Liberation Army of South Vietnam

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Liberation Army of South Vietnam
Quân Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam
Emblem
Active	January 1961 – July 7, 1976
Country	South Vietnam
Allegiance	National Liberation Front
Type	Irregular military in de jure Light infantry in de jure Regular army in de facto Heavy infantry in de facto
Role	Asymmetric warfare in de facto Unconventional Warfare in de jure Conventional Warfare in de facto
Size	24,000 (1961) 64,000 (1963) 290,000 (1974)
Part of	People's Army of Vietnam in de facto Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in de jure
Nickname(s)	Viet Cong The Liberators / Liberation Army
Engagements	Vietnam War
Insignia
Military Flag

The Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV; Vietnamese: Quân Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam; Chữ Hán: 軍解放沔南越南), also recognized as the Liberation Army (Quân Giải phóng - QGP or Giải phóng quân), was an irregular and regular military force established by the Labor Party of Vietnam in 1961 in South Vietnam^[1] as the nominal armed wing of the National Liberation Front (NLF/Viet Cong). It is a part of the People's Army of Vietnam in de facto, but independent from the People's Army of Vietnam in de jure. In 1962, the People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam separated from the Labor Party of Vietnam in terms of external appearance, openly directing the Liberation Army's military. Administratively, the South Vietnamese Liberation Army was under the direction of the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. Politically, it is under People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam. The soliders from the North to the South of Vietnam join the Liberation Army of South Vietnam in de jure and use the unit names with letter "B" in order to distinguish with unit names of Vietnam People's Army with letter "A". Soldiers use military badges and War flag of the Liberation Army of South Vietnam.^[2]

After the 1976 national election, the forces of the South Vietnamese Liberation Army were merged into the Vietnam People's Army one by one.

Although administratively and legitimately the Liberation Army of South Vietnam and the People's Army of Vietnam are two different armies in de jure, both of them are under the Labor Party of Vietnam politically in de facto. The reason is that the Labor Party of Vietnam as a political party is not forced to leave the South to North and operate in both of the North and the South in the light of 1954 Geneva Accords, but the DRV administratively control in the North only. The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam also received direction from the Labor Party of Vietnam.^[3]

The South Vietnamese Liberation Army is under administrative direction of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and under political direction of the Labor Party of Vietnam. The Labor Party of Vietnam directly command the LASV in B1 region. In the remain regions, the Labor Party of Vietnam control the LASV via People's Revolutionary Party of South Vietnam.^[4]