1955 in the Vietnam War
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1955 in the Vietnam War
| 1955 in the Vietnam War | |||||
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 Ngo Dinh Diem took power after a rigged election |
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| Belligerents | |||||
 South Vietnam United States |
Anti-government insurgents: Viet Minh cadres [A 1]-Binh Xuyen Supported by SDECE -Hòa Hảo sect -Cao Dai sect |
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| Commanders | |||||
| Ba Cut | |||||
In 1998 after a high level review by the Department of Defense (DoD) and through the efforts of Richard B. Fitzgibbon's family the start date of when the Americans believe the Vietnam War started was changed to November 1, 1955.[2] The November 1955 date was chosen as the new start date because that was when the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) that reorganized from a general Indochina into the different countries that the deployments were stationed.[3] So on November 1, 1955 a Vietnamese MAAG was created.[3]
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Contents
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April
- April 27 – May 1955
The Battle for Saigon was a month-long battle between the Vietnamese National Army of the State of Vietnam and the private army of the Binh Xuyen organised crime syndicate. At the time, the Binh Xuyen was licensed with controlling the national police by Emperor Bảo Đại, and Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem issued an ultimatum for them to surrender and come under state control. The battle started on April 27, 1955 and the VNA had largely crushed the Binh Xuyen within a week.[4]
May
- May 1
Ngo Dinh Diem marches his army to Cao Dai political center in Tây Ninh under the shadow of the Black Virgin Mountain. He forced the Cao Dai pope, Pham Cong Tac, to flee to Cambodia and takes the political power of the Cao Dai sect for himself and absorbs their army into the fledging National Army.[5]
June
- June 5
After Battle for Saigon eliminated the forces of Binh Xuyen. Ngo Dinh Diem turned his sights to Binh Xuyen's allies the religious army of Hòa Hảo sect. Five Hòa Hảo battalions surrendered immediately; four remaining leaders had fled to the Cambodian border by the end of the month.[6][7] The soldiers of the three other leaders eventually surrendered, but one Hòa Hảo leader, Ba Cụt's men continued fighting till his capture in 1956,[6] claiming loyalty to the Emperor Bảo Đại.
October
- October 23
The State of Vietnam referendum of 1955 determined the future form of government of the State of Vietnam, the nation that was to become the Republic of Vietnam (widely known as South Vietnam). It was contested by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who proposed a republic, and former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại had abdicated as emperor in 1945 and at the time of the referendum held the title of head of state. Diệm won the election, which was widely marred by electoral fraud, with 98.2% of the vote. In the capital Saigon, Diệm was credited with over 600,000 votes, even though only 450,000 people were on the electoral roll.[8][9] He accumulated tallies in excess of 90% of the registered voters, even in rural regions where opposition groups prevented voting.[10]
November
- November 1
The American Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) that reorganized from a general Indochina into the different countries that the deployments were stationed.[3]
Year in numbers
| Armed Force | Strength | KIA | Reference | Military costs - 1955 | Military costs - 2012 | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Vietnam ARVN |
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| United States Forces |
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| Vietnam |
Annotations
- ^ Thousands of Viet Minh cadres had stayed behind after the Vietnam was split into North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government still held out that a referendum on unification as per the Geneva Accords would go ahead. As such they forbid the southern Viet Minh cadres from anything but low level insurgency actions instead issuing directives to focus on political agitation in preparation for the upcoming elections.[1]
Bibliography
- Notes
- ^ Pentagon 1971, pp. 314–346
- ^ DoD 1998
- ^ a b c Lawrence 2009, p. 20
- ^ Jacobs 2004, p. 194
- ^ Burns 2003, p. 681
- ^ a b Jacobs 2006, p. 84
- ^ Lansdale 1991, pp. 313–315
- ^ Karnow 1997, p. 239
- ^ Tucker 1998, p. 366
- ^ Chapman 2006
- References
- Burns, Richard Dean (2003). Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations: 1932-1988 (2003 ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-93916-4. - Total pages: 1549
- Chapman, Jessica (September 2006). "Staging Democracy: South Vietnam's 1955 Referendum to Depose Bao Dai". Diplomatic History 30 (4): 671–703. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7709.2006.00573.x.
- DoD (November 6, 1998). "Name of Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial". Department of Defense (DoD). http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=1902. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
- Karnow, Stanley (1997). Vietnam: A history. New York City, New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-84218-4.
- Jacobs, Seth (2006). Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950–1963. Lanham, Massachusetts: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 0-7425-4447-8.
- Jacobs, Seth (2004). America's miracle man in Vietnam: Ngo Dinh Diem, religion, race, and U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia, 1950-1957 (2004 ed.). Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3440-8. - Total pages: 381
- Lansdale, Edward Geary (1991). In the Midst of Wars: An American's Mission to Southeast Asia. Fordham University Press. ISBN 0-8232-1314-5.
- Lawrence, A. T. (2009). Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant (2009 ed.). McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-4517-3. - Total pages: 247
- Pentagon (1971). "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960". Pentagon Papers (Beacon Press) 1 Chapter 5 (Section 3): 314–346. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/pent14.htm. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- Tucker, Spencer (1998). Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: a political, social, and military history, Volume 2 (1998 ed.). ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-87436-983-0. - Total pages: 1196
Major events
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