I Corps (South Vietnam)
I Corps | |
---|---|
Quân đoàn I | |
Quảng Ngãi Province | |
Motto(s) | Bến Hải Hưng Binh, Tiên Phong Diệt Cộng (Patriotic Soldiers of Bến Hải, Pioneers in Destroying the Communists) |
Engagements | Vietnam War
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Hoàng Xuân Lãm Ngô Quang Trưởng |
Insignia | |
Division flag |
I Corps (
I Corps became operational in November 1957.[1]
Among its formations and units were the ARVN 1st Division. The I CTZ, later Military Region 1, was partnered with the U.S. III Marine Expeditionary Force and the XXIV Corps.
Lam Son 719
General
The 20th Tank Regiment, the first tank regiment in the ARVN, was formed at Quảng Trị in 1971 equipped with the M48 Patton.[2]
1975 Spring Offensive
Military Region 1's forces disintegrated during the
At a meeting in Saigon on 13 March President Thiệu was briefed on the military situation by Trưởng and another corps commander. Thiệu then laid out his plan for national consolidation. As Trưởng understood it, he was free to redeploy his forces to hold the Da Nang area.[3] Trưởng was shocked to discover, however, that the Airborne Division was to be removed to III Corps (unknown to Trưởng at the time, the Marine Division was also already earmarked for redeployment with both units then forming a new national reserve).
General Trưởng was recalled to Saigon on 19 March to brief Thiệu on his withdrawal plan. The general had developed two contingency plans: The first was predicated on government control of Highway 1, which would be utilized for two simultaneous withdrawals from Huế and Chu Lai to Da Nang; The second course presupposed PAVN interdiction of the highway and called for a withdrawal into three enclaves: Huế, Da Nang, and Chu Lai. This was to be only an interim measure, however, since the forces that withdrew to Huế and Chu Lai would then be sea-lifted to Da Nang by the navy. The president then stunned the general by announcing that he had misinterpreted his previous orders:[4] The old imperial capital of Huế was not to be abandoned. Making matters worse, Trưởng discovered that his force was to be reduced by the removal of the Airborne Division.
Divisions
Notes
- ^ Williams, Kenneth (2019). The US Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Vietnam War A Narrative Chronology Volume I: The Early Years through 1959 (PDF). Air Force History and Museums Program. p. 236. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Simon Dunstan, Vietnam Tracks: Armor into Battle 1945–75, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London, 1982, 59.
- ^ South Vietnam's second largest city was to be held due to possible future exploitation of offshore oil deposits. Dougan and Fulghum, p. 68.
- ^ Dougan and Fulghum, pp. 68–69.
References
- Dougan, Clark, David Fulghum, et al. The Fall of the South. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985.
- Tucker, Spencer C. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Santa Barbara, California: ISBN 1-57607-040-9.