VNMC - 1954-1965 - Early Developments
When the French departed Indochina, they left behind the fledgling armed forces of the Vietnamese republic. Included were the riverine forces of the navy and an assortment of army commandos that had provided the troops for them. These had formed the river assault divisions (Dinassauts) that Dr. Bernard B. Fall observed as "one of a few worthwhile contributions" to military tactics of the First Indochina War (1945-1954). After the Geneva Agreement that arranged the withdrawal of France from Indochina and the partition of Vietnam into north and south pending elections, the Americans moved to help the government of South Vietnam against the communist bloc-supported People's Republic of Vietnam. The commandos were formed into two battalions and grouped at Nha Trang when the separation of Vietnam into north and south was completed.
The French ideas regarding a Vietnamese Marine Corps very clearly did not extend beyond a grouping of diverse, small, infantry units for service with river forces. The "amphibian battalion" was not intended to be duplicated or otherwise to evolve as anything but a specialized unit. The initial Navy plan envisaged in the case of the Marine Corps, a crippling cut, to 1,000, from the 2,373-man strength that existed on 31 December 1954.
Shortly after the 1954 Geneva Accords the Republic of Vietnam recognized the need for a Marine Corps, and on October 1, 1954, the NVMC was activated as a component of the Vietnamese Navy, and assigned the mission of conducting amphibious operations on the coast, rivers and canals. During this early phase, the Vietnamese Marine Corps consisted of 1,137 Vietnamese. and one U. S. Marine Corps advisor, who constituted the personnel strength for a landing baualion, river patrol company, river group, ranger group and field support group.
The mixed commando units were designated as the Marine Infantry of the Vietnamese Navy. A headquarters for the Marine Corps was established on 1 May 1955. This made it possible to focus the U.S.-inspired effort to bring together the varied units of the Marine Corps into a two-battalion force with the ultimate view of progressing on to a regiment. By early 1955, the Vietnamese Marine Corps expanded from an initial strength of 1,200 to 1,800 members and consisted of two infantry battalions and a headquarter and service company. Its organization resembled the USMC in weapons and structure. The initial consolidation of Corps units into two battalions, the later formation of a three-battalion regiment, and the eventual evolution of the brigade structure all owed their realization to the U.S. advisory effort.
In April 1956, it became known as the Vietnamese Marine Corps of the Navy, consisting of a Marine Group of two landing battalions. By 1959, the VNMC had added a headquarters group, a 3rd Infantry Battalion and a 4.2-inch Mortar Company. By 1960 and 1961 a medical company, a 75mm Howitzer Battery and another infantry battalion were formed.
By 1960, the date on Vietnam's Campaign Medal, a state of armed conflict existed between the two Vietnams and their allies in the Second Indochina War (1960-1975). This was a civil war that had international connotations between several world powers and their clients. It was a confrontation that displayed a full spectrum of violence, from individual terrorist acts and guerrilla fighting to conventional land combat, with extensive sea and air components. Enemy forces ranged from National Liberation Front guerrillas in South Vietnam, of varying quality and quantity, to the regulars of the People's Army of Vietnam, who infiltrated into South Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. They also defended North Vietnam with conventional forces.
In 1961, the Vietnamese Marines became part of the Republic of South Vietnam's armed forces general reserve. Expansion resulted from successful employment against dissidents and bandits, which led to the formation of a 5,000-man Marine brigade in 1962. Vietnamese Marine Corps influence increased in part with the role it played in complex national politics that saw marines involved in coups in 1960, 1963, and 1964. This continual balancing of power was reflected in assignment of forces, commanders, and the direction of the war.
The formation of its own training and replacement centers allowed the Vietnamese Marines to keep up to strength without relying on the army for manpower. Both officers and men attended schools in the United States at Quantico, Virginia, where a generation of Vietnamese and Americans met and served together. One Vietnamese Marine commandant, General Le Nguyen Khang, observed that his men were proud "to be associated in spirit and deed with the select group of professional military men of many nations who call themselves Marines."
Of the total of 565,350 South Vietnamese in the armed forces in 1965, more than 6,500 were Marines. In 1965, the Vietnamese Marine Brigade was organized into a corps headquarters, two task force headquarters ("A" and "B"), five infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and supporting units of engineers, motor transport, military police, medical, and reconnaissance. Headquarters were located in Saigon, with outlying facilities at Song Than, Thu Duc, and Vung Tau. A colonel, who was dual-hatted as a service and the brigade combmander, led it. Continuing its expansions the VNMC had added an amphibious support battalion and a 105mm Howitzer Battery. It has grown now to six infantry battalions, an artillery battalion, and an amphibious support battalion.
The inherent mission of the Vietnamese Marine brigade is: "to conduct amphibious operations, and to assist the counterinsurgent effort." However, along with the airborne division, and because of the tactical situation, the VietnameseMarine brigade forms the general reserve force of the Republic of Vietnamese, and as such, is employed throughout the IV Corps areas, and accordingly involved in any movement that may be by air, land or sea on a short notice.
By 1965, Vietnamese Marines were separated from the Vietnamese Navy and answerable to the high command of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces. Present was a 28-man advisory unit from the U.S. Marine Corps. American field advisors were down to the battalion level.
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