2nd Division (South Vietnam)

The 2nd Division  was a division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)&mdash;the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was part of the I Corps that oversaw the northernmost region of South Vietnam, the centre of Vietnam.

History
Within six years of enlisting in the military, Ton That Dinh had risen to the rank of colonel and was made the inaugural commander of the newly formed 32nd Division based in Da Nang on 1 January 1955. Đính led the unit until November 1956, during which time it was renamed the 2nd Division.

The 2nd Division was based in Chu Lai, south of Tam Ky, Quang Tin Province. Chu Lai was also the home base of the U.S. Army's Americal Division.

On the morning of 24 March 1975, during the Hue-Da Nang Campaign of the 1975 Spring Offensive, the North Vietnamese 711th Division, backed by armoured elements, seized Tam Ky, driving the population north toward Da Nang by the thousands. North Vietnamese (PAVN) forces then cut Highway 1 between Quang Ngai and Chu Lai, a move to which the 2nd ARVN Division was too battered to respond. With Corps approval, South Vietnamese troops from Quang Ngai fought their way northward, but only a few managed to reach Chu Lai. In a single day the situation in I Corps had deteriorated beyond control.

With the withdrawal to the three enclaves now complete, I Corps commander Lieutenant General Ngo Quang Truong issued the following orders: The 1st Division and other units in the Huế area were to withdraw overland toward Da Nang while the Marine elements were to be retrieved by ship from Huế; the 2nd Division, its dependents, and the remains of the Quang Ngai sector forces were to withdrawan by sea to Re Island, 20 miles offshore from Chu Lai. This effort was undertaken in order for Troung to obey a Joint General Staff directive that he conduct the defense of Da Nang without the Marines, who were to be withdrawn to the south. The same lack of planning and hasty withdrawal along unprotected routes to meet the evacuation deadline cost the 2nd Division two-thirds of its men and most of its equipment. Only 7,000 troops and around 3,000 civilians were evacuated from Chu Lai.