5th Infantry Division (Vietnam)
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The VC 5th Infantry Division was a
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
of the
Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and later became part of the
People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN; vi, Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam, QĐNDVN), also recognized as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) or the Vietnamese Army (), is the military force of the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the ...
.


History

The division was formed on 23 October 1965 from the 4th "Đồng Nai" Regiment and the newly formed 5th Regiment, which was drawn from local forces. The division later comprised the 274th Regiment and 275th Regiment plus supporting units. The VC 5th Division's headquarters were located in northeast Phước Tuy, in the
Mây Tào Mountains The Mây Tào Mountains are a set of tortoise shaped mountains 45 kilometres north east of Nui Dat and was primarily located in Bình Tuy Province and partly with the Phước Tuy Province and Long Khánh Province. Nui Mây Tào was the topograph ...
; the 274th Regiment's headquarters were located in the
Hát Dịch Hát Dịch secret zone (mật khu Hát Dịch, chiến khu Hát Dịch) was an area within South Vietnam. It covered the area where the borders of Phước Tuy, Long Khánh and Biên Hòa Provinces met (today in Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa–Vũ ...
area and the 275th Regiment's headquarters were located somewhere in the Mây Tào Mountains, although the precise locations are unknown. The division operated in the
Bien Hoa Bien may refer to: * Bien (newspaper) * Basic Income Earth Network * Bień, Poland {{disambiguation ...
, Đồng Nai, Phước Tuy and Long Khánh provinces. North Vietnamese regulars reïnforced the division during operations. As part of the campaign against Saigon, the division was tasked with isolating the eastern provinces by interdicting the main roads and highways, including Highways 1 and 15 and provincial routes 2 and 23. It this role it proved a major challenge to 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 Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...
, with the 275th Regiment successfully ambushing a Republic battalion near Binh Gia on 11 November 1965. The PAVN claim that the Division's 4th and 5th Regiments attacked the U.S. base at Vung Tau on 12 March 1966 "killing 300 enemy and destroying 30 helicopters." No other sources confirm such an attack. On 18 August 1966 the elements of the division participated in the
Battle of Long Tan The Battle of Long Tan (18 August 1966) took place in a rubber plantation near Long Tân, in Phước Tuy Province, South Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. The action was fought between Viet Cong (VC) and People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) units ...
against
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
forces. During the
Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...
the Division attacked on Bien Hoa and Long Binh. The attacks were a failure and total PAVN/VC losses were 567 dead and 47 captured and 11 U.S. killed. Following the Tet Offensive the 174th Regiment was assigned to reinforce the division. By 1971 the division was operating in Cambodia and PAVN command formed the corps-sized Group 301, comprising the 5th Division, the 7th Division, and 9th Division as well as the 28th Artillery Regiment and the 12th Anti-aircraft Machine Gun Battalion. The division fought in the
Battle of Snuol The Battle of Snuol, fought over the border inside Snuol a Cambodian district, was a major battle of the Vietnam War, conducted by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) as part of ''Operation Toàn Thắng TT02''. The battle lasted from 5 J ...
in late May 1971. During the
Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive ('' vi, Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972'') by North Vietnam, or the red fiery summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted b ...
the division fought the
Battle of Loc Ninh The Battle of Lộc Ninh was a major battle fought during the Easter Offensive during the Vietnam War, which took place in Bình Long Province, South Vietnam between 4 and 7 April 1972. Towards the end of 1971, North Vietnamese leaders decided ...
from 4-7 April 1972, capturing the town but suffering heavy casualties from U.S. airstrikes. The division then joined other PAVN forces fighting in the
Battle of An Lộc The Battle of An Lộc was a major battle of the Vietnam War that lasted for 66 days and culminated in a tactical victory for South Vietnam. The struggle for An Lộc in 1972 was an important battle of the war, as South Vietnamese forces halted ...
. From 27 March to 2 May 1974 the division's base area in Svay Rieng Province south of the Elephant's Foot () was attacked by the ARVN 25th Division and 7th Ranger Group in the Battle of Svay Rieng. The ARVN claimed PAVN losses of over 1,200 killed and 65 captured and the division's base area severely damaged, while ARVN losses were less than 100 killed. In early 1975 in preparation for the
1975 Spring Offensive The 1975 spring offensive ( vi, chiến dịch mùa Xuân 1975), officially known as the general offensive and uprising of spring 1975 ( vi, Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy mùa Xuân 1975) was the final North Vietnamese campaign in the Vie ...
the PAVN command formed the 232nd Group comprising the division and the 3rd Division. In early April the division attacked ARVN outposts at Thủ Thừa and
Bến Lức Bến Lức is a township () of Bến Lức District, Long An Province, Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of m ...
but were repulsed. In late April the division cut Route 4 near Bến Lức blocking the movement of ARVN units from the southwest towards Saigon. On 30 April the division advanced up Route 4 and attacked
Tân An Tân An is the capital city of Long An Province in Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. It was upgraded from town status to city status on 26 August 2009. The population of Tân An is 165,214 as of 2009, with an area of 81.79 km2. It comprises n ...
and Thủ Thừa forcing the surrender of the ARVN 22nd Division and 6th Ranger Group. Presently, the 5th Division is under the 7th Military Region.


Notable members

*Nguyen Hoa - First commanding officer. *Le Xuan Luu - First political commissar


References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Military units and formations of the Viet Cong Military units and formations established in 1965 Divisions of the People's Army of Vietnam