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Republic of Vietnam Military Forces
Republic of Vietnam Military Forces
Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa
	War flag of the Republic of Vietnam
	Flag of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces
Motto	"Tổ Quốc – Danh Dự – Trách Nhiệm"; ("Homeland – Honour – Duty")
Founded	13 April 1949
Disbanded	30 April 1975
Service branches	Army; Air Force; Navy
Headquarters	Saigon, Central-South region of Vietnam
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Ngo Dinh Diem (1955–1963); Nguyen Van Thieu (1967–1975)
Chief of Joint General Staff	See list
Personnel
Active personnel	586,838
Deployed personnel	1,000,000 in 1972
Industry
Foreign suppliers	United States; Australia; New Zealand; Philippines; South Korea; Thailand
Related articles
History	Military history of Vietnam
Ranks	Ranks and insignia of the Republic of Vietnam

The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (RVNMF; Vietnamese: Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa – QLVNCH), were the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam and were responsible for the defence of the country from 26 October 1955^[1] to 30 April 1975. Its predecessor, the Vietnamese National Army, was the armed forces of the State of Vietnam and established on 13 April 1949.^[2] The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces day has been celebrated in June 19 every years since 1965.

Branches

The QLVNCH (also known as the RVNMF) was formally established on 26 October 1955 when the State of Vietnam became a republic after a rigged referendum.^[3] Created out from ex-French Union Army colonial Indochinese auxiliary units (French: Supplétifs), gathered earlier in April 1949 into the French-led Vietnamese National Army or VNA (Vietnamese: Quân Đội Quốc Gia Việt Nam – QĐQGVN), Armée Nationale Vietnamiènne (ANV) in French, the armed forces of the new state consisted in the mid-1950s of ground, air, and naval branches of service, respectively, the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces day is also celebrated (mostly by the overseas Vietnamese people) every years in 19 June

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)
Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF)
Republic of Vietnam Navy including Marine Corps

Their roles were defined as follows: to protect the sovereignty of the Vietnamese nation and that of the Republic; to maintain the political and social order and the rule of law; to defend the newly independent Republic of Vietnam from external (and internal) threats; and ultimately, to help reunify Vietnam – divided since the Geneva Accords in July 1955 into two transitional states, one at the north ruled by Ho Chi Minh’s Lao Dong Party regime and the other in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem's authoritarian regime.

Command structure

Regional commands

Administrative divisions and military regions of South Vietnam in June 1967.

The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces consisted of four military corps (Quân đoàn) as follows:

I Corps headquartered in Da Nang, included five provinces: Tactical zone 11, including 2 provinces Quang Tri and Thua Thien Tactical zone 12, including 2 provinces Quang Tin and Quang Ngai Quang Nam Special Zone, including Quang Nam Province and Da Nang City

II Corps headquartered in Nha Trang, but the 2nd Army Corps Command is located in Pleiku (had to move to Nha Trang from mid-March 1975), included 12 provinces: Tactical Zone 22, including 3 provinces Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Phu Bon Tactical Zone 23, including 7 provinces Darlac, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Tuyen Duc, Quang Duc, Lam Dong and Cam Ranh city Special area 24, including 2 provinces Kon Tum and Pleiku

III Corps headquartered in Bien Hoa, include 10 provinces: Tactical Zone 31, including 3 provinces Tay Ninh, Hau Nghia, Long An Tactical zone 32, including 3 provinces Phuoc Long, Binh Long, Binh Duong Tactical Zone 33, including 4 provinces Binh Tuy, Phuoc Tuy, Long Khanh, Bien Hoa and Vung Tau city Capital Military District of Saigon - Gia Dinh

IV Corps headquartered in Can Tho, included 16 provinces: Dinh Tuong tactical zone, including 4 provinces Kien Tuong, Dinh Tuong, Go Cong, Kien Hoa Tactical Zone 41, including 7 provinces Kien Phong, Chau Doc, Vinh Long, Vinh Binh, An Giang, Kien Giang, Sa Dec Tactical Zone 42, including 5 provinces Phong Dinh, Chuong Thien, Ba Xuyen, Bac Lieu, An Xuyen

On July 1, 1970 the four Corps were redesignated as Corps Tactical Zones (CTZs).

Criticism

The ARVN always had problems keeping men in the ranks, but during 1973–75, the problem reached epidemic proportions. During 1974, for example, only 65 percent of authorized manpower was present for duty at any time.^[4] The nation's officer corps still suffered from the promotion and retention of generals due to their political loyalties, not their professional abilities. Corruption and incompetence among officers was endemic, with some "raising it almost to an art form."^[5]

In 1972, General Creighton Abrams fumed at ARVN complaints that they lacked arms and equipment. He said: “The ARVN haven’t lost their tanks because the enemy tanks knocked them out. The ARVN lost their tanks because goddamn it, they abandoned them. And, shit, if they had the Josef Stalin 3 [tank], it wouldn’t have been any better.” He likewise harangued President Nguyen Van Thieu and chief of staff General Cao Van Vien: “Equipment is not what you need. You need men that will fight... You’ve got all the equipment you need... You lost most of your artillery because it was abandoned.”^[6]

Notes

^ Harry G. Summers 1995, p. 168.
^ "A Brief Overview of the Vietnam National Army and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (1952-1975), PERSPECTIVES ON RVNAF FROM FRUS, Stephen Sherman and Bill Laurie". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
^ Rottman and Bujeiro, Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955-75 (2010), p. 7.
^ Lipsman and Weiss, p. 149.
^ Willbanks, p. 205. To mollify his critics, President Thiệu sacked the II and IV Corps commanders, Generals Nguyễn Văn Toàn and Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi, both Thiệu loyalists notorious for corruption. Unfortunately, both men were also proven leaders, popular with their troops, and versatile on the battlefield. Dougan and Fulghum, p. 26.
^ Vietnam; An Epic Tragedy, 1945-1975. Max Hastings, 2018. P 524-525

References

Gordon L. Rottman and Ron Volstad, US Army Special Forces 1952-84, Elite series 4, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. ISBN 9780850456103
Gordon L. Rottman and Ron Volstad, Vietnam Airborne, Elite Series 29, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1990. ISBN 0-85045-941-9
Gordon L. Rottman and Ramiro Bujeiro, Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955-75, Men-at-arms series 458, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2010. ISBN 978-1-84908-182-5
Kenneth Conboy and Simon McCouaig, South-East Asian Special Forces, Elite series 33, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1991. ISBN 9781855321069
Lee E. Russell and Mike Chappell, Armies of the Vietnam War (2), Men-at-arms series 143, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1983. ISBN 0-85045-514-6.
Leroy Thompson, Michael Chappell, Malcolm McGregor and Ken MacSwan, Uniforms of the Indo-China and Vietnam Wars, Blandford Press, London 1984. ASIN B001VO7QSI
Martin Windrow and Mike Chappell, The French Indochina War 1946-54, Men-at-arms series 322, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 1998. ISBN 978-1-85532-789-4
Phillip Katcher and Mike Chappell, Armies of the Vietnam War 1962-1975, Men-at-arms series 104, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1980. ISBN 978-0-85045-360-7