AAA—Anti-Aircraft Artillery
ARVN—Army of the Republic of Vietnam
CIA—Central Intelligence Agency
COSVN—Central Office for South Vietnam
DAO—Defense Attaché Office
DAV—Defense Assistance Vietnam
DIA—Defense Intelligence Agency
DMZ—Demilitarized Zone
DRV—Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
FY—Fiscal Year
GVN—Government of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
JGS—Joint General Staff
LST—Landing Ship, Tank
MISTA—Monthly Intelligence Survey and Threat Analysis
MR—Military Region
MSC—Military Sealift Command
NCNRC—National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord
NIE—National Intelligence Estimate
NLF—National Liberation Front
NSC—National Security Council
NSSM—National Security Study Memorandum
PACM—People’s Anti-Corruption Movement
PAVN—People’s Army of Vietnam
PF—Popular Forces
PRG—Provisional Revolutionary Government
RF—Regional Forces
RVNAF—Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines)
SIGINT—Signals Intelligence
SNIE—Special National Intelligence Estimate
TF—Task Force
USA—U.S. Army
VNAF—Vietnamese Air Force (South Vietnam)
VNN—Vietnamese Navy (South Vietnam)
WSAG—Washington Special Actions Group
LIST OF PERSONS
Bui Diem, former South Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States
Cao Van Vien, General, ARVN; Chief, Joint General Staff
Dang Van Quang, Lieutenant General, ARVN; Military Assistant to President Thieu
Dang Vu Hiep, Senior Colonel, PAVN; Political Officer, B-3 Front
Dong Van Khuyen, Lieutenant General, ARVN; Chief of Staff, Joint General Staff
Duong Van Minh (Big Minh), retired General, ARVN; last President of South Vietnam
Ford, Gerald, Vice President, later President, of the United States
Hoang Cam, Major General, PAVN; Commander 4th Corps
Hoang Dan, Major General, PAVN; Deputy Commander 2nd Corps
Hoang Minh Thao, Lieutenant General, PAVN; commander of Ban Me Thuot campaign
Hoang Van Thai, Lieutenant General, PAVN; Deputy Chief of Staff
Kissinger, Henry, U.S. Assistant for National Security Affairs, and later Secretary of State
Lam Quang Thi, Lieutenant General, ARVN; Commander I Corps Forward
Le Duan, General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party
Le Duc Anh, Senior Colonel, later Lieutenant General, PAVN; Deputy Commander B-2 Front
Le Duc Tho, Politburo member and head of the North Vietnamese delegation to the Paris Peace Talks
Le Gro, William, Colonel, USA; Intelligence Chief, Defense Attaché Office
Lehmann, Wolfgang, Deputy U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam
Le Khac Ly, Colonel, ARVN; Chief of Staff II Corps
Le Minh Dao, Brigadier General, later Major General, ARVN; Commander 18th Division
Le Ngoc Hien, Major General, PAVN; Chief of Operations, General Staff
Le Trong Tan, Lieutenant General, PAVN; Deputy Chief of Staff
Le Van Thao, Colonel, VNAF; Commander 92nd Air Wing
Martin, Graham, U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam
Murray, John, Major General, USA; Commander DAO, April 1973–August 1974
Ngo Quang Truong, Lieutenant General, ARVN; Commander I Corps
Nguyen Cao Ky, former Vice President, Republic of Vietnam
Nguyen Duy Hinh, Brigadier General, later Major General, ARVN; Commander 3rd Division
Nguyen Huu An, Senior Colonel, later Major General, PAVN; Commander 2nd Corps
Nguyen Thanh Tri, Colonel, ARVN; Deputy Commander Marine Division
Nguyen Thu Luong, Colonel, ARVN; Commander 2nd Airborne Brigade
Nguyen Trong Luat, Colonel, ARVN; Darlac Province Chief
Nguyen Van Dong, Colonel, ARVN; Commander 2nd Armor Brigade
Nguyen Van Thieu, President of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
Nguyen Van Toan, Lieutenant General, ARVN; Commander III Corps
Nguyen Vinh Nghi, Lieutenant General, ARVN; Commander IV Corps
Nguyen Tu, journalist for Saigon-based newspaper Chinh Luan
Nixon, Richard, President of the United States
Pham Dinh Niem, Brigadier General, later Major General, ARVN; Commander 22nd Division
Pham Duy Tat, Colonel, later Brigadier General, ARVN; Commander Rangers in II Corps
Pham Hung, head of COSVN
Pham Ngoc Sang, Brigadier General, VNAF; Commander 6th Air Division
Pham Van Dong, Prime Minister of North Vietnam
Phan Van Huan, Colonel, ARVN; Commander 81st Airborne Rangers
Pham Van Phu, Major General, ARVN; Commander II Corps
Polgar, Thomas, Chief of Station Saigon, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
Smith, Homer, Major General, USA; Commander DAO, September 1974–May 1975
Stennis, John, Democratic Senator, Mississippi; Chairman, Senate Committee on Armed Services
Tran Quang Khoi, Brigadier General, ARVN; Commander 3rd Armored Cavalry Brigade
Tran Quoc Buu, head of the South Vietnamese Labor Federation
Tran Thien Khiem, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
Tran Van Huong, Vice President, later President, of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
Tran Van Lam, Foreign Minister, South Vietnam, until July 1973; then Chairman of the Senate
Tran Van Nhut, Brigadier General, ARVN; Commander 2nd Division
Tran Van Tra, Colonel General, PAVN; Commander B-2 Front
Truong Chinh, Politburo member, North Vietnam
Van Tien Dung, General, PAVN; Commander of Communist forces in South Vietnam
Vo Nguyen Giap, General, PAVN; Defense Minister, North Vietnam
MILITARY FORCES
SOUTH VIETNAM
Each regular infantry division had three regiments, except the 1st and 22nd Divisions, which had four. Each regiment had three battalions, numbered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. In addition, any military unit includes numerous non-combat support personnel who make up the total unit strength.
The Airborne and Marine Divisions had three brigades, and each brigade had three battalions, but the battalion numbering differed from the Army standard. The Airborne Division retained the normal brigade designations of 1st through 3rd, but the battalions were numbered 1st through 11th (however, there was no 4th or 10th Battalion). The Marine Division battalion numbering was consecutive—1st through 9th Battalions—but it was not sequential. Instead, it matched the brigade numerical designation. For example, the 147th Brigade had the 1st, 4th, and 7th Battalions assigned to it. In early 1975, both the Airborne and the Marines formed a fourth brigade The battalion designations in the fourth brigade began with the 12th for the Airborne and 14th for the Marines, but they were not numbered consecutively.
Efforts to standardize Ranger and Regional Force units were undertaken in December 1973, but by March 1975, the process had not been completed. Each Ranger Group had three battalions, but the battalions retained their original numerical designation from when they were independent entities. Regional Force groups and battalions were structurally similar to the Rangers.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Armor Brigades each had two armored cavalry and one M-48 tank squadrons. The 4th Armor Brigade had only two M-113 armored-personnel-carrier squadrons.
There were six Air Force divisions, 1st through 6th. II and III Corps had two each. In II Corps, Phu Cat and Pleiku had the 2nd and 6th Air Divisions respectively, while III Corps had the 3rd Air Division at Bien Hoa and the 5th at Tan Son Nhut. Each division had three wings, and each wing had three squadrons; some had three airplane squadrons, while others had two airplane and one helicopter.
The Navy had five Coastal Zone commands. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Coastal Zones worked with the respective ARVN Corps commands, while the 4th and 5th Coastal Zones were in the Mekong Delta and worked with IV Corps. The Navy also had Fleet, Sea Operations, and Riverine Commands.
The numbers given in the chart that follows reflect unit full strength circa early 1975. RVNAF unit strengths changed over time, and the chart reflects the last modification.
I Corps
1st, 2nd, and 3rd Divisions
11th, 12th, 14th, and 15th Ranger Groups
1st Armor Brigade
Air Force—1st Air Division
Navy—1st Coastal Zone
II Corps
22nd and 23rd Divisions
21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th Ranger Groups
2nd Armor Brigade
Air Force—2nd and 6th Air Divisions
Navy—2nd Coastal Zone
III Corps
5th, 18th, and 25th Divisions
31st, 32nd, and 33rd Ranger Groups
3rd Armored Cavalry Brigade
Air Force—3rd and 5th Air Divisions
Navy—3rd Coastal Zone
IV Corps
7th, 9th, and 21st Divisions
4th Armor Brigade
Air Force—4th Air Division
Navy—4th and 5th Coastal Zones
General Reserve
Airborne Division—assigned to I Corps
Marine Division—assigned to I Corps
4th and 6th Ranger Groups—assigned to II Corps
7th Ranger Group—assigned to III Corps
8th and 9th Ranger Groups—Reserve (formed in 1975)
81st Airborne Ranger Group—assigned to III Corps
NORTH VIETNAM
Each division had three regiments, which retained their original designations from when they were independent entities. Each regiment had three battalions, and the numbering was consecutive for the whole division, with the battalions numbered 1st through 9th.
The full strength of a PAVN battalion was close to 500. A regiment was roughly 2,400 soldiers. An infantry division was approximately 9,600. Sapper battalions were much smaller than regular infantry battalions, roughly between 150 and 200 men. Tank regiments were also much smaller, generally less than 500 men. The independent infantry regiments were similar in structure to the ones assigned to a division. The 52nd Brigade was an ad-hoc unit cobbled together from various units in the B-1 Front area.
During the 1975 offensive, unit strengths varied widely, mainly on whether the unit had recently been engaged in combat. Some units, like the 316th Division from North Vietnam, were at full strength. Others, like the 304th Division, were terribly depleted from heavy fighting. Local forces—those assigned to province or below—were badly under-strength. This list includes only main-force units (regular army).
UNITS ASSIGNED TO VARIOUS CORPS
1st Corps (part of Strategic Reserve in North Vietnam)
308th, 312th, and 320B Divisions
202nd Tank Brigade
2nd Corps (northern I Corps)
304th, 324th, and 325th Divisions
203rd Tank Brigade
3rd Corps (Central Highlands, not formed until late March 1975)
10th, 316th, and 320th Divisions
273rd Tank Regiment
198th Sapper Regiment
4th Corps (assigned to B-2 Front)
7th and 9th Divisions
Group 232 (assigned to B-2 Front)
5th and 303rd Divisions
UNITS ASSIGNED TO VARIOUS FRONT COMMANDS
B-1 Front (along the coast of central Vietnam)
2nd and 3rd Divisions
52nd Brigade
573rd Tank Regiment
B-2 Front (southern half of South Vietnam)
MR-6—812th Regiment
MR-7—6th Division
MR-8—8th Division, 24th and 88th Regiments
MR-9—4th Division
316th Sapper Brigade
26th Tank Regiment
16th and 271B Infantry Regiments
B-3 Front (Central Highlands)
25th and 95A Infantry Regiments
B-4 Front (Thua Thien province and southern portion of Quang Tri province)
4th, 6th, and 271st Regiments
Strategic Reserve
46th Regiment
341st Division
968th Division (in Laos)