South VietnamCountry in Southeast Asia (1955–1975)Today part ofVietnamThe Republic of Vietnam (RVN; Vietnamese: Việt Nam Cộng hòa, VNCH), commonly known as South Vietnam, was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered recognition in 1949 as the associated State of Vietnam within the French Union, with its capital at Saigon. Since 1950, it was a member of the Western Bloc during the Cold War.
Ho Chi Minh trailThe Ho Chi Minh Trail (Vietnamese: Đường mòn Hồ Chí Minh), also called Annamite Range Trail (Vietnamese: Đường Trường Sơn) was a logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia. The system provided support, in the form of manpower and materiel, to the Viet Cong (or "VC") and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), during the Vietnam War.
Battle of Phước LongBelligerentsNorth VietnamSouth VietnamCommanders and leadersHoàng CầmDư Quốc ĐốngUnits involved4th Corps7th Infantry Division165th Regiment141st Regiment209th Regiment9th Infantry Division1st Regiment2nd RegimentB2 Front Command 201st Regiment271st Regiment429th Commando Regt16th Infantry RegtSupported by25th Engineer Group210th Logistical Group235th Logistical GroupIII Corps5th Infantry Division1/7th Battalion2/7th Battalion1/9th BattalionRegional Forces340th Battalion341st Battalion352nd Battalion362nd Battalion363rd BattalionReinforcements:ARVN Special Forces81st Airborne Ranger GroupSupported byRepublic of Vietnam Air Force3rd Air Division (Biên Hòa Air Base)Strength 14,500In Phước Long: 5,400Surrounding areas: 2,400Total: 7,800 soldiersCasualties and lossesU.S. estimate: 2,000–2,300 killed or woundedVietnamese figure: ~500 killed, 1,224 wounded 1,160 killed, 2,000+ wounded2,444 capturedThe Battle of Phước Long was a decisive battle of the Vietnam War which began on 12 December 1974, and concluded on 6 January 1975.
People's Army of VietnamThe People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) is the national military force of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the armed wing of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The PAVN is the backbone component of the Vietnam People's Armed Forces and includes: Ground Force, Navy, Air Defence - Air Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard.
Vietnam War1955–1975 war in Southeast AsiaBelligerentsNorth Vietnam Viet Cong and PRGPathet LaoKhmer RougeGRUNKChinaSoviet UnionNorth KoreaSouth VietnamUnited States South KoreaAustraliaNew Zealand Laos (from 1959) Khmer RepublicThailand PhilippinesTaiwanCommanders and leadersHồ Chí Minh #Lê DuẩnVõ Nguyên GiápNguyễn Chí Thanh #Trần Văn TràMao Zedong...
Central Highlands (Vietnam)The Central Highlands (Vietnamese: Cao nguyên Trung Phần, or Cao nguyên Trung Bộ), South Central Highlands (Vietnamese: Cao nguyên Nam Trung Bộ), or Western Highlands (Vietnamese: Tây Nguyên), is a geocultural subregion located in Vietnam's South Central region. The subregion contains parts of provinces: Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, Quảng Ngãi, and Lâm Đồng, and prior to 2025 consisted of provinces Đắk Nông, Lâm Đồng, Đắk Lắk, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum.
Vietnamese languageAustroasiatic languageVietnamese (tiếng Việt) is an Austroasiatic language primarily spoken throughout Vietnam where it is the official language. It belongs to the Vietic subgroup of the Austroasiatic language family. Vietnamese is spoken natively by around 86 million people, and as a second language by 11 million people, several times as many as the rest of the Austroasiatic family combined.
HuếHuế, formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province, is a centrally-governed city in central Vietnam, located approximately at the center of the country, and an educational, medical, and cultural hub. It borders Quảng Trị to the north, Đà Nẵng to the south, Salavan and Sekong of Laos to the west and the South China Sea to the east. As one of the country's nine centrally-governed cities, it falls under the administration of the central government.
Ho Chi MinhHồ Chí Minh (born Nguyễn Sinh Cung; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho (Bác Hồ) among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese communist revolutionary and statesman who founded the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 (known as North Vietnam after 1954). He served as its first president from 1946 until his death in 1969 and as its first prime minister from 1945 to 1955.
Buôn Ma ThuộtBuôn Ma Thuột or sometimes Buôn Mê Thuột or Ban Mê Thuột (Vietnamese pronunciation: [ʔɓuon1 maː1 tʰuot̚ʔ6], ), is the capital city of Đắk Lắk Province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Its population was 434,256 in 2023. The city is the largest in the Central Highlands and is known for its coffee culture. In 1904, the French colonialists established Dak Lak province and chose Buon Ma Thuot as its capital.
Da NangCentrally-governed city of VietnamCentrally-governed city in VietnamDa Nang (Vietnamese: Đà Nẵng, pronounced, also written unspaced as Danang), is the fourth largest city in Vietnam by population and the second largest by geographical area and located in the South Central Coast and Central Highlands. As one of the country's nine centrally-governed city, it falls under the administration of the central government.
Ho Chi Minh CityHo Chi Minh City (HCMC; Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, [tʰaɲ˨˩ fow˦˥ ho˨˩ cɪj˦˥ mɨn˧˧] ), also known as Saigon (Sài Gòn, [ʂaj˨˩ ɣɔŋ˨˩]), is the most populous city and centrally-governed city of Vietnam, with a population of more than 14 million in 2025. Its geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is the Saigon River.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.