british troops in vietnam

There have been many rumours over the years but were there british troops, sas? involved in the vietnam war.

 

There were British troops just after WWII. But none that I know of after that. Perhaps on TDY with the Australian SAS.

"October 1945 — British troops land in southern Vietnam and establish a provisional administration. The British free French soldiers and officials imprisoned by the Japanese. The French begin taking control of cities within the British zone of occupation."

 

not that i have ever herd of . british troops .. in vietnam . have seen a good number of documentrys and a fue books .. never came across anythink
as yet .. good question there .JC.. i do recall seeing somethink on a old film
maybe the early 50s about the british .. but thats befor the french got chased out ????
cheers krieg

 

Funny that I could not find the same things on both Wikipidedia versions of this. I suppose the British stayed briefly to give a hand until the French administration could take over Indochina again ( the name Vietnam would be officially recognized in the mid fifties ) .

The English version is not long and had neither names nor retreat dates:

" But before the end of September, a force of British, French, and Indian soldiers, along with captured Japanese troops, restored French control".

The French version is quite interesting it has the date of the British and Chinese retreat as well of the names of both Commanders. It says that after the surrender of Japan the Chinese took over the North and a British expeditionary force which included French and Indian troops as well as Japanese pows, took the south (led by General Douglas David Gracey) . The French gradually got control of both territories back (they British left on January 28th 1946 and The Chinese accepted to retreat in March 1946 after they were granted control over their own coastline.

"lors de la capitulation du Japon, les Chinois (dirigés par le généralissime Tchang Kaï-chek) s'installeront dans le Nord le 9 septembre 1945 et les Britanniques (dirigés par le : lors de la capitulation du Japon, les Chinois (dirigés par le généralissime Tchang Kaï-chek) s'installeront dans le Nord le 9 septembre 1945 et les Britanniques (dirigés par le général Douglas David Gracey) dans le Sud 6 septembre 1945 [7].
Les Français décident de reprendre le contrôle de l’Indochine. En 1946, le 28 janvier, les troupes britanniques acceptent de sortir du Viêt-Nam et les Chinois quittent le Nord du Viêt-Nam. En échange, les Français restituent à la Chine leurs droits sur les concessions françaises de Chine, elles aussi évacuées par les Japonais, le 6 mars 1946.) "

 

Have a look at this intresting! wikpedia.org/wiki/vietnamveteran

 

I read a book two years back about a British born soldier who served in the US army & escaped from a Vc pow camp , true story to

 

Was it called the cage? if it was am i right in thinking a lot of pepole cast doubts about certian aspects of his story

 

Add to that her majesty's vietnam soldier about guy bransby a brit who served in vietnam with nz arty two tours and also passed nz sas selection but found there were no officer vacancies he then went back to nam with us green berets in 71!

 

I read one too. Don't have it anymore, did away with all my VN books a while back. This guy was born in Hull and went to the States and joined the army. Went to VN with either the 82nd or 101st Airborne. Was a good read, I remember...Just can't remember the title...Not The Cage though.

 

Hi yes it was the Cage & your right it to was a bit far fetched

 

I know this was a bloke called "Pom" Rencher in 6 RAR at Long Tan in '66.

Pte Robin Langdon (Pom) Rencher of Plymouth UK, was a member of D Company 6RAR, and saw action in the Long Tan Battle, 18 August 1966. He was a D Company signaller on his first tour. He served a second tour of duty in 1970 with the Divisional Intelligence Unit as either a Cpl or WO2.

http://www.remlr.com/rcshed.html

also
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-battles/long_tan.htm

 

This is about the Australian SAS troops.


The SAS soon found themselves in action again. This time in Vietnam. 3 Squadron was the first squadron to be deployed to Vietnam. The SASR was sent in again to help the Americans fight off the communist government of North Vietnam from overtaking South Vietnam. The SASR once again began the long patrols deep into the think jungles. They lived like the enemy. The also started a "Hearts and Minds" campaign again.
The SASR suffered the same types of problems as the Americans. The enemy hid amongst the civilians who were scared to turn them over.
They did however use captured VC (Viet Cong) and NVA (North Vietnam Army Regulars) to help them locate the enemy. The SASR soon started operating with American SEAL (SEa-Air-Land) Teams and Special Forces. The SASR also helped with the American Recondo School and with MAC-V-SOG missions. The Recondo School was started in Australia, and the principles were passed on to the Americans.
The Patrol Course the SASR runs today is similar to that of the Recondo School. The bond between the SASR and the different American Special Operations units is still strong today. The SASR fought this war in Vietnam until 1971. 4 SASR soldiers died during accidents, one died months later from gun shot wounds received, and one is still MIA (although now presumed dead).


SAS; the Special Air Service Regiment

"The kill rate achieved by the SAS was very gratifying... I did not view the SAS as an intelligence gathering organisation, rather as a reaction force to intelligence gathered by other means".


Now for the British.

"[SIZE=-1]As a member of the Intelligence Corps of the British Army I was on secondment from 3 Commando Brigade and serving in the British Embassy in Saigon from early Jan to the end of March 1966. At the same time there 3 members of the Royal Military Police who provided security for the embassy. There were also the usual Military Attache staff. It was not a combatant role, but I did get out and about in Saigon, Bien Hua etc. There were a large number of British passport holders in South Vietnam, but they were all serving in the US/NZ or Australian Armies at the time. I did see papers where a lot of pressure was being applied on the British Government (Harold Wilson's Labour Government) to provide a Battalion for the Free World Forces - the Americans specifically asked for the Black Watch!!! Harold said NO! None of the serving British Military in Saigon at that time qualify for the South Vietnam Clasp of the GSM - although Air Crew up until 1964 did qualify."

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Anonymous

[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]British[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"There is no official information about any members of the British SAS having served in Vietnam. At the height of the Vietnam war the British SAS were heavily committed in Borneo, Aden and the Radfan. However British SAS instructors are regularly sent on attachment to both Australian and New Zealand SAS Squadrons. It is generally thought that a few British SAS personnel attached to the Australian and New Zealand SAS while they were deployed in Vietnam under the official title of instructor. After the war 70 British General Service Medals were issued with the Bar South Vietnam 1962-64. No names or units are mentioned."

Now I have never heard of any offical troops, but some british soldiers either living or stationed here in Australia were able ot either transfer or join an Australian SAS squadron.

I have also read reports about British troops conducting operations in the country during the war, but do not know what kind.

So to answer your question the offical answer would be no.


[/SIZE]

 

Nice addition Tomcat

 

Thanks tomcat i think as you say offically we will never know.aussie sas top troops, in vietnam probably the best there was out there i have the book sas phantoms of the jungle as well as a few others including a book with a complete roll of every aussie who served in the war! and to add to that navy seals, they scared the hell out the v.c. and their kill ratio was somthing else

 

Interesting story here.

Richard Noone Expedition to Vietnam

 

Individual Canadians went across the border and joined the US forces as volunteers, but they were hard to detect or identify as the US government made them pick a "home town " in the states, that was put on their DD214 records on discharge.

A total of about 30,000 Canadians served in the US forces in the Viet Nam era. In Windsor, Ontario, across the river from Detroit, Michigan , there is a "Canadians in Viet Nam " memorial with 110 names on it, for those Canadians killed in American service. Obviously, these guys were not representing Canada in any official capacity.

Jim B. Toronto.

 

This is interesting I didn't know this, obviosuly written at the time.

SASR troops are actually on call up for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The troops have been preparing for this since 1997. The soldiers have done full scale hostage rescue exercises among other things. Needless to say, if anything does happen; the SASR will be the first in.


http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-army-today/rar-sasr/sasr.htm

 

From what I understand the South Koreans were very much feared in Vietnam . South Korea sent about 300,000 soldiers to fight in Vietnam, the second-largest foreign presence fighting against the Communist North after the United States.

 

Hi JC, that's true about the SOuth Koreans being feared. About 20 years ago, I worked with a guy who was a former South Korean Marine--THOSE guys are to be feared. My roommate had a near incident with two of them once, when he was stationed in Korea back in the late 60's and early 70's.

I can't remember what all he said had happened but, he said he'd only been "in country" for a few weeks, and was trying to go into an "off Limits Zone" and was stopped by two ROKs. My roommate tried to bluff his way through the checkpoint, and tried to get into his vehicle (Jeep) and when he made a motion that he was going to start the engine, he also heard two weapons cocking. Needless to say, my rommate never made it into that "Off Limits Zone" at least that day. ;-))

 

Cant say I agree with that appraisal of South Koreans troops in Vietnam.

Personally I think that historians still plough out the same old US propaganda about them being super troopers. It suited them at the time and is still being churned out theses days.

There operational conduct doesnt seem that great to me and they dont seem to have achieved much other than perfecting the art of water torture on suspected VC.

Finally, if they were so good, why didnt the US re-equip them with better weapons instead of letting them go around with Garands? Certainly enough M16s to go around...

Im sure South Korean forces today are top notch but I dont believe the hype about them in Vietnam to be honest... Conflicts with what I have read of their operations/achievements.

As for Brits in Nam... a few...

Also a couple of Irishmen too.