The Vietnamese Rangers
commonly known as the ARVN Rangers
and properly known in Vietnamese as the Biệt Động Quân
were the light infantry of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Trained and assisted by American Special Forces
and Ranger advisers during Vietnam War
the ARVN Rangers infiltrated beyond enemy lines in search and destroy missions
ARVN Rangers were Initially trained as a counter-insurgency light infantry force
by removing the fourth company each of the existing infantry battalions
they later expanded into a swing force capable of conventional
as well as counter-insurgency operations
and were relied on to retake captured regions
They were often regarded as among the most effective units in the war
Part of this was due to the specialized role of these units
given that they had their origins in French-raised Commando Units
the GCMA, which were drawn from Viet Minh defectors and Tai-Kadai groups
operating in interdiction and counter-intelligence roles
and were trained specifically for counter-insurgency and rough-terrain warfare in the region
The ARVN Ranger Units often had a US Military Adviser
attached to these units although operated independently
With improvements in the ARVN from 1969 onward
and the growing prestige of the Airborne and Marine Division
depredation had caused the Central Highlands-based Rangers to become manned by deserters
released convicts and Montagnards
nevertheless the unit continued to operate in the Easter Offensive
and frontier skirmishes in 1973 and 1974
On 8 December 1965
the ARVN 11th Ranger Battalion participated
in Operation Harvest Moon/Lien Ket 18 in the Quế Sơn Valley with the ARVN 1st Battalion
5th Regiment 2nd Division
and the US 3rd Marine Division's Task Force Delta
On the morning of 8 December the ARVN began their advance
along Route 534 with the 1st Battalion on the left of the road
and the 11th Rangers on the right
At 13:30, the Rangers walked into an ambush by the Viet Cong 70th Battalion
which was overrun within 15 minutes
losing a third of their men
the remainder withdrew and established a defensive perimeter
1 mile northwest and called for air support.
The 1st Regiment was prevented from reinforcing the Rangers
by intensive small arms and mortar fire and Marine airstrikes hit the Viet Cong positions
Later that day HMM-161 helicopters flew in the ARVN 6th Regiment
2nd Division from Tam Kỳ to replace the 11th Rangers
The operation concluded on 20 December
the Marines had lost 45 killed
the ARVN 90 killed and 91 missing
and the Viet Cong 407 killed and 33 captured
When the American advisors were gone
the ARVN Rangers continued to fight the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army
often to the point of decimation
When Saigon fell to Communist forces in 1975
those surviving Ranger unit commanders
whom the North Vietnamese considered dangerous
were sent to “reeducation camps”
Like their American counterparts
the ARVN Rangers could always be proud of their motto :
“Biet Dong Quan Sat”
which means
“Special Action Warrior—Kill”