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III Corps (South Vietnam)
III Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn III) was a corps 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 one of four corps in the ARVN, and oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capital Saigon.
III Corps headquarters was activated in September 1959 at Bien Hoa and controlled the country south of Phan Thiet, excluding Saigon which was controlled by the Capital Military District (CMD). Its assigned units being the 11th and 13th Light Divisions at Tay Ninh and the 4th Field Division at Bien Hoa.
In 1962, President Ngô Đình Diệm decided to split the Corps into two, the former III Corps area being reduced in size to cover the area northeast of Saigon and the newly created IV Corps taking over the west and southwest.
The 5th Division based in Bien Hoa on the northern outskirts of Saigon was a part of III Corps, and due to the division's close proximity to the capital was a key factor in the success or failure of the various coup attempts in the nation's history.
Following the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état, the junta had appointed General Tôn Thất Đính to command III Corps. In January 1964, the junta changed its mind and replaced Đính with General Trần Thiện Khiêm.
In December 1963, with the Corps' leadership in a state of flux, the senior U.S. military advisor, Colonel Wilbur Wilson took the initiative to draft goals for the coming year. "Close coordination between military and civil administrators must be emphasized," he wrote, to bring 95% of the Corps' population under control by the end of 1964. Not only did he want to see more hamlets built, but he also sought to improve existing hamlets by introducing better-trained officials and significant socioeconomic programs. Militarily, his first priority was to improve the militia and the Self-Defense Corps. With these forces more able to secure their communities, the Civil Guard and the army would be able to engage in offensive combat. Wilson wanted infantry units maintained at 90% strength and kept in the field 20 days per month. He believed small-unit operations, backed by robust programs of civic, psychological, and intelligence action, held the key to success.
On 30 January 1964 General Nguyễn Khánh overthrew General Dương Văn Minh in a bloodless coup. By 6 March Khánh had replaced three of the four Corps commanders. Khánh appointed Brigadier general Lâm Văn Phát as the new III Corps commander. A March 1964 assessment by Wilson, described Phát as a "personally very charming" former French officer who spoke excellent English. "As a matter of protocol will almost always agree with a recommendation on most any subject, but this does not mean that the recommendation will be implemented." Politically ambitious but "professionally incompetent and emotionally unstable," Phát was known to "lash out with his swagger stick and give... a caning on the spot" to any soldier who displeased him. Yet at the same time, he exhibited what Wilson termed "almost a psychopathic horror of issuing a direct order to a subordinate." In April, Khánh replaced Phát with Brigadier general Trần Ngọc Tám.
On 24 February 1964 Khánh issued the 1964 National Campaign Plan under the name Chien Thang (Struggle for Victory). Khanh decided the provinces surrounding Saigon would receive top priority in the distribution of troops, civil servants, and money. The rest of III Corps and IV Corps were next in the resource queue, whereas the provinces of II and I Corps had the lowest priority. One reason why the north received the least resources was that, at least before late 1963, it had appeared to be in the best shape. Thus, Chien Thang forecast that I and II Corps would be the first to enter into the final phase, the destruction of the enemy's last major formations and bases in January 1965, whereas III and IV Corps would not reach that point until January 1966.
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III Corps (South Vietnam)
III Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn III) was a corps 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 one of four corps in the ARVN, and oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capital Saigon.
III Corps headquarters was activated in September 1959 at Bien Hoa and controlled the country south of Phan Thiet, excluding Saigon which was controlled by the Capital Military District (CMD). Its assigned units being the 11th and 13th Light Divisions at Tay Ninh and the 4th Field Division at Bien Hoa.
In 1962, President Ngô Đình Diệm decided to split the Corps into two, the former III Corps area being reduced in size to cover the area northeast of Saigon and the newly created IV Corps taking over the west and southwest.
The 5th Division based in Bien Hoa on the northern outskirts of Saigon was a part of III Corps, and due to the division's close proximity to the capital was a key factor in the success or failure of the various coup attempts in the nation's history.
Following the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état, the junta had appointed General Tôn Thất Đính to command III Corps. In January 1964, the junta changed its mind and replaced Đính with General Trần Thiện Khiêm.
In December 1963, with the Corps' leadership in a state of flux, the senior U.S. military advisor, Colonel Wilbur Wilson took the initiative to draft goals for the coming year. "Close coordination between military and civil administrators must be emphasized," he wrote, to bring 95% of the Corps' population under control by the end of 1964. Not only did he want to see more hamlets built, but he also sought to improve existing hamlets by introducing better-trained officials and significant socioeconomic programs. Militarily, his first priority was to improve the militia and the Self-Defense Corps. With these forces more able to secure their communities, the Civil Guard and the army would be able to engage in offensive combat. Wilson wanted infantry units maintained at 90% strength and kept in the field 20 days per month. He believed small-unit operations, backed by robust programs of civic, psychological, and intelligence action, held the key to success.
On 30 January 1964 General Nguyễn Khánh overthrew General Dương Văn Minh in a bloodless coup. By 6 March Khánh had replaced three of the four Corps commanders. Khánh appointed Brigadier general Lâm Văn Phát as the new III Corps commander. A March 1964 assessment by Wilson, described Phát as a "personally very charming" former French officer who spoke excellent English. "As a matter of protocol will almost always agree with a recommendation on most any subject, but this does not mean that the recommendation will be implemented." Politically ambitious but "professionally incompetent and emotionally unstable," Phát was known to "lash out with his swagger stick and give... a caning on the spot" to any soldier who displeased him. Yet at the same time, he exhibited what Wilson termed "almost a psychopathic horror of issuing a direct order to a subordinate." In April, Khánh replaced Phát with Brigadier general Trần Ngọc Tám.
On 24 February 1964 Khánh issued the 1964 National Campaign Plan under the name Chien Thang (Struggle for Victory). Khanh decided the provinces surrounding Saigon would receive top priority in the distribution of troops, civil servants, and money. The rest of III Corps and IV Corps were next in the resource queue, whereas the provinces of II and I Corps had the lowest priority. One reason why the north received the least resources was that, at least before late 1963, it had appeared to be in the best shape. Thus, Chien Thang forecast that I and II Corps would be the first to enter into the final phase, the destruction of the enemy's last major formations and bases in January 1965, whereas III and IV Corps would not reach that point until January 1966.