The Cộng Hòa Barracks ("Republic barracks",

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

: ) were the barracks of the Presidential Guard of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. It was located in the centre of

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, near the

Gia Long Palace Museum of Ho Chi Minh City (), formerly known as Gia Long Palace (), is a historical site and museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The museum is situated at the corner of Lý Tự Trọng and Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa streets, located on a 2-hectare ...

and the

Independence Palace The Independence Palace (), also publicly and officially known as the Reunification Convention Hall or simply Reunification Hall (), is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Vi� ...

.Misalliance Edward Miller - 2013 -"... mayor who had spoken to Nhu earlier by phone, as well as a small detail of officers from Nhu's Republican Youth movement. ... By midnight, the coup forces had seized the Cong Hoa barracks and were preparing for an all-out assault on the ... The barracks were originally built by the French in the 1870-3 as the Caserne de l'Infanterie on the site of the former Phoenix Citadel (Thành Phượng) built by the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

Emperor

Minh Mang {{Orphan, date=December 2021 Minh ( Chữ Nôm: 明) is a popular unisex given name of Vietnamese origin, written using the Chinese character (明) meaning "bright", and is also popular among other East Asian names. The Chinese name Ming has the ...

. Following the

Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina The Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina, known as , was a Empire of Japan, Japanese operation that took place on 9 March 1945, towards the end of World War II. With Japanese forces losing the war and the threat of an Allies of World War I ...

in March 1945 the Caserne was used to imprison French soldiers and officials. In 1956 President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of V ...

renamed the Caserne as the Cộng Hòa barracks and used them as the headquarters and barracks of the Presidential Guard. During the

1963 South Vietnamese coup Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

rebel forces from the ARVN 5th Division commanded by Colonel

Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnam, South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the Leaders of South Vietnam, president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Repub ...

attacked both the barracks and the Gia Long Palace. At the barracks 5th Division armored and artillery units faced off with the Guard forces armed with tanks, artillery, mortars and machine guns. Rebel artillery soon reduced the barracks to rubble while Guards forces fired back causing damage to the surrounding area. The barracks were largely destroyed in the 1963 coup and now the only part of the barracks that remains are the two gatehouses at 2a Le Duan Boulevard on opposite sides of Dinh Tien Hoang ( and ).

References

Installations of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam {{vietnam-struct-stub