coldwar-conflict in Asia 1955-63

what forced ho chi minh to concentrate on consolidating communist control in north vietnam

the decision not to hold national elections in 1956

what was ho chi minh’s priority

to construct a solid communist state in the north - in order to fight for the reunification of vietnam

what was key component for the vietnam workers party to achieve communist control in the north

land reform - the regime seized privately owned land and redistributed it among the rural farming population

what was the outcome of land reform by the vietnam workers party

• public denunciations of landowners and landlords were commonplace

• thousands were executed and many more imprisoned in labour camps

• 1956 - military had to put down a revolt resulting in 6000 deaths

what did ho chi minh publicly apologise for in august 1956

for the aggressive and clumsy implementation of the land reform programme

how many refugees fled to south from north vietnam as a result of the land reform programme

about one million refugees

who were the majority of the victims of the land reform programme

loyal communists who happened to have little wealth

what had increased as a result of the land reform programme

• full scale collectivisation

• agricultural production

collectivisation

the practise of combining farming units into large scale units ; these would be controlled by the state and each would have production targets

when did the VWP central committee decide to commit to a strategy that would reunify vietnam

end of 1958

why was ho chi minh more confident in his route to reunify vietnam

• communist rule in north vietnam was well established by 1959

• the power of the vietnam workers party was well established

what did the strategy of unifying vietnam serve as for the north

a declaration of war on the south

how was the north going to reunify vietnam

use military force to overthrow diem’s regime and remove the presence of the ‘ruling power of the imperialist and feudalist forces’

what did the north do as a result to overthrow diem’s regime and the influence of it’s US backers

undertook a policy of supporting anti-diem groups in the south

why was diem disliked in the south

he was a corrupt and nepotistic leader and his policies were divisive and damaging

what did dulles admit to about the USA supporting diem

‘ because we knew on one of the better’

who served as prime minister of south vietnam

ngo dinh nhu - diem’s brother

what did diem’s family and officials do with US economic aid

fraudulently take it for personal enrichment and mismanagement

what was diem’s strategy of government focussed on

repression and political opponents were silenced

what did the USA & eisenhower refer to diem as when he visited USA in 1957

the ‘miracle man’ of asia

what was diems primary interest

the preservation of his own power

how was the preservation of diems own power achieved

through the creation of a loyal and corrupt ruling group and the support of the USA

when did north vietnamese leadership establish the National liberation front (NLF) in south

december 1960

national liberation front (NLF)

• organisation thats purpose was to free south vietnam from what it saw as US imperialism

• aimed to create a unified sovereign and independent vietnamese state

why was the NLF popular among south vietnamese people

• rejection of diem’ quasi-imperialist policies - he had embarked on a campaign to root out and destroy communists in south vietnam

• largely ignored the interests of the majority of the population - particularly the rural peasantry

• local councils were replaced by government appointed officials - many of these were catholics and this reminded the peasants of their former french colonisers - many could not accept the fact that they were replaced by their own vietnamese people

• the determination to promote nationalism and the reunification of an independent vietnam - it was this that drove many south vietnamese to commit to the NLF

what was still intact after the war against the french 1954

the remnants of the viet minh infrastructure in place

what was ho chi minh described as referring to the viet minh

‘ the spiritual father’

who had a symbiotic and mutually supportive relationship within the NLF

nationalism and communism

why did communists and nationalists get along well

both shared a common acceptance of the USA as a shared enemy of vietnam and a commitment to Vietnamese independence

who was the leader of the NLF

nguyen huu tho

who was seen as the real leader of the NLF

hanoi and ho chi minh

what led to NLF having support from both north and south

• vietnam was a very diverse society and this diversity was also reflected in the interpretation and implementation of communist ideology

• this meant northern and southern communism diverged and this ensured that the NLF had a clear voice

the NLF was not only an organisation controlled by the north vietnamese but..

a means of by which the communists could infiltrate and influence groups in the south with relative ease

NLF was seen as an agent of…

communisation

why was the NLF presented as a southern nationalist movement

so it did not go against the geneva conference agreements - which had forbidden the north from placing its own forces in the south

the NLF political manifesto

the ten point programme

who did the ten point programme appeal to

intellectuals ,students .middle class and rural working class

what was the complex support network established for the NLF to get into the south

the ho chi minh trail - which provided a supply route into the south for equipment and personnel used by North Vietnam

why was vietnam important to kennedy

• he emphasised that ensuring that south vietnam remained a democracy (despite the growing threat of communism expansion) was of fundamental importance in terms of securing the democratic future of southeast asia as a whole

• because kennedy was so committed to containment and the notion of domino theory the situation in vietnam became the perfect example for the use of containment there

why were counterinsurgency tactics used on vietnam for containment

• kennedy was convinced that the USA’s non-nuclear capabilities should be expanded as this would reduce the threat of a nuclear war and enable the USA to react to a wider range of threats - such as insurgency and subversion

• this strategy reflected kennedys fear of of the threats posed by the increasing strengths of both china and USSR

what did general max taylor describe vietnam as

a laboratory for counterinsurgency tactics

when did kennedy send general taylor and walt roscow to vietnam to assess the situation

november 1961

what was the recommendations from the report of the situation in vietnam

• an increase in the helicopter force in order to facilitate counterinsurgency actions

• greater training support for the south vietnamese army

• an increase in the numbers of US combat forces

• some strategic bombing of north vietnam

why did kennedy reject the recommendation of sending 10,000 US ground troops to vietnam

he remained committed to counterinsurgency

when was the strategic hamlet programmed introduced

march 1962

strategic hamlet program

it aimed to create armed stockades which would house south vietnamese rural peasants - this would isolate such people from the vietcong ( the spread of communism)

how did diem and nhu view the strategic hamlet program

as a way in which they could spread their own influence rather than a way of encouraging the vietnamese peasant farmers to challenge the vietcong

the strategic hamlet program was essentially a form of

forced relocation

by when were four million people in strategic hamlets

by september 1962

how many hamlets were there by the end of 1962

3000

was the strategic hamlet program a failure or success

failure

how did the strategic hamlet program help recruitment of the peasants into the vietcong

it compelled peasants to erect fences and construct defensive moats and other fortifications - against an enemy that targeted government officials rather than the viet cong

how did corrupt officials further alienate the increasingly disaffected peasants

by fraudulently taking money meant for medical aid, irrigation projects , fertiliser and seed

why did the strategic hamlet program fail

because it was impossible to isolate vietcong agents from the hamlets

how did diem describe the strategic hamlet program

as ‘ a means to institute basic democracy’ in vietnam

how did nhu see the strategic hamlet program

‘ an enthusiastic movement of solidarity and self-sufficiency’

what religion was diem

roman catholic

why was diem being a catholic bad for vietnam

he favoured catholics over the bhuddist majority - many got employment in the military or government in work for being catholic what di

what did diem help his brother ngo dinh thuc become

the Archbishop of Hue - after diem lobbied the vatican on his behalf

when did the bhuddist crisis emerge

may 1963

what happened in hue that started the buddhist crisis

• buddhists were banned from flying their flags in honour of the buddha’s birthday - while catholics the previous week had been encouraged to display papal flags as part of celebrations for thuc

• the military was used to prevent buddhists hearing hearing a speech by their leader tri quang

• nine people were killed in the melee

the buddhist crisis

widespread protests against the government's discrimination towards Buddhists

tri quang

• 1924-2019

• buddhist monk who led protests against diem in 1963

• his protests were a warning to the USA that the population no longer supported diem

• was given asylum in the US embassy in saigon

who led the buddhist protests

tri quang

how did buddhist protest become organised and coordinated

• fomed three member cells and trained in how to develop anti-government propoganda

• organised hunger strikes and mass rallies and they engaged with the foreign press - especially the US press

what did tri quang tell US officials in saigon

secretly met with US officials in saigon and warned them that the USA must put further pressure on diem to carry out reforms or remove him from power

who did tri quang blame for the problems diem enforced

the USA because it was supporting diem and his regime

who did diem believe caused the hue incident and the buddhist crisis

vietcong

what extreme protest happened in june 1963 regarding the buddhist crisis

a buddhist monk named quang doc publicly set himself on fire in saigon

what did nhu say about the buddhist protests

‘ let them burn and we shall clap our hands ‘

when did nhu organise a renewed assult on the bhuddists

august 1963

roger hilsman sent a telegram to henry cabot lodge that stated

that lodge should explore on alternative leadership in south vietnam and start planning for a replacement leader for diem

henry cabot lodge

• 1902-85

• experienced political player

• elected into the US senate in 1936

• US ambassador for the UN from 1953-60

• US ambassador to vietnam

• viewed diem as a liability and was influential in his removal

when and why did kennedy send robert mcnamara and general taylor to vietnam

september 1963 - to assess the situation in vietnam

what did mcamara and general taylor realise when they went to assess the situation in vietnam

the war could not be won with diem as the leader of the south

what did mcnamara and general taylor recommend JFK to do as a result of their assessment of vietnam in september 1963

recommended significant reductions in US support in order to put pressure on diem to cooperate - which encouraged south vietnamese generals to prepare a coup against him

when was diem overthrown by south vietnamese rebel generals

1 november 1963

when were diem and nhu assassinated

2 November 1963

what did diems assassination open up for the US

a completely new chapter in the USAs committment to vietnam , containment and southeast asia