Corps Tactical Zone

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Map of South Vietnam with the four Corps Tactical Zones

The " tactical zones " (Vietnamese Vùng chiến thuật , in the English Corps Tactical Zones (CTZ) called), later military regions (MR; Quân khu ), were a military territorial division of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) during the Vietnam War .

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) divided the South Vietnamese national territory into four "tactical zones" from 1961 to 1962, thereby replacing a military organization that had been created by the French. A corps of the army was assigned to each of these zones , and the respective corps commander within the zone not only had the military command, but was also subordinate to the civil administration. The corps commanders were directly subordinate to the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The Americans therefore used the name Corps Tactical Zones . The Corps zones were again in Division Tactical Areas divided; there were also some Special Tactical Zones for which special regulations applied.

When US land troops were sent to Vietnam as a result of the Tonkin Resolution from 1965, the two middle zones (II and III) were assigned a large US Army unit at corps level. The designation "corps" should be avoided to avoid confusion, which is why the two Army units were called Field Force . An amphibious force (also corps-sized) of the US Marines was dispatched to the first zone (on the demilitarized border with North Vietnam ). Only in the fourth zone ( Mekong Delta ) there was no major US unit, as only a few American units were stationed here and these could be commanded from the nearby third zone ( Saigon ). The commanders of the US Corps were formally placed under the respective ARVN corps commanders and were towards them as a senior consultant ( senior adviser ). However, the cooperation was mostly bad, as there was no joint headquarters within the zones and the cooperation was therefore laboriously via the Saigon High Command.

In response to the Tet Offensive in 1968, an Army Corps was also installed in the first zone. This was the only US association in Vietnam to be called "Corps" and (despite being equally strong) was subordinate to the Marines until they began their withdrawal in 1970.

From the late 1960s, the civilian powers of corps commanders were increasingly weakened as the Tet Offensive had shown how ineffective the administration was in rural areas. In July 1971, the zones were dissolved and replaced by the almost identical military regions. The commanders of the corps were also ex officio commanders of the military regions, so that in fact little more than the name changed.

By 1972, the majority of US soldiers were withdrawn and the major US units in the military regions were replaced by Regional Assistance Commands with only an advisory function. These were finally dissolved in March 1973 after the Paris Peace Agreement . The South Vietnamese corps were destroyed during the 1975 spring offensive .

The North Vietnamese Army and the National Liberation Front (FNL, Viet Cong) also divided South Vietnam into military regions, with both using different systems that were only standardized towards the end of the war. In contrast to the south, the North Vietnamese military regions were not identical to the corps, and there were also large front-line units that had a greater operational significance than the regions.

Military regions and associated major associations

I Corps Tactical Zone / Military Region 1

The first tactical zone comprised the northernmost provinces with the demilitarized border to North Vietnam and the major cities of Huế and Đà Nẵng . The battles for Khe Sanh (early 1968), Huế (during the Tet Offensive 1968) and Quảng Trị (during the Easter Offensive 1972) took place here.

II Corps Tactical Zone / Military Region 2

The second zone was the largest in terms of area and comprised the sparsely populated and inaccessible central highlands and the adjacent coastal region. Important places here were Đà Lạt and Pleiku in the highlands as well as the port cities of Nha Trang , Cam Ranh and Quy Nhơn . The battles in the Ia-Đrăng valley in 1965, at Đắk Tô in 1967 and around Kon Tum (during the Easter offensive in 1972) were significant combat operations taking place here .

III Corps Tactical Zone / Military Region 3

The third zone ran from the southern foothills of the central highlands to the greater Saigon area . The city of Saigon itself (including Cholon ) as well as the neighboring province of Gia Định and the island of Côn Sơn together formed a capital special zone, which was only subordinated to the third corps in 1966. Another special zone was the Rừng Sác (Rung Sat) Special Zone , which consisted of the districts Quảng Xuyên and Cần Giờ and comprised the mangrove swamp of the same name south of Saigon, which was of great military importance as a Viet Cong retreat close to the capital. The areas north of the capital as far as Cambodia were Viet Cong strongholds, such as the Củ Chi tunnels , the Iron Triangle and even the communist headquarters for South Vietnam . Important military operations in the third zone were the Cedar Falls and Junction City operations in 1967, the invasion of Cambodia from here in 1970, the Battle of An Lộc during the Easter Offensive in 1972 and finally the Battle of Xuân Lộc in 1975 .

IV Corps Tactical Zone / Military Region 4

The fourth zone comprised the Mekong Delta and thus, in addition to an inaccessible tangle of watercourses and wetlands, also large cities such as Cần Thơ and Mỹ Tho . The Americans used numerous river combat units here . Due to its location in the remote south, the region was not expected to play a decisive role in the war, which is why no major US association was installed here. For the Viet Cong fighters, the landscape offered very good conditions for a guerrilla war, through which three ARVN divisions alone were bound. The border area with Cambodia was particularly hotly contested, which is why the 44th Special Tactical Zone was created from three border provinces in 1968 .

  • 4th ARVN Corps (headquarters in Cơn Thơ )
    • 7th, 9th and 21st divisions
    • in the 44th Special Zone (headquarters in Cao Lãnh ): 4th Ranger Group, 41st and 42nd Ranger Border Defense Group, 4th Armored Brigade (without tanks)
  • no US major combat unit (but from 1971 to 1973 the Delta Regional Assistance Command )

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