7th Division (South Vietnam)
7th Division | |
---|---|
Sư đoàn 7 | |
Active | October 1955 – 1975 |
Country | South Vietnam |
Branch | Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
Part of | IV Corps |
Garrison/HQ | Đồng Tâm |
Engagements | Vietnam War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Huỳnh Văn Cao Bùi Đình Đạm Nguyễn Viết Thanh Nguyễn Khoa Nam |
Insignia | |
Division flag |
The Seventh Division was part 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 the IV Corps, which oversaw the Mekong Delta region of the country.
History
The Division was originally established as the 4th Field Division and redesignated as the 7th Infantry Division in 1959.[1]: 298
On 8 July 1959 a
The Division was based in
In 1962, Diem decided to split the command of the area in the south around Saigon into two, the former III Corps area being reduced in size to cover the area northeast of Saigon, and the newly created IV Corps taking over the west and southwest.[2]: 80 Cao was promoted to general and assumed command of the new IV Corps Tactical Zone, which included the area of operations of his 7th Infantry Division. Command of the 7th was given to Cao's chief of staff, Colonel Bùi Đình Đạm.
The Division scored the biggest successes of the military campaigns of 1962, along with the
On 2 January 1963 the Division's 11th Regiment took part in the Battle of Ap Bac, a disastrous operation to trap a small VC force.
In the
By the end of 1965 the US advisers to the Division regarded Division commander Col. Nguyễn Viết Thanh as an aggressive commander who demanded "clear, correct and frank" reports from his subordinates and who had a "sound tactical sense of the war."[6]: 116
In 1967 Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) advisers found the Division's battalions charged with area security missions were more concerned with their own static defenses than with protecting nearby villages and hamlets or with chasing the local VC.[6]: 252 Assessing General Thanh they found that "his personal cautiousness and reluctance to push the battalions [those in securing missions] into more offensive activities... difficult to understand," claiming that he discouraged the initiative and aggressiveness of his subordinates." CORDS chief Robert Komer agreed and in 1968 described Thanh as unaggressive, unimaginative, and "rather a xenophobe." All Komer's assistants noted worsening command and control problems at the lower tactical levels and a general confusion over the Division's roles and missions. Tactical advisers, they reported, claimed that the army units contributed little more than their "presence" to local security; were idle most of the time; and, when aroused, were content with "merely chasing the VC and showing the flag." Despite all the revolutionary development training, the regular troops were also back in the old "chicken-stealing business," foraging for food and living off the local peasantry."[6]: 333
From 12 September to 7 October 1967 the Division participated in
From 15–19 November 1967 the Division participated in Operation Kien Giang 9-1 with the ARVN 9th Division and the 5th Marine Battalion and the MRF against the VC 263rd Battalion's Base Area 470 in western Định Tường Province. The operation rendered the 263rd Battalion combat ineffective.[8]: 130–5
From 7 March to 7 August 1968 the Division participated in Operation Truong Cong Dinh with the MRF to reestablish South Vietnamese control over the northern Mekong Delta in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive. The operation killed 343 VC.[8]: 468–73 [7]: 160–2
Following the withdrawal of the US 9th Infantry Division from South Vietnam in July 1969, MACV reported that the Division's performance had gone steadily downhill.[6]: 364–6 At the time, five of its twelve infantry battalions were under the direct control of various Province chiefs, and most of the remainder were scattered about performing static security missions. As these troops hastily occupied the evacuated American facilities at Đồng Tâm Base Camp and elsewhere, they had little opportunity to familiarize themselves with the local enemy and terrain. Because of delays in the formation of new territorial units, the Corps' commander also continued to hold the Division responsible for its existing area security missions. Thus, despite additional aviation support and the rapid activation of 34 new RF companies, the Division was spread extremely thin, and its offensive capability dropped accordingly.[6]: 406 President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and III Corps commander General Thanh, tried to rectify the situation in January 1970 by sending Col. Nguyễn Khoa Nam, an Airborne brigade commander, to head the Division. Nam had earned a good military reputation in the airborne force and was credited with making remarkable progress with the Division.[6]: 364–6 Fortunately for the South Vietnamese, PAVN/VC activity remained low in the Delta during late 1969 and 1970, as it did throughout South Vietnam, and the ineffectiveness of the Division had no immediate repercussions. US Corps-level advisers believed that its shortcomings could be easily remedied or, at least for the time being, balanced by the increasing mobility of the neighboring 9th Division, which General Thanh had withdrawn from its area security missions and began using it as the Corps' reaction force.[6]: 407
During 1971 the Division and territorial forces focused on destruction of PAVN and VC Base Base Area 470 on the boundary of Định Tường and
During the Easter Offensive in southern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta the Division conducted operations against PAVN units in the Elephant's Foot (10°52′N 105°54′E / 10.87°N 105.9°E) area of Cambodia before returning the South Vietnam to counter PAVN/VC attempts to cut Route QL- which connected the Delta ricebowl to Saigon.[9]: 146–53
By the end of 1972, the Division, with headquarters at Đồng Tâm near My Tho, was responsible for Kien Phong, Kien Tuong, Định Tường and Go Cong Provinces. A major problem facing the Division was security in densely populated Định Tường Province which was the key to control of
By late 1973 the Division, under the command of Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Khoa Nam, had become particularly skillful in rapid deployment, netting significant catches along the infiltration corridors. As the year drew to a close however, severe rationing of fuel, imposed to compensate for spiraling costs, drastically limited the Division's mobility. The permanent withdrawal of RF and PF from exposed positions balanced this disadvantage somewhat, in that General Nam less frequently had to dispatch troops in what were often futile but costly attempts to rescue besieged outposts; he could select areas of deployment more likely to result in combat with major units or large infiltrating groups. Employing advantages of surprise, superior mobility and firepower, including effective coordination with the
From 12 February to 14 May 1974 the 12th Regiment and two battalions from the 10th Regiment together with units from the 9th Division participated in the Battle of Tri Phap attacking a PAVN base area in Định Tường Province before PAVN forces arrived there.[10]: 90–6
In April 1974 during the
On 9 April 1975 the PAVN 5th Division moved down from Svay Rieng Province into
During the final weeks of April VC units tried to interdict sections of Highway 4, but division forces repulsed these attacks. No attacks were launched on any district towns or provincial capitals in Dinh Tuong and other Mekong provinces.
Organisation
Component units:
- 10th Infantry Regiment
- 11th Infantry Regiment
- 12th Infantry Regiment
- 70th, 71st, 72nd and 73rd Artillery Battalions
- 6th Armored Cavalry Squadron
- US Advisory Team 75
References
- ^ .
- ISBN 9780742560079.
- ^ ISBN 9780521869119.
- ^ Sheehan, Neil (1988). A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam. Vintage Books.
- ISBN 9781591148531.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-1585441297.
- ISBN 978-0-7656-0602-0.