The Vietnamese Rangers (), commonly known as the ARVN Rangers or Vietnamese Ranger Corps (VNRC), were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Trained and assisted by American Special Forces and Ranger advisers, the Vietnamese Rangers infiltrated beyond enemy lines in search and destroy missions. Initially trained as a counter-insurgency light infantry force by removing the fourth company each of the existing infantry battalions, they later expanded into a force capable of conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations, and were relied on to retake captured regions. Later during Vietnamization the Civilian Irregular Defense Group program was transferred from MACV and integrated as Border Battalions responsible for manning remote outposts in the Central Highlands.
Rangers were often regarded as among the most effective units in the war. Part of this was due to the specialized role of these units, given that they had their origins in French-raised Commando Units, the GCMA which were drawn primarily from the Pro-French colonial Vietnamese National Army and Tai-Kadai groups, operating in interdiction and counter-intelligence roles, and were trained specifically for counter-insurgency and rough-terrain warfare in the region. Ranger Units often had a US Military Adviser attached to them but operated independently. With improvements in the ARVN from 1969 onward and the growing prestige of the Airborne and Marine Division, depredation had caused the Central Highlands-based Rangers to become manned by deserters, released convicts and Montagnards nevertheless the unit continued to operate in the Easter Offensive and frontier skirmishes in 1973 and 1974.
History
The French established a commando school in the coastal city of Nha Trang in 1951. After the American Military Assistance Advisory Group took over the military advisory role, the school was converted to a Ranger school in 1956. In 1960, when the Vietnam War began in earnest, the Vietnamese Rangers were formed.Valentine, McDonald American Ranger Adviser history Rangers (Biet Dong Quan [BDQ]) initially organized into separate companies with U.S. Army Rangers were assigned as advisers, initially as members of the Mobile Training Teams (MTTs), at Ranger Training Centers (RTC), and later at the unit level as members of the Military Advisory Command Vietnam (MACV). A small number of Vietnamese Ranger officers were selected to attend the U.S. Army Ranger School at Ft. Benning.
In 1962, BDQ companies were initially formed into counter-insurgency Special Battalions but by 1963 Ranger units were organized into battalions and their mission evolved from counter-insurgency to light infantry operations.
1964 On 4 January a VC battalion massed near My Tinh An hamlet near the border with Định Tường province. The VC were soon surrounded by a Ranger company, two Civil Guard companies, and local militia Self-Defense Corps elements. On the morning of the 5th the ARVN 8th Airborne Battalion supported by M113 armored personnel carriers attacked, but became bogged down. The Airborne withdrew and artillery and airstrikes hit the VC, with one airstrike accidentally hitting ARVN forces. By the morning of the 6th the VC had withdrawn leaving only one body, but radio intercepts and local villagers reported that the VC had evacuated about 100 corpses. The next day a shallow grave containing 41 VC dead was found. The ARVN lost ten killed and thirty-six wounded, with an M113 and seven aircraft damaged.
On 14 March an airborne battalion and two ranger companies attempted to envelop two VC battalions near the Cai Cai canal. The operation killed 14 VC and captured 70.
On 22 March the VC 502nd Battalion attacked a small post at My Hoi in Kien Van District. Two battalions of the 10th Infantry, the 19th Civil Guard Battalion, a ranger battalion, a mechanized company, and two additional companies of Civil Guard surrounded the VC. In an attack poorly executed by hesitant ARVN forces, the VC held out and then exfiltrated after dark. ARVN losses were three killed and 11 wounded. Advisers counted 13 VC dead, but the South Vietnamese claimed they had killed 126. The Americans verified that the ARVN captured two machine guns, four automatic rifles, and 14 other firearms.
On 22 April a VC battalion attacked two newly activated Ranger companies conducted a training exercise near Trung Lap killing 12 ARVN and wounding ten and killing one U.S. adviser and wounding three.
On 14 May the VC ambushed a 200-man 37th Ranger Battalion force moving to relieve the strategic hamlet of Bau Ca Tre north of Saigon, 50 Rangers were killed, 31 wounded and 16 missing and two machine guns and 69 individual weapons were lost. On the same day the VC attacked three outposts, a strategic hamlet, and the district town of Tan Uyen about 35 km north of Saigon in Binh Duong province. The province chief sent 200 Rangers and two U.S. advisers to help. A VC battalion ambushed the force as it crossed an open field. The ARVN lost 53 dead, 45 wounded, and 16 missing.
From 2 to 5 June the allies launched an action along a 32 km stretch of the Vaico Oriental River west of Phuoc Ninh in Tay Ninh Province. Assisted by 20 U.S. advisers and 36 helicopters, 26 of them gunships, 500 Rangers and special forces soldiers conducted a scorched-earth operation. 25 VC were killed and 1,000 civilians were relocated, following which the area was declared a free-fire zone.
On 7 June at 03:30 a VC battalion supported by recoilless rifles and mortars penetrated Duc Hoa, a district town 27 km west of Saigon. A fierce, house-to-house fight ensued between the 600 attackers and 140 Rangers and Civil Guards. The VC broke contact at 06:30, leaving 19 dead. The defenders lost 15 dead and 36 wounded.
On 26 June the ARVN 14th Infantry encircled the VC Cuu Long I Battalion near Ap Long Hoi, 14 km south of the provincial capital of Trà Vinh. After an infantry battalion had taken up a position to the south and two companies of Civil Guard had deployed to the west, the 43rd Ranger Battalion was landed by helicopters north of the target area. The rangers then advanced southward, split on either side of a canal and engaged the entrenched VC. U.S. Army helicopter gunships and RVNAF fighter-bombers continuously hammered the VC, with the VC shooting down one of each. After four hours the VC disengaged leaving 51 dead, one mortar and 34 weapons. ARVN losses were 20 killed and 19 wounded.
On 10 July the ARVN 5th and 7th Divisions launched an operation to clear two VC battalions from the heavily forested border of Hau Nghia and Long An Provinces. The 5th Division thrust southward from Duc Hoa along the Vàm Cỏ Đông River, while the 7th Division drove north from Bến Lức. The object was to trap and destroy the VC between them. Late in the day, the two VC battalions pinned the 30th Ranger Battalion against the banks of the Varic Oriental River. The rangers received air support throughout the night and at 06:30 on 11 July, 24 US Army helicopters delivered an infantry battalion, but the VC already had withdrawn. ARVN losses were nine killed and 27 wounded, US losses were two killed and three wounded. The allies killed 68 VC and captured 73 suspects.
On 13 July the VC ambushed a Ranger convoy on Highway 13 in Bình Long Province north of Saigon as they moved to support another ranger unit. Sixteen rangers and three U.S. advisers were killed and 19 rangers were missing.
On 22 July the VC attacked An Nhon Tay post in Hậu Nghĩa province. About 3 km northeast of Trung Lap, the VC ambushed the relief force consisting of the 30th Ranger Battalion, two companies from the 44th Rangers, and two troops of M113s. The fight lasted all day, at 20:00, a final assault recovered the damaged M113s, but the allies were not able to capture the VC trenches. The VC disappeared during the night. The ARVN lost 16 dead, 32 wounded, and five missing, along with three light machine guns, two automatic rifles, and 15 individual weapons. The allies captured a recoilless rifle and estimated they had killed up to 80 VC.
On 10 August, after intelligence reported that a VC company was located 15 km west of Mỹ Tho, the ARVN deployed four battalions (one airborne, one infantry, and two ranger) and an M113 troop. All units made contact, and an airstrike helped to kill 42 VC. The VC evacuated an estimated 70 more casualties. ARVN losses were 16 dead and 41 wounded.
On 15 August the VC attacked the adjacent outposts of Hòa Mỹ and Hiệp Hưng in Phụng Hiệp district to lure relief forces into an ambush. The allies anticipated the plan and bombed the ambush site throughout the day. On the night of the 16th, the VC charged a ranger battalion, breaking off when hit by howitzers at Phung Hiep. The VC then resumed their assaults on the two outposts, but both held with the help of air support. The allies found ten bodies after the VC withdrew on 17 July, but the ARVN estimated they had killed nearly 300. ARVN losses were 36 dead and 76 wounded.
On 20 August the VC overran Phu Tuc post in Kiến Hòa Province killing seven, wounding 15, and capturing the rest of the post's 36-man garrison and burning the post. An ARVN reaction force comprising 360 soldiers from the 41st Ranger Battalion and the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry arrived too late. As they withdrew, the VC 514th Battalion attacked the column repeatedly for an hour. ARVN losses were 85 killed, 60 wounded, 91 missing and 122 weapons lost. All four American advisers were killed. Westmoreland was dismayed because no local South Vietnamese had informed the ARVN that the VC were setting up the ambush.
On 26 September the 43rd Ranger Battalion chased a VC force into a fortified pagoda 5 km southeast of Cầu Kè, Vinh Binh Province. Two companies were pinned down in flooded paddies and then the remainder of the battalion was also pinned down. Air support was called in and the USAF made ten sorties, losing one A–1E Skyraider. The VC disengaged at midnight. ARVN losses were nine dead and 27 wounded. One US advisor was killed. VC losses were 20 killed and seven weapons captured, with the VC reportedly carrying off 40 more casualties.
On 3 October the ARVN 2nd Battalion, 33rd Infantry launched Operation Dan Chi in An Xuyên province. As the troops riding M113s advanced on the hamlet of Tan Duc they flushed a VC company out into the open. Twelve US helicopters landed 56 rangers to engage an estimated 150 VC. The VC fought the rangers, who were supported US Army gunships, until nightfall when the VC withdrew. The allies found 46 VC dead and took 37 prisoners and captured 24 weapons. The rangers suffered two wounded. The operation continued for another two days, generating little contact.
On 5 October the 23rd Ranger Battalion and other units engaged a VC battalion near Tuy Hoa. ARVN losses were one killed and three wounded. VC losses were 42 killed, three captured and 11 weapons captured.
On 6 October over 800 VC in two battalions and a local force company attacked Luong Hoa, 24 km southwest of Saigon at night. The ARVN responded by sending the 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, and the 30th Ranger Battalion. They chose to approach the hamlet using the most obvious, and therefore the most likely ambushed, route. The 1/46th walked into an L-shaped ambush and the rangers broke and left the field. The VC attacked the 1/46th four times before starting to withdraw at 11:00 pursued by helicopter gunships and A-1s. ARVN losses were 31 dead, 53 wounded and 15 missing. US losses were five killed in a downed helicopter, and one wounded. The VC left 26 bodies and MACV estimated the allies had inflicted another 100 casualties.
On 12 October two ranger companies engaged a VC company in Tuy Phước district killing ten VC, including the district leader, capturing 40 VC and five weapons.