Related Pages:
Early Days -
Development of
the Viet Minh Military Machine
On the Rolls
-
Viet Minh Order
of Battle, Northern Vietnam 1952-1954
|
The following is a set of
notes with a bit of formatting
rather
than anything polished and will be updated as more accurate and
complete
information is found. As you can see there are a lot of question marks.
Infantry division organisation
The chart above shows the general organisation of a Viet Minh infantry
division from the summer 1950 reorganisation in China. For lack of
anything
better, the NATO mapping symbol has been used for Trinh Sat
intelligence
and reconnaisance units. Apparently, only Divisions 304 and 320 had an
organic artillery battalion.
Division 304
| Established : |
4 January 1950 in Thanh Hoa province |
| Name(s) : |
"Nam Dinh" |
| Commander : |
Hoang Minh Tao (February 1950 - November 1953)
Hoang Van Sam (November 1953 - late 1955) |
| Deputy Commander : |
Lam Kinh (oct 1954) |
| Political Officer : |
Tran Van Quang (February 1950 - 1951)
Le Chuong (1951 - late 1955) |
| Deputy Political Officer : |
Truong Cong Can (oct 1954) |
| Base area : |
Tuyen Quang area, Red River Delta |
| Infantry Regiments : |
Infantry Regiment 9 (Commander : ?, Political Officer
: Le Hap)
Infantry Battalion 353
Infantry Battalion 375
Infantry Battalion 400
Signals Company 164
Infantry Regiment 57 (Commander : Mai Hien, Political Officer : Nguyen
Kha)
Infantry Battalion 265
Infantry Battalion 346
Infantry Battalion 418
Signals Company 162
Infantry Regiment 66 "Ky Con" (Commander : Minh Van, Political Officer
: Son Hung)
Infantry Battalion 766
"Nguyen
Hue"
Infantry Battalion 782 "Le Loi"
Infantry Battalion 798 "Go To"
Signals Company 166
|
| Organic units : |
Political-military
school (Commander : Nguyen Son Nham, former chief-of-staff of Regiment
66)
Signals Company 161
Intelligence Company 20 (Commander : Nguyen Ha)
Headquarters Security Company 77 (Commander : Le Hy)
Artillery Battalion 840 (Commander : Dao Lan)
75mm recoilless rifles,
120mm mortars
AA Battalion 533 (Commander : Manh Tai, Political Officer : Nguyen Can)
AA Company 63
AA Company 95
AA Company 99
18 x 12.7mm Russian MGs in total
Engineer Battalion (Commander : Le Si Uyen)
Training Battalion 505 (Commander : Nguyen Bao) |
Division 308
| Established : |
August 1949 as Regimental Group 308,
reorganised in China
July-August 1950 |
| Name(s) : |
"Viet Bac", "Capital" |
| Commander : |
Vuong Tua Vu (August 1949 - ) |
| Political Officer : |
Song Hao (August 1949 - ) |
| Base area : |
Thai Nguyen area,Viet Bac |
| Recruitment Area : |
Vinh, Phuc Yen, Hanoi |
|
|
|
| Organic units : |
as Regimental Group 308 :
Infantry Regiment 92
Infantry Regiment 102 "Ba Vi"
Infantry Regiment 308
one Artillery Battalion |
|
from mid-1950 :
Infantry Regiment 36 (Infantry Battalions 80, 84, 89)
Infantry Regiment 88 "Tam Dao" (Infantry Battalions 23, 29, 322)
Infantry Regiment 102 "Ba Vi" (Infantry Battalions 18, 54, 79)
one Artillery Battalion |
| Notes : |
First of the Viet Minh divisions, this
unit was considered
as an elite force throughout the period. |
Division 312
| Established : |
27 October 1950 |
| Name(s) : |
"Ben Tre", "Chien Tang" (Victorious) |
| Commander : |
Le Trung Tan (October 1950 - 1953)
Hoang Cam (1953 - ) |
| Political Officer : |
Tran Do (before 1954) |
| Base area : |
Thai Nguyen area,Viet Bac |
| Organic units : |
Infantry Regiment 141 "Hongai" (Infantry Battalions
11, 16, 428)
Infantry Regiment 165 "Dong Trieu" (Infantry Battalions 115, 542, 564)
Infantry Regiment 209 (Infantry Battalions 130, 154, 166)
Artillery Battalion 154 |
Division 316
| Established : |
1 May 1951 |
| Name(s) : |
"Bien Hoa", "Highlands" |
| Commander : |
Le Quang Ba (1953 - 1958) |
| Political Officer : |
Chu Huy Man (Deputy Political Officer, May 1951 -
after 1953) |
| Base area : |
Thai Nguyen area,Viet Bac |
| Organic units : |
Infantry Regiment 98 (Infantry Battalions 215, 439,
933)
Infantry Regiment 174 (Infantry Battalions 249, 249, 251)
Infantry Regiment 176 (Infantry Battalions 888, 970, 999)
Artillery Battalion 980 (Heavy Weapons Company 812 ?) |
| Notes : |
Nearly half of the initial recruitment was from
Thô highlanders. |
| Campaigns : |
Mao Khe
Thai Highlands (October 1952) |
Division 320
| Established : |
16 January 1951 |
| Name(s) : |
"Dong Bang" (Delta or Plains) |
| Commander : |
Van Tien Dung (1951 - 1952)
Le Trung Tan (1953 - 1955) |
| Base area : |
Nam Dinh, Delta region (south of the Red River) |
| Organic units : |
Infantry Regiment 48
Infantry Regiment 52
Infantry Regiment 64 (or 164)
one Artillery Battalion |
Division 325
| Established : |
11 March 1951 |
| Commander : |
Tran Quy Ha
Nguyen Don (c.1955) |
| Base area : |
Thua Thien, northern Annam |
| Organic units : |
Infantry Regiment 18
Infantry Regiment 95 [Infantry Battalions 310, 302 (?) & 227 (?)]
Infantry Regiment 101
Artillery Battalion 888 (?) |
| Notes : |
This was the only division to be activated outside of
Tonkin. Seems
to have been more of an administrative than an operational grouping
until
the final years of the war. See Lien Khu IV independent
regiments. |
Heavy Division 351
| Established : |
1953 (?) |
| Commander : |
Gal Hu Vien |
| Base area : |
Viet Bac |
| Organic units : |
Engineer Regiment 151
Artillery Regiment 45
Artillery Regiment 675
Heavy Weapons Regiment 237
AA Artillery Regiment 367
Artillery Regiment 34 (possibly) |
| Notes : |
This unit traces its lineage to the Capital Artillery
Group, created
26 June 1946 with 40 French and Japanese artillery pieces, mostly 25mm
and 75mm guns.
The 105mm howitzers were US HM2 models captured from
the French or provided
by the Chinese. 75mm guns were either Japanese (12) or US pack guns
(6).120mm
mortars were both French Mle 1949 and Soviet models which are basically
similar.
Some sources state that Artillery Regiment 34 (15 x
75mm guns, 20 x
120mm mortars) was also part of this division at Dien Bien Phu, as was
another Artillery Regiment organised and armed as AR 45.
|
Independent Regiments and Battalions
Note : this should not be regarded as a full order of battle on a given
date. Obviously, since regular units were not tied to a territorial
base,
the area of operations mentioned is where they usually operated though
they could be found elsewhere. Also, it should be noted that there is a
large amount of confusion as to whether a particular regiment was a
regional
unit or a chu luc unit attached to a Lien Khu on a
long-term
basis. Where sources disagree, it is indicated in the comments.
Tonkin and Northern Laos
| Lien Khu III : Delta Area |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment 42 |
Hun Yen |
|
| Regiment 46 |
Thai Binh |
|
| Regiment 50 |
Vinh Bao |
|
|
|
|
| Lien Khu I : Viet Bac Area |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment 35 |
Viet Bac |
selection and training of recruits, acted as depots
for the regular
units |
| Regiment 238 |
|
security unit for the Viet Bac |
| Regiment 246 |
|
security unit for the Viet Bac, includes AA unit(s) |
|
|
|
| Lien Khu X : Highlands /
Northern Laos Area |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment 138 |
Northern Laos |
|
| Regiment 148 |
Highlands |
Infantry Battalions 910, 920, 930, Heavy
Weapons Company
656 |
| Battalion 105 |
Dien Bien Phu area |
|
Annam and Central Laos
| Lien Khu IV :
Northern Annam
and Central Laos Zone |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment 18 |
Central Laos and Northern Annam |
Part of Division 325 |
| Regiment 95 |
Northern Annam (north of Hue) |
Infantry Battalions 310, 302 (?) & 227 (?). Part
of Division
325 |
| Regiment 101 |
Central Laos and Northern Annam |
Part of Division 325 |
|
|
|
| Lien Khu V : Central Annam and
Central Highlands
Zone |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment 108 |
Central Annam |
|
| Regiment 803 |
Central Annam |
Infantry Battalions 19, 39, 59 |
| Regiment 84 |
Southern Central Highlands |
Regional Regiment according to some sources |
| Regiment 120 |
Northern Central Highlands |
Regional Regiment according to some sources |
| Battalion 30 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Lien Khu V : Southern Annam |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment 812 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Battalion 29 |
Bong Son area |
Security unit (?) |
| Battalion 108 |
Bong Son area |
Security unit (?) |
Cochinchina and Cambodia
| Lien Khu Nam Bo : Eastern Zone
(Mekong / Annam) |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment Dong Nai |
|
Heavy Weapons Battalion 301, Infantry Battalions 302,
303 & 304,
HQ & Services Battalion 305 |
| Regiment Dong Thap Muoi |
Plain of Reeds |
Infantry Battalions 307, 309 & 311 |
| Battalion 300 |
Phu My area |
some sources make this a Regiment |
| Battalion 950 |
Saigon area |
some sources make this a Regiment |
|
|
|
| Lien Khu Nam Bo : Western Zone
(North of Camau) |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Regiment Cui Long |
Tra Vinh area |
Infantry Battalions 308, 310 & 312 |
| Regiment Tay Do |
Transbassac area |
Infantry Battalions 402, 404 & 406 |
| Regiment 812 |
South Annam |
|
|
|
|
| Eastern Cambodia |
| Unit |
Area of operations |
Comments |
| Bo Doi Pokumbo |
|
|
| Bo Doi 619 |
|
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