Camp Lê Văn Duyệt

Camp Lê Văn Duyệt (also known as Capital Military District Headquarters, Capital Military Assistance Command or CMAC and Camp Goodman ) was a French Army, Army of the Republic of Vietnam and United States Army base located in District 10, Saigon, Vietnam. It remains in use today by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

Camp Lê Văn Duyệt
District 10, Saigon, Vietnam
Coordinates10.777°N 106.676°E / 10.777; 106.676 (Camp Lê Văn Duyệt)
TypeArmy Base
Site information
OwnerPeople's Army of Vietnam
Site history
Built1860s
In use1860s–present
Battles/wars
Vietnam War

History

The base was originally built during the French colonial period as the Nouvelles Casernes d'Artillerie Coloniale (new barracks of the Colonial Artillery).[1]

With the departure of the French from South Vietnam in 1954-6 the base was handed over to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and named after Lê Văn Duyệt, an 18th-century military commander. The base was the headquarters of the Capital Military District responsible for the defense of Saigon.[1]

On 5 October 1963 CIA officer Lucien Conein met with General Dương Văn Minh at the base to discuss the planned coup against President Ngo Dinh Diem.[2] In preparation for the coup one of the coup leaders General Tôn Thất Đính moved 20 tanks to the base to ensure that the coup supporters enjoyed overwhelming strength against forces loyal to Diem.[3]

In 1964 the ARVN political warfare training center moved to the base but the facilities at the new location were so inadequate that they were moved to the Dalat Military Academy in 1966.[4]

The ARVN 1st Airborne Battalion was headquartered at the base.[5]:325

On the morning of 31 January 1968 at the start of the Tet Offensive, US II Field Force commander Lieutenant general Frederick C. Weyand directed his deputy, Major general Keith L. Ware, to establish a tactical command post at the base next to the Capital Military District headquarters. Once operational, this headquarters known as Hurricane Forward would assume tactical control over all US units entering the Saigon–Gia Định Province zone.[5]:336

On the morning of 5 May 1968 at the start of the May Offensive Weyand directed his deputy, Major general John H. Hay, to re-establish Hurricane Forward at the base to perform the same function as in the Tet Offensive.[5]:564–5

On 27 June 1968 Weyand published orders establishing Headquarters, Capital Military Assistance Command (CMAC) (Provisional) at the base under the command of Hay, with an effective date of 4 June 1968. In this post, Hay exercised operational control over all US units and advisers in Saigon–Gia Định, with himself serving as adviser to General Nguyễn Văn Minh, the commander of the Capital Military District and military governor of Saigon.[5]:593[1] Weyand assigned two US brigades, the 199th Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division to CMAC control to protect Saigon against further Vietcong attacks.[5]:626

The US 5th Special Forces Group's Camp Goodman was located within the camp until late 1968 when it was handed over to CMAC.[6]

In late 1969 II Field Force commander Lieutenant General Julian Ewell transformed CMAC into an advisory organization for the Capital Military District, and charged it with transferring local American sensor and ground radar installations to the South Vietnamese.[7]

Current use

The base remains in use by the PAVN as the Ho Chi Minh City Command (Vietnamese: Bộ Tư lệnh TP.HCM). The street address is 291 Hẻm 285 Cách Mạng Tháng Tám, Phường 12, Quận 10, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam.

References
  1. Doling, Tim (2019). Exploring Saigon-Cholon – Vanishing Heritage of Ho Cho Minh City. Thế Giới Publishers. p. 440. ISBN 9786047761388.
  2. Willbanks, James (2017). Vietnam War: A Topical Exploration and Primary Source Collection. ABC-CLIO. p. 82. ISBN 9781440850851.
  3. Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich. Facets of the Vietnam War in American Media: Pulitzer Prize Winning Articles, Books, Cartoons and Photos. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 19. ISBN 9783643910745.
  4. Collins, James (1975). The Development and Training of the South Vietnamese Army 1950- 1972 (PDF). US Army Center of Military History. p. 138. ISBN 9781518659324. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. Villard, Erik (2017). United States Army in Vietnam Combat Operations Staying the Course October 1967 to September 1968. Center of Military History United States Army. ISBN 9780160942808. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. "Operational Report - Lessons Learned, Headquarters, Capital Military Assistance Command (Prov), Period Ending 31 October 1968" (PDF). Department of the Army. 27 February 1969. p. 6. Retrieved 11 September 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. Clarke, Jeffrey (1988). Advice and Support the Final Years The U.S. Army in Vietnam (PDF). US Army Center of Military History. p. 411. ISBN 9781518612619. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Photos of Camp Lê Văn Duyệt in 1968-9

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