Republic of Vietnam Military Forces facts for kids

The Republic of Vietnam Military Forces (often called the RVNMF) was the official army of South Vietnam. South Vietnam was a country that existed from 1955 to 1975 in the southern part of what is now Vietnam. The RVNMF was in charge of protecting South Vietnam after it became independent from France in October 1955. Its Vietnamese name was Quân-lực Việt-nam Cộng-hòa (QLVNCH).

Quick facts for kids Republic of Vietnam Military Forces 'Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng hòa'
War Flag.
Established	30 December 1955
Disbanded	30 April 1975
Parts	Army of the Republic of Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Air Force Republic of Vietnam Navy
Headquarters	Saigon
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Ngo Dinh Diem (1955 - 1963), Nguyen Van Thieu (1967 - 1975)
Chief of Joint General Staff	Unknown
Serving soldiers
Active employees/soldiers	586,838
Deployed personnel	1,000,000 in 1972
Industry
Suppliers from foreign countries	United States  Australia  Taiwan  France  Iran  Japan  New Zealand  Philippines  South Korea  Spain  Thailand
See also
History	Military history of Vietnam
Ranks	Ranks and insignia of the Republic of Vietnam
Flag of RVNMF

Starting the South Vietnamese Military

The RVNMF was officially created on December 30, 1955. This happened after Ngo Dinh Diem became the first President of South Vietnam. He had won a special vote earlier that year.

Before the RVNMF, there was an army called the Vietnamese National Army (VNA). This army was formed in 1951 with the help of the French. The new RVNMF used many of these soldiers.

Parts of the Military

In the mid-1950s, the RVNMF had three main parts:

• Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) – This was the ground army.
• Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) – This was the air force.
• Republic of Vietnam Navy (VNN) – This was the navy.

What the Military Did

The main jobs of the RVNMF were:

• To protect South Vietnam's right to rule itself.
• To keep peace and order inside the country.
• To defend South Vietnam from enemies, both from outside and inside.
• To help bring Vietnam back together. Vietnam had been split into two parts (North and South) after a big meeting in 1954. North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh's communist government, and South Vietnam was led by Diem's anti-communist government.

Military Regions

South Vietnam was divided into different military regions. This helped the army manage its forces and defend different parts of the country.

Images for kids

• 

  A map showing the military regions of South Vietnam in June 1967.

Related Pages

See also

In Spanish: Fuerzas Militares de la República de Vietnam para niños