Alternative History
Register
Advertisement
National Army of Indochina
Flag of the People's Army of Vietnam.svg
Founded 1945
Current form 1997
Service branches Flag of Vietnam Ground Forces
  • Flag of Vietnam Border Troops

Flag of Vietnam Naval Forces

  • Flag of Vietnam Coast Guard

Flag of Vietnam Air and Air Defense Forces

The National Army of Indochina (NAIC) or Indochinese Army, is the military force of Democratic Republic of Indochina. The NAIC is a part of Indochinese Armed Forces (ICAF) with five main branches from 1997: Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Coast Guard and the Border Guard. However, the Ground Forces was not a separate branch of the NAIC. Instead, all units of the Ground Forces are subordinated to the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff of the Indochinese Army. The military flag of the NAIC is the flag of the Democratic Republic of Indochina, with the slogan "Determination to win" in three official languages (Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian).

During the Indochinese War (1946-55), the NAIC was referred as the North Indochinese Army (NIA), This allowed writers, and the French, the U.S troops distinguished the NAIC from different armies in Indochina such as the National Army of Vietnam (from the State of Vietnam), the Laotian Army (from the Kingdom of Laos) and Cambodian Armed Forces (from the Kingdom of Cambodia). In 1963, 1972, 1985 and in 2010, the Indochinese Army took the role of leading the parades of 500th Anniversary Parade of Vientiane, 600th Anniversary Parade of Phnom Penh, 40th Anniversary Parade of the Republic and the 1000th Anniversary Parade of Hanoi.

History[]

Before 1945[]

The Indochinese military history dates back to the time of the French Indochina, when formation of first natives units in the French Indochina to combat in World War I called the "Indigenous Guard (Garde Indigène) and "Mountaineer Guard (Garde Montagnarde)" , about 22,000 troops by 1945. The other branches of the future Indochinese Army was called "Indochinese Liberation Forces", with separate commanders in each protectorates in French Indochina (Tonkin, Annam, Cochinchina, Laos and Cambodia) formed on December 1944, with some elements defected from the Indigenous Guard and Mountaineer Guard.

The United States' OSS agents, led by Archimedes Patti, had provided ammunitions, trainings as well as logistic intelligence and equipment as well as training future officers who would later become the backbone of the later Indochinese military to fight the Japanese occupiers as well as in future wars. After merging with nationalist organizations and mostly, independence movements in the Indochina, it was changed to Indochinese Liberation Army on May 1945, with the strength of approximately 10,000 troops.

Formation of the Army and Indochinese War (1945-55)[]

Nationalarmyofindochina

Preparation for the war during early 1946

The Democratic Republic of Indochina was proclaimed on the 2nd September 1945 by the triumvir of Ho Chi Minh, Souphanouvong and Son Ngoc Minh. Then in late September, the Liberation Army was renamed into the Indochinese Defense Army. At this time, the strength of the forces was about 20,000. The Indochinese Defense Army also negotiated with the Hoa Hao troops led by Huỳnh Phú Sổ (later Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs) to join the Army in exchange for retaining influence in the South. This allowed the Army to increased it's size drastically, and it's popularity in the Cochinchina was secured. In Laos, secret negotiations with Lao royalists was conducted. It was agreed to merge the Pathet Laos to Indochinese National Army, in exchange for positions in the Socialist Party of Indochina and the Government. The same thing was conducted in Cambodia but was not as successful as it was in Laos.

Before the war, the Indochinese Defense Army was 85,000-strong, with most equipment captured from the Indigenous Guard and the Mountaineer Guard, including the artillery forces. On November 1946, it was renamed into the current name of National Army of Indochina. The NAIC was divided into 85 regiments, of which the most important ones were the Capital Regiments of Hanoi, Vientiane and Phnom Penh.

By 1949, the Indochinese forces began to increased it's size from 85,000 into 450,000-strong army. With the Soviet and Chinese recognition of the Republic of Indochina, the Indochinese experienced its' first modernization and professionalization. Combined with necessary supplies, the Indochinese Army enjoyed its' first decisive victory during the Battle of Route Coloniale 4. On November 1949, NAIC began to reorganize its' irregular militias (conscript forces) within the National Army into 6 conventional infantry divisions: 301th, 303th, 304th, 308th, 316th and 312th and an artillery division: the 320th. With the professional forces (or contact forces), the NAIC reorganized into 4 divisions: 302th, 305th, 306th and 307th.

At the south, Indochinese Mountaineer Troops and Cambodian Military Region gained a significant portion of land, allowed it to isolate the French troops and supplies from sea. On July 1954, the Indochinese began to launch the attack on Cochinchina, therefore, began the largest operation since the Western Campaign of 1947. After 10 months, on 7 May 1955, the war was officially ended with Indochinese Army's strategic victory, allow it's official unification recognized a year later.

Military modernization and formation of new branches (1955-1968)[]

On 11th June 1955, the Central Committee of the Socialist Party approved for new changes for the armed, including forming new branches for the Army: which is the Naval Force, Air and Air Defense Force, Border Guard and Coast Guard. The Naval Force (full name: Indochinese People's Navy) was the main branch of the newly formed branches, due to Indochinese claims of parts of South China Sea (also known as East Sea) with most of military budgets flowed to the Naval Force and it's modernization.

The Air and Air Defense Force was contained by three sub-branches: the Strategic Missile Forces, the Aerial Defense Forces and the conventional Air Branches. The Strategic Missile Forces was formed in 1965 after Indochinese Air Force received the S-75 air defense missile systems to defend itself from strategic aircraft (as Indochinese government prepared for an another full-scale war while maintaining a mixed economy with it's super-industrialization). It's mission is to defend Indochina from strategic fighter and bombers shall her being attacked by foreign nations. The initial S-75 systems were concentrated around the main population and industrial centers, with the idea being to form high-attitude air networks to intercept strategic bombers and forced tactical fighters to descend to a lower altitude to evade, where they would be entangled in dense low-altitude air defense networks of thousands of anti-aircraft guns and (later) low-altitude anti-aircraft missiles.

The Aerial Defense Force, formed in 1955, have mission to coordinate with the Strategic Missile Forces to defend Indochinese air space after National Government's resolution with most of the equipment was supplied from the Soviet Union with notable equipment such as KS-19 and AZP S-60. The Aerial Defense Force was divided into 4 independent divisions, of which three are mostly equipped with towed and static anti-aircraft guns, and another division was mostly equipped with the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, including ZSU-57-2 with some modifications.

The Air Force was formed in 1960 with a number of trainees were sent to the USSR and China for pilot training. The first unit was the No. 919 Transport Regiment, organized on 1 May 1959, with An-2, Li-2, Il-14 transport aircrafts, followed by the No. 910 Training Regiment with Yak-18 trainers. The Air Force received its first jet fighter aircraft, the MiG-17, in February 1964, with the establishment of the Fighter Regiment No. 921 (Trung đoàn Không quân Tiêm kích 921), aka "Red Star squadron". On 7 September 1964, the No. 923 Fighter Regiment, also popularly known as "Yen The Squadron", was formed. In May 1965, No. 16 Bomber Regiment was formed with Il-28 twin engine bombers. Right next year, in 1966, the Air Force were supplied with supersonic MiG-21s by the USSR, which were used as supersonic-speed interceptors and proved to be a significant upgrade in upgrading the ability to protect the Indochina airspace.

The Naval Force was modernized mostly with the support of the Soviet Union and the socialist states, with 10 Komar class missile boats (with the license production of another 20 boats), 15 Osa class missile boats (not to include the license production of another 30 boats) and 15 ex-Soviet second-hand P4-class torpedo boats were purchased from 1955 to 1965. In 1968, the Naval Force continued to be modernized with a contract to order 6 Petya-class frigates and 14 Shershen-class torpedo boats (with first 4 ships built in Soviet Union, the remainder built under license). Up to this point, the Naval Force still be primarily a brown-water navy, but that will quickly change over the next decade.

Modernization speed up (1968-1979)[]

The successes of the modernization plan of 1955-1968 transformed the Indochinese Army from a semi-regular anti-French guerrilla force into a true conventional army, capable of deploying its military assets and operating on land, sea and air. This, fueled by an economy flourishing in an economic miracle, prompted the political and military leaders of Socialist Indochina to accelerate their military modernization program with ambitious goals. The new doctrine of Indochinese National Army was "The White Book", of which emphasizing the role of the modernizing conventional forces in the new warfare, while maintaining "modernized guerilla warfare" as the main forces and took a decisive role for any potential war.

The Directorate of Defense Industry and Technical Affairs (DITA) was formed to accelerate the modernization of the Armed Forces, preparing a more developed defense industry in Southeast Asia and to counter the People's Liberation Army in case of a full-scale war due to the instability fused by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Led by the French-trained Lieutenant General Trần Đại Nghĩa, the DITA has been adapted with some of the lightly armed weapon produced in Western Europe country and limitedly produce for the urban troops.

Military branches and directorates and equipment[]

Military branches and directorates[]

Currently, the National Army of Indochina has five main branches with different functions. Those were:

  • Indochinese Ground Forces: It was not a full Service Command, with the mission is to preserve the territorial integrity of Mainland Indochina at land, to counter-attack in case of war and any potential conflicts, real or imagined. Due to the special structure, it was commanded de facto by the Chief of the General Staff of the National Army.
  • Indochinese Navy: to preserve Indochinese seas and islands, and its' sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to counter-attack any enemies in case of conflicts. It has a High Command and commanded by the Commander of the Navy.
  • Indochinese Air and Air Defense Forces: To actively defend the Indochinese aerial space that was defined by the constitution, and to defend Indochina against any enemy attacks from air. It has a High Command and commanded by the Commander of the Air and Air Defense Forces.
  • Indochinese Border Guard: Conducting reconnaissance and early protection of the Indochinese border, provide early warning against potential espionage or aggressive activities at the border. It has a High Command and commanded by the Commander of the Border Guard, and will be subordinated to the Ground Forces in case of war.
  • Indochinese Coast Guard: Conducting reconnaissance and early protection of the Indochinese naval area, provide early warning for the Ministry of Defence regarding affairs of the Indochinese naval area. It has a High Command and commanded by a Commander of the Coast Guard, and will be subordinated to the Navy in case of War.

It also has multiple directorates (or general departments):

  • General Staff (sub-ministry): Advising the Ministry of Defense regards of organizations, military command and state managements. It also has the right to manage the branches of Indochinese National Army and National Militia and to independently conduct the defense activities within Indochina. The General Staff headed by a Chief of the General Staff, who is also Deputy Minister of National Defense with a billet of Colonel General.
  • Political Directorate (PD): To ensure loyalty to the Indochinese State within the National Army and to ensure the continuance of the military-political command. The PD is headed by a Director, who is also the Deputy Minister of National Defense with a billet of Colonel General.
  • Intelligence Directorate (ID): To conduct espionage and counter-espionage activities in the interests of the Indochinese state, especially with military-related or national security-related affairs. The Intelligence Directorate is headed by a Director, who is a de facto chief of the Indochinese Intelligence Service, with a billet of Major General.
  • Defense Industry and Technical Affairs Directorate (DITA): To research, conduct and provide necessary technology and to be responsible for the national defense industry and its' development, and conducting arms exports with the acceptance of the National Security Council. DITA is headed by a Director, with a billet of Major General.
  • Logistics Directorate (LD): To develop strategic logistics planning and to provide necessary efforts for the development of Indochinese military infrastructure. LD is headed by a Director, with a billet of Major General.
Advertisement