The Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV; Vietnamese: Quân Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam; Chữ Hán: 軍解放沔南越南), also recognized as the Liberation Army (Quân Giải phóng - QGP or Giải phóng quân), was an irregular and regular military force established as the nominal armed wing of the Viet Cong (VC) by the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1961 in South Vietnam[1] and largely operated as a proxy of the existing People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). In 1962, the People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam separated from the Communist Party of Vietnam in terms of external appearance, openly directing the Liberation Army's military. Politically, the LASV was under the direction of the VC and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. The military forces although collectively known as the Liberation Army of South Vietnam, still use the unit names, military badges and war flag of the PAVN.
After the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the forces of the LASV were merged into the PAVN one by one. This merger was completed in 1975 and 1976. Although the LASV and the PAVN were nominally two different armies, they shared the same leadership and could completely merge, split, and supplement forces according to their needs. After 1975, the Communist Party of Vietnam acknowledged leading both LASV and the PAVN during the war. The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam also received the secret direction of the Communist Party of Vietnam.[2]
The LASV was under the open direction of the High Command of the Armed Forces for the Liberation of South Vietnam, and secretly under the direction of the Politburo of Communist Party of Vietnam and the Central Military Commission of the PAVN, Central Department for South Vietnam, the High Command of the Armed Forces for the Liberation of South Vietnam. The Central Department for South Vietnam and the High Command of the Armed Forces for the Liberation of South Vietnam directed in the area B2 (Ninh Thuan to Ca Mau).[3]
According to 1954 Geneva agreements, the Viet Minh were not compulsorily removed to the North because it was a political entity, not a military force. Hanoi support for the Viet Minh to establish the NLF forces was allowed on the basis that it remained a militia in the South. The LASV was recognized as the official force on February 15, 1961 by North Vietnam. The LASV originally carried out operations ostensibly to protect South Vietnamese citizens from offensives by the Republic of Vietnam and the United States.[4] Most early soldiers in the LASV were South Vietnamese. However, casualties of war forced North Vietnam to provide volunteers for the LASV. The DRV and other Marxist-Leninist nations recognised the LASV as the primary militarily force in South Vietnam and considered the PAVN to be its parent organization.[5]
Command mechanism:
Public:
The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government led politically
The People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam and the Regional Command command military affairs throughout the South
Secret:
The Politburo and Central Military Commission of the Labor Party of Vietnam, the General Command of the Vietnam People's Army direct the entire South, directly on the battlefields B1, B3, B4, B5.
The Central Department of the South, the Military Commission of the South, the Command of the Region on the battlefield B2, under the general direction of the Labor Party of Vietnam
The Politburo, the Secretariat of the Labor Party and directly the Central Department of the South of the Labor Party secretly directed the National Front for Liberation and the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
After the reunification of Vietnam in 1975, the Liberation Army of South Vietnam was merged into the People's Army of Vietnam in 1976. In fact, all the Viet Cong army forces had been incorporated into the North Vietnamese army since early 1975.
In January 1961, the militia in South Vietnam became the official force there. On February 15, 1961, North Vietnam recognized it as the main battle force in South Vietnam. At the end of 1961, there were 24,500 soldiers and 100,000 militants in the LASV. The LASV had 11 battalions, with commanding generals Trần Văn Trà, Hoàng Văn Thái, Lê Trọng Tấn, Lê Đức Anh, Nguyễn Thị Định, and others.
The LASV initially confined its operations to rural areas due to Ngô Đình Diệm's tough crackdown on Communist sympathizers. However, the number of soldiers still went up to 64,000 in 1963. As the result, regiments were established. From 1964, North Vietnam started providing soldiers for the LASV through volunteers. The number of the LASV soldiers reached over 290,000 in December 1974, including 90,000 from the South.[6]
The South Vietnamese and United States forces outnumbered the PAVN by at least 7 to 1 until 1965; even after 1965 the coalition forces still outnumbered the PAVN by 3 to 1.
The LASV also included urban fighting forces, especially in Saigon. These forces had mission of carrying out cover attacks against South Vietnam and American forces and its allies in urban areas, especially in Saigon. The urban special force in Saigon is famous in the 1968 Tet offensive.
The Viet Minh established the NLF in order to help reunified Vietnam. PAVN forces that went to the South were sent with the express mission to aid the NLF. The NLF army had different uniforms, flags and badges to those of the PAVN.
There are few traits to distinguish between LASV and PAVN forces. Over half of LASV and PAVN soldiers were members of the Communist Party of Vietnam. However, LASV and PAVN forces used different flags. PAVN troops carried the North Vietnamese flag, while LASV troops carried the Viet Cong flag.[9]
If a LASV unit has the same name with a PAVN unit, the LASV name will have the letter "B" added after the unit number.[5]