The 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam: Unparalleled and Unequaled

Chapter 4: Pacification: The Endgame

Pacification: The Endgame The 9th Infantry Division was introduced in the Delta for one purpose only, to improve the security. Its mission was clear: it had to defeat the Viet Cong main and local force units and to support the pacification efforts of the GVN, thereby eliminating the Viet Cong’s intimidation of the people. Pacification then was the endgame, and the most discernable pattern in it was that programs depended entirely upon security. Consequently, the division had a dual focus—combat operations and pacification. A Guerrilla War In mid-1968, the war in the populated Delta of South Vietnam was a guerrilla war. The tactics of avoiding contact only to surface at high points and then to disappear into the countryside and the absolute necessity of the Viet Cong main and local force units to have the support of the people to operate effectively were hallmarks of guerrilla warfare. In this guerrilla war, the goals of both the Communists and the GVN and its allies was to control the population and resources of South Vietnam . Since the GVN controlled the urban areas, the pacification of the rural areas was the key to success. Although many peasants harbored ill feelings toward the government for past deprivations, it was generally necessary for the Communists to maintain control of the countryside through force and intimidation. Their main and local force battalions provided the muscle, and the local district companies and village and hamlet guerrillas kept the lid on popular discontent. The Viet Cong manipulated the population by imposing its own Infrastructure (VCI). The VC coerced people into providing food, intelligence, and labor and, most importantly, unit recruits. The hamlet guerrillas dug the Chapter 4 80 The 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam bunkers, emplaced the booby traps, transported materiel, and provided localized intelligence. Control of the rural population was the Communists ’ number-one objective. To wrest control from the Communists and provide security to the countryside, the Allies not only had to defeat the Viet Cong main and local force units, but they had to block the increased infiltration of NVA troops, supplies, and equipment that were bolstering the failing efforts of the Viet Cong, as well as eliminate the important VCI. That required the full cooperation of all Allied Forces and GVN organizations. Between 1965 and 1971, the Communists were fighting a guerrilla war. However, it is important to note that, over time, they set aside all pretense that the conflict was an indigenous insurrection, abandoning guerrilla warfare and adopting conventional warfare methods. These conventional tactics accelerated as the United States withdrew its 500,000man force, leaving the 290,000 NVA/VC troops in place. These enemy troops were upgraded with tanks, heavy artillery, and anti-aircraft guns. NVA tactics improved to the point that they were making coordinated divisional-sized combined arms attacks upon the thinly stretched and always outnumbered RVNAF units. Although the NVA changed its tactics, the GVN stubbornly clung to its strategy of pacifying and protecting all twelve thousand far-flung hamlets and villages. Even after the United States drastically reduced its military aid funding in 1974, which forced the RVNAF to conserve ammunition and greatly reduce VNAF flying hours, thereby appreciably limiting the previous RVNAF advantages of firepower and mobility, the GVN did not adjust to the situation. The RVNAF, attempting to protect all the population and territory, was stretched too thin without adequate reserves. A major factor causing the NVA/VC to change their tactics was that the GVN and its allies were very successful in their pacification efforts.1 The Tug of War There was a great tug of war between the Communists and the GVN to control the rural population. Earlier, the GVN did not have sufficient forces to protect the thousands of hamlets and villages. Often, RVNAF units would visit hamlets during the day; however, at night, when they left, the VC would occupy them. It didn’t take much for the VC with guns to intimidate the peace-loving farmers. Pacification: The Endgame 81 However, by mid-1968, the GVN was poised to expand its security out from the urban areas and to reclaim the countryside. The tools for providing security had improved immeasurably. The Ministry of Revolutionary Development had been formed to coordinate the activities of the many military and civilian organizations involved in pacification. The Regular Forces (ARVN) were conducting operations directly in support of pacification. The...