The North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong were the two military organizations that fought against the United States and its allies during the Vietnam War. Both military units could trace their history back to the Viet Minh who fought the French Union Forces in the 1st Indo-China War from 1948 to 1954. The two formations were viewed to be separate entities, but by the end of the war, had become one and the same. There would usually be a mix of VC and NVA combat units in some areas of operation, while in others it was all VC or all NVA. The Viet Cong forces were at first through out South Vietnam in one form or another. The area of The Republic of Vietnam was broken up over four military zones, starting with I Corp in the north along the DMZ down to IV Corp at the lowest end of the country. As the war progressed, there would be no Viet Cong units operating in the areas of I Corp, while there were almost no NVA units in IV Corp (Mekong Delta). In II Corp (Saigon area) and III Corp (Central Highlands) areas, a mix of NVA and Viet Cong units were fought throughout the conflict. A three-man cell was the building block for both the NVA and the Viet Cong. This was known as “system of three”. Each larger formation would be built from groups of three-man cells. Three cells to a squad, three squads to a platoon, three platoons to a company. This of course is “on paper” where events in the field would force changes to organizations that could vary to a system of between two and five. The major differences between the units were in size of formations, equipment, level of training and areas of operation. Viet Cong The proper name for the southern communist forces was the National Liberation Front (NLF), but was known universally as the Viet Cong or VC. This was short for Vietnamese Communists. To the American soldiers he was known as “Victor Charlie” or “Sir Charles”. As the war began in the early 1960’s, the Viet Cong were conducting small to mid size operations against the forces of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The Army of Vietnam (ARVN), with attached United States Military Advisors, was engaged in a guerrilla war against the Viet Cong. The majority of the Viet Cong in this early stage were native to the south, but many were southerners that had been training in North Vietnam for years, before infiltrating south. Operations larger than company level during this period of the war were rare. In 1965, the first American combat forces landed at Da Nang. The 9th Expeditionary Brigade of the United States Marine Corp was the first to land, but many thousands would follow. Most of the early fighting was against Viet Cong formations, but approximately one of every three men in Viet Cong units were from the North Vietnamese Army. The propaganda goal of keeping VC units up to strength with soldiers from North Vietnam was to make the war in South Vietnam appear as a “civil war” between the Viet Cong and ARVN. The intensity of combat would increase as more American combat battalions searched out the enemy formations in an effort to bring them to battle. This was the period of large scale “Search and Destroy” like operations “Cedar Falls” and “Junction City” in 1967. The Viet Cong would avoid combat with large American formations and continued to engage in small to medium size offensive operations through 1966 and 1967. Those would usually not be larger than company or battalion size actions. On January 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive was launched. Communist military formations attacked in part of South Vietnam. Most of those attacks were disasters for the Viet Cong and NVA. Entire battalions were wiped out in combat against Free World Forces. In only a few locations were there any military successes and most only for a day or two. The battle in Hue is the best known exception, where NVA and VC formations fought for several weeks before being destroyed. The communist forces had tried to fight the United State military in large scale open warfare and been completely defeated in the military view. After the Tet Offensive, more and more of the Viet Cong units were made up of soldiers from North Vietnam. The Viet Cong could not replace the losses from the Tet Offensive. The numbers of North Vietnamese soldiers fighting in Viet Cong units was as high as 85% in some formations, although 65% to 75% was more the norm. This trend would continue for the remainder of the conflict. By 1970, Viet Cong were organizations only on paper. They had in fact become operational units of the North Vietnamese Army. Unit Organizations Hamlet, Regional, Main Force and Sappers forces were the four different types of Viet Cong units. Each had different levels of training and equipment. The tasks for each formation were also different. Hamlet Guerrillas This is the typical farmer by day / soldier at night. They lived in the village that was their base of operations and most likely that village had been called home for their entire lives. This small unit would have at least three members but never more than twelve. The members would be either too old or too young for service in the other Viet Cong military units. They would dress in typical civilian clothes of black pajamas, straw cover and sandals. They would be equipped with any weapons they could get, but not heavy weapons. The small arms would be a mix of second rate weapons from W.W. I and W.W. II. Any sort of automatic or crew served weapon would be extremely rare, as those weapons would be turned over to the Regional or Main Force units. Limited ammunition would be a constant problem for Hamlet Guerrillas. The main responsibility for Hamlet Guerrillas would be to keep the area safe for Regional and Main Force units. The extent of combat for them would be the placement of booby traps and very rare ambush on government officials. They would avoid contact with any sort of real military unit. The Hamlet Guerrillas would gather intelligence, show an armed communist presence in the village, gather and store supplies. The villages could also be used as safe rest areas for soldiers from the other Viet Cong formations. A typical Hamlet Guerrilla Force could be as below: 1 x Leader with semi-auto carbine 3 x Guerilla Fighters with bolt action rifles Regional Forces This would be made up of full time soldiers recruited from the villages in the area. Formations were commonly platoon or company size in manpower. They would normally live in the jungles and woodland areas. Occasionally, over night visits to established villages were made. The local political headquarters controlled their actions. Uniforms would be mostly made up of civilian clothes of the black pajamas and with an odd piece of military issue clothing added on. Most of that military issue clothing would be tan colored and later by 1970 green. Web gear and ammo pouches would be mostly tan. Regional Forces had very basic training. They were more of a full time militia than front serving combat troops. They were equipped with functional, if not first rate weapons, such as bolt action or semi-automatic rifles / carbines. There would be very few automatic weapons, SMG or Assault Rifle type. One or two crew served light machine guns and light mortars would often be part of the force. Many explosives / satchel charges / hand grenades would be home made variety. Those explosives had a very high dud rate. Operations for Regional forces would be used to ambush of government troops and small supply convoys. They could mount attacks on isolated government installations and personnel. Reprisal raids on villages that were loyal to the South Vietnamese Government were also a common action. Combat against first or second rate enemy units would be avoided, but sometimes unavoidable due to search and destroy operations.. A Regional Force unit could be below: Company HQ: 1 x Company Leader 1 x Political Officer 1 x Medical personnel 3 x Runners Weapons Section (controlled by Company HQ) 1 or 2 x LMG 1 or 2 x 60mm mortars Platoons: 2 or 3 each with: 1 x Platoon leader 1 x Runner 3 Squads (each with) 1 x Squad Leader 6 to 8 x Riflemen Main Force Battalions The combat power of the Viet Cong was in the Main Force Battalions. The battalions were made up full time soldiers, many of whom were trained in North Vietnam. Many soldiers in the Main Force battalions were party members. The battalions spent all their time in the field. Central Office for South Vietnam – Political HQ (COSVN) controlled operations of the Main Force battalions and on occasion would combine with other battalions for special operations. The battalion strength was usually 600 soldiers, but as in all military formations, most were under strength. 300 to 450 soldiers in a battalion was typical. Uniforms would be mixes of black pajama and tan or green military issued clothing. Pith helmets, floppy and straw covers would be worn. Often the Recon and Sapper units were one and the same. The battalion would be organized as below: 1 x Battalion Command Group 3 x Infantry Companies 1 x Combat Support Company 1 x Signal Platoon 1 x Recon Platoon 1 x Sapper Platoon The weapons for the infantry companies would be modern. The AK-47 assault rifle and SKS semi-automatic carbine would equip most of the soldiers. Within the rifle squads there would usually, but not always, be a RPD light machine gun and/or a B-40 a.k.a. an RPG-2 (Rocket Propelled Grenade). The infantry company organization is listed below. Infantry Company (60 to 110 soldiers approx.) Company HQ 1 x Company Commander 1 x Asst. Company Commander 1 x Political Officer 1 x Medical personnel 3 x Runners Radios were almost always at battalion level HQ, and only used when runners or field phones were unavailable, due to radio detection equipment 3 Infantry Platoons (each with) 1 x Platoon Leader 1 x Asst Platoon Leader 1 x Runner 3 x Rifle Squad (each with) 1 x Squad Leader 1 x Asst. Squad Leader 6 – 8 x Riflemen The Combat Support Company would give extra firepower to the infantry companies. This was the heavy weapons unit and would have been equipped with 60mm and 82mm mortars, 57mm and (rarely) 75mm recoilless rifles, medium machine guns and the heavy 12.7mm machine gun. Those were organized following the “system of three” with three of each weapon type. It was very common to break up the weapons and assign them to individual infantry companies for operations. Sappers The elite of the Viet Cong was the sappers. They were highly skilled in explosives and infiltration. It was not uncommon for Viet Cong sappers to work their way through several layers of barbed wire, trip flares and mechanical ambush Claymore mines to suddenly appear out of the darkness and attack. They were a constant source of fear to soldiers in the Vietnam War. All of the sappers were volunteers and received extensive training. Sappers would train for several months in North Vietnam or with units in the south before they were assigned to a sapper platoon. The sapper platoon would be assigned to an infantry company for a special operation. At times, several sapper platoons would be merged to form a battalion. This was usually for a specific time period during a larger operation. One of the better know examples of this was the attack on Fire Support Base “Mary Ann” in 1971. Although listed as “company” or ‘battalion”, most sapper companies had between 15 to 30 men. The sappers would wear very little clothing on operations. Just a loincloth or shorts to avoid getting caught on barbed wire. They usually carried several smaller satchel charges and one personal weapon, sometimes an RPG. Stealth, not firepower was their strength. They would often clear a path through the wire defenses for the follow on assault troops and hit command bunkers and weapons pits when the attack began. Sapper Team 1 x Team Leader 1 x Asst. Team Leader 1 x RPG gunner 3 x Sections (each) 1 x Section leader 2 x Sappers North Vietnamese Army The People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) was commonly referred to as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The NVA during the Vietnam War was a highly skilled, well led, motivated, determined and dangerous enemy. These were professional soldiers with modern supporting arms. The NVA soldier was not a superman, but was audacious in the attack, tenacious in defense. American combat troops knew that they faced a skilled enemy. Keith Nolan wrote in “Operation Buffalo” about how a Corporal Power, A/1/9 Marines, in 1966, would stand up, thump his chest and roar like Tarzan when taking sniper fire in Viet Cong areas. He never did that against the NVA. A Brief History In late 1964, the Communist government of North Vietnam began to move regiments of their army into South Vietnam. The leadership in Hanoi felt the time for open warfare against the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was at hand. The United States countered this move by landing the 9th Amphibious Brigade in March, 1965. More United States Army and Marine combat unit would follow. On November 14, 1965, the 1/7, 1st Air Cavalry Division engaged elements of the NVA in the Ia Drang Valley. It was the first engagement between the opposing armies. It would not be the last. Through 1966 and 1967, NVA battalions and regiment continued to infiltrate into South Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail or attempt to cross the DMZ. All USMC forces and several US Army formations were moved to the DMZ and Central Highlands to block those moves. The fighting in those areas became known as the war against the professionals. Vietnam was broken into 4 military regions by MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam). Northern most was I Corp (DMZ), II Corp (Central Highlands), III Corp (with Saigon, War Zone “C” & “D”) and IV Corp (Mekong Delta). The NVA operated mostly in the first three regions and close to the Cambodian / Laos borders. NVA formations would cross into “Neutral” Cambodia and Laos for rest and refit. American forces were not allowed to pursue them into their sanctuaries. On January 30, 1968, the Communist launched the Tet Offensive. Viet Cong units hit most of the population centers. The NVA attacked several locations and there were two major battles, Hue City and Khe Sanh. 8 NVA battalions, with support from Main Force VC, seized Hue and surrounding areas for several weeks. Heavy urban fighting followed. At Khe Sanh, a Fire Support Base in the hills, three NVA divisions fought the US Marines in several engagements known as the fights for the hills (881N, 881S and 861). The attack on the Special Forces camp at Lang Vei saw the first use of NVA armor when PT-76’s were used to overrun the camp. As with the Viet Cong, the NVA suffered badly in Tet Offensive. When the smoke cleared from the battlefield around Khe Sanh, the three divisions were all but destroyed by the Marines and United States airpower. The battalions in Hue had been denied their request to withdraw. The Marines annihilated them. Brief operations continued to take place along the boarders with the NVA in 1968, known as the “Mini-Tet”. Heavy contact continued throughout the summer with May ’68, seeing very heavy combat as US and Allied troops counter attacked. The NVA had taken huge losses in those battles and needed time to rebuild. The United States military went on the offensive. Operations began to push deep into the previously untouchable sanctuaries in late ’68. Many operations were launched into the A Shau Valley in 1969 and in 1970 crossed the boarder into Cambodia for the most successful operations of the war. The war was changing. American troops had begun to be withdrawn from Vietnam in ever increasing numbers. The Marines were withdrawn from the country by late 1969. US Army units were being withdrawn in ever increasing numbers. The NVA was still there, but major battles of the late 60’s and 1970 were a thing of the past. The political leadership in Hanoi was waiting for the American military to leave. February 1971, ARVN launched Operation Lam Son 719 into Laos. The NVA knew they were coming and set a trap. Four NVA divisions were involved in the fighting. The use of NVA armor was seen with T-54’s. The ARVN force was routed from the field. In March, 1972, there were no US ground combat formations in Vietnam. The NVA struck south at this time in the Easter Offensive. This was open warfare with T-54 tanks pushing south across the DMZ. Through hard fighting by ARVN ground forces and US airpower the NVA were stopped and then pushed back to Dong Ha, just south of the DMZ. NVA drives from the Central Highlands were also stopped. Peace accords were signed in January 1973 and all US military personnel were withdrawn from Vietnam shortly afterward. Small actions continued between the two Vietnamese armies (ARVN & NVA) for the next couple of years. The NVA continued to build up its strength. The invasion of the south would be a conventional combined arms attack. Only approximately 250 American service personnel were in South Vietnam during this time. The Ho Chi Minh Offensive was launched by the NVA in March 1975. The ARVN fell apart. Within weeks most of the country had been overrun and aside from a gallant stand at Xuan Loc by the 18th ARVN Infantry Division, defeat followed defeat. On April 30, 1975, a T-54 tank of the Peoples Army of Vietnam crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace. Saigon had fallen. The war in Vietnam had ended. The cost to the NVA was 1.4 million dead and missing soldiers. Infantry Battalions: A typical NVA infantry battalion was very similar to a Main Force Viet Cong unit. This was a result of the high number of NVA soldiers that were incorporated into VC formations. The battalion would have a command group, three rifle companies, one weapons company and a platoon each for signals, reconnaissance and or sappers. NVA uniforms changed over the course of the war. At first, tan was the common color with khaki web gear. In 1967 this began to change over to a “jungle green” or medium green color. Units and soldiers were still seen wearing the tan uniforms in 1969, but by 1970 the green uniforms were the norm. Other uniform colors that could be seen during the transition period were black, brown and dark blue. Most NVA wore a light pith helmet with a cloth cover or a soft “boonie” hat. Steel helmets were reserved for anti-aircraft unit. The rifle company was the teeth of a NVA battalion. It would have up to 130 men, but as few as 70. There would be a company headquarters section and three platoons. All the soldiers would be armed with modern weapons. Each squad would have a RPD light machine gun and often an RPG gunner. In 1966, each company was authorized 9 x B-40 (RPG-2) and each regiment was assigned 18 x B-41 (RPG-7, longer range and more powerful than the earlier type 2). Operating closer to the supply camps in Cambodia and Laos would give a NVA battalion better access to weapons than the Main Force VC. A typical organization is listed below. Company HQ 1 x Company Commander 1 x Asst. Company Commander 1 x Political Officer 1 x Medical personnel 3 x Runners 3 Infantry Platoons (each with) 1 x Platoon Leader 1 x Asst Platoon Leader 1 or 2 x Runner 3 x Rifle Squad (each with) 1 x Squad Leader 1 x Asst. Squad Leader 6 – 8 x Riflemen Support for the rifle companies would again come from the weapons company. Each type of weapon would be organized in groups of three, but could be issued out to individual platoons as the need arose. The use of medium and heavy machine guns (12.7mm or .51cal) for defense or support fire in assaults would be wide spread. Recoilless rifles in 57mm and 75mm caliber were used also. Artillery support for the company would be mortars of the 60mm and 82mm caliber. When the NVA wanted to leave a mark on a target, an asset not often seen with VC, was used, the 120mm mortar. These very large weapons were only controlled from regimental artillery support. The NVA would also have access to 122mm & 152mm artillery pieces and 122mm rockets. Armor NVA armor was used on rare occasions. The attack at Lang Vei was the first. An attack on Ben Het in 1969 saw US Army M-48’s fighting it out with PT-76’s. Cambodia and Laos operations also saw the use of NVA tanks with PT-76’s, T-54/5’s and even old T-34/85’s. It was not until the Easter Offensive that large numbers of NVA armor were seen. During this time and the 1975 offensive, many tank battles took place between the NVA and ARVN. The ARVN tankers gave better than they got in most of those engagements. Sappers The sappers were the elite of the NVA. The organization is identical to the Viet Cong sapper detachments, because they were in effect one and the same. Sappers in both organizations received usually 6 months of training at a special base in Son Tay, in North Vietnam. Different teams would be organized if a sapper operation was to be launched that required a company size force. Those teams would be Support, Security, Infiltration and Assault / Shock. Each team had a different responsibility for the operation to be a success. Support Consisted of mortars to give cover to infiltration team by suppressing the defenders. Security Prevent reinforcements from reaching the target by ambush and booby-traps. Infiltration Penetrate the defenses, disable mines, clear wire for assault teams. Assault Main force used to exploit the breech in the defenses & attack selected targets. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier # 91 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com