2nd Division (South Vietnam)
2nd Infantry Division | |
---|---|
Sư đoàn 2 | |
Active | October 1955 – 1975 |
Country | South Vietnam |
Branch | Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
Role | Infantry |
Part of | I Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Chu Lai |
Engagements | Vietnam War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Tôn Thất Đính Hoàng Xuân Lãm Nguyễn Văn Toàn Phan Hoa Hiep Tran Van Nhut |
Insignia | |
Division flag |
The 2nd Division (Vietnamese: Sư đoàn 2) was a division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)—the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was part of I Corps that oversaw the northernmost region of South Vietnam.
History
The 2nd Division's origins began with the 32nd Mobile Group, organised by the French on 1 February 1955 in the Red River Delta of North Vietnam. After 1954 Geneva accords, the group was transported to Da Nang and reorganised as the 32nd Infantry Division.[1] In 1960 the 2nd Field Division was redesignated the 2nd Infantry Division.[2]: 298
The 2nd Division was based in
In April–May 1964 a battalion from the division took part in Operation Quyet Thang 202.[4]
From 7 to 10 September 1965 the 2nd Battalion, 4th Regiment participated in Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula with the Vietnamese 3rd Marine Battalion and US Marine forces.[5]: 84
On 8 December 1965 the division's 1st Battalion, 5th Regiment participated in
In late 1965
From 20 to 25 March 1966 the division's 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 5th Regiment participated in Operation Texas with the ARVN 5th Airborne Battalion and elements of the US 1st Marine Division fighting elements of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 21st Regiment and VC 1st Regiment around Hill 141 northwest of Quảng Ngãi.[7]: 120–8
In late May 1966 General Lãm was promoted to I Corps commander, becoming the sixth I Corps commander in the northern zone in less than three months in the aftermath of the Buddhist Uprising.[6]: 138–9
From 6 to 22 August 1966 the division's 2nd and 4th Battalions participated in
From 26 to 30 May 1967 the division's 6th Regiment conducted
From 6 to 31 July 1968 the division's 2nd and 4th Battalions, 5th Regiment, supported by an artillery battery participated in
On 23 August 1968 during the
From 20 November to 9 December 1968 the 4th Armored Cavalry Squadron participated in Operation Meade River a 1st Marine Division cordon and search operation against the PAVN/VC base area known as Dodge City south of Danang.[10]: 426–36
In January 1972 General Phan Hoa Hiep replaced General Nguyễn Văn Toàn as commander of the division.[6]: 476
During the Easter Offensive of May 1972 the 4th Regiment was moved north to reinforce the Mỹ Chánh Line northwest of Huế.[3]: 56 The PAVN 2nd Division mounted diversionary operations in Quảng Ngãi Province which were countered by the division.[3]: 74
On 18 August 1972 following an artillery barrage by 130mm guns the PAVN 711th Division attacked and captured Quế Sơn town and Firebase Ross, including 15-20 of the then secret TOW missiles among the abandoned equipment.[11] The division's 5th Regiment troops defending Ross were said to have failed to carry out their mission.[12] On 24 August the 5th Regiment commander, Colonel Nguyen Van Lu and a battalion commander, were arrested for their role in losing Ross and it was reported that as many as 2,500 ARVN troops remained unaccounted for.[13] On 25 August Brigadier General Phan Hoa Hiep was relieved of command for the loss of Firebase Ross, which was described as the worst South Vietnamese defeat since the height of the Easter Offensive with the division rendered temporarily combat ineffective. Hiep was replaced by Colonel Tran Van Nhut, the province chief of Bình Long province. An investigation found that Hiep "lacked experience in divisional command" and his performance was compared to that of 3rd Division commander General Vũ Văn Giai who was held responsible for the disintegration of that division after the First Battle of Quảng Trị. A U.S. adviser said that Nhut's promotion was "clearly based on merit."[14][6]: 486
The division fought heavy actions in southern Quang Tin and Quang Ngai Provinces in late 1972. In late September the 5th Regiment and the 77th Ranger Battalion failed in a tardy effort to save Tiên Phước District Town in Quang Tin Province, but the town was subsequently recaptured by the 2nd Regiment, 3rd Division. Meanwhile, reinforced by the 4th Tank Ballalion, the 78th Ranger Battalion, and the 2nd Ranger Group, the division's 4th and 5th Regiments cleared the PAVN 52nd Regiment, 2nd Division and elements of the PAVN 3rd Division from
1973–1974
During the
Following their victory at Sa Huỳnh the division was to support Regional and Popular Forces in clearing the lowlands west of Highway 1 of the remnants of VC units. By October, the division could claim substantial success in this mission, and the emphasis shifted to continuing the pressure on local VC units until they withdrew into the foothills. The division's battalions, reinforced with Rangers and RF/PF pushed into the piedmont to block the VC's supply lines to the coast, find and destroy supply bases, deny access to the rice harvest, protect refugee villages, and secure Highway 1 against VC attack. Added to these general missions was one very specific requirement, imposed not only by orders from I Corps but compelled by the honor of the division: defend Sa Huỳnh. The 4th Regiment was assigned this mission, keeping two battalions entrenched in the hills overlooking the small fishing village. The 4th, with one RF battalion attached and another under the command of the district chief, was responsible for security in Duc Pho District of Quang Ngai, but its control extended scarcely 5 km west of Highway 1. The 5th Regiment had missions parallel to the 4th, but operated in the central coastal district of Mộ Đức. The 5th was reinforced by two RF battalions, but its success in maneuvering west of Highway I was also limited, although security along the highway was reasonably well maintained. The 6th Regiment was responsible for the sector from Chu Lai to the division boundary north of Tam Ky and like the other two Regiments, engaged in numerous contacts with local VC through the fall and winter of 1973. There were 6 major bridges and at least 25 shorter spans along the stretch of Highway 1 in the division sector. All had to be protected and the mission was nearly always assigned to RF/PF forces. VC sappers got to the Sa Bau Bridge south of Tam Ky on 26 December and dropped it in the river. On Christmas they blew up the Tra Can Bridge in Duc Pho District, right under the noses of an RF Company. Maj. Gen. Tran Van Nhut, the division commander was so incensed at this debacle, the RF Company commander had been warned that a VC unit was seen reconnoitering for the attack, that he threw the captain in jail. According to General Nhut at the time, at least a part of the problem of territorial ineffectiveness in Quang Ngai Province was traceable to the fact that a very high percentage of the RF/PF and Peoples' Self-Defense Force troops had relatives in the VC ranks; family loyalties often took precedence over military orders and duties.[15]: 62–3
On 4 May 1974, a battalion of PAVN infantry overran the village of Nui Ya and then attacked Ky Tra, a sprawling village on a minor road junction in the hills west of Chu Lai. Mortar, rocket and artillery fire fell on the defending 931st RF Company, two PF platoons and about 60 People's Self-Defense Force militia. While Ky Tra was under attack, all four ARVN fire support bases within range came under heavy mortar and rocket fire. Contact was lost with the defenders on 5 May as the PAVN 1st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division, occupied Ky Tra. This maneuver placed a major PAVN force in position to support attacks against the line of communication to Tiên Phước District and to block overland movement to Hau Duc. The attack on Ky Tra signalled the eruption of attacks by fire and ground attacks on ARVN bases and outposts throughout Quang Ngai and Quang Tin Provinces. A relief column headed by the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, was hit by heavy PAVN mortar and rocket fire 9 km from Ky Tra. A battalion of the 6th Regiment also failed to reach Ky Tra. Meanwhile, the PAVN 31st Regiment, 2nd Division, launched an attack on outposts protecting Tiên Phước, and one ARVN position, held by the 131st RF Battalion, was lost, The attacks continued on 16 and 17 May, but two RF battalions at Tiên Phước repelled the 31st Regiment attacks with heavy losses. On 19 May, the PAVN 1st Regiment again attacked the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, the understrength ARVN battalion broke and lost nearly 200 weapons and 13 field radios, impossible to replace, in the rout. While the infantry fought in the hills, the PAVN pounded the division headquarters at Chu Lai and the city of Tam Ky and its airfield with 122-mm. rockets. Brig. Gen. Nhut sent the 12th Ranger Group, under his operational control, to reinforce Tiên Phước. Although the PAVN 31st Regiment continued to attack, it was unable to break through to Tiên Phước. In early June, the 12th Ranger Group was relieved by the 5th Regiment and they succeeded in holding Tiên Phước and keeping the road open to Tam Ky. Losses on both sides were heavy, and by mid-June the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 6th Regiment were combat ineffective due to casualties and equipment losses. The 5th Regiment had also suffered moderate losses since 1 June on the Quang Tin battlefield, mostly along the Tam Ky-Tiên Phước road and was only marginally effective. Likewise, the 12th Ranger Group, which had distinguished itself in the defense at Tiên Phước was badly understrength because of high casualties. General Nhut had two other Ranger groups, the 11th and 14th, committed to forward positions in the hills and kept his 4th Armored Cavalry Group as division reserve. All during the Tiên Phước-Ky Tra battle, General Nhut had to contend with serious threats to the security of coastal Quang Ngai. There the PAVN 52nd Brigade maintained pressure against lines of communication and population centers, defended largely by RF and PF units whose usual performance under main-force enemy attacks was desultory at best. However on 5 May south of
The demands for reinforcements in Quang Nam Province and in the
On 1 August 1974 with the 3rd Division heavily engaged at Thượng Đức and Duc Duc, responsibility for the Quế Sơn Valley was transferred to the division. The 57th Regiment, 3rd Division minus a battalion attached to the 2nd Infantry in Duc Duc, was attached to the division in the Quế Sơn Valley, and the 4th Regiment was deployed to the valley from Bình Sơn District in Quang Ngai Province to be the I Corps reserve south of the Hải Vân Pass. To compensate for the 4th Regiment's departure, the 5th Regiment was moved to Binh Son, and the 6th Regiment took over the 5th Regiment's mission in Đức Phổ District. Only RF/PF and a few Rangers were left in the threatened Mộ Đức District of Quang Ngai. The 4th Regiment was immediately engaged by two PAVN battalions between Firebase Baldy and Quế Sơn. Although no more important positions were lost, fighting continued sporadically for the rest of the year in the Quế Sơn Valley.[15]: 120
Heavy PAVN attacks flared again on 3 and 4 August in the central district of Nghĩa Hành. In the hills south of the district town in the Cong Hoa Valley, the 118th RF Battalion was overrun following a heavy artillery concentration. Two battalions, one RF and the other from the 5th Regiment, were sent to reinforce the 118th, but they arrived too late to rescue the position. General Trưởng and General Nhut saw the hard-won gains of the summer slipping away. There were no spectacular PAVN/VC initiatives: just a gradual erosion of security as one small position after another fell to short, violent enemy assaults. But with so few troops available, ARVN commanders could do little to halt the decline, much less restore the earlier situation. The first of the district headquarters to fall during the PAVN offensive was Minh Long when elements of the PAVN 52nd Brigade overran the two defending RF Companies on 17 August. Outposts held by the 15 local PF platoons collapsed quickly under the weight of PAVN artillery. A platoon of 105mm. artillery was soon out of action, its howitzers damaged by PAVN fire. A three-battalion ARVN relief force failed to make any headway, and PAVN trucks were seen hauling ammunition into Minh Long on 23 August. Three days after the fall of Minh Long. General Nhut asked General Trưởng for permission to withdraw the 70th Ranger Battalion from Gia Vuc, now completely isolated and exposed to PAVN attack. General Nhut also wanted to pull the 68th and 69th Rangers out of Sơn Hà and Trà Bồng because these battalions had poor prospects for survival against heavy PAVN firepower. General Trưởng understood, but he would not agree to abandoning any districts to the PAVN without a fight. Artillery fire on Gia Vuc began on 19 September, followed shortly by ground assaults. Five outposts fell, but the Rangers moved out quickly and retook three of them. But without artillery support or airstrikes due to bad weather and losing 50 men killed and as many wounded, the 70th Ranger Battalion was unable to hold. The camp fell on 21 September. Only 21 survivors eventually made it back to ARVN lines. Some help for beleaguered Quang Ngai Province appeared on 1 October when the 4th Regiment, returned to Chu Lai from its operations in the Quế Sơn Valley to try to recover the terrain lost to the PAVN south of Nghĩa Hành District Town. Well entrenched, the PAVN had even moved a battery of 37mm antiaircraft guns to within 4 km of the district town, but the guns were soon destroyed by ARVN artillery. The PAVN force blocking the 4th Regiment's advance included three battalions of the 52nd Brigade. The 4th Regiment took heavy casualties but made no significant gains.[15]: 123–4
In December, the reconstituted battalions of the 14th Ranger Group from Quang Nam Province reinforced the 6th Regiment in heavy fighting on the Batangan Peninsula. Casualties were high, but the improvements to local security were slight. As the year ended in Quang Ngai, the advantage and initiative lay in PAVN hands. RF/PF forces were understrength and dispirited; the once-effective division could field battalions of only 300 men each, and Ranger battalions were sorely fatigued from continual combat. The PAVN's strategic raids campaign in the vast region south of the Hải Vân Pass had accomplished three things that placed PAVN forces in an excellent position to begin a major offensive. First, although PAVN casualties were very high, the campaign had severely depleted the ARVN of experienced leaders and soldiers. Replacements were not well-trained or in sufficient numbers to bring battered battalions up to strength. On the other hand, the PAVN replacement now was copious and free from interference. Second, PAVN command, staff, logistics, and communications had been thoroughly expanded and proven during this campaign; the new 3rd Corps had the valuable experience of a major offensive behind it. Third, the PAVN had pushed its holdings to the edge of the narrow coastal plain and was within artillery range of nearly every major South Vietnamese installation and population center. Similar progress, meanwhile, was being made north of the Hải Vân Pass.[15]: 124
1975
In Quang Ngai Province, the PAVN's offensive was delayed by an aggressive clearing operation, Operation Quyet Thanh A-1-75 in Nghĩa Hành District. The 4th Regiment was involved in sharp fighting there on 6 and 7 March and PAVN casualties were substantial.[15]: 155
On 10 March two battalions of the PAVN 31st Regiment, 2nd Division, attacked
On 14 March, General Trưởng met with General Lâm Quang Thi, commanding I Corps troops in Quảng Trị and Thua Thien Provinces, and General Lan, the Marine Division commander, to explain his concept for the final defense of Da Nang. He would pull all combat forces into Quang Nam and defend Da Nang with the 1st, 3rd and Marine Divisions on line and the 2nd Division in reserve, but this deployment would be approached gradually as divisional troops were relieved in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Provinces and terrain in the southern part of the region was abandoned. General Trưởng ordered the immediate evacuation of all military units, including the 68th Ranger Battalion at Sơn Hà and the 69th Ranger Battalion at Trà Bồng and all civilians in both areas who wanted to leave.[15]: 157 General Trưởng ordered General Nhut to keep his 6th Regiment south of Nghĩa Hành town to protect Quang Ngai City. The PAVN attacked strongly throughout Quang Ngai on 14 and 15 March, overrunning outposts all around the province capital. Quang Ngai territorials, never strong, had been weakened further by the departure of the 5th Regiment for Quảng Tín Province and the shift of most of the 4th Regiment to division reserve in Chu Lai. Only two regular battalions, the 70th Ranger and the 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment, remained south of Mộ Đức; only three RF battalions between Mộ Đức and the Bình Định boundary. In the northern sectors, on the night of 15/16 March, a PAVN attack destroyed five PF platoons north of Bình Sơn and closed Highway 1 to the Quảng Tín boundary. In Quảng Tín, the PAVN attacked north of Tam Ky close to Highway 1 and overran an RF company north of the city on 15 March. When the PAVN also struck west of Tam Ky, the 5th Regiment and the 12th Ranger Group fell back and the 37th Ranger Battalion was routed.[15]: 157
The evacuation of Sơn Hà and Trà Bồng got under way on 16 March as two
By 20 March, despite the efforts of General Nhut to concentrate his forces for the defense Tam Ky, prospects were bleak. The city was struck by heavy rocket fire on 21 March. The 4th Regiment moved its command post to Tam Ky from Quang Ngai, the 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, moved in from Bình Sơn District and the 916th RF Group headquarters moved down from Thang Binh with the 135th RF Battalion. The situation in Quang Ngai Province was becoming desperate although elements of the 4th Regiment succeeded in opening Highway 1 in Bình Sơn District, but west of Bình Sơn, the PAVN struck the long column of refugees and military fleeing from Trà Bồng; the 69th Rangers were ambushed and dispersed. The PAVN attack south of Đức Phổ cut Highway 1, isolating Sa Huỳnh and the two battalions defending it, the 70th Ranger and 137th RF Battalions. On 22 March, General Trưởng gave General Nhut authority to consolidate his forces anyway he could to preserve combat strength.[15]: 159
Southwest of Tam Ky the 2d Battalion, 5th Regiment, had been in heavy combat since 12 March. Starting the campaign with 350 men, by 22 March the battalion was down to only 130, after heavy casualties and many desertions. General Nhut replaced it with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Regiment, committing the 4th Regiment southwest of Tam Ky, together with two battalions of the 5th Regiment and a company of tanks and sending the 1st Battalion, 6th Regiment, from Tam Ky to assist in the defense of Chu Lai. The 12th Ranger Group remained on Tam Ky's northwest perimeter.[15]: 159
The final PAVN assault on Tam Ky began on 24 March. Sappers breached the perimeter and by midmorning were in the center of the city, blowing up the power plant. Artillery fire was intense all along Ihe line and by noon tanks and infantry broke through an RF battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment. That afternoon the city was lost and General Trưởng ordered General Nhut to pull his forces out of Tam Ky and assemble them for the defense of Chu Lai. By this time, however. General Nhut no longer had enough control of the situation or of his units to comply fully with these orders. He managed to get the headquarters and one battalion of the 4th Regiment, plus some scattered fragments of other 4th Regiment units moving toward Chu Lai that evening. Two battalions of the 5th Regiment, scattered in the assault, also were assembling for the march south. Units on the northwest perimeter including the dispersed 12th Ranger Group and the staff of the division deputy commander were forced to withdraw north toward Quang Nam, making it to Firebase Baldy just inside the Quang Nam boundary on Highway 1. General Trưởng also ordered the evacuation of all forces in Quang Ngai Province; they were also to assemble for the defense of Chu Lai. The feasibility of this task was strained by PAVN sappers who blew an important bridge on Highway 1 between Quang Ngai and Chu Lai.[15]: 160
On 25 March General Trưởng ordered the division to move to Da Nang to join the defense of the city replacing the Marine Division which was to be withdrawn to the Saigon area. The sealift from Chu Lai would begin after dark on 25 March on
On 1 April, about 500 troops, survivors of the division arrived in
Organisation
Component units:
- 4th Infantry Regiment
- 5th Infantry Regiment
- 6th Infantry Regiment
- 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd Artillery Battalions
- 4th Armored Cavalry Squadron
- US Advisory Team 2
References
- ^ Kutler 1997, p. 379.
- .
- ^ a b c Ngo, Quang Truong (1980). The Easter offensive of 1972 (PDF). U.S. Army Center of Military History. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 13, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- .
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ .
- .
- ^ .
- .
- ^ "U.S. confirms enemy captured secret missiles". Washington Post News Service. 22 August 1972. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ Sydney Schanberg (21 August 1972). "District capital in Vietnam falls to enemy forces". The New York Times. p. 1.
- ^ "Saigon arrests Queson officers". The New York Times. 25 August 1972. p. 6.
- ^ Craig Whitney (26 August 1972). "Saigon ousts commander who lost battle at Queson". The New York Times. p. 3.
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-0939526161.
- ^ ISBN 9781594035722.
- Kutler, Stanley I (1997). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA.