| 7th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1966-present |
| Allegiance |  Vietnam |
| Branch | People's Army of Vietnam |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | 4th Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Bình Dương Province, Vietnam |
| Nickname(s) | Sư đoàn Bến Tre (Bến Tre Division) |
| Engagements | Battle of Snuol 1975 Spring Offensive Battle of Phuoc Long Battle of Xuân Lộc |
The 7th Infantry Division is a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).
The Division was formed on 13 June 1966 in the Mekong Delta region from the 52nd, 141st and 165th Regiments. [1] : 192
On 24 November 1967 while the United States Army was conducting Operation Shenandoah II the Division attempted to close Highway 13 sending the 2nd Battalion, 165th Regiment to attack a U.S. night defensive position on the shoulder of Highway 13 12 km south of An Lộc. The attack was repulsed with the PAVN leaving 57 dead, U.S. losses were 4 dead. On 3 December the 1st Battalion, 141st Regiment attacked another U.S. night defensive position 3 km to the south. This time the PAVN succeeding in penetrating the perimeter before again being forced back by defensive fire, air and artillery strikes. PAVN losses were 27 killed, while U.S. losses were 7 killed. On 10 December the Division attacked Firebase Caisson VI 6 km south of An Lộc losing 143 killed while killing only one U.S. [2]
From 12 May to 6 June 1968 the Division's 141st and 165th Regiments fought 1st Australian Task Force units in the Battle of Coral–Balmoral losing 267 killed and 11 captured for Australian losses of 25 killed. [3]
In mid-March 1969 the Division was operating in the Michelin Rubber Plantation where it came under attack from the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Operation Atlas Wedge losing 335 killed for U.S. losses of seven killed. [4]
In March 1970 the 209th Regiment engaged the U.S. 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment near Lộc Ninh, U.S. units claimed a body count of over 200 killed. [5] : 164
By 1971 the Division was operating in Cambodia and PAVN command formed the Corps-sized Group 301 comprising the Division and the 5th and 9th Divisions, the 28th Artillery Regiment and the 12th Anti-aircraft Machine Gun Battalion. [1] : 281
During the Battle of An Lộc, on 12 April 1972 a relief force of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 32nd Regiment, 21st Division departed Lai Khê to reopen Route 13 to Chơn Thành Camp 30 km south of An Lộc. After making slow progress, on 22 April the 32nd Regiment encountered a roadblock of the PAVN 101st Regiment 15 km north of Lai Khê. From 24 April the 21st Division engaged the PAVN in a two-pronged attack to clear the road with the 32nd Regiment attacking from the north and the 33rd Regiment attacking from the south. These attacks eventually forced the 101st Regiment to withdraw west on 27 April leaving one battalion to cover the withdrawal for a further 2 days. The 31st Regiment was then lifted by helicopters 6 km north of Chơn Thành where it fought the Division's 165th Regiment, later reinforced by the 209th Regiment, for the next 13 days. Eventually on 13 May with intensive air support the 31st Regiment overran the PAVN positions and extended ARVN control to 8 km north of Chơn Thành. The 32nd Regiment then deployed into the Tau O area a further 5 km north where they ran into the 209th Regiment's well-prepared blocking positions which stopped the 21st Division's advance for 38 days despite extensive artillery and air support including B-52 strikes. This stalemate would continue until the PAVN withdrew from An Lộc. On 15 May 1972 an ARVN task force of the 15th Regiment, 9th Division which was redeployed from the Mekong Delta and the 9th Armored Cavalry Squadron moved north east of Route 13 bypassing the 209th Regiment's roadblock at Tau O to establish a fire support base at Tan Khai 10 km south of An Lộc. On 20 May the 141st Regiment attacked the base at Tan Khai and continued attacking unsuccessfully for 3 days against a determined defense before withdrawing. [6] : 131–3
From June to November 1974 the Division's 141st Regiment fought the ARVN in the Battle of the Iron Triangle. [7]
On 20 July 1974, the High Command of the PAVN created the 4th Army Corps with Major General Hoang Cam appointed as its first commander. The 4th Army Corps comprised the 3rd and 7th Infantry Divisions, the 429th Special Forces Regiment, the 25th Engineers Regiment, the 210th and 235th Logistical Groups and the Viet Cong 9th Division. [8] [1] : 343–4
On 12 December 1974 the 4th Corps launched their assault on Phước Long. On 13 December the 7th and 3rd Divisions attacked ARVN positions at Bố Đức and Duc Phong overrunning them the next day. On 26 December Regiment 141 attacked the ARVN base at Đôn Luân overrunning it within 5 hours. On 31 December the 4th Corps had surrounded Phước Long and began their assault on the city and by the evening of 5 January 1975 Phước Long had fallen. The battle was a turning point in the war because it showed that the United States was no longer prepared to intervene militarily to save South Vietnam and that the ARVN was overstretched with limited ability to respond forcefully to PAVN offensive action. [9] : 18–20
For the 1975 Spring Offensive, in March the 4th Corps attacked ARVN installations in Tây Ninh Province and Bình Dương Province. On 11 March the 4th Corps attacked Dầu Tiếng taking it within 2 days they then proceeded to attack other ARVN units and by 2 April controlled all of Bình Long Province. The 4th Corps then began to approach Xuân Lộc part of the last defensive line before Saigon from the northeast. [9] : 116 Two regiments from the 7th supported the main assault by the 341st Division. The ARVN 18th Division withstood the initial attacks and on 12 April were reinforced by men of the elite 1st Airborne Brigade and Vietnamese Marines. [9] : 117 By 16 April the battle was turning in favour of the PAVN and on 19 April the ARVN General Staff ordered the units defending Xuân Lộc to withdraw to defend Biên Hòa. [9] : 129–34 The 4th Corps pushed on towards Biên Hòa and at 5pm on 26 April they attacked Bien Hoa Air Base and Long Binh Post. [9] : 154 By the morning of April 28 troops from the 4th Corps overran ARVN positions at the eastern end of the Newport Bridge. [9] : 155
Today the division is part of the 4th Corps (Vietnam People's Army).
The Battle of Xuân Lộc was the last major battle of the Vietnam War that took place at Xuân Lộc, Đồng Nai Province. Over a period of twelve days between 9 and 21 April 1975, the outnumbered South Vietnamese reserves attempted to stop the North Vietnamese forces from overunning the town and breaking through towards South Vietnam's capital, Saigon. The ARVN committed almost all their remaining mobile forces, especially the 18th Division, under Brigadier General Lê Minh Đảo, to the defence of the strategic crossroads town of Xuân Lộc, hoping to stall the PAVN advance. The battle ended when the town of Xuân Lộc was captured by the PAVN 4th Army Corps led by Major General Hoàng Cầm.
The Battle of Phước Long was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which began on December 12, 1974, and concluded on January 6, 1975. The battle involved the deployment of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) 4th Army Corps for the first time, against determined units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in Phước Long in Bình Phước Province near the Cambodian border, under the command of Lieutenant General Dư Quốc Đống.
The Battle of An Lộc was a major battle of the Vietnam War that lasted for 66 days and culminated in a tactical victory for South Vietnam. The struggle for An Lộc in 1972 was an important battle of the war, as South Vietnamese forces halted the North Vietnamese advance towards Saigon.
The Battle of Lộc Ninh was a major battle fought during the Easter Offensive during the Vietnam War, which took place in Bình Long Province, South Vietnam between 4 and 7 April 1972. Towards the end of 1971, North Vietnamese leaders decided to launch a major offensive against South Vietnam, with the objective of destroying Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) units and capturing as much territory as possible, in order to strengthen their bargaining position in the Paris Peace Accords. On 30 March 1972, two People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) divisions smashed through the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, marking the commencement of the Easter Offensive. They quickly overwhelmed South Vietnamese units in the I Corps Tactical Zone. With the rapid collapse of South Vietnamese forces in the northern provinces of South Vietnam, PAVN and Viet Cong (VC) forces began preparing for their next offensive, targeting Bình Long Province in the rubber plantation region north of Saigon. On 4 April, the VC 5th Division opened their attack on Lộc Ninh, defended by the ARVN 9th Infantry Regiment. After three days of fighting, the vastly outnumbered ARVN forces, though well supported by American air power, were forced to abandon their positions in Lộc Ninh.
The 18th Division was an infantry division in the III Corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam considered the 18th as undisciplined and it was well known throughout the ARVN for its "cowboy" reputation. In 1975 the 18th was made famous for its tenacious defense of Xuân Lộc, the last major battle before the Fall of Saigon.
The Republic of Vietnam Marine Division was part of the armed forces of South Vietnam. It was established by Ngo Dinh Diem in 1954 when he was Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, which became the Republic of Vietnam in 1955. The longest-serving commander was Lieutenant General Le Nguyen Khang. In 1969, the VNMC had a strength of 9,300, 15,000 by 1973, and 20,000 by 1975.
The Vietnamese Rangers, commonly known as the ARVN Rangers, were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Rangers infiltrated beyond enemy lines in search and destroy missions. Initially trained as a counter-insurgency light infantry force by removing the fourth company each of the existing infantry battalions, they later expanded into a swing force capable of conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations, and were relied on to retake captured regions. Later during Vietnamization the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was transferred from MACV and integrated as Border Battalions responsible for manning remote outposts in the Central Highlands.
The Fifth 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—was part of the III Corps that oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capital, Saigon.
The 25th 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—was part of the III Corps that oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capital, Saigon. It was based at Củ Chi Base Camp to the northwest of the city.
The 22nd Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was part of the II Corps that oversaw the region of the Central Highlands north of the capital Saigon. The 22nd Division was based in Ba Gi near the south central coast.
The 2nd Division 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.
The 3rd 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—was part of the I Corps that oversaw the northernmost region of South Vietnam, the centre of Vietnam.
The 9th Infantry Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)—the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1961 to 1975—was part of the IV Corps that oversaw the southernmost region of South Vietnam, the Mekong Delta. The 9th Infantry Division was based in Sa Dec 1962 - 1972 and Vinh Long 1972 - 1975 throughout the war.
The 21st Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)—the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1959 to 1975, was part of the IV Corps that oversaw the southernmost region of South Vietnam, the Mekong Delta. The 21st Division was based in Chương Thiện Province, the southernmost province in the whole country, in an area dominated by jungles and swamps.
The Vietnamese Airborne Division was one of the earliest components of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces. The Vietnamese Airborne Division began as companies organized in 1948, prior to any agreement over armed forces in Vietnam. After the partition of Vietnam, it became a part of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. This division had its distinct origins in French-trained paratrooper battalions, with predecessor battalions participating in major battles including Dien Bien Phu and retained distinct uniforms and regalia. With the formation of an independent republic, the colonial paratroopers were dissolved, however regalia and aesthetics alongside the nickname "Bawouans" would be retained.
Quần Lợi Base Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base east of An Lộc, Binh Phuoc Province, in southern Vietnam.
Operation Shenandoah II was a security operation conducted during the Vietnam War by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division to secure and repair Highway 13, South Vietnam from 29 September to 19 November 1967.
Phase III of the Tet offensive of 1968 was launched by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Viet Cong (VC) from 17 August to 27 September 1968. The offensive was divided into two waves of attacks from 17 to 31 August 1968 and from 11 to 27 September of that same year.
Chơn Thành Camp is a former U.S. Army and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base south of An Lộc in southern Vietnam.
The 9th Infantry Division is a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), first formed from Viet Cong units in 1965 in the Mekong Delta region.
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