Conflict in Asia: 1955-63

Ho Chi Minh and North Vietnam
1. In 1957, there was a decision to not hold national elections which forced Ho Chi Minh to concentrate on consolidating communist control in his country
  1. He did this to start his attempt to reunify Vietnam
    1. At the end of 1958, the VWP Central Committee decided a strategy that would reunify Vietnam
      1. The VWP party was becoming more and more established, this enabled Ho Chi Minh to consider a unification of Communist Vietnam more fully
        Vietnam aimed to use military force to overthrow Diem's regime and remove the presence of 'the ruling power of the imperialist and feudalist forces'
        The North began to support Anti-Diem groups in the south, thus leading to them supporting the NLF in South Vietnam
2. North Vietnams VWP (Vietnam worker's party) attempted land reform. The regime seized privately owned land and distributed it among the rural farming population
  1. These landowners were either executed or publicly denunciated or imprisoned. In 1956, the military intervened and about 6000 people were killed
3. In August 1956, Ho Chi Minh was forced to issue an apology for the land reform programme.
  1. About one million refugees fled North Vietnam for the South.
  2. The North established a complex support network for the NLF (later became known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail) this provided supplies to the South's communists
President Kennedy's Policies Towards Indochina
1. Kennedy emphasised that ensuring that South Vietnam remained a democracy was fundamental importance in terms of securing the democratic future of Southeast Asia as a whole
  1. Kennedy was committed to containment and was fearful of the "domino theory", the situation in Vietnam was a perfect example of the need for containment.
    1. Kennedy wanted to deal with Korea in a way that didn't involve nuclear weapons due to him wanting to avoid a nuclear war
      1. Kennedy was scared that this communist threat in South Vietnam would spread to other parts of Asia.
        Kennedy backed counterinsurgency measures delivered by conventional ground forces. Vietnam was described by General Maxwell Taylor as a laboratory for counterinsurgency tactics
        In November 1961, Kennedy sent General Taylor and Walt Roscow to Vietnam to assess the situation, they responded with:
        An increase in helicopter force in Vietnam.
        Great training for the South Vietnamese party
        An increase in the numbers of US combat forces
        Strategic bombing of North Vietnam
        Led to Kennedy sending 10,000 troops to Vietnam
Diem and South Vietnam
1. Diem was a corrupt leader. He policies were divisive and damaging
  1. Diem gave his family jobs in the government, he gave his brother prime minister. He received large amounts of US economic aid that was meant to be spent on agricultural improvements, however he spent it on himself and family
    1. Diem ran a corrupt but loyal government that was heavily backed by the USA and the people of South Korea disliked this
The Formation of the National Liberation Front
1. In December 1960, the North Vietnamese leadership established a new nationalist organisation in South Vietnam called the NLF
  1. The NLF was politically motivated and wanted to reject Diem's imperialist policies. He had embarked on a campaign to remove communism from South Vietnam. He replaced local councils with government-appointed officials (many of these were catholics). This angered the peasants
    1. After the French war had ended in 1954, there was still a lot of Viet Minh infrastructure in place. Ho Chi Minh had beed described as the spiritual father of this movement, he acted as an influence on the formation and character of the NLF. These resistance veterans were driven by nationalism, they rejected American Imperialism
The Strategic Hamlet Program, 1962
1. Introduced in March 1962 via Operation Sunrise
  1. Aimed to create armed stockades, which would house South Vietnamese rural peasants
    1. it would isolate people from the Vietcong. It was a means of which Diem and Nhu could easily spread there influence amongst the farmers to challenge the vietcong
      1. The Peasants were angry as they were forced into the Hamlets, By September 1962, the regime claimed that over 4 million were in the Hamlets, by the end of 1962, there were over 3000 hamlets
        It was a failure as it led to easy recruitment for the Vietcong. Corrupt officials took money meant for the Hamlets which thus angered the peasants more. The programme soon collapsed
Buddhist Crisis
1. Diem was a Roman Catholic and he favoured that religion
  1. His Brother (Ngo Dinh Thuc) became Archbishop of Hue after Diem lobbied the Vatican on his behalf. He then proceeded to persecute the Buddhists (the majority of Vietnam was buddhist)
    1. In May 1963, Buddhists were banned from flying their flags in honour of Buddha's birthday whilst Catholics were encouraged to display Papal flags as part of celebrations for Thuc
      1. The military stopped the buddhists from hearing a speech by their leader, 9 people were killed in the protests
        Buddhists organised hunger strikes and rallies. They engaged with the US press. Tri Quang tried to persuade them to put pressure on Diem to carry out reforms
        The crisis for Diem deepened when Buddhist monk, Quang Doc, publicly burned himself alive. Similar acts followed after however Diem refused to do anything
Assassination of President Diem
1. In August 1963, Nhu organised an assault on the buddhists. Henry Cabot Lodge (US ambassador to South Vietnam) received a telegram in which Lodge should explore a new leadership for South Vietnam and plan for a replacement leader.
  1. On August 29th, Lodge sent Kennedy a message saying that Diem was a problem
    1. In late September, Kennedy sent Robert McNamara and General Taylor to Vietnam to see the problem. It was clear that Diem was not prepared to stop oppressing his people. They then recommended less US Support and a Coup against DIem
      1. 1 November 1963, South Vietnamese rebels led a fight against Diem, the next day Diem and Nhu were assassinated.

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Conflict in Asia: 1955-63

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