Leaders of the Vietnam War

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Contents

Anti-communist forces

South Vietnam

Political

Military

United States

Political

  • Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
  • John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969.
  • Richard Nixon was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until he resigned in 1974
  • Gerald Ford was the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977.
  • Robert McNamara was the 8th Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968.
  • Clark Clifford was the 9th Secretary of Defense, serving under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1968 to 1969.
  • Melvin R. Laird was the 10th Secretary of Defense, serving under President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973.
  • James R. Schlesinger was the 12th Secretary of Defense, serving under President Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1973 to 1975.
  • Henry Kissinger was the 8th National Security Advisor and the 56th Secretary of State, serving under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford from 1969 to 1977

Military

  • Earle Wheeler was a United States Army General who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1964 to 1970.
  • Thomas Hinman Moorer was a United States Navy admiral who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1974.
  • William Westmoreland was a U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968.
  • Creighton Abrams was an U.S. Army General who commanded American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972.
  • Frederick C. Weyand was a U.S. Army General who was the last commander of American military operations in the Vietnam War from 1972 to 1973.
  • Elmo Zumwalt was a U.S. admiral and commander of American naval forces in Vietnam.
  • William W. Momyer was commander of the U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command and the commander of the 7th Air Force.
  • John S. McCain, Jr. was a U.S. admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Command.
  • George Stephen Morrison was a U.S. Admiral in command during the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which escalated the U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Republic of Korea

Australia

Political
Military

New Zealand

Philippines

Thailand

Cambodia / Khmer Republic

Kingdom of Laos

Communist forces

North Vietnam

Political

Military

Viet Cong (National Liberation Front)

Khmer Rouge

Pathet Lao

People's Republic of China

Soviet Union

North Korea

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Army of Vietnam</span> Combined military forces of Vietnam

The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army, also recognized as the Vietnamese Army, the People's Army or colloquially the Troops, is the national military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wing of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The PAVN is the backbone component of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard. Vietnam does not have a separate and formally-structured Ground Force or Army service. Instead, all ground troops, army corps, military districts and special forces are designated under the umbrella term combined arms and are belonged to the Ministry of National Defence, directly under the command of the CPV Central Military Commission, the Minister of National Defence, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army. The military flag of the PAVN is the National flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam defaced with the motto Quyết thắng added in yellow at the top left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army of the Republic of Vietnam</span> Defunct South Vietnamese ground forces

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. At the ARVN's peak, an estimated 1 in 9 citizens of South Vietnam were enlisted, composed of Regular Forces and the more voluntary Regional Forces and the Popular Force militias. It is estimated to have suffered 1,394,000 casualties during the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vietnamization</span> Policy of American withdrawal from South Vietnam near the end of the Vietnam War

Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops". Brought on by the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, the policy referred to U.S. combat troops specifically in the ground combat role, but did not reject combat by the U.S. Air Force, as well as the support to South Vietnam, consistent with the policies of U.S. foreign military assistance organizations. U.S. citizens' mistrust of their government that had begun after the offensive worsened with the release of news about U.S. soldiers massacring civilians at My Lai (1968), the invasion of Cambodia (1970), and the leaking of the Pentagon Papers (1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easter Offensive</span> Part of the Vietnam War (1972)

The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive by North Vietnam, or the Red Fiery Summer as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam against the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and the United States military between 30 March and 22 October 1972, during the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambodian campaign</span> Invasion of Cambodia by US and South Vietnamese forces (April–July 1970)

The Cambodian campaign was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia in mid-1970 by South Vietnam and the United States as an expansion of the Vietnam War and the Cambodian Civil War. Thirteen operations were conducted by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) between April 29 and July 22 and by U.S. forces between May 1 and June 30, 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Xuân Lộc</span> Last major battle of the Vietnam War

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 overrunning the town and breaking through towards South Vietnam's capital, Saigon. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (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 People's Army of Vietnam (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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ban Me Thuot</span> Battle of the Vietnam War (1975)

The Battle of Ban Me Thuot was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which led to the complete destruction of South Vietnam's II Corps Tactical Zone. The battle was part of a larger North Vietnamese military operation known as Campaign 275 to capture the Tay Nguyen region, known in the West as the Vietnamese Central Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Phước Long</span> Part of the Vietnam War (1974–1975)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lê Văn Hưng</span> South Vietnamese general (1933–1975)

Lê Văn Hưng was an infantry general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Hưng was perhaps best known as the "Hero of An Lộc" in 1972 when he commanded the 5th Division in defense of the city of An Lộc from the coordinated attacks of the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces in the Battle of An Lộc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Office for South Vietnam</span> Political and military HQ (1962–1976)

Central Office for South Vietnam, officially known as the Central Executive Committee of the People's Revolutionary Party from 1962 until its dissolution in 1976, was the American term for the North Vietnamese political and military headquarters inside South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It was envisaged as being in overall command of the communist effort in the southern half of the Republic of Vietnam, which included the efforts of both People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), the Viet Cong, and the People's Revolutionary Party. Some doubted its existence but in his memoirs the American commander in South Vietnam, General William Westmoreland, spoke of it as something whose existence and importance were not in doubt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phạm Văn Phú</span> South Vietnamese general (1928–1975)

Major General Phạm Văn Phú was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cao Văn Viên</span> South Vietnamese general (1921–2008)

Cao Văn Viên was a four-star army general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He rose to the position of Chairman of the South Vietnamese Joint General Staff. Considered one of "the most gifted" of South Vietnam's military leaders, he was previously called an "absolute key figure" and one of "the most important Vietnamese military leaders" in the U.S.-led fighting during the Vietnam War. Along with Trần Thiện Khiêm he was one of only two four-star generals in the entire history of South Vietnam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Division (South Vietnam)</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">21st Division (South Vietnam)</span> Military unit

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 in the Vietnam War</span>

1975 marked the end of the Vietnam War. The North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched the Spring Offensive in March; the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was quickly defeated. The North Vietnamese captured Saigon on April 30, accepting the surrender of South Vietnam. In the final days of the war, the United States, which had supported South Vietnam for many years, carried out an emergency evacuation of its civilian and military personnel and more than 130,000 Vietnamese.

Nguyễn Vĩnh Nghi was a Lieutenant general in the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republic of Vietnam Military Forces</span> Former armed defense forces of the Republic of Vietnam

The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, were the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam and were responsible for the defence of the country from 26 October 1955 to 30 April 1975. Its predecessor, the Vietnamese National Army, was the armed forces of the State of Vietnam and established on 13 April 1949. The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces day has been celebrated in June 19 every years since 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nguyễn Hữu Hạnh</span> Vietnamese military officer (1926–2019)

Nguyễn Hữu Hạnh was a Vietnamese military officer of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, rising to the rank of Brigadier General.

The 2nd Infantry Division also known as Quảng Đà Division or Steel Division is a division of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), first formed from Viet Cong (VC) and PAVN units in October 1965. The first commander and the first commissar of the division were Colonel Nguyễn Năng and Senior Colonel Nguyễn Minh Đức respectively.

References