Vietnam Studies - The Development And Training Of The South Vietnamese Army, 1950-1972 [Illustrated Edition]

Brigadier General James Lawton Collins Jr.

• Publisher: Normanby Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781782893707
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Vietnam War
• Index: History

Includes 2 maps & 21 photos
"In 1954 the Army of South Vietnam was a collection of former French colonial troops with little command experience and no support forces worthy of mention. Gradually and despite a considerable degree of political and social instability, the Army, with strong American assistance, was molded into an effective fighting force by the efforts of Vietnamese leaders. After 1960 the South Vietnamese Army also acquired a counterinsurgency capability, but by 1965 increased political turmoil had undermined its effectiveness and necessitated the intervention of strong US combat forces.
"From 1965 to 1968, while US forces bore the brunt of the fighting, the South Vietnamese slowly regrouped and, with increasing American advisory assistance and matériel support, once again became an effective fighting force. During this period the military provided security for the civilian population and administration and, in schools and training centers, laid the basis for a larger and more responsive military force. The battles of the Tet offensive of 1968 were followed by the general mobilization of South Vietnam and, one year later, by the decision of the U.S. to begin troop redeployments. These moves set the stage for the third phase in the Army's development, Vietnamization. The years from 1968 to 1972 saw a great expansion of South Vietnam's territorial security forces and militia, and the continual improvement and modernization of the regular Army as it once again assumed complete responsibility for the war effort. This monograph, covering the three stages in the growth and development of the South Vietnamese Army, highlights the role of the US Army, especially the MACV advisory system. While such a study can do no more than survey these activities, it does reflect the deep and continuous commitment by thousands of American soldiers to make the South Vietnamese Army a self-sufficient force capable of defending itself with minimum outside assistance."

CHAPTER I — The Formative Years, 1950-1959

Background

The history of formal U.S. aid to Vietnam began on 1 May 1950, when President Harry S. Truman approved a $10 million grant for urgently needed military assistance items for Indochina. Later, in December, the United States signed a Pentalateral Agreement with France and the associated states of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam termed the Mutual Defense Assistance Program. Under this program the U.S. government committed itself to furnish military supplies, material, and equipment to Indochina for the purpose of halting the expansion of communism, and an American Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Indochina, was formed to administer the support program. From 1950 to 1954 the United States contributed about $1.1 billion to France for the prosecution of the war including some $746 million worth of Army matériel delivered directly to the French Expeditionary Corps in Indochina. However, despite the magnitude of this aid, U.S. advisers exercised little if any supervisory authority. U.S. supplies and equipment were generally turned over to the French, and, until 1955, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina, functioned only as a small logistical accounting group.

Following the Indochina cease-fire agreement (Geneva Accords) of 20 July 1954, the United States became directly involved with advising and assisting the government of Vietnam (south), headed by President Ngo Dinh Diem. The Geneva Accords, a joint agreement between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (north), divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, provided for the withdrawal of all Communist forces from the south, and established strict limitations and prohibitions on the introduction of foreign military personnel and matériel. Its provisions would be supervised by an International Control Commission (ICC) consisting of representatives from Canada, India, and Poland. The Eisenhower administration regarded the provisions as potentially disastrous and the United States did not sign or endorse the Accords. On 15 June 1954 Lieutenant General John W. "Iron Mike" O'Daniel, chief of Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina, had obtained agreement from the French commander in chief for U.S. participation in training Vietnamese units and requested that more men be sent immediately. After the cease-fire General O'Daniel drew up plans for a comprehensive assistance program for the Army of the Republic of (South) Vietnam, but the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff were more cautious and declared it "hopeless to expect a U.S. military training mission to achieve success unless the nation considered is able effectively to perform those governmental functions essential to the successful raising and maintenance of armed forces." In opposition to this view, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles underlined the need "to bolster that government by strengthening the army which supports it." Dulles was backed up by the National Security Council, and in the end political considerations overrode military objections; shortly thereafter Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, assumed a new training mission in support of the Diem regime. On 22 October 1954 U.S. Ambassador Donald R. Heath and O'Daniel were authorized to "collaborate in setting in motion a crash program designed to bring about an improvement in the loyalty and effectiveness of the Free Vietnamese Forces," and General J. Lawton Collins was sent as a special envoy to Saigon to coordinate the endeavor. The result was a formal agreement in December between representatives of France, the Republic of Vietnam, and the United States to supply direct aid through the Military Assistance Program (MAP).

Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam

Shortly after the Geneva Accords the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina, was split into separate components for Vietnam and Cambodia. The former, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam (MAAGV) (officially designated as such only in October 1955), was limited by the Accords to 342 individuals. With these few the advisory group had the immense task of raising the military capabilities of the Republic of Vietnam armed forces through planning, developing, and administering military assistance. All plans to be coordinated with the remaining French forces, and in February 1955 a joint Franco-American Training Relations and Instructions Mission (TRIM) was established with thirty-three U.S. and twenty-eight French officers and enlisted men. Headed by O'Daniel, the Training Relations and Instructions Mission was charged with developing a training program that would deal with Vietnamese command and staff organization and procedures, all planning and logistical activities, and both unit and individual training. To accomplish this mission, the team was enlarged and organized in two echelons: a staff that advised and assisted the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense, the Vietnamese General Staff, and the Vietnamese Arms and Service Directorates, and a group of advisers who assisted and advised subordinate headquarters, units, schools, training centers, agencies, and installations. Key staff positions were held by both French and U.S. officers. In the case of the advisory teams, if the senior were French, his immediate assistant was American, and vice versa. These advisory teams were placed within the military geographical subdivisions (regions), the field divisions, light divisions, training centers, and schools. Members of the headquarters staff doubled in duty by acting as advisers to their Vietnamese counterparts in higher headquarters and with the chiefs of the technical services. Since the French still retained a portion of their army in South Vietnam, its chief, General Paul Ely, was technically both head of the Training Relations and Instructions Mission and O'Daniel's operational superior. However, Ely never interfered with TRIM operations, and in the following years the French elements were slowly reduced.

The U.S. Military Advisory Headquarters, Saigon

Within this framework the Training Relations and Instructions Mission had two chief objectives: first, to create a conventional army of divisional units and supporting forces by 1 January 1956 and, second, to establish follow-through programs to increase and maintain the efficiency of this force. Furthermore, the combat infantry divisions were to have a dual capability of providing internal security and serving as a blocking or counterattacking force against an external attack. The Training Relations and Instructions Mission set about accomplishing its training objectives through direct relations with the South Vietnamese high command and by the use of mobile training teams consisting of MAAGV personnel and technical service teams which were sent to Vietnam on a temporary duty (TDY) or "loan" status. The use of TDY personnel made it possible to provide increased training support since they were not included in the 342-man MAAGV ceiling imposed by the Accords. Later, on 25 August 1955, the International Control Commission requested that the Military Assistance Advisory Group include all temporary duty personnel in the 342-man ceiling. Instead, the advisory group organized substitute training teams composed of civilian specialists and technicians from the United States and continued its efforts undisturbed. For example, the U.S. Operations Mission (a precursor of the U.S. Agency for International Development) contracted with Michigan State University to provide advisory personnel to the South Vietnam government along with assistance in developing the territorial militia and an effective police organization.

Although the Training Relations and Instructions Mission made some progress in beginning training programs and identifying problem areas, its work was severely limited by the internal military and political situation in South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army was still organized into small units and lacked trained leaders, equipment, and adequate logistical capabilities at all levels. These units were scattered throughout the country, and a large proportion of them were still fighting remnants of the religious sects and other factions. The TRIM team continued its existence until the French withdrew their advisers on 28 April 1956. The French continued to maintain a small naval and air advisory mission until the following year.

Throughout the early period a chronic problem of the advisory effort was its lack of personnel. The establishment of a separate Military Assistance Advisory Group for Cambodia in June 1955 and a similar institution, the Programs Evaluation Office, for Laos in December eased the situation somewhat; so also did the transferal of forty-three spaces for administrative support personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Saigon to the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam in 1957.

These measures could not begin to remedy the basic problem. The background of the situation is fairly clear, but deserves a detailed presentation. At the close of the Indochina War the French Expeditionary Corps had a strength of approximately 140,000. It was agreed at the time of the signing of the defense agreement in December 1954 that the United States would support a reduced Vietnamese armed forces of approximately 100,000. By mid-1955 the French Expeditionary Corps had been reduced to roughly 35,000, and other factors, such as the failure of special representatives of the French and Vietnamese to open negotiations on the future status of the French forces in Vietnam, plus the fact that the French military budget for calendar year 1956 made no provisions for Indochina, indicated a questionable future for the French in Vietnam at best.

A second problem grew out of the dominance of the French in the field of logistics up to 1956. Until that time both Vietnamese and Americans had been excluded from this area, despite the fact that logistical autonomy had been planned for the Vietnamese forces by January 1956. U.S. influence on the logistics system was thus confined to the combined staff efforts of the Training Relations and Instructions Mission and, in actuality, American influence on logistical matters was practically nil. As a result, the Vietnamese in late 1955 were unprepared to assume logistical responsibility for their army, and the limited number of U.S. logistical advisers could do little to offset the lack of Vietnamese experience.

After January 1956 the accelerated withdrawal of the French forces further aggravated an already complex situation. The French literally dumped mountains of equipment upon the Vietnamese. Most of this matériel was improperly packed, indiscriminately piled, often placed in outside storage, and controlled by inadequate or meaningless inventory records. To add to this confusion, the Vietnamese were prone to open all packages to ascertain their contents. It is questionable whether the Vietnamese could have handled this situation properly even if they had been better trained.

With regard to the quality of the equipment, consideration must again be given to the circumstances of the French withdrawal. The French were confronted with a rapidly deteriorating situation in North Africa, which required increasing quantities of personnel and equipment. Therefore, they were primarily concerned with salvaging the best equipment for their own use. With this end in mind, the French were able to exploit the agreement which authorized their removal of MAP-type equipment based on a proportionate input. In the face of French reluctance to allow U.S. personnel to inventory this matériel, there was no way to determine the quality or quantity of equipment.

French refusal to allow U.S. personnel into their installations and dumps covered their natural effort to obtain the best of everything in the quantities desired for their future needs. As a matter of fact, the equipment turned over to the Vietnamese was in both respects inadequate. In most instances, it had been used prior to Indochina and had subsequently seen hard service under wartime conditions. Maintenance requirements could not be met since critical spare parts and tools were nonexistent.

Provisions of the Geneva Accords relating to the introduction of war matériel was also a matter of concern. The French-North Vietnamese protocol specifically defined the nature of "arms, munitions, and war matériel" and also outlined the procedures for the control of the importation and exportation of these items under the supervision and auspices of the International Control Commission. The Accords also established the procedures for notifying the commission in order that credit could be obtained for items exported. However, these provisions were never strictly adhered to. Upon withdrawal, the French took vast quantities of matériel with them. Despite their responsibilities with respect to the Accords, it was assumed that only a small portion of these supplies was reported to the commission in such a way as to obtain credit against future imports. Moreover, because the protocol was concluded between the French and the North Vietnamese, the Saigon government consistently refused to recognize its validity or to comply openly with its provisions. The French were expected to support this position in a showdown since it could be shown that they were remiss in complying with the provisions concerning exportation.

Finally, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam was never reduced to a force goal of 100,000. In light of the rapid withdrawal of most of the French forces, continued Viet Cong buildup, and the civil war against the dissident sect forces, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, took the position that such a force goal was inadequate. With the concurrence of the U.S. Embassy in May 1955, the advisory group proposed a 150,000-man force goal to be reached by 1 July 1956, and this proposal was subsequently approved. However, all these developments together with the departure of the French Expeditionary Corps in April 1956 and the dissolution of the Training Relations and Instructions Mission made it mandatory that U.S. advisory forces be increased.

In order to satisfy this need, the manpower ceilings were by-passed with the establishment of the Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission (TERM) on 1 June 1956. With an authorized strength of 350, the recovery mission raised the total size of Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, to 692. Overtly the recovery mission was to assist the advisory group in recovering excess war matériel being turned in. In performing this function, the group supervised the removal of large quantities of matériel through exportation, destruction, and scrapping; additional items were sent out of the country for repair and rebuilding and then returned to Vietnam. However, the Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission's real assignment was to aid in developing an adequate and effective South Vietnamese logistical system. TERM. Personnel were assigned to all major South Vietnamese armed forces logistical organizations. Under their guidance, training courses were developed, selected logistical officers were sent to U.S. service schools, and U.S. supply and maintenance procedures were adopted. Marked progress was realized in the reorganization of the medical, quartermaster, ordnance, and engineer services. Transportation and signal services did not show the same degree of advancement owing to reluctance of certain South Vietnamese Army officers to accept advice and to the lack of trained personnel. But by 1957 the transformation of the logistical facilities had largely been completed, and all the technical services were using U.S. Supply procedures. The Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission had been introduced into South Vietnam without official ICC sanction, and in December 1958 the International Control Commission adopted a resolution urging the recovery mission to complete its activities by 30 June 1959. Consultations at the diplomatic level with the Indian ICC representatives extended the completion date to the end of 1960. But the major goal of the United States was to have the size of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam legally increased to 888, the total of U.S. and French advisers in South Vietnam at the time of the Geneva Accords. The Canadians were enthusiastic and the U.S. Ambassador requested that the State Department begin immediate negotiations with Ottawa to increase the MAAGV strength ceiling. The dissolution of the Temporary Recovery Mission in 1960 only emphasized the need for more people.

In December 1959 the Office of the Secretary of Defense directed the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) to prepare a new MAAGV joint table of distribution to reflect the phase-out of the recovery mission, and in April 1960 the chief of the advisory group indicated that the International Control Commission had favorably considered a request to increase MAAGV strength to 685. On 5 May 1960 the U.S. government officially announced that at the request of the government of South Vietnam the U.S. MAAGV strength would be increased from 327 to 685 members. Implementation of this increase involved the conversion of TERM personnel to MAAGV status during the remainder of 1960.

Organization and Force Structure

Organization and training of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam was the primary task of the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Vietnam, during 1956-59. The South Vietnamese Army had been created in 1949 out of units that had been native auxiliaries to the French Union Forces; these units were commanded by French officers and fought alongside regular French Army units. A series of decrees by the government of Bao Dai, recognized by the French as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the new State of Vietnam, provided a judicial basis for the evolving armed forces. A Ministry of National Defense headed by a Secretary of State for National Defense was established on 19 September 1949. A Vietnamese Air Force was authorized on 25 Jun...

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Foreword
• Preface
• Maps
• CHAPTER I - The Formative Years, 1950-1959
• CHAPTER II - The Crucial Years, 1960-1964
• CHAPTER III - The Buildup Years, 1965-1967
• CHAPTER IV - Vietnamization, 1968-1972
• CHAPTER V - Overview
• REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER