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II Corps (South Vietnam)
The II Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn II) 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 it oversaw the Central Highlands region, north of the capital Saigon. Its corps headquarters was in the mountain town of Pleiku.
II Corps headquarters became operational in October 1957 and was responsible for the Central Highlands and the coastal region from southern Quang Nam province south to the town of Phan Thiet. II Corps headquarters was originally located at Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands, but was moved to Pleiku in mid-1959. Its assigned units were the 12th Light Division at Kontum, the 14th Light Division at Qui Nhon, the 15th Light Division at Duc My, the 3rd Field Division at Song Mao, and miscellaneous units stationed in the region. US advisors at II Corps headquarters consisted of about a dozen officers and enlisted men with a colonel of infantry as senior corps adviser, and two lieutenant colonels to advise the corps engineer, armor, ordnance, and Signal units.
Following the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état, coup leader General Dương Văn Minh reassigned II Corps commander General Nguyễn Khánh to command I Corps, allegedly to get him as far from Saigon as possible. On 30 January 1964 Khánh overthrew Minh in a bloodless coup. By 6 March Khánh had replaced three of the four Corps commanders.
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.
The Diem regime's relative success in pacifying significant parts of I and II Corps had led to decisions in 1963 and 1964 to transfer troops to more troubled areas further south. This meant that troops were leaving just as the VC were increasing their efforts. Northern II Corps, like southern I Corps, was a long-standing revolutionary bastion and the VC had made deep penetrations in the last two months of 1963 following Diem's ouster.
In May 1964 the North Vietnamese politburo established three subordinate commands, including the Western Subregion, renamed the B–3 Front in September 1964, it encompassed the provinces of Kontum, Pleiku, and Darlac. The politburo envisioned it would be the decisive battle theater, where the Communists could best trap and destroy major government units before pushing down from the mountains and into the populated plains.
South Vietnam considered the Central Highlands of strategic importance too. The ARVN had considerable resources at their disposal and believed they outnumbered the VC by 4.6 to 1, but given the Corps' size, they had to spread their troops thinly. Corps commander General Đỗ Cao Trí positioned the 25th Division on the northern coast, the 22nd Division in the west, and the 23rd Division in the south. Corps' plans for 1964 were to focus initially on pacifying the densely populated north-south corridor that bordered Highway 1 and the railway, as well as communities along the zone’s three important east-west routes that connected the coast to the highlands, Highways 19, 20, and 21. Once Tri had secured the major communication axes, he planned to target the gaps between pacified areas, first on the coast and then in the piedmont. The Civil Guard would bear most of the population security burden at close-in communities, whereas the ARVN would perform operations on the fringes of populated areas, with occasional raids into the mountainous interior.
In late April 1964 II Corps launched Operation Quyet Thang 202, a successful assault on the VC's Do Xa stronghold that straddled Quang Ngai, Quang Tin, and Kontum provinces on the northern border of II Corps.
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II Corps (South Vietnam)
The II Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn II) 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 it oversaw the Central Highlands region, north of the capital Saigon. Its corps headquarters was in the mountain town of Pleiku.
II Corps headquarters became operational in October 1957 and was responsible for the Central Highlands and the coastal region from southern Quang Nam province south to the town of Phan Thiet. II Corps headquarters was originally located at Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands, but was moved to Pleiku in mid-1959. Its assigned units were the 12th Light Division at Kontum, the 14th Light Division at Qui Nhon, the 15th Light Division at Duc My, the 3rd Field Division at Song Mao, and miscellaneous units stationed in the region. US advisors at II Corps headquarters consisted of about a dozen officers and enlisted men with a colonel of infantry as senior corps adviser, and two lieutenant colonels to advise the corps engineer, armor, ordnance, and Signal units.
Following the 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état, coup leader General Dương Văn Minh reassigned II Corps commander General Nguyễn Khánh to command I Corps, allegedly to get him as far from Saigon as possible. On 30 January 1964 Khánh overthrew Minh in a bloodless coup. By 6 March Khánh had replaced three of the four Corps commanders.
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.
The Diem regime's relative success in pacifying significant parts of I and II Corps had led to decisions in 1963 and 1964 to transfer troops to more troubled areas further south. This meant that troops were leaving just as the VC were increasing their efforts. Northern II Corps, like southern I Corps, was a long-standing revolutionary bastion and the VC had made deep penetrations in the last two months of 1963 following Diem's ouster.
In May 1964 the North Vietnamese politburo established three subordinate commands, including the Western Subregion, renamed the B–3 Front in September 1964, it encompassed the provinces of Kontum, Pleiku, and Darlac. The politburo envisioned it would be the decisive battle theater, where the Communists could best trap and destroy major government units before pushing down from the mountains and into the populated plains.
South Vietnam considered the Central Highlands of strategic importance too. The ARVN had considerable resources at their disposal and believed they outnumbered the VC by 4.6 to 1, but given the Corps' size, they had to spread their troops thinly. Corps commander General Đỗ Cao Trí positioned the 25th Division on the northern coast, the 22nd Division in the west, and the 23rd Division in the south. Corps' plans for 1964 were to focus initially on pacifying the densely populated north-south corridor that bordered Highway 1 and the railway, as well as communities along the zone’s three important east-west routes that connected the coast to the highlands, Highways 19, 20, and 21. Once Tri had secured the major communication axes, he planned to target the gaps between pacified areas, first on the coast and then in the piedmont. The Civil Guard would bear most of the population security burden at close-in communities, whereas the ARVN would perform operations on the fringes of populated areas, with occasional raids into the mountainous interior.
In late April 1964 II Corps launched Operation Quyet Thang 202, a successful assault on the VC's Do Xa stronghold that straddled Quang Ngai, Quang Tin, and Kontum provinces on the northern border of II Corps.