South Vietnamese Army

Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(Quân lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa)
Flag of the South Vietnamese army
Active	December 30, 1955 – April 30, 1975
Country	South Vietnam
Type	Army
Size	In 1975: Regular Forces: 495,000 Regional Forces: 475,000 Popular Force: 381,000
Part of	Republic of Vietnam Military Forces
Garrison/HQ	Saigon
Nickname(s)	QLVNCH (SVA, ARVN in English)
Motto(s)	Tổ Quốc, Danh dự, Trách Nhiệm (Country, Honor, Duty)
Anniversaries	Army Day (December 30, 1955)
Engagements	Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War Laotian Civil War
Commanders
Notable commanders	Dương Văn Minh Cao Văn Viên Ngô Quang Trưởng

The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; Vietnamese: Lục quân Việt Nam Cộng hòa), also known as the South Vietnamese Army (SVA), were the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, the armed forces of South Vietnam, which existed from 1955 until the Fall of Saigon in 1975. It is estimated to have suffered 1,394,000 casualties (killed and wounded) during the Vietnam War.

After the fall of Saigon to the invading North Vietnamese Army (NVA), the ARVN was dissolved. While some high-ranking officers had fled the country to the United States or elsewhere, thousands of former ARVN officers were sent to reeducation camps by the communist government of the new, unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

On March 8, 1949, after the Élysée Accords the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by the Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại, and the Vietnamese National Army (VNA) was soon created. The VNA fought in joint operations with the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps against the communist Viet Minh forces led by Ho Chi Minh. The VNA fought in a wide range of campaigns including but not limited to the Battle of Nà Sản (1952), Operation Atlas (1953) and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954).