Friday, May 5, 1972
Shakeup Goal: Boost In Morale
SAIGON (AP) --The sudden shakeup of several top military commanders by President Nguyen Van Thieu on Wednesday was a drastic move aimed at reversing South Vietnam's deteriorating military situation and shoring up his own political position.It was a step probably urged upon him by his American sponsors, dismayed by the continuing successes of North Vietnam's general offensive.With the Communist command's drive about to enter its sixth week, Saigon is still looking with increasing desperation for its first victory.Repeated setbacks and confused retreats, climaxed by the chaotic abandonment of Quang Tri City may he having a snowballing effect on military and civilian morale, U.S. officials fear."Every time a unit gives up or runs away it increases the chances for the same thing to happen again some place else," one U. S. officer said. "It's another kind of domino theory."The loss of Quang Tri appears to have had a shock effect on both American and South Vietnamese.U.S. officials have been careful to follow the Nixon Administration line that Vietnamization was working and to refrain from criticizing the South Vietnamese. But some have become suddenly candid.One senior U.S. officer called Quang Tri a major defeat for the South Vietnamese that "cannot be papered over as a strategic withdrawal or anything else." Although he spoke only under conditions that he not be identified, it would have been heresy for him to have made such a statement two months ago.U. S. Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and Gen. Creighton W. Abrams, U.S. commander in Vietnam, met with Thieu Tuesday. Bunker and Thieu conferred again Wednesday. Thieu also met in emergency session with his top advisers of the National Security Council, including the four military region commanders.The result was a decision by Thieu to deal directly with what many U.S. and South Vietnamese officials believe is the root of the military crisis: Leadership.He fired Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Lam, commander of the northernmost 1st Military Region and replaced him with Lt. Gen. Ngo Quang Truong, commander in the Mekong Delta. At the same time he relieved the commander of the 3rd Division shattered at Quang Tri, Brig. Gen Vu Van Giai, and placed him "under investigation."The move was drastic in that it deposed Lam, who has built considerable influence in six years of ruling the northern provinces like a warlord, and Giai, a popular division commander in the midst of the crisis in that area.Western observers believe the decision was based on the idea that a radical change was necessary to inspire South Vietnamese forces in their defense of the threatened city of Hue.The old imperial capital was ravaged in the 1968 Tet offensive, during which most of it was held by enemy troops for nearly a month.As a result it has become a sort of symbol to both sides. Its loss to the Communist command again could have deep political as well as strategic implications."Thieu can survive Quang Tri and he probably could survive An Loc if it fell, too," one American said. "But if the enemy took Hue again, it might well be the end of him."It is obvious that Thieu, following the Quang Tri debacle, recognized that it was time to act to halt erosion of public confidence, and that the senior Americans agreed with him.The selection of Truong to replace Lam was seen as a wise move toward bolstering confidence among the citizenry and the military, especially the rank and file.Truong is a respected field commander who shuns Vietnam's political intrigues. He is regarded by most U.S. officials as the most honest and incorruptible of Saigon's generals.Truong was the commander under whom the 1st Division, which is based in Hue, built a reputation as the best of South Vietnam's regular infantry divisions. Its fighting ability, which some American officers think may be somewhat overrated, faces a crucial test in the days ahead.A less popular move -at least among many U.S. military men -was Thieu"s decision to relieve Brig. Gen. Giai, as commander of the 3rd Division as a result of the Quang Tri disaster.There is certain to be strong sentiments that Giai, who also is highly regarded among American officers, is being made the scapegoat.One of South Vietnam's brightest young generals, Giai took command of the 3rd Division when it was formed only last year to defend the demilitarized zone.Americans say he displayed considerable personal bravery and leadership in the fighting on the northern front, and did everything he could with a division that included many former deserters and unseasoned troops.Thieu is banking on the hope that his shakeup will do away with what one American official called a growing "defeatist complex" among the South Vietnamese military forces.The test apparently will be at Hue, and also perhaps at Kontum, the central highlands province capital where another showdown is building. There another senior commander, Lt. Gen. Ngo Dzu, will also have his job on the line."Shakeup Goal: Boost in Morale", by (AP) published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Friday, May 5, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.