's best commander, 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 PAVN 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 4x as many heavy weapons as their enemies. This was deceptive, however, as U.S. aid was continuously cut while the North Vietnamese were able to expand their forces and logistics with Soviet and Chinese support.
In 1975, after the end of American involvement, North Vietnam launched a final campaign starting at
Phuoc Long to capture
Saigon. This time, the ARVN collapsed against the rejuvenated North Vietnamese army . The ARVN had previously held with tremendous US air support, but the
VNAF had only a fraction of the effectiveness and power of the US air forces, with nothing more powerful than converted trainers and the tiny
F-5 Freedom Fighter that had been spurned by the USAF. Thieu had ordered a withdrawal from Northern areas which caused massive panic and few of the forces there survived. City after city fell to the Communists with ARVN soldiers joining the civilians trying to flee south. The North called this the
Ho Chi Minh Campaign. All resistance crumbled. General
Cao Van Vien, ARVN chief of staff, ordered his men to fight to the death, then quickly fled the country. The ARVN tried to defend
Xuan Loc, their last chance before
Saigon. Even according to the Communists, these men fought very well, but it was not enough. Xuan Loc was taken and on April 30, 1975, initiated the
Fall of Saigon 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.
*
Do Cao Tri*
Duong Van Minh*
Ngo Quang Truong*
Nguyen Cao Ky*
Nguyen Khanh*
Nguyen Khoa Nam*
Nguyen Ngoc Loan*
Nguyen Van Hieu*
Nguyen Van Thieu*
Nguyen Viet Thanh*
Tran Van Minh*
VNAF The South Vietnamese Air Force - Không Quân Việt Nam Cộng Hòa*
Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Reunion 2003*
Vietnam War Bibliography: The ARVN and the RVN*
History of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam*
Hue Massacre Tet Offensive Photos*
The Battle for Hue, 1968 by James H. Willbanks
*
An account of the Vietnam War in a ARVN's soldiers own words*
ARVN Interviews*
Interview with ARVN, Ban Van Nguyen
