Army of the Republic of Vietnam, 1955-75

Osprey Men at Arms #458

by Gordon L. Rottman, Ramiro Bujeiro (Illustrator)

Evolved from the colonial units created by the French, this book discusses the original reorganization of these forces into the first national army. Complete with a detailed history of the command structure and orders of battle, the author also sheds light on the little known divisional histories of the army through rare, original source material. Moreover, the author examines in detail the evolution of such key units as armoured forces, ranger commands as well as combat unit organisation. This together with a detailed analysis of the experiences of the typical rank and file soldier as well as officer corps provides a concise and detailed history of an army that is too often neglected or quickly judged.

Genres: Military History

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 22, 2010

About the author

Gordon L Rottman served for 26 years in the US Army in Special Forces, airborne infantry, long-range reconnaissance patrol, and military intelligence assignments in the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He has worked as a Special Operations Forces scenario writer for 14 years at the Army' s Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk , Louisiana where he developed training exercises for Special Forces.
Gordon began writing military history books in 1984 and is currently a full-time author. He has written 50 books for Osprey.He is married with four children and lives in Cypress, Texas.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unfortunately, there are not too many books on the ARVN (at least in English) so I try to read as many as I come across. This title in particular is overall a good introduction to the ARVN, covering it's history, unit structures, weaponry, and the lives of it's soldiers.

Rottman makes a good point at the end of the book "If provided with effective leaders and adequate fire support, ARVN soldiers were as good as any in Asia. They were generally well equipped, and were particularly effective when US artillery and air support was available." Speaking to close relatives who were veterans of the war, they agreed with this assessment. One was particularly impressed with the ARVN Rangers he came across, noting that they were well trained and motivated.

[Filipe Amaral · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book on the ARVN I bought, it is so good that I bought the books 'Angels in Red Hats', 'Vietnam Airborne' and 'Vietnam Marines 1965-1973' to learn more about these brave little soldiers. As usual, Americans blame all their failures in Vietnam on their allies - which had few opportunities to defend themselves from these charges. The author, on the other hand, is more even-handed.

This is the book for the uninitiated reader who does not know the ARVN. As always, Gordon L. Rottman writes for all types of readers and is always very clear in his narrative. I loved the book and I instantly became a fan of the armed forces of South Vietnam.

The plates are good as Osprey's plates always are, and the pictures are marvellous and rare. There are boxes with the Vietnamese terms translated to English, and one of those boxes has the Vietnamese phonetic alphabet. Rottman also compares the capabilities of US and ARVN units, showing their numbers and equipments; which highlights how the ARVN units had less organic firepower than their American counterparts. A very good book. The author should make a Warrior title about the ARVN, just like he did about the NVA.

As the author states, in page 42:
"If provided with effective leaders and adequate fire support, ARVN soldiers were as good as any in Asia. They were generally well equiped, and were particularly effective when US artillery and air support was available. The ARVN soldier demonstrated his qualities well during the costly 1968 Tet Counter-Offensive, and the defeat of the 1972 NVA Easter Offensive in the northern provinces; sadly, he was all too often failed by his higher command and by the politicians he fought for."