The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army ( vi, Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Army of the State of Vietnam, french: Armée Nationale Vietnamienne, lit=Vietnamese National Army) was the

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam ( vi, Quốc gia Việt Nam; Chữ Nôm: 國家越南; french: État du Viêt-Nam) was a governmental entity in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as a member of the French Union and later as a country ...

's military force created shortly after the

Élysée Accords The Elysée Accords were an agreement signed at the Élysée Palace on March 9, 1949 by ex-emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, Bảo Đại, which gave the State of Vietnam greater independence from France within the French Union. The Accords re ...

, where the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

. It was commanded by Vietnamese General Hinh and was loyal to Bảo Đại. The VNA fought in joint operations with the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subj ...

French Far East Expeditionary Corps The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (french: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific W ...

(CEFEO) against the communist

Việt Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fron ...

forces led by

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

. Different units within the VNA fought in a wide range of campaigns including the Battle of Nà Sản (1952), Operation Hautes Alpes (1953), Operation Atlas (1953) and the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

(1954). With the departure of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps from Indochina in 1956, the VNA was reorganized as the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces. __TOC__

Operations (1949–1955)

The Vietnamese National Army was officially created on January 1st 1949, as the armed forces of the pro-French

Provisional Central Government of Vietnam The Provisional Central Government of Vietnam was an entity proclaimed in Vietnam during the First Indochina War. It was created as a transitional government replacing the protectorates of Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) and Annam (Central Vietnam), u ...

. It initially had roughly 25 000 troops, including about 10 000 irregulars. 1000 French officers were given the task of training and supervising the new army. The

was proclaimed on July 2 of the same year, with former emperor

as Chief of State. The VNA's ranks gradually grew as the VNA fought alongside the French against the

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

led by Ho Chi Minh during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

. The French developed the VNA's strength as they sought to delegate more operations to native

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

forces. Bảo Đại's army fought along the

forces during the until 1954 and the

partition of Vietnam Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of ...

. In 1955, the State of Vietnam was dissolved and replaced by

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic ...

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

in the south while Ho Chi Minh's

Democratic Republic of Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

remained the rival Vietnamese state in the north. In early May, civil war ensued in the capital of South Vietnam when the VNA fought General Lê Văn Viễn's

Bình Xuyên Binh Xuyen Force ( vi, Bộ đội Bình Xuyên, ), often linked to its infamous leader, General Lê Văn Viễn (a.k.a. "Bảy Viễn"), was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside ...

forces in the latter's controlled areas of Saigon. By 1956 all French Union troops withdrew from Vietnam and most of the VNA officers remained in service in the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suf ...

. After the

fall of Saigon The Fall of Saigon, also known as the Liberation of Saigon by North Vietnamese or Liberation of the South by the Vietnamese government, and known as Black April by anti-communist overseas Vietnamese was the capture of Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, t ...

breaking in 1975, some joined the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

and others exiled to France or the United States.

Military schools

National Military Academy

Benefiting with French cadres assistance and United States material support the VNA quickly became a modern army modeled after the CEFEO Expeditionary Corps.''A Brief Overview of the Vietnam National Army and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces''(1952-1975)
, Stephen Sherman and Bill Laurie Officers and

Non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

s were trained in local schools of cadres known in French as ''Ecoles des Cadres'', or at the elite National Military Academy, Dalat (EETD). The Dalat Preparatory Military School (''école militaire préparatoire, EMP'') was led by its first director Lieutenant Savani, a metropolitan French who was educated in the Autun EMP. It was created in 1936 after the Autun EMP as the Dalat School of the Eurasian Servicemen's Children (''Ecole des Enfants de Troupe Eurasiens de Dalat, EETED''). Once dissolved during the Japanese occupation in 1944, General de Lattre reformed the EETED as the Dalat School for Children of Soldiers (''Ecole des Enfants de Troupe de Dalat'') in 1950. In 1953, the cadres formation raised with 54 new battalions raised and hundreds of young Vietnamese officers commissioned.''Future Vietnamese cadres'' (Vietnamese National Army footage)
French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) March 5, 1953 By November the Vietnamese National Army was almost wholly manned by Vietnamese personnel of all ranks. On the other hand, until 1954 some Vietnamese were trained four months in Infantry Instruction Centers (''Centre d'Instruction de l'Infanterie, CII'') based in southern Vietnam. Once licensed these recruits would not be part of the VNA but the French CEFEO. Other officer and NCO alumni were coming from all French Union national armed forces including

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

, Overseas (

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, US ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

), metropolitan French and "

French citizen French nationality law is historically based on the principles of '' jus soli'' (Latin for "right of soil") and '' jus sanguinis'', according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, ''jus sanguinis'' ...

s" of

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now B ...

and India.

Hoàng Diệu promotion

On April 20, 1952, the Dalat military academy celebrated its first promotion (''Hoàng Diệu'') with a "

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

" which is the Saint Cyr -French

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

- fashion. Celebrating officials included Chief of State, H.M. Emperor

, Prime Minister

Trần Văn Hữu Trần Văn Hữu (1895 – 17 January 1985) served as president of the government of Cochinchina from 1948 to 1949, then as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam from 1950 to 1952. Early life He was born in 1895, in Long My village, Chau Than ...

, General Governor of French Indochina Gautier and French

General Salan Raoul Albin Louis Salan (; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general. He served as the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. He was one of four retired generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch op ...

, commander of the CEFEO. The Emperor awarded the Hoàng Diệu promotion's senior and junior classes with a Saint-Cyr styled saber as new officers of the armed forces. As a symbol of the handover of self-defense responsibility of the whole Vietnam to the VNA, the senior class fired 4 traditional arrows in each direction (the arrows being a symbol of the old days of imperial Vietnam and its armed forces).

Training

Alumni of the Vatchay

Light Infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

Commando school located in the Halong Bay, were trained to anti-guerrilla warfare including

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

fighting, close quarters combat,

jujutsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

art, river crossing, basic

rope bridge A simple suspension bridge (also rope bridge, swing bridge (in New Zealand), suspended bridge, hanging bridge and catenary bridge) is a primitive type of bridge in which the deck of the bridge lies on two parallel load-bearing cables that a ...

(known as "monkey bridge") crossing, enhanced

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

minefield A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

crossing,

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...

field crossing and

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...

Military ranks

Military ranks were organized after the

French army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

's hierarchy. Shoulder patch insignia would have three, two or one bar or star.''The young army of Vietnam'' (Vietnamese National Army footages)
, French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) November 26, 1953 Generals would have three stars while NCO officers with a straight bar (''Sous-Lieutenant'' for "1st Lieutenant") were called ''Ong Mot'' ("Mister One") and those with two straight bars (''Lieutenant'' for "2nd Lieutenant") were unofficially named ''Ong Hai'' ("Mister Two"). Since anyone working for the government was called ''Quan'' the rank ''Lieutenant'' soon replaced it, ''Quan Mot'' became ''Sous-Lieutenant'', ''Quan Hai'' became ''Lieutenant'' and so forth.
/ref> After the founding of the Republic of Vietnam in 1955, the VNA was renamed the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Its military ranks and hierarchy were reformed.

Composition

Ground force

Organized as a modern army the Ground Force included artillery, infantry, signal communications and armored cavalry units. Airborne regiments including

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

"TDND" (''Tieu Doan Nhay Du'', "Commando Battalion"), the so-called 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th BAWOUAN, were later created. These elite units were referred as the "BPVN" (''Bataillon de Parachutistes Viêt-Namiens'', "Vietnamese Paratroopers Battalions") by their French allies. Some of these paratroopers were attached to the GCMA special forces.

Air force

The VNA air force first took part in the First Indochina War during the joint

Operation Atlas Operation Atlas was the code name for an operation carried out by a special commando unit of the Waffen SS which took place in October 1944. It involved five soldiers: three who were previously members of the Templer religious sect in Mandatory P ...

in April 1953. The aviation consisted of Morane Saulnier MS-500 reconnaissance planes and

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

and DC-4 transport aircraft useful in airborne operations.

Navy

The navy included amphibious vehicles such as

Landing Craft Infantry The Landing Craft Infantry (LCI) were several classes of landing craft used to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches during the Second World War. They were developed in response to a British request for seagoing amphibious assaul ...

Landing Craft Mechanized The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults. Variants There was no ...

, small craft and materiel.

Marine troops

The Marine Troops corps was modelled after the French

Troupes de marine The (TDM, ) is a corps of the French Army that includes several specialities: infantry, artillery, armoured, airborne, engineering, and transmissions (Signals). Despite its name, it forms part of the Army, not the Navy. Intended for amphibi ...

. Their particular

navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color ...

uniform with white gaiters is still used by the French Fusiliers Marins.

Special forces

Special forces consisted of Vietnamese commandos trained by French officers in local schools. They used a whole different personnel, uniform, equipment, training and warfare compared with the regular airborne or infantry troops. The GCMA airborne commandos (''Groupe Commando Mixte Aéroporté'', "Airborne Mixed Commando Group") were Vietnamese ethnic minorities or Laotian montagnard partisans led by paratrooper officers of the SDECE French intelligence agency. Some of them would be used as cadres in the North Vietnam Commandos (''Commandos Nord Viêt-nam''). In 1951, French General de Lattre commander of the CEFEO ordered for the creation of the North Vietnam Commandos to Louis Fourcade. These remained operational until 1954 with Fourcade as the "Big Boss" (''le Grand Patron'') until June 21, 1953. Their mission was to collect intelligence, perform hit-and-run ambushes and bring confusion in Việt Minh controlled areas (northern Vietnam) wearing enemy uniforms and using

unconventional warfare Unconventional warfare (UW) is broadly defined as "military and quasi-military operations other than conventional warfare" and may use covert forces, subversion, or guerrilla warfare. This is typically done to avoid escalation into conventional ...

such as guerrilla techniques. These were based on both, GCMA director and famous

counter-insurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...

theorician Roger Trinquier's experience as French Jedburgh in World War II, and on Việt Minh POWs collaboration.

Independent Armies within the VNA (1949–1955)

In 1949, after becoming the Head-of-State, Bảo Đại made the most controversial decision concerning the armed forces of the new State of Vietnam: recognizing all non-communist military forces in the country as independent armies within the VNA. These forces included: Viet Binh Doan, Bao Chinh Doan,

(approximately 40,000 strong), Hòa Hảo (30,000 men under different leaders) and Cao Đài (25,000 men). Doing so, Bảo Đại solved the problem of having to spread the army too thin in the war against the Việt Minh. Furthermore, the independent forces did not need money from the central government since they either were self-financed through clandestine activities or they were armed and financed by Savani's 2e Bureau in Vietnam. The Bình Xuyên was an organized crime military force in Saigon that provided part of Bảo Đại's luxury life. In 1955, with Lansdale's support, Prime Minister Diem ordered all forces to surrender their weapons and to be part of one army. Some groups joined willingly while others were attacked by the regular VNA. By late 1955, all these forces ceased to exist. Many of their ranks joined the NVA or the Việt Minh, while others returned to a civilian life.

Weaponry and equipment

Just like in the CEFEO, most of the VNA's military equipment was World War II vintage. Firearms were mixed U.S. and French. Helmets were mostly U.S. M1 Helmet (and airborne version) with some French copy "Model 51" (''modèle 51'', M51) and certain units wearing the World War II U.S. or Australian Imperial similar

Slouch hat A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt or cloth hat most commonly worn as part of a military uniform, often, although not always, with a chinstrap. It has been worn by military personnel from many different nations including Australia, Ireland, the ...

(''chapeau de brousse'' nicknamed "broussard"). Uniforms were mixed U.S., French and British ( SAS airborne). Heavier equipment of the armoured cavalry was made of World War II vintage U.S. light tanks as they had the ability to be drop stripped and assembled by specialized engineering companies on location. Việt Minh captured arms like German

Karabiner 98k The Karabiner 98 kurz (; " carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92× ...

with

, U.S. Browning MGs or Japanese "knee mortars" were sometimes used. These arms would often be supplied to the guerrillas by China as captured material from the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

(the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while contin ...

had been supplied by both Nazi Germany and the USA) or left behind by the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group after the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vas ...

. Image:M101 105mm Howitzer.jpg, M2A1 howitzer Image:Stuart m5a1 cfb borden 4.JPG, Stuart M5A1 light tank Image:ThompsonM1A1VWM.jpg, Thompson M1A1 SMG

Tanks

* Stuart M5A1 light tank *

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially Light Tank, M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the War in Algeria and the Firs ...

Artillery

* M2A1 howitzer (105 mm)

Cavalry

* M8 howitzer motor carriage * Stuart M5A1 light tank

Infantry / Airborne

* M1 carbine *

M1A1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...

(M1 airborne model with retractable butt) * Garand M1 rifle * M1903A3 Springfield * M1917 Enfield * M1918A2 Browning automatic rifle * M3 submachine gun (limited) * Thompson M1A1 submachine gun * Thompson M1928A1 submachine gun (11,43 mm, North Vietnam Commandos special) * Browning M1919A4 machine gun (7.62 mm) * Mk 2 fragmentation grenade *

M2 mortar The M2 Mortar is a 60 millimeter smoothbore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used by U.S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for light infantry support. Description The U.S. M2 60 mm mortar was licens ...

M1 mortar The M1 mortar is an American 81 millimeter caliber mortar. It was based on the French Brandt mortar. The M1 mortar was used from before World War II until the 1950s when it was replaced by the lighter and longer ranged M29 mortar. General data ...

Lebel Model 1886 rifle The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: ''Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel"'') also known as the ''"Fusil Mle 1886 M93"'', after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French A ...

* Berthier 1907/15 rifle * MAS-36 CR39 rifle (MAS-36 airborne model with retractable butt, ''Crosse Repliable'') * MAS-36 LG48 rifle (MAS-36 modified with 48 mm

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...

, ''Lance-Grenade'') * MAT-49 submachine gun *

FM 24/29 light machine gun The Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 (or MAC 24/29), designed in 1924 by the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault, was the standard light machine gun of the French Army from 1925 until the 1960s and was in use until 2000-2006 with the National ...

(7.5 mm) * DF37 defensive grenade * OF37 offensive grenade * No. III Lee–Enfield *

(Việt Minh captured) *

(Việt Minh captured) * MP 40 * Type 89 grenade launcher (Việt Minh captured)

Transmission

* SCR 300 Walkie-Talkie (with earphones) * SCR 536

Handie-Talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver (HT), is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, ...

Image:M1 Carbine.jpg, M1 carbine Image:MAS36 crop.jpg, MAS-36 rifle Image:Submachine gun MAT 49.jpg, MAT 49 SMG Image:FM 24-24 automatic rifle Invalides 01.jpg, FM 24/29 LMG

Planned participation in Europe

With the 1954 cease-fire, pro-French and optimistic General Nguyễn Văn Hinh stated that as early as 1955 "a Vietnamese division will be sent to France as compensation for sacrifices in Indochina by the latter. This great unit will participate in the defense of Europe as part of the opposition between the western and eastern blocs."LES ANCIENNES FORCES ANNAMITES
Colonel Maurice Rives based on the scholar thesis Nguyen Van Phai's "L'Armée Vietnamienne", Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, 1980, "D'ailleurs, avec un bel optimisme, le général Nguyên Van Hinh affirme qu'à cette date "une division vietnamienne sera envoyée en France en compensation des sacrifices consentis en Indochine par cette dernière. Cette grande unité participera à la défense de l'Europe dans le cadre de l'opposition des blocs ouest et est". However the

European Defence Community The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the six 'inner' countries of European integration: the Benelux countries, France, Italy, and West German ...

project was rejected by France and Nguyễn Văn Hinh's French counter-intelligence SDECE/ GCMA-backed planned coup (scheduled for end October 1954) against pro-USA and

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

-backed ( Edward Lansdale)

failed. The Vietnamese general was eventually dismissed, leaving South Vietnam in November 1954, following French general Raoul Salan's departure and return to France in October.Rendez-vous With X: 1954, The Secret Franco-American War In Indochina (archived podcast pt.1)
/ref> The French-American secret war and influence struggle in Vietnam engaging the SDECE against the CIA continued until 1956
, Kris Millegan, Sat, 10 Jul 2004, from Warlords of Crime by Gerald Posner, 1988, Penguin Books, when the CEFEO Expeditionary Corps was dissolved and returned to France.

Collins-Ely memorandum

On December 13, 1954, the 1954–55 French High Commissioner in Indochina (CEFEO Expeditionary Corps Commander), General Paul Ély, and the newly appointed ambassador, U.S. Special Representative in Vietnam General

J. Lawton Collins General Joseph Lawton Collins (May 1, 1896 – September 12, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer. During World War II, he served in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations, one of a few senior American commanders to do so. ...

, sign the following agreements: * Personnel reduction from 167,000 to 90,000 (pro-French officers purge) * Organization and training transferred from France to the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group on January 1, 1955 (under "virtual" overall authority of the French CEFEO Commander) * Progressive reduction of French and U.S. advisors and trainers * Full autonomy granted on July 1, 1955 Both generals acknowledge the size of the new force would be insufficient to protect South Viet Nam against an external aggression, hence ultimate reliance is placed on the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

era Asian equivalent to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

) which France and the United States are members.

Notables

Units

Famous units of the VNA are: * The 5th Vietnamese Artillery Group (''5e Groupe d'Artillerie Viêt-namienne, GAVN'') and the 55th Vietnamese Battalion (55e Bataillon Vietnamien) which fought at the battle of Nà Sản in 1952. * The 301st Vietnamese Infantry Battalion (''301e Bataillon Viêt-namien, BVN'') and the 5th Vietnamese Airborne Battalion (''TDND 5'' or ''5e BAWOUAN'') both fought at the 1954

battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

Personnel

Notes: "ARVN" stands for ''Army of the Republic of Vietnam'', "FFL" stands for ''French Foreign Legion'', "USA" stands for ''United States Army'', "VNA" stands for ''Vietnamese National Army''. *

Nguyễn Văn Hinh Nguyễn Văn Hinh (20 September 1915 – 26 June 2004) was the chief of staff of the Vietnamese National Army and the first Vietnamese officer in the French Armed Forces to be promoted to the rank of general. Educated in the French style, he ser ...

(commander of the VNA) *

Trần Văn Đôn Trần Văn Đôn (August 17, 1917 – 1997) was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and one of the principal figures in the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état which overthrew President Ngô Đình Diệm. Personal life Đôn wa ...

(VNA, ARVN) * Phạm Văn Đồng (VNA, ARVN) *

Nguyễn Khánh Nguyễn Khánh (; 8 November 192711 January 2013) was a South Vietnamese military officer and Army of the Republic of Vietnam general who served in various capacities as head of state and prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a ...

(VNA, ARVN) * Trần Thiện Khiêm (VNA, ARVN) *

Lâm Quang Thi Lieutenant General Lâm Quang Thi (7 May 1932 – 19 January 2021) was a senior military officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Early life and family Lam was born in Bac Lieu in 1932, to a family of wealthy lan ...

(VNA, ARVN) *

Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm ...

(VNA, ARVN) * Trần Văn Minh (VNA, ARVN) *Nguyen Van Phong (VNA, FFL) * Đặng Văn Quang (VNA, ARVN) *

Nguyễn Chánh Thi Nguyễn Chánh Thi (; 23 February 1923 – 23 June 2007) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). He is best known for being involved in frequent coups in the 1960s and wielding substantial influence as a key member of ...

(VNA, ARVN) * Cao Văn Viên (VNA, ARVN) *Tran Dinh Vy (VNA, ARVN, FFL)

Notes

Bibliography

* Pissardy, Jean-Pierre. "
Commandos Nord-Vietnam: 1951-1954
'", Indo Editions, 1999. * * *

Archive newsreel

*

French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) January 3, 1952 *

French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) May 1, 1952 *

French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) March 5, 1953 *

French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) November 5, 1953 *

French newsreel archives (Les Actualités Françaises) November 26, 1953 *

French news archives, ORTF, May 10, 1955

External links

*
Vietnamese National Army gallery (May 1951-June 1954)
– French Ministry of Defense archives *
North Vietnam Commando #24 gallery (February 1951-February 1954)
– French Ministry of Defense archives *
Dalat veterans association website 1

*
''Dalat our school''
*

* {{in lang, fr}

thesis by Nguyen Van Phai (1980)

– about Nguyễn Văn Hinh
Vietnam War Timeline: 1954
Military history of Vietnam Military of South Vietnam Military units and formations of the First Indochina War Disbanded armies Military units and formations established in 1949 Military units and formations disestablished in 1955