Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
12.03.10 - 15.03.10The Run up to the Vietnam War (excerpt from the displays at the War Museum in Saigon)
'In the situation where the French army got more and more bogged down (they were attempting to hold on to Vietnam after the second world war) the U.S.administration strove to help the French colonialists. In September 1950, the Military Assistance Advisory Group, was activated in Saigon with the first U.S.army personnel operating in Vietnam. In May 1953 General Henri Navarre, General Chief of Staff of the NATO ground forces, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French Expeditionary Corps in Indochina. The "Navarre Plan" was drawn up with the ambition of "taking the initiative to defeat the Viet Minh within 18 months." U.S. vice president Nixon came to Vietnam to inspect the fulfilment of the "Navarre Plan" in Dong Giao in October 1953. After this trip the American administration accepted to provide France with $385 million of military aidsin the fiscal year of 1953 (equal to 60% of the whole war expenditure). In February 1954, while visiting the French troops in Dien Bien Phu, General W. O'Daniel, former U.S. Army Commander in the pacific, chief of U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Group - Indochina, declared, "I am very enthusiastic about the prospect of war." From November 1953 onwards, Navarre started to build the group of strongholds of Dien Bien Phu with the intention to attract and wipe out the regular forces of Resistance to gain a decisive victory in the theatre of war in Indochina. After fighting day and night for 55 days, on 7th May 1954, the People's Army of Vietnam completely smashed the Dien Bien Phu group of fortresses and captured alive 16000 French troops among whom were one major- general, 16 colonels, 1749 officers and NCOs. General de Castries together with the headquarters of the Dien Bien Phu campaign surrendered unconditionally to the liberation army. On 20th July 1954 the participating parties to the Geneva Conference signed the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Indochina, declaring the recognition of the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Vietnam. After the Geneva Agreements, the U.S. administration gradually eliminated the influence of France by the pro American elements. Ngo Dinh Diem was sponsored by U.S. administration to become "President" of the so-called "Republic of Vietnam". In May 1959, the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem, promulgated Law 10/59 authorising the special military courts to sentence to death on the spot those who were branded as "endangering the national security" in essence they were patriotic people, struggling against the savage and cruel repression of Ngo Dinh Diem. Backed up and encouraged by U.S. administration the Ngo Dinh Diem regime tried to sabotage the Geneva Agreements systematically, refused to hold consultations on general elections for unification of the country, made indiscriminate arrests, detentions and killings of patriotic people. Not contenting themselves with the repressive and murderous U.S./Ngo Dinh Diem regime, people from all walks of life in South Vietnam gathered together to form the National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam in order to overthrow the dictatorial regime of Ngo Dinh Diem, putting an end to the American intervention, building a democratic regime and advancing towards peace and reunification of the country. Fearing the collapse of Ngo Dinh Diem regime, the U.S. authorities set out the "special warfare" strategy, increasing their henchman military forces in number together with strengthening modern military equipment and weapons aswell as training and command assisted by the American military advisors. Military equipment and weapons were carried into Vietnam in great quantities by the U.S. administration. In December 1961, 33 (C) H-21 C twin rotor helicopters were brought to Saigon. In February 1962 the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam was formed under the command of General Paul D. Harkins. By the end of 1963 the U.S. administration sent 16300 military advisors to Vietnam. The Staley-Taylor plan anticipated that the "pacification" of South Vietnam would be completed by end of 1962. Besides intensifying the mopping-up operations, the Staley-Taylor "pacification plan" also proposed the "national policy" of setting up 16000 "strategic hamlets", which in fact were huge concentration camps where the U.S. authorities and the Saigon governement hoped they could keep strict control of the people by trampling on their right to freedom of residence, freedom of movement to earn their living in a normal life. The U.S. administration "escalated the war". On 2nd August 1964 the U.S. army fabricated a story about the so-called "Gulf of Tonkin Accident" accusing falsely the Navy of Vietnam Democratic Republic of having attacked the U.S. destroyer Maddox to give the U.S. congress pretext for approving the "Gulf of Tonkin Resolution" authorising the U.S. president to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States". The U.S. president Lyndon Johnson gave order to attack the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a sovereign nation, thus violating flagrantly the United Nations Charter. The number of U.S. military personnel in Vietnam increased from 385300 in 1966, to 485600 in 1967, and peaked at 549500 by the end of 1969.'
