Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces
Encyclopedia
The Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces were the elite military units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(commonly known as South Vietnam
). Following the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam in October 1955, the Special Forces were formed at Nha Trang
in February 1956. During the rule of Ngô Đình Diệm, the Special Forces were run by his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu
, until both were assassinated in November 1963 in a coup
. The Special Forces were disbanded in 1975 when South Vietnam ceased to exist after the Fall of Saigon
.
in February 1956 under the designation of the First Observation Battalion/Group (FOG). By 1960, most Special Forces units were involved in the FOG program. At Long Thanh
, they were trained in intelligence gathering, sabotage and psychological operations (PSYOP). The main duties of the Special Forces entailed the recruitment and training of one-to-four man teams in intelligence, sabotage, and psychological warfare missions. The success of these missions was poor. Although minor sabotage and unrest was fomented, Hanoi declared that all agents were to be killed or captured. Those that were captured were interrogated before being executed.
In 1961, the Special Forces and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
1st Infantry Division, based in the northernmost area of South Vietnam, conducted a joint operation against Communist infiltrators in northern Quang Tri Province
. In the autumn of 1961, Special Forces units began Operation Eagle at Binh Hung with a night parachute assault.
In September 1962, United States Special Forces personnel assumed responsibility of the CIA’s border surveillance and Civilian Irregular Defense Group
(CIDG) programs and began working with the ARVN Special Forces. The Special Forces continued to expand and began to increasingly operate with the CIDG.
. Tung had been trained by the Central Intelligence Agency
in the United States
and commanded some 1,840 men under the direction of Nhu.
Tung’s most notable military activity was leading a group run by the CIA, in which ARVN personnel of northern origin were sent into North Vietnam
, posing as locals, in order to gather intelligence as well as sabotaging communist infrastructure and communications. They were trained in bases at Nha Trang
, Đà Nẵng
and sometimes offshore in Taiwan
, Guam
and Okinawa. Of the eighty groups of operatives, numbering six or seven per group, that were deployed in 1963 via parachute drops or night time sampan journeys, nearly all were captured or killed. Those who were captured were often used for propaganda by communist broadcasting authorities. Tung was heavily criticised for his management of the operations.
on the birthday
of Gautama Buddha
for defying a ban on the Buddhist flag
, mass protests calling for religious equality erupted around the country. With the opposition to Diem growing, Nhu plotted an attack against Xa Loi Pagoda
, the largest Buddhist centre in Saigon, where the movement was organising its activities. Tung's special forces under Nhu's orders were responsible for the raid on August 21, 1963, in which 1,400 monks were arrested and hundreds were estimated to have been killed, as well as extensive property damage. These attacks were replicated across the country in a synchronised manner. Following the attacks, U.S. officials threatened to withhold aid to the Special Forces unless they were used in fighting communists, rather than attacking dissidents.
Another notable religious attack was perpetrated by Tùng's men in 1963. In a small pond near the central city of Đà Nẵng
, a hugely oversized carp
was found swimming. Local Buddhists began to believe that the fish was a reincarnation
of one of Gautama Buddha
’s disciples. As pilgrimages to the pond grew larger and more frequent, so did disquiet among the district chief and his officials, who answered to Ngô Đình Cẩn
, younger brother of Diệm. The pond was mined, but the fish swam on unhindered. After raking the pond with machine gun fire, the fish still lived. To deal with the problem, Tùng's forces were called in. The pond was grenaded, killing the carp. The incident generated more publicity as newspapers across the world ran stories about the miraculous fish. South Vietnamese army helicopters began landing at the site, with ARVN paratroopers filling their bottles with water which they believed had magical powers.
Tung was reported to have been planning an operation at the request of Nhu to stage a government organised student demonstration outside the US Embassy, Saigon. In this plan, Tung's men would assassinate ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
, other key officials and the Buddhist leader, Thich Tri Quang
, who had been given asylum there after being targeted in the pagoda raids. Then Tùng's men would have burned down the embassy.
On November 1, 1963, a coup was launched by the ARVN against Diem. Knowing that Tung was a loyalist who would order his Special Forces to defend Diem, the generals invited him to ARVN Joint General Staff headquarters on the pretext of a routine meeting. He was arrested and later executed along with his deputy and younger brother Le Quang Trieu. Diem and Nhu were also executed after being captured at the end of the successful coup and the ARVN's leadership consequently changed.
, LLDB teams performed five parachute drops into Laos to gather intelligence. By 1965, LLDB personnel were working with the ARVN in recruiting and training as well as sending groups into communist areas in South Vietnam to gather information.
In March 1970, aware of the impending withdrawal of U.S. Special Forces from Vietnam as part of a general withdrawal and with the failure of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) (Dan Su Chien Dau) program due to fraud and corruption, the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) agreed to convert CIDG camps into ARVN Border Ranger camps (Biet Dong Quan Bien Phong). The cream of these CIDG units, the Mike force (Mobile Strike force) follows the conversion and integration into the ARVN as well.
The LLDB were no longer needed and subsequently disbanded.
The former indigenous reconnaissance team personnel previously assigned to work with US MACV-SOG (the US military reconnaissance office for MACV) were regrouped into the Intelligence Directorate of the ARVN General Joint Staff. This directorate is usually known with the nickname The 7th Technical Directorate (Nha Ky Thuat or Phong 7 Ky Thuat translated as Technical Directorate or 7th Bureau). This directorate is further divided down to 3 offices: The Coastal Defense office (So Phong Ve Duyen Hai) to deal and manage with all maritime-related reconnaissance activities, the Liaison Office (So Lien Lac) to manage the reconnaissance and military intelligence in Northern part of South Vietnam and the tri-border area (Vietnam, Lao and Cambodia) and the Topography office (So Dia Hinh) to manage the land reconnaissance activities within South Vietnam. These vague designations are purported to hide to the true identities and activities of this top secret directorate within the ARVN Joint Staff.
The ARVN has had also a special strike unit, Lien doan 81 Biet kich Du (the 81st Airborne Ranger group), under the direct command of the Joint-Staff, similar to the British SAS
or US Ranger regiment. It can be counted as part of the Special Forces. It was under the Special Forces command and later placed under direct Joint-Staff's command. Although it can be counted as an Airborne Ranger group as well, also part of the Vietnamese Airborne Division
.
This unit has been heavily bloodied during the 1968's Tet Offensive and the 1972 NVA's Easter Offensive when it was launched into battle to relieve the garrison of An Loc
on the NorthWest of Saigon from a NVA siege that threatened to choke off Saigon.
Some former LLDB personnel were formed into a new clandestine unit, the Vietnamese Special Mission Service (SMS). Approximately 5,000 personnel served in the Special Forces during the Vietnam War. After the Fall of Saigon
, those who did not escape were sent to reeducation camp
s.
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(commonly known as South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
). Following the establishment of the Republic of Vietnam in October 1955, the Special Forces were formed at Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
in February 1956. During the rule of Ngô Đình Diệm, the Special Forces were run by his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
, until both were assassinated in November 1963 in a coup
1963 South Vietnamese coup
In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The...
. The Special Forces were disbanded in 1975 when South Vietnam ceased to exist after the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
.
Early years
The Special Forces came into being at Nha TrangNha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
in February 1956 under the designation of the First Observation Battalion/Group (FOG). By 1960, most Special Forces units were involved in the FOG program. At Long Thanh
Long Thanh
Long Thanh is a district of Dong Nai Province in the Southeast region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 204,793. The district covers an area of 535 km². The district capital lies at Long Thanh Town....
, they were trained in intelligence gathering, sabotage and psychological operations (PSYOP). The main duties of the Special Forces entailed the recruitment and training of one-to-four man teams in intelligence, sabotage, and psychological warfare missions. The success of these missions was poor. Although minor sabotage and unrest was fomented, Hanoi declared that all agents were to be killed or captured. Those that were captured were interrogated before being executed.
In 1961, the Special Forces and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
1st Infantry Division, based in the northernmost area of South Vietnam, conducted a joint operation against Communist infiltrators in northern Quang Tri Province
Quang Tri Province
Quảng Trị is a province on the North Central Coast of Vietnam, north of the former imperial capital of Huế.-Geography:Located in North Central Vietnam, Quang Tri Province is surrounded by Quang Binh Province on the north, Thua Thien-Hue Province on the south, Savannakhet Province of Laos on the...
. In the autumn of 1961, Special Forces units began Operation Eagle at Binh Hung with a night parachute assault.
In September 1962, United States Special Forces personnel assumed responsibility of the CIA’s border surveillance and Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was a program developed by the U.S. government in the Vietnam War to develop South Vietnamese irregular military units from minority populations.-Purpose:...
(CIDG) programs and began working with the ARVN Special Forces. The Special Forces continued to expand and began to increasingly operate with the CIDG.
Diệm era
During the rule of President Ngô Đình Diệm, the Special Forces were used mainly for repressing dissidents. Despite the fact that South Vietnam was struggling against the communist insurgency of the Vietcong in the rural areas, the Special Forces were mostly kept in the capital Saigon, where they were used to prevent coups or harass regime opponents. Under Diệm, the Special Forces were headed by Colonel Le Quang TungLe Quang Tung
Colonel Lê Quang Tung was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngo Dinh Nhu, the brother of South Vietnam's president, Ngo Dinh Diem. A former servant of the Ngô family, Tung's military background was in security and counterespionage...
. Tung had been trained by the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and commanded some 1,840 men under the direction of Nhu.
Tung’s most notable military activity was leading a group run by the CIA, in which ARVN personnel of northern origin were sent into North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
, posing as locals, in order to gather intelligence as well as sabotaging communist infrastructure and communications. They were trained in bases at Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
, Đà Nẵng
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
and sometimes offshore in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and Okinawa. Of the eighty groups of operatives, numbering six or seven per group, that were deployed in 1963 via parachute drops or night time sampan journeys, nearly all were captured or killed. Those who were captured were often used for propaganda by communist broadcasting authorities. Tung was heavily criticised for his management of the operations.
Buddhist crisis
In 1963, South Vietnam faced civil unrest in the face of Buddhist protests against discrimination by the Catholic oriented Diem regime. In the wake of the shootings of nine Buddhist protestersHue Vesak shootings
The Huế Phật Đản shootings refer to the deaths of nine unarmed Buddhist civilians on May 8, 1963, in the city of Huế in South Vietnam, at the hands of the army and security forces of the government of Ngô Đình Diệm...
on the birthday
Vesak
Vesākha is a holiday observed traditionally by Buddhists in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, and Indonesia...
of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
for defying a ban on the Buddhist flag
Buddhist flag
The Buddhist flag is a flag designed in the late 19th century to symbolise and universally represent Buddhism. It is used by Buddhists throughout the world.-History:...
, mass protests calling for religious equality erupted around the country. With the opposition to Diem growing, Nhu plotted an attack against Xa Loi Pagoda
Xa Loi Pagoda
The Xá Lợi Pagoda is the largest pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was built in 1956 and was the headquarters of Buddhism in South Vietnam. The pagoda is located at 89 Bà Huyện Thanh Quan Street in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City and lies on a plot of 2500 square metres...
, the largest Buddhist centre in Saigon, where the movement was organising its activities. Tung's special forces under Nhu's orders were responsible for the raid on August 21, 1963, in which 1,400 monks were arrested and hundreds were estimated to have been killed, as well as extensive property damage. These attacks were replicated across the country in a synchronised manner. Following the attacks, U.S. officials threatened to withhold aid to the Special Forces unless they were used in fighting communists, rather than attacking dissidents.
Another notable religious attack was perpetrated by Tùng's men in 1963. In a small pond near the central city of Đà Nẵng
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
, a hugely oversized carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
was found swimming. Local Buddhists began to believe that the fish was a reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of one of Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
’s disciples. As pilgrimages to the pond grew larger and more frequent, so did disquiet among the district chief and his officials, who answered to Ngô Đình Cẩn
Ngo Dinh Can
Ngô Đình Cẩn was a younger brother and confidant of South Vietnam’s first president, Ngo Dinh Diem, and an important member of the Diem government. Diem put Cẩn in charge of central Vietnam, stretching from Phan Thiết in the south to the border at the 17th parallel, with Cẩn ruling the region as...
, younger brother of Diệm. The pond was mined, but the fish swam on unhindered. After raking the pond with machine gun fire, the fish still lived. To deal with the problem, Tùng's forces were called in. The pond was grenaded, killing the carp. The incident generated more publicity as newspapers across the world ran stories about the miraculous fish. South Vietnamese army helicopters began landing at the site, with ARVN paratroopers filling their bottles with water which they believed had magical powers.
Tung was reported to have been planning an operation at the request of Nhu to stage a government organised student demonstration outside the US Embassy, Saigon. In this plan, Tung's men would assassinate ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
, other key officials and the Buddhist leader, Thich Tri Quang
Thich Tri Quang
Thích Trí Quang is a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk best known for his role in leading South Vietnam’s Buddhist population during the Buddhist crisis in 1963....
, who had been given asylum there after being targeted in the pagoda raids. Then Tùng's men would have burned down the embassy.
On November 1, 1963, a coup was launched by the ARVN against Diem. Knowing that Tung was a loyalist who would order his Special Forces to defend Diem, the generals invited him to ARVN Joint General Staff headquarters on the pretext of a routine meeting. He was arrested and later executed along with his deputy and younger brother Le Quang Trieu. Diem and Nhu were also executed after being captured at the end of the successful coup and the ARVN's leadership consequently changed.
After Diem
In 1964, the U.S. Army’s 5th Special Forces Group was officially assigned to Vietnam. The LLDB worked closely with the U.S. command and although the Americans funded the CIDG camps, the LLDB assumed ultimate responsibility. These camps were commanded by the ARVN Special Forces, supplemented by U.S. Special Forces advisors. From June 24 to July 1, 1964 under Project DELTAProject DELTA
Project DELTA was one of three Greek letter special forces reconnaissance projects formed by the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, MACV during the Vietnam War to collect operational intelligence in remote areas of South Vietnam....
, LLDB teams performed five parachute drops into Laos to gather intelligence. By 1965, LLDB personnel were working with the ARVN in recruiting and training as well as sending groups into communist areas in South Vietnam to gather information.
In March 1970, aware of the impending withdrawal of U.S. Special Forces from Vietnam as part of a general withdrawal and with the failure of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) (Dan Su Chien Dau) program due to fraud and corruption, the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) agreed to convert CIDG camps into ARVN Border Ranger camps (Biet Dong Quan Bien Phong). The cream of these CIDG units, the Mike force (Mobile Strike force) follows the conversion and integration into the ARVN as well.
The LLDB were no longer needed and subsequently disbanded.
The former indigenous reconnaissance team personnel previously assigned to work with US MACV-SOG (the US military reconnaissance office for MACV) were regrouped into the Intelligence Directorate of the ARVN General Joint Staff. This directorate is usually known with the nickname The 7th Technical Directorate (Nha Ky Thuat or Phong 7 Ky Thuat translated as Technical Directorate or 7th Bureau). This directorate is further divided down to 3 offices: The Coastal Defense office (So Phong Ve Duyen Hai) to deal and manage with all maritime-related reconnaissance activities, the Liaison Office (So Lien Lac) to manage the reconnaissance and military intelligence in Northern part of South Vietnam and the tri-border area (Vietnam, Lao and Cambodia) and the Topography office (So Dia Hinh) to manage the land reconnaissance activities within South Vietnam. These vague designations are purported to hide to the true identities and activities of this top secret directorate within the ARVN Joint Staff.
The ARVN has had also a special strike unit, Lien doan 81 Biet kich Du (the 81st Airborne Ranger group), under the direct command of the Joint-Staff, similar to the British SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
or US Ranger regiment. It can be counted as part of the Special Forces. It was under the Special Forces command and later placed under direct Joint-Staff's command. Although it can be counted as an Airborne Ranger group as well, also part of the Vietnamese Airborne Division
Vietnamese Airborne Division
The Vietnamese Airborne Division was one of the earliest components of the State of Vietnam's military forces . The Vietnamese Airborne Division began as companies organised in 1948, prior to any agreement over armed forces in Vietnam...
.
This unit has been heavily bloodied during the 1968's Tet Offensive and the 1972 NVA's Easter Offensive when it was launched into battle to relieve the garrison of An Loc
An Loc
An Loc is a small town in Bình Phước Province in southern Vietnam, located approximately 90 km north of Saigon with a population of 15,000...
on the NorthWest of Saigon from a NVA siege that threatened to choke off Saigon.
Some former LLDB personnel were formed into a new clandestine unit, the Vietnamese Special Mission Service (SMS). Approximately 5,000 personnel served in the Special Forces during the Vietnam War. After the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
, those who did not escape were sent to reeducation camp
Reeducation camp
Reeducation camp is the official title given to the prison camps operated by the government of Vietnam following the end of the Vietnam War. In such "reeducation camps", the government imprisoned several hundred thousand former military officers and government workers from the former regime of...
s.