III Corps (South Vietnam)

III Corps (Vietnamese: Quân đoàn III) was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps in the ARVN, and oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capital Saigon.

III Corps
Active1959–1975
Country South Vietnam
Branch ARVN
TypeCorps
Garrison/HQSaigon
Motto(s)Chiến Thắng và Xây Dựng (Victory and Rebuilding)
EngagementsVietnam War
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Nguyễn Văn Minh
Nguyễn Văn Toàn
Du Quoc Dong
Insignia
Division flag

III Corps was activated in September 1959 and controlled the country south of Phan Thiet excluding Saigon which was controlled by the Capital Military District.[1] In 1962, President Ngô Đình Diệm decided to split the Corps into two, the former III Corps area being reduced in size to cover the area northeast of Saigon and the newly created IV Corps taking over the west and southwest.[2]

The Fifth Division based in Bien Hoa on the northern outskirts of Saigon was a part of III Corps, and due to the division's close proximity to the capital was a key factor in the success or failure of the various coup attempts in the nation's history.[3]

Map of III Corps Tactical Zone.

Divisions

References
  1. Clarke, Jeffrey (1993). The U.S. Army in Vietnam Advice and Support: The Early Years, 1941-1960 (PDF). U.S. Army Center of Military History. p. 300. ISBN 978-0160015915. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Halberstam, David (2008). The Making of a Quagmire: America and Vietnam during the Kennedy Era. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 80. ISBN 9780742560079.
  3. Tucker, Spencer C. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. pp. 526–533. ISBN 1-57607-040-9.
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