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{{
| unit_name = 7th Infantry Division
| image =
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| allegiance = {{flag|Vietnam}}
| branch = [[People's Army of Vietnam]]
| type = [[Infantry]]
| role =
| size = [[Division (military)|Division]]
| command_structure = [[4th Corps (Vietnam People's Army)|4th Corps]]
| garrison = [[Bình Dương Province]], [[Vietnam]]
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}}
The '''7th Infantry Division''' is a [[division (military)|division]] of the [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN).
==Vietnam War==
The Division was formed on 13 June 1966 in the [[Mekong Delta]] region from the 52nd, [[141st Infantry Regiment (Vietnam)|141st]] and 165th Regiments.<ref name=Prib>{{Cite book|author=Military History Institute of Vietnam |title=Victory in Vietnam: A History of the People's Army of Vietnam, 1954–1975|others=trans. Pribbenow, Merle|publisher=University of Kansas Press|year=2002|isbn=0-7006-1175-4}}</ref>{{rp|192}}
On 24 November 1967 while the [[United States Army]] was conducting [[Operation Shenandoah II#Highway 13 and Caisson VI|Operation Shenandoah II]] the Division attempted to close [[National Route 13 (Vietnam)|Highway 13]] sending the 2nd Battalion, 165th Regiment to attack a U.S. night defensive position on the shoulder of Highway 13 12
From 12 May to 6 June 1968 the Division's 141st and 165th Regiments fought [[1st Australian Task Force]] units in the [[Battle of Coral–Balmoral]] losing 267 killed and 11 captured for Australian losses of 25 killed.<ref>{{cite book|last=McAulay|first=Lex|title=The Battle of Coral: Vietnam Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, May 1968|publisher=Arrow Books|year=1988|isbn=0-09-169091-9|page=338}}</ref>
In mid-March
In March 1970 the 209th Regiment engaged the U.S. 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment near Lộc Ninh, U.S. units claimed a [[body count]] of over 200 killed.<ref name=Woodruff>{{cite book|last=Woodruff|first=Mark|title=Unheralded Victory|publisher=Harper Collins|year=2000|isbn=0-00-472540-9}}</ref>{{rp|164}}
By 1971 the Division was operating in Cambodia and PAVN command formed the Corps-sized Group 301 comprising the Division and the [[5th Infantry Division (Vietnam)|5th]] and [[9th Division (Vietnam)|9th Division]]s, the 28th Artillery Regiment and the 12th Anti-aircraft Machine Gun Battalion.<ref name=Prib/>{{rp|281}}
During the [[Battle of An Lộc]], on 12 April 1972 a relief force of the [[Army of the Republic of Vietnam]] (ARVN) 32nd Regiment, [[21st Division (South Vietnam)|21st Division]] departed [[Lai Khê]] to reopen [[National Route 13 (Vietnam)|Route 13]] to [[Chơn Thành Camp]]
From June to November 1974 the Division's 141st Regiment fought the ARVN in the [[Battle of the Iron Triangle]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Le Gro|first=William|title=Vietnam from ceasefire to capitulation|publisher=US Army Center of Military History|year=1985|isbn=9781410225429|url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/090/90-29/CMH_Pub_90-29.pdf|pages=
On 20 July 1974, the High Command of the PAVN created the [[4th Corps (Vietnam People's Army)|4th Army Corps]] with Major General Hoang Cam appointed as its first commander. The 4th Army Corps comprised the 3rd and 7th Infantry Divisions, the 429th Special Forces Regiment, the 25th Engineers Regiment, the 210th and 235th Logistical Groups and the [[Viet Cong]] [[9th Division (Vietnam)|9th Division]].<ref>{{cite book|title=History of the 4th Army Corp-Cuu Long Army Corp|publisher=People’s Army Publishing House|date=2004}}</ref><ref name=Prib/>{{rp|
On 12 December 1974 the 4th Corps launched their [[Battle of Phuoc Long|assault on Phước Long]]. On 13 December the 7th and 3rd Divisions attacked ARVN positions at [[Bố Đức]] and [[Duc Phong]] overrunning them the next day. On 26 December Regiment 141 attacked the ARVN base at [[Đôn Luân]] overrunning it within 5 hours. On 31 December the 4th Corps had surrounded [[Phước Long, Bình Phước|Phước Long]] and began their assault on the city and by the evening of 5 January 1975 Phước Long had fallen. The battle was a turning point in the war because it showed that the United States was no longer prepared to intervene militarily to save South Vietnam and that the ARVN was overstretched with limited ability to respond forcefully to PAVN offensive action.<ref name=Dougan>{{Cite book|author1 =Dougan, Clark|author2 =Fulgham, David |title=The Vietnam Experience: The Fall of the South |publisher=Boston Publishing Company |year=1985|isbn=0-939526-16-6}}</ref>{{rp|18–20}}
For the [[1975 Spring Offensive]], in March the 4th Corps attacked ARVN installations in [[Tây Ninh Province]] and [[Bình Dương Province]]. On 11 March the 4th Corps attacked [[Dầu Tiếng]] taking it within 2 days they then proceeded to attack other ARVN units and by 2 April controlled all of [[Bình Long Province]]. The 4th Corps then began to approach [[Xuân Lộc]] part of the last defensive line before [[Saigon]] from the northeast.<ref name=Dougan/>{{rp|116}} Two regiments from the 7th supported the main assault by the [[341st Division (Vietnam)|341st Division]]. The ARVN [[18th Division (South Vietnam)|18th Division]] withstood the initial attacks and on 12 April were reinforced by men of the elite [[Republic of Vietnam Airborne Division|1st Airborne Brigade]] and [[Republic of Vietnam Marine Division|Vietnamese Marines]].<ref name=Dougan/>{{rp|117}} By 16 April the battle was turning in favour of the PAVN and on 19 April the ARVN General Staff ordered the units defending Xuân Lộc to withdraw to defend [[Biên Hòa]].<ref name=Dougan/>{{rp|
==Present day==
Today the division is part of the PAVN’s [[4th Corps (Vietnam People's Army)|4th Corps]] in the [[Bình Dương province]].
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Infantry divisions of Vietnam]]
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