Nguyễn Hữu An

Infobox Military Person
name=Nguyễn Hữu An
born=October, 1926
died=April 9th, 1995
placeofbirth= Truong Yen Commune, Gia Vien District (Hoa Lu), Ninh Binh Province
placeofdeath=
allegiance=
branch =


caption=Colonel General Nguyễn Hữu An
nickname=
serviceyears=1945–1995
rank=Colonel General
commands=Vietnam People's Army
unit= Battalion 251
Regiment 174
Division 1
Division 308
Army Corps No.2
battles=First Indochina War
Vietnam War
awards= Independence Order
Military Exploits Orders
Liberation Military Exploits Order
Victory Order
family=
laterwork=
portrayedby=
enteredservice=
currentlyresides=

Overview

*Year of joining the army: August 1945

*Year of promotion to General: Major General in 1974; Lieutenant General in 1980; Colonel General in 1986

*Highest rank and post: Colonel General; Commander of Army Corps No.2; Assistant Inspector General of the Vietnam People’s Army; Director of Higher Military Institute.

In September 1945, he enlisted into the army. In the resistance war against French colonialists, he personally fought and conducted different battles:

*The battles of Bong Lau Pass and Lung Phay in 1949

*In Border Campaign 1950, he was commander of Battalion 251- a key battalion of Regiment 174 (Cao Bac Lang Regiment), attacking and eliminating Dong Khe military post, which seized initial victory of the Campaign. He successively had titles of battalion commander, regiment deputy commander of victorious battles in Binh Lieu, Vinh Phuc, Moc Chau…

*In the battle of Dien Bien Phu, he was commander of Regiment 174 of Division 316 who three times took offensive attacks on the Hill A1 (Éliane). On May 7th 1954 Regiment 174, under his command, completely eliminated the entrenched fortification of Hill A1, opening offensive lines into Muong Thanh field to put an end to the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

In the Vietnam War

In 1964, as a division commander, he led Division 325 to the South Front. When touching West Highland, due to difficulty of logistics service and change of the situation, the force of Division 325 was dispersed; two regiments of the unit had to withdraw to Military Region No.5 and only Regiment 101 stayed Western Highland Front (codename: the battlefield B3). He personally led the Regiment 101 to successfully put out of action a battalion of the special task force “Black Tiger”, then inflicted a heavy loss upon the Regular Regiment 44 of the ARVN.

In 1965, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu An was deputy chief of staff of the Front B3 and there in November 1965, he personally commanded the famous battle in Ia Drang Valley, entirely putting out of action a battalion and inflicting heavy losses upon an American air cavalry battalion. This is a beat at the beginning and a victory over air cavalry force of Americans when they had just set foot on Vietnam, a victory that American generals had to admit that “Ia Drang –the battle that has changed the Vietnam war.” ["We Were Soldiers Once… And Young", Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and war journalist Joseph L. Galloway.]

In 1971, he was commander of Division 308, who made a contribution to the triumph of the Front of Rout 9- Southern Laos. After the victory, he was again assigned by the Central Military Committee to an assisting post in the Front Pa Thet- Laos so as to take Chum field back. In late June 1972, the Central Military Committee assigned him as commander of Division No.308 in Quang Tri Front.

In the Ho Chi Minh Campaign

In 1975, Major General Nguyen Huu An was Commander of Army Corps No.2 (Huong Giang Corps). Army Corps No.2, under his excellent command, successively liberated Quang Tri, Hue; and in combination with armed forces of Military Region No.5 defeated nearly 100.000 regular troops of the ARVN within just 3 days in Da Nang united military base, he then commanded the entire corps to march along nearly 1000 km to engage in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign after having destroyed the remote defensive line of the Sai Gon’s army in Phan Rang.

In the last decisive fight to liberate Sai Gon City, Corps No.2 under the command of Nguyen Huu An was one of five wings to Saigon, who quickly planted the red flag onto top of the Independence Palace at 11h 30 on 30th April 1975.

In postwar time

He held key posts in military such as Assistance Inspector General of the Vietnam People’s Army, Deputy Chief concurrently Chief of Staff and Acting Commander of Military Region No.2 (1984- 1987), Director of Army Academy (1988-1991), Director of Academy of National Defense (1991- 1995).He is called “General of Battles” by General Vo Nguyen Giap.

Awards

The Communist Party of Vietnam and State of Vietnam awarded him with:
*Independence Order of First-Class
*Two Military Exploits Orders of First-Class
*Military Exploits Order of Third-Class
*Liberation Military Exploits Order of Third-Class
*Two Exploits Orders of First and Second-Class
*Victory Order of Second-Class

Note

External Links

[http://vietnamnet.vn/chinhtri/2005/07/467763/ Article about veterans of NVA and US Army 30 years after Ia Drang battle ] "(in Vietnamese)"