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173-618: Dương Văn Minh ( Vietnamese: [jɨəŋ van miŋ̟] ; 16 February 1916 – 6 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh , was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm . In 1963, he became chief of a military junta after leading a coup in which Diệm was assassinated . Minh lasted only three months before being toppled by Nguyễn Khánh , but assumed power again as

346-409: A 'Council of Notables' comprising sixty leading citizens met for the first time, having been selected by Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo for Minh's junta. Its job was to advise the military and civilian wings of the government with a view towards reforming human rights, the constitution and the legal system. The council consisted almost entirely of professionals and academic leaders, with no representatives from

519-724: A 'blocking-force' to a more modern conventional force using helicopter deployment in combat . During the American intervention in Vietnam, the ARVN was reduced to playing a defensive role with an incomplete modernisation, and transformed again following Vietnamization , it was upgeared, expanded, and reconstructed to fulfill the role of the departing American forces. By 1974, it had become much more effective with foremost counterinsurgency expert and Nixon adviser Robert Thompson noting that Regular Forces were very well-trained and second only to

692-612: A British military officer widely regarded as the worlds foremost expert in counterinsurgency warfare during the Vietnam War, thought that by 1972, the ARVN had developed into one of the best fighting forces in the world, comparing them favorably with the Israeli Defence Forces . Forced to carry the burden left by the Americans, the ARVN started to perform well, though with continued American air support. In 1972,

865-611: A border treaty between France and Siam in 1906). France obtained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French War (1884–85). French Indochina was formed on 17 October 1887 from Annam , Tonkin , Cochinchina (which together form modern Vietnam ) and the Kingdom of Cambodia ; Laos was added after the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893 . The federation lasted until 21 July 1954. In

1038-651: A continuing desertion problem. Starting in 1969, President Richard Nixon started the process of " Vietnamization ", pulling out American forces and rendering the ARVN capable of fighting an effective war against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and VC. Slowly, the ARVN began to expand from its counter-insurgency role to become the primary ground defense against the PAVN/VC. From 1969 to 1971, there were about 22,000 ARVN combat deaths per year. Starting in 1968, South Vietnam began calling up every available man for service in

1211-527: A coup. The division among the generals came to a head at a meeting of the MRC on 26–27 August. Khánh and Khiêm blamed one another for the increasing unrest across the nation. Thiệu and another Catholic, General Nguyễn Hữu Có , called for the replacement of Khánh with Minh, but the latter refused. Minh reportedly claimed that Khánh was the only one who would get financial assistance from Washington, so they supported him, prompting Khiêm to angrily say, "Obviously, Khánh

1384-643: A disappointment of the promises made by Sarraut. During the early days of the war around 6 million Frenchmen were drafted causing a severe labour shortage in France. In response, the Undersecretary of State for Artillery and Munitions proposed to hire women, European immigrants, and French colonial subjects, these people were later followed with Chinese immigrants. From 1915 onwards, the French war effort's manpower needs started to rise significantly. Initially

1557-419: A game of doubles tennis was organized. McNamara watched on as Taylor played with Minh, giving "broad hints of our interest in other subjects which we gave him during breaks in the game". Minh revealed nothing of his thoughts about a possible coup, leaving his guests bewildered. Minh later messaged Taylor with a complaint about a perceived lack of support from Washington for a coup. Diệm became very unpopular during

1730-406: A group of similarly motivated officers in a January 1964 coup. Khánh allowed Minh to stay on as a token head of state in order to capitalize on Minh's public standing, but retained real power. After a power struggle, Khanh had Minh exiled. Minh stayed away before deciding to return and challenge General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu in the presidential election of 1971. When it became obvious that Thieu would rig

1903-838: A hospital in Saigon. The U.S. had provided the ARVN with 793,994 M1 carbines , 220,300 M1 Garands and 520 M1C/M1D rifles, 640,000 M-16 rifles , 34,000 M79 grenade launchers , 40,000 radios, 20,000 quarter-ton trucks, 214 M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks, 77 M577 Command tracks (command version of the M113 APC), 930 M113 (APC/ACAVs), 120 V-100s (wheeled armored cars), and 190 M48 tanks. Operations Enhance and Enhance Plus an American effort in November 1972 managed to transfer 59 more M48A3 Patton tanks, 100 additional M-113A1 ACAVs (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles), and over 500 extra aircraft to South Vietnam. Despite such impressive figures,

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2076-448: A large reward for his part in the coup, but the other generals regarded him as untrustworthy and excluded him from the MRC. They further moved him to the command of the I Corps in the far north to keep him far away from Saigon. Khánh later claimed that he had built up intelligence infrastructure to weed out the VC under Diệm, but that Minh's MRC had disbanded it and released VC prisoners. Khánh

2249-479: A massacre of around 40,000 Christians. The rebellion was eventually brought down by a French military intervention, in addition to its lack of unity in the movement. Nationalist sentiments intensified in Vietnam, especially during and after World War I , but all the uprisings and tentative efforts failed to obtain sufficient concessions from the French. Territorial conflict in the Indochinese peninsula for

2422-487: A new constitution, which would have augmented his personal power and hamstrung Minh of what authority he had left as well as ousting him from power. However, this only served to weaken Khánh as large urban demonstrations broke out, led by Buddhists, calling for an end to the state of emergency and the new constitution. In response to claims that he was harking back to the Diệm era of Roman Catholic domination, Khánh made concessions to

2595-474: A new generation of anti-French resistance emerged, rather than being rooted in the traditional mandarin elites the new anti-French resistance leaders of the early 20th century were more influenced by international events and revolutions abroad to inspire their resistance and the issue of modernisation. Some Vietnamese revolutionaries like Phan Châu Trinh traveled to the Western World ( Đi Tây ) to obtain

2768-471: A new policy of association and a "Franco-Annamese Collaboration" (French: Collaboration franco-annamite ; Vietnamese: Pháp-Việt Đề huề ) for the wartime contribution by the French Indochinese to their colonial masters. However, beside some liberal reforms, the French administration actually increased economic exploitation and ruthless repression of nationalist movements which rapidly resulted in

2941-487: A new vehicle of instruction. The schools offered free courses to anyone who wanted to learn about the modern spirit. The teachers at the school at 59 Hàng Đàn included Phạm Duy Tốn . in the years prior to World War I the French arrested thousands of people with some being sentenced to death and others being imprisoned at the Poulo Condore jail island ( Côn Sơn Island ). Because of this Côn Sơn Island would become

3114-788: A number of secret societies launch rebellions in Cochinchina, the Peace and Duty Society (Nghia Hoa Doan Hoi) was introduced to the region by the Minh Hương refugees following the Manchu conquest of China and the Vietnamese Heaven and Earth Society (天地會, Thiên Địa Hội ). The Peace and Duty Society was also active supporting anti-Qing insurgents in China. The majority of the traditional mandarin elites would continue to operate under

3287-583: A number of historians like Joseph Buttinger and Martin Murray, treated his statement by Nguyễn Ái Quốc as an article of faith and believed that the Vietnamese men who participated in World War I were "forcibly recruited" by means of "terrorism", later historians would claim that the recruitment enterprise employed during this period was only "ostensibly voluntary". While there is some truth to these claims,

3460-637: A number of uprisings in Tonkin and Cochinchina . French Indochina contributed significantly to the French war effort in terms of funds, products and human resources. Prior to World War I the population of French Indochina stood at around 16,395,000 in 1913 with 14,165,000 being Vietnamese (Tonkinese, Annamese and Cochinchinese), 1,600,000 Cambodians, and 630,000 Laotians. These 16.4 million subjects were ruled over by only around 18,000 French civilians, militaries, and civil servants. During this period governor-general of French Indochina Albert Sarraut promised

3633-494: A plot.'' Minh took over the government under a military junta on 6 November, which consisted of 12 generals. To give the regime a civilian veneer, Diệm's figurehead Vice President, Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ , was appointed Prime Minister of a provisional civilian government overseen by the Military Revolutionary Council (MRC). Despite his nominally being the second most important person in the Diệm regime, Thơ

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3806-869: A political entity. The sudden and complete destruction of the ARVN shocked the world. Even their opponents were surprised at how quickly South Vietnam collapsed. Five ARVN generals died by suicide during late April to avoid capture by the PAVN/VC and potential reeducation camps. General Le Nguyen Vy died via suicide in Lai Khe shortly after hearing Duong Van Minh surrender from the radio. Both ARVN generals in Can Tho, Le Van Hung and Nguyen Khoa Nam, took his own life after deciding not to prolong resistance against outnumbered PAVN/VC soldiers in Mekong Region. Brigadier General Tran Van Hai took his own life by poison at Dong Tam Base Camp . General Pham Van Phu died by suicide at

3979-458: A resolution to recommend a model with a powerful head of state, which would likely be Minh. Khánh did not want his rival taking power, so he and the Americans convinced the HNC to dilute the power inherent in the position to make it unappealing to Minh. The HNC then selected Phan Khắc Sửu as chief of state, and Sửu selected Trần Văn Hương as prime minister, although the junta remained the real power. By

4152-487: A result, only a little fuel and ammunition were being sent to South Vietnam. South Vietnamese air and ground vehicles were immobilized by lack of spare parts. Troops went into battle without batteries for their radios, and their medics lacked basic supplies. South Vietnamese rifles and artillery pieces were rationed to three rounds of ammunition per day in the last months of the war. Without enough supplies and ammunition, ARVN forces were quickly thrown into chaos and defeated by

4325-412: A ruler that many of them had fought and died for), resulted in some sour attitudes. Many of these troops sought out and joined the Vietnamese nationalist movement focused on overthrowing the French. In 1925, communist and anti-French activist Nguyễn Ái Quốc (later known as Hồ Chí Minh) wrote "taken in chains, confined in a school compound... Most of them will never again see the sun of their country" and

4498-428: A sedan and everything else". Conein described Minh as a "very proud man" who had lost face by turning up at the palace, ready to claim victory, only to find an empty building. He claimed that Diệm and Nhu would not have been killed if they were in the palace, because there were too many people present. American policy makers later came to believe that the coup and the murders of Diệm and his brother more deeply entrenched

4671-480: A signal to South Vietnamese officers who would not compromise with the communists. They began to pack up and leave, or commit suicide to avoid capture. Army of the Republic of Vietnam The ARVN began as a post-colonial army that was trained by and closely affiliated with the United States and had engaged in conflict since its inception. Several changes occurred throughout its lifetime, initially from

4844-467: A spectacular comeback of the president and Mr. Nhu if they were alive." Conein asserted that Minh's humiliation by Diệm and Nhu was a major motivation for ordering their executions. Conein reasoned that the brothers were doomed to death once they escaped from the palace, instead of surrendering and accepting the offer of safe exile. Having successfully stormed the palace, Minh had arrived at the presidential residence in full ceremonial military uniform "with

5017-462: Is a puppet of the U.S. government, and we are tired of being told by the Americans how we should run our internal affairs". Khánh said that he would resign, but no agreement over the leadership could be found, and after more arguing between the senior officers, on 27 August they agreed that Khánh, Minh, and Khiêm would rule as a triumvirate for two months, until a new civilian government could be formed. The trio then brought paratroopers into Saigon to end

5190-597: The American and Israeli forces in the Free World and with General Creighton Abrams remarking that 70% of units were on par with the United States Army . However, the withdrawal of American forces by Vietnamization meant the armed forces could not effectively fulfill all of the aims of the program and had become completely dependent on U.S. equipment since it was meant to fulfill the departing role of

5363-693: The Battle of Saigon , when they dismantled the private army of the Bình Xuyên crime syndicate in urban warfare in the district of Chợ Lớn . With the Bình Xuyên vanquished, Diệm turned his attention to conquering the Hòa Hảo. As a result, a battle between Minh's VNA troops and Ba Cụt's men commenced in Cần Thơ on 5 June. Five Hòa Hảo battalions surrendered immediately; Ba Cụt and three remaining leaders had fled to

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5536-535: The Battle of the Vosges and the Battle of Verdun . French Indochinese battalions were also used in various logistics functions such as serving as drivers to transport soldiers to the front lines, stretcher bearers ( brancardiers ), or road crews. Vietnamese soldiers were also used to "sanitise" battle fields at the end of the war, where they would perform these duties in the middle of the cold European winters without being provided with warm clothes, in order to let

5709-546: The Bolaven Plateau , who demanded the restoration of the "old order" and led an armed insurrection against the French until as late as 1936. The Phu Mi Bun Revolt revolt erupted in 1901 and was not suppressed until 1907. It was a "major rebellion by local Lao Theung tribes (the Alak , Nyaheun , and Laven) against French domination". Though there is not extensive literature on these particular revolutionary revolts in

5882-536: The Bình Xuyên paramilitary crime syndicate in street combat and dismantling the Hòa Hảo religious tradition's private army. This made him popular with the people and Diệm, but the latter later put him in a powerless position, regarding him as a threat. In 1963, the authoritarian Diệm became increasingly unpopular due to the Buddhist crisis and the ARVN generals decided to launch a coup, which Minh eventually led. Diệm

6055-647: The Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo as well as to raid Buddhist temples, which according to Diệm, were harboring VC guerrillas. The most notorious of these attacks occurred on the night of August 21, 1963, during the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids conducted by the ARVN Special Forces , which caused a death toll estimated to range into the hundreds. In 1963, Diệm was killed in a coup d'état carried out by ARVN officers and encouraged by American officials such as Henry Lodge . In

6228-499: The Commercial Import Program and various capital works initiatives were lifted, and Thơ and Minh were recognised. The first order of the new regime was Provisional Constitutional Act No. 1, signed by Minh, formally suspending the 1956 constitution created by Diệm. Minh was said to have preferred playing mah-jongg , playing tennis at the elite Cercle Sportif, tending to his garden and giving tea parties to fighting

6401-480: The Corps Indigène , the local component of the French colonial army. He began his military career in 1940, and was one of only 50 Vietnamese officers to be commissioned when he graduated from the École Militaire in France. During the 1940s, Imperial Japan invaded Indochina and seized control from France. Minh was captured and later had only a single tooth that remained from the torture he had suffered at

6574-666: The Duy Tân Hội would establish a network of commercial enterprises to both gain capital to finance their activities and to hide their true intentions. A number of other anti-French organisations would support the Duy Tân Hội such as the Peace and Duty Society and the Heaven and Earth Society. The Tonkin Free School ( Đông Kinh Nghĩa Thục ), which was created in Hanoi in 1907 by the supporters of both Phan Châu Trinh and Phan Bội Châu

6747-523: The Front Populaire administration in Paris, France had agreed to repatriate Angkor Wat , Angkor Thom , Siem Reap , Siem Pang , and the associated provinces (approximately 13) to Siam. Meanwhile, Siam took over control of those areas, in anticipation of the upcoming treaty. Signatories from each country were dispatched to Tokyo to sign the treaty repatriating the lost provinces. Although during

6920-752: The Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation , was a grouping of French colonial territories in Mainland Southeast Asia until its end in 1954. It comprised Cambodia , Laos (from 1899), the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan (from 1898 until 1945), and the Vietnamese regions of Tonkin in the north, Annam in the centre, and Cochinchina in the south. The capital from 1902 to 1945

7093-655: The Russo-Japanese War and its lasting impression on the East as it was considered to be the first victory of "a yellow people over the white ", as well as the fall of the Manchu -led Qing dynasty to the Xinhai Revolution which established the Republic of China . These events all had significant influence on nationalist sentiments in the territories of French Indochina. The early 20th century saw

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7266-660: The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)'s military exercises in Thailand , where they were informed about the regional disquiet over Diệm's policies toward Buddhists. Minh frequently railed against Diệm in his September meeting with Lodge, decrying the police state that was being created by the Cần Lao Party of the Ngô family. Harkins reported that Minh "has done nothing but complain to me about

7439-534: The United States Presidential Unit Citation . The ARVN suffered 254,256 recorded deaths between 1960 and 1974, with the highest number of recorded deaths being in 1972, with 39,587 combat deaths, while approximately 58,000 U.S. troops died during the war. United States experience with the ARVN generated a catalog of complaints about its performance, with various officials saying 'it did not pull its weight,' 'content to let

7612-480: The Viet Cong (VC) or running the country. He was criticised for being lethargic and uninterested. Stanley Karnow said " He was a model of lethargy, lacking both the skill and the inclination to govern ". According to Karnow, Minh lamented to him that because of his role as the junta head, he " didn't have enough time to grow his orchids or play tennis ". Saigon newspapers, which Minh had allowed to re-open following

7785-542: The indigenous population of French Indochina to "study educational issues related to each place separately". According to researcher Nguyễn Đắc Xuân, in 1907, the imperial court of the Nguyễn dynasty sent Cao Xuân Dục and Huỳnh Côn, the Thượng thư of the Hộ Bộ , to French Cochinchina to "hold a conference on education" ( bàn nghị học chính ) with the French authorities on the future of

7958-717: The "keys" to modernity and hope to bring these back to Vietnam. While others like the revolutionary leader Phan Bội Châu made the "Journey to the East" ( Đông Du ) to the Japanese Empire which they saw as the other role-model of modernisation for Vietnam to follow. The Đông Du school of revoluties was supported by Prince Cường Để , a direct descendant of the Gia Long Emperor. Prince Cường Để hoped that by financing hundreds of young ambitious Vietnamese people to go get educated in Japan that this would contribute to

8131-453: The (White) French soldiers return to their homes earlier. The financial expenses of the 93,000 French Indochinese labourers and soldiers sent to France during the war – salaries, pensions, family allocations, the levy in kind (mostly rice), and even the functioning of the Indochinese hospital – were entirely financed from the budget of French Indochina itself and not from France. One of the effects of World War I on French Indochinese society

8304-500: The 1954 Geneva agreements , French Indochina ceased to exist and by 1956 all French Union troops had withdrawn from Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . In 1955, by the order of Prime Minister Diệm , the VNA crushed the armed forces of the Bình Xuyên . On 26 October 1955, the military was reorganized by the administration of President Ngô Đình Diệm who then formally established the Army of

8477-492: 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 re-education camps by the communist government of the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam . Five ARVN generals died by suicide to avoid capture. On 8 March 1949, after the Élysée Accords , the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by

8650-608: The ARVN with over one thousand aircraft, making the RVNAF the fourth largest air force in the world. These figures are deceptive, however, as the U.S. began to curtail military aid. The same situation happened to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , since their allies, the Soviet Union, and China has also cut down military support, forcing them to use obsolete T-34 tanks and SU-100 tank destroyers in battle. In

8823-661: The ARVN, reaching a strength of one million soldiers by 1972. In 1970, they performed well in the Cambodian Incursion and were executing three times as many operations as they had during the American-led war period. However, the ARVN equipment continued to be of lower standards than their American and other allies, even as the U.S. tried to upgrade ARVN technology. The officer corps was still the biggest problem. Leaders were too often inept, being poorly trained, corrupt and lacking morale. Still, Sir Robert Thompson ,

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8996-412: The Americans do the fighting and dying,' and 'weak in dedication, direction, and discipline.' The President remained prone to issue instructions directly to field units, cutting across the entire chain of command. Major shortcomings identified by U.S. officers included a general lack of motivation, indicated, for example, by officers having an inclination for rear area jobs rather than combat command, and

9169-533: The Annamese education system. This meeting was also recorded in the work Hoàng Việt Giáp Tý niên biểu written by Nguyễn Bá Trác. The creation of a ministry of education was orchestrated by the French to reform the Nguyễn dynasty's educational system to match French ambitions in the region more. As explained by the Resident-Superior of Annam Ernest Fernand Lévecque "Its creation is to better suit

9342-558: The Balkans and the Middle Eastern front . This exceptional human mobility offered the French Indochinese, mostly Vietnamese, the unique opportunity of directly access to social life and political debates that were occurring in contemporary France and this resulted in their aspirations to become "masters of their own destiny" to increase. Exposed to new political ideals and returning to a colonial occupation of their own country (by

9515-587: The Bolaven Plateau, one can see that the native communities desired to rid the region of the extensive and overpowering influence of their colonisers. On 16 May 1906 the governor-general of French Indochina Jean Baptiste Paul Beau issued a decree establishing the Councils for the Improvement of Indigenous Education. These organisations would oversee the French policies surrounding the education of

9688-563: The Buddhist crisis of 1963; the US informed the Vietnamese generals (through the CIA) that it would not object if Diệm were to be overthrown. Minh was the second highest ranking general at the time, and he led the coup to overthrow Diệm on 1 November 1963. In the afternoon, Minh ordered his bodyguard, Nguyễn Văn Nhung , to arrest, and later execute, Colonel Lê Quang Tung , one of Diệm's closest and most faithful associates. The generals hated Tung, because, at Ngô Đình Nhu 's instructions, he had disguised his men in regular army uniforms and framed

9861-425: The Buddhists, sparking opposition from Khiêm and Thiệu, both Catholics. They then tried to remove him in favour of Minh, and they recruited many officers. Khiêm and Thiệu sought out Taylor and sought a private endorsement to install Minh by staging a coup against Khánh, but the US ambassador did not want any more changes in leadership, fearing a corrosive effect on the government. This deterred Khiêm's group from staging

10034-419: The Cambodian border by the end of the month. The soldiers of the three other leaders eventually surrendered in the face of Minh's onslaught, but Ba Cụt's men fought to the end. Understanding that they could not defeat Minh's men in open conventional warfare, Ba Cụt's forces destroyed their own bases so that the VNA could not use their abandoned resources, and retreated into the jungle. Ba Cụt's 3,000 men spent

10207-449: The French maintained a racial hierarchy where they believed in "martial races" making the early recruitment fall onus primarily on North Africa and French West Africa , but soon the need for additional manpower forced the French to recruit men from the Far East and Madagascar . Almost 100,000 Vietnamese were conscripts and went to Europe to fight and serve on the French battlefront, or work as labourers. Vietnamese troops also served in

10380-406: The French protectorate being loyal to their new rulers, but as early period of the Pháp thuộc saw an influx of French enterprises significant changes to the social order of the day inspired new forms of resistance against French rule that differed from the earlier Cần Vương Movement. The new social circumstances in French Indochina were brought about by the establishment of industrial companies by

10553-495: The French sphere of influence in China, these places would now become hosts of anti-French revolutionary activities due to their borders with Tonkin and Laos, being the primary places of operation for both Chinese and Vietnamese revolutionaries. This allowed for members of the Duy Tân Hội to perform border raids on both Tonkin and Laos from their bases in China. In March 1913 the mystic millenarist cult leader Phan Xích Long organised an independence demonstration in Cholon which

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10726-424: The French such as the Union commerciale indochinoise , the Est Asiatique français shipping company, the Chemin de fer français de l'Indochine et du Yunan railway company, as well as the various coal exploitation companies operating in Tonkin, these modern companies were accompanied by an influx of French tea, coffee, and rubber plantation magnates. Following the defeat of the Nguyễn loyalist Cần Vương Movement

10899-555: The French viewed Japanese women as clean, they were highly popular. Images of the Japanese prostitutes in Vietnam were put on French postcards by French photographers. The Japanese government tried to hide the existences of these Japanese prostitutes who went abroad and did not mention them in books on history. Beginning in the 1880s there was a rise of an explicitly anti-Catholic French administration in French Indochina. The administration would try to reduce Catholic missionary influence in French Indochinese society, as opposed to

11072-644: The Kingdom of Annam there are no longer two governments, but only one" (meaning that the French government completely took over the administration). While the French were trying to establish control over Cambodia, a large scale Vietnamese insurgency – the Cần Vương movement – started to take shape, aiming to expel the French and install the boy emperor Hàm Nghi as the leader of an independent Vietnam. Between 1885 and 1889, insurgents, led by Phan Đình Phùng , Phan Chu Trinh , Phan Bội Châu , Trần Quý Cáp and Huỳnh Thúc Kháng , targeted Vietnamese Christians as there were very few French soldiers to overcome, which led to

11245-437: The Laos and Cambodian borders. President Nixon dispatched bombers in Operation Linebacker to provide air support for the ARVN when it seemed that South Vietnam was about to be lost. In desperation, President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu fired the incompetent General Hoàng Xuân Lãm and replaced him with General Ngô Quang Trưởng . He gave the order that all deserters would be executed and pulled enough forces together in order to prevent

11418-403: The Laotian protectorate and the Chinese territory of Guangzhouwan. The French exploited the resources in the region during their rule, but also contributed to improvements of the health and education system in the region. Nevertheless, deep divides remained between the native population and the colonists, leading to sporadic rebellions by the former. After the Fall of France during World War II ,

11591-407: The MRC off guard. Minh, Đôn and Lê Văn Kim woke up to find hostile forces surrounding their houses and thought it to be a quixotic stunt by some disgruntled young officers. Khánh used the coup to enact retribution against Minh, Đôn, Kim, Đính and Xuân. He had them arrested, claiming that they were part of a neutralist plot with the French. Khánh cited their service in the Vietnamese National Army in

11764-464: The Mekong Delta fell under French control. In 1863, the Cambodian king Norodom had requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country. In 1867, Siam (modern Thailand ) renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognised the 1863 French protectorate on Cambodia, in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. (These provinces would be ceded back to Cambodia by

11937-412: The Nguyễn dynasty ended in 1858 with French military intervention. Under the pretext of protesting the persecution and expulsion of Catholic missionaries, and following Charles de Montigny's failure to secure concessions, Napoleon III ordered Admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly to attack Tourane (present day Da Nang ). Fourteen French gunships, 3,300 men including 300 Filipino soldiers provided by

12110-439: The Ngô brothers had committed suicide. Unclear and contradictory stories abounded on the exact method used by the brothers. Minh said "Due to an inadvertence, there was a gun inside the vehicle. It was with this gun that they committed suicide." Conein soon realized that the generals' story was false. Soon after, photos of the bloodied corpses of the brothers appeared in the media, discrediting the generals' lies. Đôn's assertion that

12283-412: The PAVN from taking Huế . Finally, with considerable US air and naval support, as well as hard fighting by the ARVN soldiers, the Easter Offensive was halted. ARVN forces counter-attacked and succeeded in driving some of the PAVN out of South Vietnam, though they did retain control of northern Quảng Trị Province near the DMZ. At the end of 1972, Operation Linebacker II helped achieve a negotiated end to

12456-734: The PAVN launched the Easter Offensive , an all-out attack against South Vietnam across the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone and from its sanctuaries in Laos and Cambodia. The assault combined infantry wave assaults, artillery and the first massive use of armored forces by the PAVN. Although the T-54 tanks proved vulnerable to LAW rockets, the ARVN took heavy losses. The PAVN forces took Quảng Trị Province and some areas along

12629-419: The Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) on 30 December 1955. The air force was established as a separate service known as the Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF). Early on, the focus of the army was the guerrilla fighters of the Viet Cong (VC), formed to oppose the Diệm administration. The United States, under President John F. Kennedy sent advisors and a great deal of financial support to aid the ARVN in combating

12802-650: The Saigon campaign, advanced out of the city and began to capture cities in the Mekong Delta. On 5 June 1862, the Vietnamese conceded and signed the Treaty of Saigon whereby they agreed to legalize the free practice of the Catholic religion; to open trade in the Mekong Delta and at three ports at the mouth of the Red River in northern Vietnam; to cede the provinces of Biên Hòa , Gia Định and Định Tường along with

12975-563: The Siamese who had ruled over them for a century before the establishment of the French protectorate. Both the traditional elite and the Laotian peasantry seemed largely content with French rule during this period. Despite this, sporadic revolts occurred in Laos during the late 19th century and early 20th century. During the late 19th century Southern Laos saw upland minority communities rising up in revolt, these were led by Bac My and Ong Ma on

13148-522: The Spanish attacked the port of causing significant damage and occupying the city. After fighting the Vietnamese for three months and finding himself unable to progress further in land, de Genouilly sought and received approval of an alternative attack on Saigon. Sailing to southern Vietnam, de Genouilly captured the poorly defended city of Saigon on 17 February 1859. Once again, however, de Genouilly and his forces were unable to seize territory outside of

13321-564: The State of Vietnam. French Indochina legally became invalid. Following the Geneva Accords of 21 July 1954 , French Indochina was completely no more when the French were forced to militarily withdraw from North Vietnam and politically recognize Việt Minh's state as a sovereign one here. The State of Vietnam became a South Vietnamese state. The separation of Vietnam would continue until 2 July 1976. French–Vietnamese relations started during

13494-402: The United States in the war, by increasing its responsibility for what had occurred after the deposing of Diệm's administration. In the view of Stanley Karnow , a former journalist in Saigon for The Saturday Evening Post, ''Minh was not the main mover. But as the senior general, he was the man who crystallized the various factions who were all plotting against Diệm. Everybody and his brother had

13667-404: The United States was highly critical of the ARVN, it continued to be entirely U.S.-armed and funded. Although the American news media has often portrayed the Vietnam War as a primarily American and North Vietnamese conflict, the ARVN carried the brunt of the fight before and after large-scale American involvement, and participated in many major operations with American troops. ARVN troops pioneered

13840-430: The United States. Unique in serving a dual military-civilian administrative purpose, in direct competition with the Viet Cong , the ARVN had also become a component of political power and suffered from continual issues of political loyalty appointments, corruption in leadership, factional infighting, and occasional open internal conflict. After the fall of Saigon to North Vietnam 's People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN),

14013-426: The VC surged in the wake of Diệm's deposal, due to the displacement of troops into urban areas for the coup. The increasingly free discussion generated from the surfacing of new and accurate data following the coup revealed that the military situation was far worse than what was reported by Diệm. The incidence of VC attacks continued to increase as it had done during the summer of 1963, the weapons loss ratio worsened and

14186-546: The VNA quickly became a modern army modeled after the Expeditionary Corps. It included infantry, artillery, signals, armored cavalry, airborne, airforce, navy and a national military academy. By 1953, troopers as well as officers were all Vietnamese, the latter having been trained in Ecoles des Cadres such as Da Lat , including Chief of Staff General Nguyễn Văn Hinh who was a French Union airforce veteran. After

14359-618: The Viet Minh, the State of Vietnam , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại , was proclaimed by the French in 1949. French efforts to retake Vietnam were unsuccessful, culminating in defeat at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ . On 22 October and 9 November 1953, the Kingdom of Laos and Kingdom of Cambodia proclaimed their respective independences. On 4 June 1954, France signed the Accords in the Hôtel Matignon to grant complete independence to

14532-689: 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 Viet Minh forces led by Ho Chi Minh . The VNA fought in a wide range of campaigns including the Battle of Nà Sản (1952), Operation Atlas (1953) and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954). Benefiting from French assistance,

14705-562: The Vietnamese were not as well equipped as the American infantrymen they replaced. The 1972 offensive had been driven back only with a massive American bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The Case–Church Amendment had effectively nullified the Paris Peace Accords, and as a result the United States had cut aid to South Vietnam drastically in 1974, just months before the final enemy offensive, allowing North Vietnam to invade South Vietnam without fear of U.S. military action. As

14878-576: The Young Turks, this older group was led by Minh and had been crafting plots with the Buddhists to regain power. Sửu's signature was required to pass the ruling, but he referred the matter to the HNC, which turned down the request. On 19 December, the generals dissolved the HNC; several of its members, other politicians and student leaders were arrested, while Minh and the other older generals were arrested and flown to Pleiku , and later removed from

15051-437: The agricultural or labour movement. It soon became engaged in endless debate and never achieved its initial task of drafting a new constitution. Minh and Thơ halted Nhu's Strategic Hamlet Program . Nhu had trumpeted the program as the solution to South Vietnam's difficulties with VC insurgents, believing that the mass relocation of peasants into fortified villages would isolate the VC from their peasant support base. According to

15224-622: The army for the Xá Lợi Pagoda raids several months earlier, in August. At nightfall, Nhung took Tung and Major Lê Quảng Trịeu, his brother and deputy and drove them to the edge of Tan Son Nhut Air Base . Forced to kneel over two freshly dug holes, the brothers were shot into their graves and buried. In the early morning of 2 November, Diệm agreed to surrender. The ARVN officers had reportedly originally intended merely to exile Diệm and Nhu, having promised them safe passage". Minh and Đôn asked Colonel Lucien Conein to secure an American aircraft to take

15397-503: The assassinations were unplanned proved sufficient for Lodge, who told the State Department that "I am sure assassination was not at their direction." Minh and Đôn reiterated their position in a meeting with Conein and Lodge a few days after the coup. The assassinations caused a split within the junta and repulsed world opinion. The killings damaged the public belief that the new regime would be an improvement over Diệm, throwing

15570-454: The attack by his 5th Division on Gia Long Palace. Đôn was reported to have pressured Thiệu during the night of the siege, asking him on the phone "Why are you so slow in doing it? Do you need more troops? If you do, ask Đính to send more troops – and do it quickly because after taking the palace you will be made a general." Thiệu denied responsibility and issued a statement: "Dương Văn Minh has to assume entire responsibility for

15743-521: The best school for political prisoners, nationalists, and communists, as they were gathered together in large, common cells which allowed them to exchange their ideas. In March 1908, mass demonstrations took place in Annam and Tonkin demanding a reduction of the high taxes. In June 1908, the Hanoi Poison Plot took place where a group of Tonkinese indigenous tirailleurs attempted to poison

15916-403: The bicameral National Assembly, the presidency was unanimously handed over to Minh, who was sworn in the following day. The French government thought that Minh could broker a cease-fire and had advocated his ascension to power. There was also an assumption that, as Minh had a reputation for indecision, the various groups thought that they could manipulate him for their own ends relatively easily. It

16089-574: The brothers in the APC as the convoy headed off after the arrest. Before the convoy had departed for the church, Minh was reported to have gestured to Nhung, who was a contract killer and Minh's bodyguard, with two right-hand fingers. This was taken to be an order to kill both brothers. During the journey, the brothers were killed in the APC, with Nhung riddling their bodies with many bullets. An investigation by Đôn later determined that Nghĩa and Nhung sprayed them with bullets before repeatedly stabbing them. When

16262-443: The brothers out of the country. Assistant Secretary of State Roger Hilsman recommended that if the generals decide to exile Diệm, he should also be sent outside Southeast Asia. He went on to anticipate what he termed a " Götterdämmerung in the palace". Minh then went to Gia Long Palace, and Minh sent an armored personnel carrier to transport Diệm and Nhu, while the others prepared for the ceremonial and televised handover of power to

16435-517: The brutality of modern warfare and many would change their perception about many social norms and beliefs at home because of their experiences abroad. Of the 93,000 French Indochinese soldiers and workers who came to Europe, most were from the poorest parts of Annam and Tonkin, which had been badly hit by famine and cholera , a smaller number (1,150) of French Indochinese soldiers and workers came from Cambodia. In Northeast France around 44,000 Vietnamese troops served in direct combat functions at both

16608-468: The cessation of American aid along with the growing disenchantment of the South Vietnamese people and the rampant corruption and incompetence of South Vietnam political leaders and ARVN general staff. Without the necessary funds and facing a collapse in South Vietnamese troop and civilian morale, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the ARVN to achieve a victory against the PAVN. Moreover,

16781-412: The civilian government, but as members of the MRC they were superior to him. Whenever Thơ gave an order in the civilian hierarchy with which the generals disagreed, they would go to the MRC and make a counter-order. The press strongly attacked Thơ, accusing his civilian government of being "tools" of the MRC. Thơ's acquiescence to and corruption under Diệm's presidency was also called into question, and he

16954-720: The colony was administered by the Vichy government and was under Japanese occupation until March 1945, when the Japanese overthrew the colonial regime . After the Japanese surrender , the Viet Minh , led by Hồ Chí Minh , declared Vietnamese independence , but France subsequently sought to restore their control with the help of the British. An all-out resistance war, known as the First Indochina War , broke out in late 1946 between French and Viet Minh forces. To counter

17127-512: The communist threat, the army was expanded to 192,000 with four corps, nine divisions, one airborne brigade, one SF group, three separate regiments, one territorial regiment, 86 ranger companies, and 19 separate battalions, as well as support units in 1963, and a force strength of 355,135 in 1970. Meanwhile, the supporting militia forces grew from a combined initial size of 116,000 in 1956, declined to 86,000 in 1959, and then were pushed up to 218,687 RF & 179,015 PF in 1970. The effect of expanding

17300-616: The complete disintegration of the South Vietnamese government. Withdrawing ARVN forces found the roads choked with refugees making troop movement almost impossible. North Vietnamese forces took advantage of the growing instability, and with the abandoned equipment of the routing ARVN, they mounted heavy attacks on all fronts. With collapse all but inevitable, many ARVN generals abandoned their troops to fend for themselves and ARVN soldiers deserted en masse . The 18th Division held out at Xuân Lộc from 9 to 21 April before being forced to withdraw. President Thiệu resigned his office on 21 April and left

17473-421: The confusion that followed, General Dương Văn Minh took control, but he was only the first in a succession of ARVN generals to assume the presidency of South Vietnam. During these years, the United States began taking more control of the war against the VC and the role of the ARVN became less and less significant. They were also plagued by continuing problems of severe corruption amongst the officer corps. Although

17646-475: The corpses arrived at military headquarters, the generals were shocked. Đôn ordered another general to tell reporters that the brothers had died in an accident and went to confront Minh in his office. Đôn later reported that Minh had answered his question in a "haughty" tone. At this time, Xuân walked into Minh's office through the open door, unaware of Đôn's presence. Xuân snapped to attention and stated " Mission accomplie ". Minh had his subordinates report that

17819-405: The country. At Bien Hoa, ARVN soldiers made a strong resistance against PAVN forces, however, ARVN defenses at Cu Chi and Hoc Mon start to collapse under the overwhelming PAVN attacks. In the Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc Island, many of ARVN soldiers were aggressive and intact to prevent VC taking over any provincial capitals. Less than a month after Huế, Saigon fell and South Vietnam ceased to exist as

17992-408: The death of Ngô Đình Diệm." Trần Văn Hương , an opposition politician who was jailed by Diệm, and a future prime minister and president, gave a scathing analysis of the generals' action. He said "The top generals who decided to murder Diệm and his brother were scared to death. The generals knew very well that having no talent, no moral virtues, no political support whatsoever, they could not prevent

18165-462: The defensive perimeter of the city. De Genouilly was criticised for his actions and was replaced by Admiral Page in November 1859 with instructions to obtain a treaty protecting the Catholic faith in Vietnam while refraining from making territorial gains. Peace negotiations proved unsuccessful and the fighting in Saigon continued. Ultimately in 1861, the French brought additional forces to bear in

18338-598: The earlier decades where missionaries played an important role in both administration and society in French Cochinchina. From 1 January 1898, the French directly took over the right to collect all taxes in the protectorate of Annam and to allocate salaries to the Emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty and its mandarins. In a notice dated 24 August 1898, the Resident-Superior of Annam wrote: "From now on, in

18511-586: The early 17th century with the arrival of the Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes . Around this time, Vietnam had only just begun its "Southward"—" Nam Tiến ", the occupation of the Mekong Delta , a territory being part of the Khmer Empire and to a lesser extent, the kingdom of Champa which they had defeated in 1471. European involvement in Vietnam was confined to trade during the 18th century, as

18684-400: The early 1950s, under the French colonial administration as evidence, although he did as well. Khánh also had Major Nhung, the bodyguard of Minh, shot, causing riots among parts of the population who feared that Khánh would wind back the clock to the Diệm era. Khánh later persuaded Minh to remain as a figurehead head of state. This was partly due to pressure from American officials, who felt that

18857-466: The early 20th century calm was supposed to reign as the French had "pacified" the region, constant uprisings contesting French rule characterised French Indochina this period. "There is ample evidence of the rural populations' involvement in revolts against authority during the first 50 years of the French colonial presence in Cambodia." The French Sûreté was worried about the Japanese victory during

19030-456: The end of Diệm's censorship, reported that the junta was paralysed because all twelve generals in the MRC had equal power. Each member had the power of veto, enabling them to stonewall policy decisions. Thơ's civilian government was plagued by infighting. According to Thơ's assistant, Nguyễn Ngọc Huy, the presence of Generals Đôn and Đính in both the civilian cabinet and the MRC paralysed the governance process. Đính and Đôn were subordinate to Tho in

19203-480: The end of the year, Minh was back in Vietnam after his tour. Khánh and a group of younger officers decided to forcibly retire officers with more than 25 years of service, such as Minh and the other generals deposed in Khánh's January coup; nominally this was because they thought them to be lethargic and ineffective, but tacitly, and far more importantly, because they were potential rivals for power. According to Khánh and

19376-458: The entire French colonial army's garrison in the Citadel of Hanoi . The aim of the plot was to neutralise the French garrison and make way for Commander Đề Thám 's rebel army to capture the city of Hanoi. The plot was disclosed, and then was suppressed by the French. In response the French proclaimed martial law . The French accused Phan Châu Trinh and Phan Bội Châu of the plot, Phan Châu Trinh

19549-672: The expansion of French Indochina led to the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893 . In 1893 the French authorities in Indochina used border disputes, followed by the Paknam naval incident , to provoke a crisis. French gunboats appeared at Bangkok, and demanded the cession of Lao territories east of the Mekong River . King Chulalongkorn appealed to the British, but the British minister told the king to settle on whatever terms he could get, and he had no choice but to comply. Britain's only gesture

19722-523: The four protectorates, the French formally left the local rulers in power, who were the emperors of Vietnam , kings of Cambodia , and kings of Luang Prabang , but in fact gathered all powers in their hands, the local rulers acting only as figureheads. Japanese women called Karayuki-san migrated or were trafficked to cities like Hanoi, Haiphong and Saigon in colonial French Indochina in the late 19th century to work as prostitutes and provide sexual services to French soldiers who were occupying Vietnam. Since

19895-566: The fourth and last President of South Vietnam in April 1975, two days before surrendering to North Vietnamese forces . He earned his nickname "Big Minh", because he was approximately 1.83 m (6 ft) tall and weighed 90 kg (198 lb). Born in Tiền Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam , Minh joined the French Army at the start of World War II , and

20068-468: The generals into discord. Criticism over the killings caused the officers to battle one another for positions in the new government. The responsibility for the assassinations has generally been laid at the doorstep of Minh. Conein asserted that "I have it on very good authority of very many people, that Big Minh gave the order" , as did William Colby , the director of the CIA's Far Eastern division. Đôn, however,

20241-455: The generals, but found that they were of "lax morality", unqualified to command due to a "lack of a clear political concept" and confined to desk jobs. Khánh's actions left divisions among the officers of the ARVN. When Khánh was himself deposed in 1965, he handed over dossiers proving that Minh and the other generals were innocent. Robert Shaplen said that "the case … continued to be one of Khánh's biggest embarrassments". In August, Khánh drafted

20414-529: The government and the way it is handled since I have been here". Harkins was skeptical about Minh's claims of widespread public disenchantment. During late-September, President Kennedy dispatched the McNamara Taylor mission to investigate the political and military situation in South Vietnam. This included investigating an ARVN coup. Minh expressed an interest in meeting McNamara and Taylor, so

20587-590: The hands of the Kempeitai (Japanese military police). He always smiled displaying the single tooth, which he regarded as a symbol of his toughness. Minh then transferred to the French-backed State of Vietnam 's Vietnamese National Army in 1952. In 1954, Minh was captured by the Việt Minh. He escaped after strangling a communist guard and fighting off a few others. In May 1955, he led VNA forces in

20760-417: The insurgents. A major campaign, developed by Ngô Đình Nhu and later resurrected under another name was the " Strategic Hamlet Program " which was regarded as unsuccessful by Western media because it was "inhumane" to move villagers from the countryside to fortified villages. ARVN leaders and Diệm were criticized by the foreign press when the troops were used to crush armed anti-government religious groups like

20933-433: The islands of Poulo Condore to France; and to pay reparations equivalent to one million dollars. In 1864 the aforementioned three provinces ceded to France were formally constituted as the French colony of Cochinchina. Then in 1867, French Admiral Pierre de la Grandière forced the Vietnamese to surrender three additional provinces, Châu Đốc , Hà Tiên and Vĩnh Long . With these three additions all of southern Vietnam and

21106-517: The junta, only 20% of the 8,600 existing strategic hamlets were under Saigon's control, with the rest having been taken over by the VC, contradicting Nhu's claims of widespread success. Those hamlets that were deemed to be tenable were consolidated, while the remainder were dismantled and their inhabitants returned to their ancestral land. Under Minh's rule, there was a large turnover of officials aligned with Diệm. Many were indiscriminately arrested without charge, most of whom were later released. Đính and

21279-591: The junta. Minh arrived in full military ceremonial uniform to supervise the arrest of the Ngô brothers, only to find that they had escaped and humiliated him, having talked to him from a safe house. Minh was reported to be mortified when he realised that Diệm and Nhu had escaped in the middle of the night leaving the rebels to fight for an empty building. However, Diệm's hideout was found and surrounded, and Minh sent General Mai Hữu Xuân , his deputy Colonel Nguyễn Văn Quan , his bodyguard Nguyễn Văn Nhung and Dương Hiếu Nghĩa to arrest both brothers. Nhung and Nghĩa sat with

21452-429: The liberation of his country from French domination. The Duy Tân Hội was founded in 1904 by Phan Bội Châu and Prince Cường Để. The group in a broader sense was also considered a Modernisation Movement. This new group of people consisted only of a few hundred people, with most of its members being either students or nationalists. Notable members of the society included Gilbert Trần Chánh Chiêu . The members of

21625-464: The makeup of the cabinet. The Americans recognized Minh and immediately restored the aid programs and that had been cut to punish Diệm in the last days of his rule. With the fall of Diệm, various American sanctions that were imposed in response to the repression of the Buddhist crisis and Nhu's Special Forces' attacks on the Xá Lợi Pagoda, were lifted. The freeze on US economic aid, the suspension of

21798-482: The meantime, Khánh could not substantiate his claims against the generals. Khánh presided over the trial, which took place in May. Minh was perfunctorily accused of misusing a small amount of money, before being allowed to serve as an advisor on the trial panel. The other generals were eventually asked by Khánh to "once you begin to serve again in the army, you do not take revenge on anybody". The tribunal then "congratulated"

21971-431: The military, and the execution of a number of Nguyễn dynasty mandarins that were accused of working together with the French government. Another revolt also broke out in Cochinchina in 1913 where prisons and administrative hubs were attacked by crowds of hundreds of peasants using sticks and swords to fight the French, as the French were armed with firearms a large number of protesters ended up dying by gunshot wounds causing

22144-474: The military. Minh went into exile in Bangkok , where he occupied himself with hobbies such as gardening and playing tennis. He still had many American friends, especially among the CIA, who gave him support during this period and paid for his dental bills. The US ambassador, Ellsworth Bunker , was openly contemptuous of him and referred to him in public with obscenities. In return, he wrote a pro-war article for

22317-630: The ministry was according to the plans and the command of the French Director of Education of Annam . The French administration in Annam continuously revised the curriculum to be taught in order to fit the French system. The French entry into World War I saw thousands of volunteers, primarily from the French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin, enlist for service in Europe, around 7 ⁄ 8 of all French Indochinese serving in Europe were Annamese and Tonkinese volunteers. This period also saw

22490-546: The new national police chief General Mai Hữu Xuân were given control of the interior ministry and were accused of arresting people en masse, before releasing them in return for bribes and pledges of loyalty. The government was criticised for firing large numbers of district and provincial chiefs directly appointed by Diệm, causing a breakdown in law and order during the abrupt transition of power. The provisional government lacked direction in policy and planning, resulting in its quick collapse. The number of rural attacks instigated by

22663-538: The outskirts of the capital. Later that afternoon, as Minh finished his acceptance speech, in which he called for an immediate cease-fire and peace talks, a formation of five A-37s , captured from the Republic of Vietnam Air Force , bombed Tan Son Nhut Air Base. As Biên Hòa fell, General Nguyễn Văn Toàn , the III Corps commander, fled to Saigon, saying that most of the top ARVN leadership had virtually resigned themselves to defeat. The inauguration of Minh had served as

22836-401: The poll, Minh withdrew and did not return until 1972, keeping a low profile. Minh then advocated a "third force", maintaining that Vietnam could be reunified without a military victory to a hardline communist or anti-communist government. However, this was not something that Thiệu agreed with. In April 1975, as South Vietnam was on the verge of being overrun, Thieu resigned. A week later, Minh

23009-444: The popular Minh would be a unifying and stabilising factor in the new regime. However, Khánh soon sidelined Minh. Minh reportedly resented the fact that he had been deposed by a younger officer whom he viewed as an unscrupulous upstart. He was also upset with the detention of his fellow generals and around 30 of his junior officers. The junior officers were set free when Minh demanded that Khánh release them in return for his service. In

23182-501: The proceedings, angering Khánh and keeping their long-running rivalry going. By the end of October, the Johnson administration became more supportive of Taylor's negative opinion of Minh and concluded that US interests would be optimized if Khánh prevailed in the power struggle. As a result, the Americans eventually paid for Minh to go on a "good will tour" so that he could be pushed off the political scene without embarrassment, while Khiêm

23355-460: The protests to break up ending the revolt. During the early 20th century the French protectorate over Cambodia was challenged by rebels, just before it saw three separate revolts during the early reign of King Norodom , who had little authority outside Phnom Penh . During the early 20th century Laos was considered to be the most "docile" territory as it saw relatively few uprisings. The French attributed this to them being more stable rulers than

23528-415: The rate of VC defections fell. The units that participated in the coup were returned to the field to guard against a possible major VC offensive in the countryside. The falsification of military statistics by Diệm's officials had led to miscalculations, which manifested themselves in military setbacks after Diệm's death. General Nguyễn Khánh began to plot against the MRC after it was created. Khánh expected

23701-564: The remarkably successful work of the Jesuit missionaries continued. In 1787, Pierre Pigneau de Behaine , a French Catholic priest, petitioned the French government and organised French military volunteers to aid Nguyễn Ánh in retaking lands his family lost to the Tây Sơn . Pigneau died in Vietnam but his troops fought on until 1802 in the French assistance to Nguyễn Ánh . The French colonial empire

23874-480: The respected Foreign Affairs quarterly in 1968, condemning the communists and rejecting a power-sharing agreement. This helped to end his exile, with the support of the United States. Minh opposed Thiệu, who as part of the so-called "Young Turks" had meanwhile ended the endless power struggles and coups alongside Nguyễn Cao Kỳ , Nguyễn Chánh Thi and Chung Tấn Cang , by finally outmaneuvering Khánh in 1965, had been governing as constitutional president since 1967 and

24047-430: The rest of 1955 evading the 20,000 VNA troops commanded by Minh. Ba Cụt was arrested by a patrol on 13 April 1956, and later executed, and his remaining forces were defeated by Minh. The victories over the Hòa Hảo and the Bình Xuyên were the zenith of Minh's battlefield career. When Minh arrived at a military parade in his jeep before the reviewing stand after the victories, Diệm embraced him and kissed both cheeks. He

24220-420: The rioting. However, the triumvirate did little due to their disunity. Khánh dominated the decision-making and sidelined Khiêm and Minh. On 13 September, Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức , both Roman Catholics demoted by Khánh after Buddhist pressure, launched a coup attempt with the support of Catholic elements. After a one-day stand-off the putsch failed. During the coup, Minh had remained aloof from

24393-530: The siege and instead stayed at his Saigon home. Diệm responded by appointing Minh to the post of Presidential Military Advisor, where he had no influence or troops to command in case the thought of coup ever crossed his mind. According to historian Howard Jones, Minh was "in charge of three telephones", and remained in the post until Diệm's overthrow. Minh and Trần Văn Đôn , the ARVN Chief of Staff who had no troops due to Diệm's suspicion of him, went to observe

24566-468: The summer of 1974, Nixon resigned under the pressure of the Watergate scandal and was succeeded by Gerald Ford . With the war growing incredibly unpopular at home, combined with a severe economic recession and mounting budget deficits, Congress cut funding to South Vietnam for the upcoming fiscal year from 1 billion to 700 million dollars. Historians have attributed the fall of Saigon in 1975 to

24739-528: The times as more opportunities to study" opened up in the South to which this new ministry was best suited to help this transition. While the Nguyễn dynasty's Ministry of Education was nominally a part of the Nguyễn dynasty's administrative apparatus, actual control was in the hands of the French Council for the Improvement of Indigenous Education in Annam , which dictated its policies. All work done by

24912-504: The total land force from about 220,000 in 1960 to around 750,000 in 1970 can be imagined, along with the troop quality issues that resulted. The ARVN inherited the mix of French and American weaponry of the VNA, but was progressively reequipped originally with American World War II/Korean War era weapons and then from the mid-1960s with a range of more up to date American weaponry. French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China ), officially known as

25085-480: The use of the M113 armored personnel carrier as an infantry fighting vehicle by fighting mounted rather than as a "battle taxi" as originally designed, and the armored cavalry (ACAV) modifications were adopted based on ARVN experience. One notable ARVN unit equipped with M113s, the 3d Armored Cavalry Squadron , used the new tactic so proficiently and with such extraordinary heroism against hostile forces that they earned

25258-422: The vast majority of the men who volunteered for service in Europe were indeed volunteers. Among the motivations of volunteering were both personal and economic ambitions, some French Indochinese volunteers wished to see what the world looked like "beyond the bamboo hedges in their villages" while others preferred the money and the opportunity to see what France actually looks like. Their service would expose them to

25431-471: The war between the U.S. and the Hanoi government. By March 1973, in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords the United States had completely pulled its troops out of Vietnam. The ARVN was left to fight alone, but with all the weapons and technologies that their allies left behind. With massive technological support they had roughly four times as many heavy weapons as their enemies. The U.S. left

25604-539: The well-supplied PAVN, no longer having to worry about U.S. bombing. The victorious Communists sent over 250,000 ARVN soldiers to prison camps. Prisoners were incarcerated for periods ranging from weeks to 18 years. The communists called these prison camps " reeducation camps ". The Americans and South Vietnamese had laid large minefields during the war, and former ARVN soldiers were made to clear them. Thousands died from sickness and starvation and were buried in unmarked graves. The South Vietnamese national military cemetery

25777-467: The western part of Chantaburi . In 1904, to get back Chantaburi, Siam had to give Trat and Koh Kong to French Indochina. Trat became part of Thailand again on 23 March 1907 in exchange for many areas east of the Mekong like Battambang , Siam Nakhon and Sisophon . In the 1930s, Siam engaged France in a series of talks concerning the repatriation of Siamese provinces held by the French. In 1938, under

25950-416: The withdrawal of U.S. aid encouraged North Vietnam to begin a new military offensive against South Vietnam. This resolve was strengthened when the new American administration did not think itself bound to this promise Nixon made to Thieu of a "severe retaliation" if Hanoi broke the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. The fall of Huế to PAVN forces on 26 March 1975 began an organized rout of the ARVN that culminated in

26123-481: Was Hanoi , Saigon was the capital from 1887 to 1902 and again from 1945 to 1954. The Second French Empire annexed Cochinchina in 1862 and established a protectorate in Cambodia in 1863. After the French Third Republic took over northern Vietnam through the Tonkin campaign , the various protectorates were consolidated into one union in 1887. Two more entities were incorporated into the union:

26296-411: Was a figurehead with little influence, which lay with Diệm's brothers. Diệm held Thơ in contempt and did not allow him to take part in policy decisions. Tho entered into intensive bargaining with Minh on 2 November on the composition of the interim government. Thơ knew that the generals wanted to have him head a new government to provide continuity, and he used this as leverage in bargaining with them about

26469-406: Was a middle way between the proposals of Thiệu and the communists. Thiệu, however, reportedly opposed any compromise. On 21 April 1975, Thiệu handed over power to Vice President Trần Văn Hương and fled to Taiwan . Hương prepared for peace talks with North Vietnam. However, after his overtures were rejected, he resigned. As the main attack on Saigon developed on 27 April 1975, in a joint sitting of

26642-401: Was accused of helping to repress the Buddhists by Diệm and Nhu. Tho claimed that he had countenanced the pagoda raids, claiming that he would have resigned were it not for Minh's pleas to stay. Minh defended Thơ's anti-Diệm credentials by declaring that Tho had taken part in the planning of the coup "from the very outset" and that he enjoyed the "full confidence" of the junta. On 1 January 1964,

26815-581: Was an agreement with France guaranteeing the integrity of the rest of Siam. In exchange, Siam had to give up its claim to the Thai-speaking Shan region of north-eastern Burma to the British, and cede Laos to France . The French continued to pressure Siam, and in 1902 they manufactured another crisis. This time Siam had to concede French control of territory on the west bank of the Mekong opposite Luang Prabang and around Champasak in southern Laos, as well as western Cambodia. France also occupied

26988-465: Was assassinated on 2 November 1963 shortly after being deposed. Minh was accused of ordering an aide, Nguyễn Văn Nhung , to kill Diệm. Minh then led a junta for three months, but he was an unsuccessful leader and was heavily criticized for being lethargic and uninterested. During his three months of rule, many civilian problems intensified and the communist Viet Cong made significant gains. Angered at not receiving his desired post, General Nguyễn Khánh led

27161-466: Was assisted by Generals Trần Thiện Khiêm , who controlled the forces around Saigon, Đỗ Mậu and Nguyễn Chánh Thi . Khánh and his colleagues spread rumours to American officials that Minh and his colleagues were about to declare South Vietnam's neutrality and sign a peace deal to end the war with the North. Khánh overthrew Minh and his colleagues on 30 January 1964, in a bloodless coup, completely catching

27334-517: Was attended by 600 peasants dressed in white robes. Phan Xích Long claimed descent of the deposed Hàm Nghi Emperor and the Ming dynasty's emperor and declared himself to be the "Emperor of the Ming Dynasty". The year 1913 also saw the Duy Tân Hội's second insurrection campaign, this campaign resulted in the society's members murdering two French Hanoi police officers, attacks on both militia and

27507-547: Was born on 16 February 1916 in Mỹ Tho Province in the Mekong Delta , to a wealthy landowner who served in a prominent position in the Finance Ministry of the French colonial administration . He went to Saigon where he attended a top French colonial school, now Le Quy Don High School, where King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia also studied. Unlike many of his classmates, Minh declined French citizenship and joined

27680-592: Was captured and tortured by the Imperial Japanese , who invaded and seized French Indochina . After his release, he joined the French-backed Vietnamese National Army (VNA) and was imprisoned by the communist -dominated Viet Minh before breaking out. In 1955, after Vietnam was partitioned and the State of Vietnam controlled the southern half under Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, Minh led the VNA in decisively defeating

27853-621: Was closed in the year of its founding by the French authorities because it was perceived as being anti-French. The Tonkin Free School stemmed from the movement of the same name, which aimed to modernise Vietnamese society by abandoning Confucianism and adopting new ideas from both the Western world and Japan. In particular, it promoted the Vietnamese version of the Latin script for writing Vietnamese in place of classical Chinese by publishing educational materials and newspapers using this script, as

28026-472: Was equally emphatic, saying "I can state without equivocation that this was done by General Dương Văn Minh and by him alone." Lodge believed Xuân was at least partly culpable, asserting: "Diệm and Nhu had been assassinated, if not by Xuan personally, at least at his direction." Some months after the event, Minh was reported to have privately told an American official that "We had no alternative. They had to be killed. Diệm could not be allowed to live because he

28199-594: Was exiled to Washington as an ambassador after being implicated in the coup. A short while earlier in September, before Minh was sent overseas, the junta decided to create a semblance of civilian rule by creating the High National Council (HNC), an appointed advisory body that was to begin the transitional to constitutional rule. Khánh put Minh in charge of picking the 17 members of the group, and he filled it with figures sympathetic to him. They then made

28372-418: Was forcibly chosen by the legislature and became president on 28 April. Saigon fell two days later on 30 April, and Minh ordered a surrender to prevent bloody urban street fighting. Minh was spared the lengthy incarceration meted out to South Vietnamese military personnel and civil servants, and lived quietly until being allowed to emigrate to France in 1983. He later moved to California, US, where he died. Minh

28545-598: Was heavily involved in Vietnam in the 19th century; often French intervention was undertaken in order to protect the work of the Paris Foreign Missions Society in the country. For its part, the Nguyễn dynasty increasingly saw Catholic missionaries as a political threat; courtesans , for example, an influential faction in the dynastic system, feared for their status in a society influenced by an insistence on monogamy. A brief period of unification under

28718-478: Was particularly popular among the population of Saigon, having purged their city of the Bình Xuyên. This earned him the respect of US officials and he was sent to the United States to study, despite his poor English, at the US Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth, Kansas . In November 1960, a coup attempt was made against Diệm . Minh, by this time disillusioned, did not come to Diệm's defense during

28891-409: Was permanently supported by the United States. Minh was going to run against Thiệu in the 1971 election but he withdrew because it became obvious to him (and most other observers) that the election would be rigged, due to a series of restrictions against would-be opponents. Thiệu was then the only candidate and retained power. Minh kept a low profile after this and was relatively politically inert. Minh

29064-451: Was regarded as a potential leader of a "third force" which could come to a compromise with North Vietnam that would allow eventual reunification without a military takeover by one of the parties. The North Vietnamese government carefully avoided either endorsing or condemning Minh, whose brother, Dương Văn Nhut , was a one-star general in the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). In 1973, Minh proposed his own political program for Vietnam, which

29237-665: Was sent to Poulo Condor, and Phan Bội Châu fled to Japan and thence, in the year 1910, he went to China. In the years 1912 and 1913 Vietnamese nationalists organised attacks in Tonkin and Cochinchina. Using diplomatic pressure the French persuaded the Japanese to banish the Duy Tân Hội in 1909 from its shores causing them to seek refuge in Qing China, here they would join the ranks of Sun Yat-Sen 's Tongmenghui . While places like Guangdong , Guangxi , and Yunnan were earlier in

29410-508: Was the introduction of a vibrant political press both in French and in the indigenous languages that led to the political radicalisation of a new generation of nationalists. Because most of the indigenous people that served in France and the rest of Europe during the War were Vietnamese these social and political developments affected the Vietnamese more. Because French Cochinchina was a direct French colony it enjoyed favourable legislation concerning

29583-464: Was too much respected among simple, gullible people in the countryside, especially the Catholics and the refugees. We had to kill Nhu because he was so widely feared – and he had created organizations that were arms of his personal power." When Nguyễn Văn Thiệu became president, Minh blamed him for the assassinations. In 1971, Minh claimed that Thiệu had caused the deaths by hesitating and delaying

29756-803: Was vandalized and abandoned, and a mass grave of ARVN soldiers was made nearby. The charity "The Returning Casualty" in the early 2000s attempted to excavate and identify remains from some camp graves and restore the cemetery. Reporter Morley Safer who returned in 1989 and saw the poverty of a former soldier described the ARVN as "that wretched army that was damned by the victors, abandoned by its allies, and royally and continuously screwed by its commanders". The 1956 army structure of four conventional infantry divisions (8,100 each) and six light divisions (5,800 each) were reorganised according to American advice as seven full infantry divisions (10,450 each) and three corps headquarters by September 1959. The three armed services together numbered around 137,000 in 1960. In face of

29929-539: Was widely known that Minh had long-standing contacts with the communists, and it was assumed that he would be able to establish a cease-fire and re-open negotiations. This expectation was totally unrealistic, as the North Vietnamese were in an overwhelmingly dominant position on the battlefield and final victory was within reach, so they saw no need for power-sharing, regardless of any political changes in Saigon. On 28 April 1975, PAVN forces fought their way into

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