Nguyen Van Toan
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Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
and served as a general in 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...
(ARVN).
Military education
Toan graduated from the Dalat Military Academy in 1952 and became an armor officer.Military assignments
- Lieutenant General, III Corps Commander.
- Armor Commander.
- II Corps Commander.
- Major General, Armor Commander.
- Brigadier General, 2nd Infantry Division Commander.
- Colonel, 1st Infantry Division Deputy Commander.
- Lieutenant Colonel, 5th Armor Squadron.
- Major, Superintendent of Armor School.
- Captain, Armor Battalion Deputy Commander - Commander.
- Lieutenant, Armor Company X.O.
- First Lieutenant, Armor Platoon Leader.
- Cadet, 3-5 Class of Dalat Military Academy.
Military campaigns
Lieutenant Colonel Toan was relieved of command of the 5th Armored Squadron when his retreating armored elements killed over two dozen South Vietnamese Rangers. He returned to political favor when the officer that relieved him, General Nguyen Chanh ThiNguyen Chanh Thi
Lieutenant General Nguyễn Chánh Thi was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He is best known for frequently being involved in coups in the 1960s and wielding substantial influence as a key member of various juntas that ruled South Vietnam from 1964 until 1966, when he was...
, was exiled for his unpopular political views. From 1968 to 1972, Toan served as a brigadier general commanding of the 2nd Infantry Division until being promoted to lieutenant general and becoming assistant operations officer and armor commander in the I Corps Tactical Zone.
During the initial phases of the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive in March 1972 (called the Easter Offensive in the West), Toan performed well, especially in the defense of Dong Ha, but he fell under the same cloud as his commander, Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Lam
Hoang Xuan Lam
Hoàng Xuân Lãm was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and a native of the city of Huế. Given responsibility for the I Corps Tactical Zone in 1967, Lãm coordinated the South Vietnamese offensive known as Operation Lam Sơn 719 which aimed at striking the North Vietnamese logistical...
, when the ARVN defense in I Corps collapsed. It was at this point that Toan's political connections again became paramount when he was moved south to take command of II Corps after the physical and emotional collapse of General Ngo Dzu
Ngo Dzu
Ngô Dzu was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . A Catholic from Qui Nhơn and the son of a government official, he was educated at a French Catholic boy's school in Huế. He held few combat commands and had few connections with the South Vietnamese political elite...
. He took command at a point when the Central Highlands had become the second front of the communist offensive. Fortuitously for Toan, his senior U.S. advisor, John Paul Vann
John Paul Vann
John Paul Vann was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, later retired, who became well known for his role in the Vietnam War.-Early life:...
was fighting the battle for him. When the conflict settled down to a struggle for the city of Kontum
Kontum
Kon Tum is the capital town of Kon Tum province in Vietnam. It is located inland in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the borders with Laos and Cambodia....
, Toan intelligently attended to administrative matters and left operational control in the hands of Vann and Ly Tong Ba, commander of the 23rd Division.
Toan remained in the command of II Corps until 1974, when he was relieved of command by President Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...
during an anti-corruption campaign. During the North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh Campaign
Ho Chi Minh Campaign
The Hồ Chí Minh Campaign was the final title applied to a series of increasingly large-scale and ambitious offensive operations by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam which began on 13 December 1974...
of 1975, Toan was given command of III Corps. It was as commander of the Saigon redoubt during the final battles of the war that Toan faced his greatest challenge. Despite the courage of the 18th Division troops to prevent the Communist forces from entering to the capital, the troops were swamped by vastly superior forces. Recognizing the situation could not be reversed, Toan escaped from South Vietnam after deceiving Generals Le Minh Dao and Tran Quang Khoi
Tran Quang Khoi
Brigadier General Trần Quang Khôi was a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He commanded the ARVN III Armor Brigade and III Corps Assault Task Force throughout III Corps Tactical Zone and in defense of the City of Bien Hoa against the final Communist Ho Chi Minh Campaign offensive in...
that he would fly to the General Command Headquarter in Saigon to request for more troops. Toan is believed to carried out the order of President Thieu to assassinate his Deputy Corps Commander General Nguyen Van Hieu at the end of April 30, 1975.