Duong Van Minh
Encyclopedia
Minh was born on 16 February 1916 in Mỹ Tho Province in the Mekong Delta
, the son of 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, where King Norodom Sihanouk
of Cambodia
also studied.
Unlike many of his classmates, Minh declined French citizenship and joined 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 had only a single tooth that remained from the torture wrought by the Kempeitai
, the Japanese military police. He always smiled, displaying the single tooth, which he regarded as a symbol of his toughness.
’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 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 June 5. Five Hòa Hảo battalions surrendered immediately; Ba Cụt and three remaining leaders had fled to the Cambodia
n 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 fanatical men continued to the end. Knowing 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 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 was particularly popular among the population of Saigon, having purged their city of the Bình Xuyên.
This gained him the respect of the U.S., and Minh was sent there to study, where he attended the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth, Kansas
, despite his poor English. An American acquaintance remarked that Minh reminded him of “a high-school football hero who never grew up.”
In November 1960, a coup attempt was made against Diệm
. Minh, by this time disillusioned, did not come to Diệm’s defense during 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 Howard Jones, Minh was “in charge of three telephones”. Minh remained in the post until Diệm’s overthrow.
, the ARVN Chief of Staff who had no troops due to Diệm’s suspicion of him, went to observe Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
military exercises in Thailand
, where they were informed about the regional disquiet over Diệm’s policies towards the 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 the government and the way it is handled since I have been here”. Harkins also put scepticism onto 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 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 the Buddhist crisis of 1963; the U.S. 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 Le Quang Tung
, a Diem loyalist. The generals hated Tung, because, at the Diem regieme's behest, he had disguised his men in regular army uniforms and framed them for the Xa Loi Pagoda raids
that August. At nightfall, Nhung took Tung and Major Le Quang Trieu—his brother and deputy and drove them to the edge of the air base. Forced to kneel over two freshly dug holes, the brothers were shot into their graves and buried.
In the early morning of November 2, Diệm agreed to surrender. The ARVN officers had intended to exile Diệm and Nhu, having promised them safe passage. Most, including Minh, wanted Diệm to have an "honorable retirement".
Minh and Don asked Lucien Conein
to secure an American aircraft to take 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 further 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 the junta. Minh arrived in full military ceremonial uniform to supervise the arrest of the Ngo 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, Diem's hideout was found and surrounded, and Minh sent General Mai Huu Xuan
, his deputy Colonel Nguyen Van Quan, his bodyguard Nguyen Van Nhung
and Duong Hieu Nghia
to arrest the brothers.
Nhung and Nghia sat with 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 with two fingers. This was taken to be an order to kill both brothers. During the journey, the brothers were killed. An investigation by Don later determined that Nghia and Nhung sprayed them with bullets before repeatedly stabbing them. When the corpses arrived at military headquarters, the generals were shocked. Don ordered another general to tell reporters that the brothers had died in an accident. He went to confront Minh in his office.
Don later reported that Minh had answered his question in a "haughty" tone. At this time, Xuan walked into Minh's office through the open door, unaware of Don's presence. Xuan snapped to attention
and stated "Mission accomplie".
Minh had his subordinates reported that the Ngo 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. Don's assertion that 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 Don reiterated their position in a meeting with Conein and Lodge a few days after the coup.
, the director of the CIA's Far Eastern division. Don was equally emphatic, saying "I can state without equivocation that this was done by General Duong Van Minh and by him alone." Lodge thought that Xuan was also partly culpable asserting that "Diem 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 that "We had no alternative. They had to be killed. Diệm could not be allowed to live because he 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 Thieu had caused the deaths by hesitating and delaying the attack by his 5th Division
on Gia Long Palace. Don was reported to have pressured Thieu 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 Dinh
to send more troops—and do it quickly because after taking the palace you will be made a general." Thieu stridently denied responsibility and issued a statement that Minh did not dispute: "Duong Van Minh has to assume entire responsibility for the death of Ngo Dinh Diem."
Tran Van Huong
, an opposition politician who was jailed by Diem, and a future prime minister and president, gave a scathing analysis of the generals' action. He said "The top generals who decided to murder Diem 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 a spectacular comeback of the president and Mr. Nhu if they were alive."
Conein asserted that Minh's humiliation by Diem 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 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 Diem and Nhu would not have been killed if they were in the palace, because there were too many people present.
on 6 November, which consisted of 12 generals. To give the regime a civilian veneer, Diem's figurehead Vice President Nguyen Ngoc Tho
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 Diem regime, Tho was a figurehead with little influence, which lay with Diem's brothers. Diem held Tho 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. Tho 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 the makeup of the cabinet. The Americans then recognized Minh and immediately restored the aid programs and that had been cut to punish Diem in the last days of his rule.
With the fall of Diem, various American sanctions that were imposed in response to the repression of the Buddhist crisis
and the attacks
by Nhu's Special Forces on Xa Loi Pagoda
were lifted. The freeze on US economic aid, the suspension of the Commercial Import Program
and various capital works initiatives were lifted, and Tho 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 Diem. 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 the Vietcong or running the country. He was criticised for being lethargic and disinterested. 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 the end of Diem'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. Tho's civilian government was plagued by infighting. According to Tho's assistant, Nguyen Ngoc Huy, the presence of Generals Don and Dinh in both the civilian cabinet and the MRC paralysed the governance process. Dinh and Don were subordinate to Tho in the civilian government, but as members of the MRC they were superior to him. Whenever Tho gave an order in the civilian hierarchy with which the generals disagreed, they would go into the MRC and give a counter-order.
The press strongly attacked Tho, accusing his civilian government of being "tools" of the MRC. Tho's acquiescence to and corruption under Diem's presidency was also called into question, and he was accused of helping to repress the Buddhists by Diem 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 Tho's anti-Diem 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, a Council of Notables comprising sixty leading citizens met for the first time, having been selected by Colonel Pham Ngoc Thao
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 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 Tho halted Nhu's Strategic Hamlet Program
. Nhu had trumpeted the program as the solution to South Vietnam's difficulties with Vietcong insurgents, believing that the mass relocation of peasants into fortified villages would isolate the Vietcong from their peasant support base. According to 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 communists, 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 Diem. Many were indiscriminately arrested without charge, most of whom were later released. Dinh and the new national police chief General Mai Huu Xuan
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 Diem, 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 the Vietcong surged in the wake of Diem’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 Diem. The incidence of Vietcong attacks continued to increase as it had done during the summer of 1963, the weapons loss ratio worsened and the rate of Vietcong defections fell. The units that participated in the coup were returned to the field to guard against a possible major communist offensive in the countryside. The falsification of military statistics by Diem's officials had led to miscalculations, which manifested themselves in military setbacks after Diem's death.
began to plot against the MRC after it was created. Khánh expected 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 Vietcong under Diem’s, but that Minh’s MRC had disbanded it and released communist prisoners. Khánh was assisted by Generals Tran Thien Khiem
, who controlled the forces around Saigon, Ðỗ 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 January 30, 1964, in a bloodless coup, completely catching the MRC off guard. Minh, Don and Le Van 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, Don, Kim, Dinh and Xuan. 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 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 Diem 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 the popular Minh would be a unifying and stabilising factor in the new regime. However, Khánh soon sidelined Minh.
Minh reportedly resented that fact that he had been deposed by a younger officer who 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 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” 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 response to claims that he was harking back to the Diem era of Roman Catholic domination, Khánh made concessions to the Buddhists, sparking opposition from the Catholic Khiem and Thieu. They then tried to remove him in favour of Minh, and they recruited many officers. Khiem and Thieu sought out Taylor and sought a private endorsement to install Minh by staging a coup against Khánh, but the U.S. ambassador did not want any more changes in leadership, fearing a corrosive effect on the government. This deterred Khiem's group from staging a coup.
The division among the generals came to a head at a meeting of the MRC on August 26–27. Khánh and Khiem blamed one another for the increasing unrest across the nation. Thieu 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 funding from Washington, so they supported him, prompting Khiem to angrily say, "Obviously, Khánh 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 Khiem 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 the rioting. However, the triumvirate did little due to their disunity. Khánh dominated the decision-making and sidelined Khiem 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 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 U.S. 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 Khiem 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 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 powers of 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 the end of the year, Minh was back in Vietnam after his tour.
Sửu's signature was required to pass the ruling, but he referred the matter to the HNC, which turned down the request, which was speculated to be due to the fact that many of them were themselves old, and did not appreciate the negative attitude towards seniors. 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 the military.
, Thailand
, where he occupied himself with his hobbies, such as growing orchids 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. Nevertheless, the American 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 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 Americans.
Minh opposed General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
, who was still 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 was regarded as a potential leader of a “third force” which could come to a compromise with the North that would allow eventual reunification without a military takeover by one of the parties. His brother, Dương Văn Nhut
, was a one-star general in the North Vietnam
ese army. In 1973, Minh proposed his own political program for Vietnam, which was a middle way between the proposals of Thiệu and the communists. Thiệu, however, was strongly opposed to any compromise. He is known to have had contact with Hanoi, who were careful to not endorse or condemn him.
and handed over power to Vice President Trần Văn Hương
on April 21. Hương prepared for peace talks with North Vietnam but, when his overtures were rejected, he resigned. As the main attack on Saigon developed on 27 April 1975, in a joint sitting of 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 was widely assumed that Minh, who had long-standing contacts with the communists, 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, North Vietnam
ese forces fought their way into the outskirts of the capital. Later that afternoon, as President 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 South Vietnamese Air Force, bombed Tân Sơn Nhứt
. 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 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.
PAVN columns advanced into the city center encountering very little resistance. Except in the Mekong Delta, where South Vietnamese military forces were still intact and aggressive, the South Vietnamese military had virtually ceased to exist. Just after 05:00 on 30 April, U.S. Ambassador Martin boarded a helicopter and departed. At 10:24, President Minh went on radio and ordered all South Vietnamese forces to cease fighting and later declared an unconditional surrender. He announced, “The Republic of Vietnam policy is the policy of peace and reconciliation, aimed at saving the blood of our people. We are here waiting for the Provisional Revolutionary Government to hand over the authority in order to stop useless bloodshed.” Upon receiving the order to surrender, Generals Nguyễn Khoa Nam
and Lê Văn Hưng
, the commander and deputy commander of IV Corps
, which was still vigorously fighting in Cần Thơ in the Mekong Delta
region not yet overrun, committed suicide, having previously decided to fight to the death. They gathered their staff and family to say farewell before shooting themselves; the populace purportedly did not want to them to fight to the death, believing that it would cause futile bloodshed.
Around noon, a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace
. When the communist troops entered the Independence Palace in Saigon, they found Minh and his cabinet sitting around the big oval table in the cabinet room waiting for them. As they entered, Minh said, “The revolution is here. You are here.” He said, “We have been waiting for you so that we could turn over the government.” The ranking North Vietnamese officer, Colonel Bùi Tín
replied, “There is no question of your transferring power. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.” Later in the afternoon, he went on radio again and said, “I declare the Saigon government is completely dissolved at all levels.”
After his official surrender, he was summoned to report back. After a few days he was permitted to return to his villa, unlike almost all remaining military personnel and public servants, who were sent to reeducation camp
s, often for over a decade in the case of senior officers. He lived there in seclusion for the next eight years, where he continued to raise birds and grow exotic orchids
. It was assumed that Hanoi had resolved that as Minh had not actively opposed them in the final years of the war, he would be allowed to live in peace as long as he remained quiet and did not engage in political activities.
in 1983 and settled near Paris
, and it was again assumed that the communists had permitted him to leave on the basis that he remain aloof from politics and history. In the late 1980s, there was speculation that he would be allowed to return to Vietnam to live out his last years, but this never came to pass. In the last few years of his life, he lived in Pasadena
, California
, with his daughter, Mai Duong. As he aged, he found he needed a wheelchair
for mobility. In exile, Minh kept his silence, did not talk about the events in Vietnam and did not produce a memoir.
in Pasadena and he died the next night at the age of 85. He was buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park
in Whittier, California
.
During his time as an army officer, Minh was popular among the military and supporters of the Republic of Vietnam, due to his victories over the Bình Xuyên
and the Hòa Hảo
in the 1950s, and because he was regarded as being above the corruption that tainted most of South Vietnam's leading officers and civilian leaders. However, most are now divided in their position on Minh's place in history due to the events of 1975.
|-
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
, the son of a wealthy landowner who served in a prominent position in the Finance Ministry of the French colonial administration. He went to Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
where he attended a top French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonial school, where King Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
of Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
also studied.
Unlike many of his classmates, Minh declined French citizenship and joined 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
École Militaire
The École Militaire is a vast complex of buildings housing various military training facilities located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, southeast of the Champ de Mars....
in France.
During the 1940s, Imperial Japan invaded Indochina and seized control from France. Minh was captured and had only a single tooth that remained from the torture wrought by the Kempeitai
Kempeitai
The was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945. It was not an English-style military police, but a French-style gendarmerie...
, the Japanese military police. He always smiled, displaying the single tooth, which he regarded as a symbol of his toughness.
Vietnamese National Army/battles against Bình Xuyên and Hòa Hảo
Minh then transferred to the French-backed State of VietnamState of Vietnam
The State of Vietnam was a state that claimed authority over all of Vietnam during the First Indochina War, and replaced the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam . The provisional government was a brief transitional administration between colonial Cochinchina and an independent state...
’s Vietnamese National Army
Vietnamese National Army
On March 8, 1949, after the Elysee accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnam's military force created shortly after that. It was commanded by...
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 the Battle of Saigon, when they dismantled the private army of the Bình Xuyên
Binh Xuyen
Bình Xuyên, often linked to its infamous leader, General Le van "Bay" Vien, was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside the law and had sided with the Viet Minh...
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 June 5. Five Hòa Hảo battalions surrendered immediately; Ba Cụt and three remaining leaders had fled to the Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n 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 fanatical men continued to the end. Knowing 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 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 was particularly popular among the population of Saigon, having purged their city of the Bình Xuyên.
This gained him the respect of the U.S., and Minh was sent there to study, where he attended the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, despite his poor English. An American acquaintance remarked that Minh reminded him of “a high-school football hero who never grew up.”
In November 1960, a coup attempt was made against Diệm
1960 South Vietnamese coup attempt
On November 11, 1960, a failed coup attempt against President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vuong Van Dong and Colonel Nguyen Chanh Thi of the Airborne Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam ....
. Minh, by this time disillusioned, did not come to Diệm’s defense during 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 Howard Jones, Minh was “in charge of three telephones”. Minh remained in the post until Diệm’s overthrow.
Overthrow of Diệm
Minh and Trần Văn ĐônTran Van Don
Trần Văn Đôn was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and one of the principal figures in the coup d'état which deposed Ngô Đình Diệm from the presidency of South Vietnam.-Family:...
, the ARVN Chief of Staff who had no troops due to Diệm’s suspicion of him, went to observe Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February...
military exercises in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where they were informed about the regional disquiet over Diệm’s policies towards the 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
Can Lao Party
The Cần lao Nhân vị Cách Mạng Ðảng, or Personalist Labor Revolutionary Party, was a secret party formed to support the Ngô Đình Diệm regime in South Vietnam, and largely operated by his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu...
of the Ngô family. Harkins reported that Minh “has done nothing but complain to me about the government and the way it is handled since I have been here”. Harkins also put scepticism onto Minh's claims of widespread public disenchantment.
During late-September, President Kennedy dispatched the McNamara Taylor mission
McNamara Taylor mission
The McNamara-Taylor mission was a 10-day fact-finding expedition to South Vietnam in September 1963 by the Kennedy administration to review progress in the battle by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and its American advisers against the communist insurgency of the National Liberation Front of...
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 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 the Buddhist crisis of 1963; the U.S. 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
1963 South Vietnamese coup
In November 1963, President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the communist Vietcong.The...
on 1 November 1963.
In the afternoon, Minh ordered his bodyguard, Nguyễn Văn Nhung
Nguyen Van Nhung
Major Nguyễn Văn Nhung was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . After joining the French Army in 1944 during the colonial era of Vietnam, he soon met and became the aide-de-camp and bodyguard of Dương Văn Minh, and spent the rest of his career in this role as Minh rose up the ranks...
, to arrest, and later execute, Colonel Le Quang Tung
Le Quang Tung
Colonel Lê Quang Tung was the commander of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under the command of Ngo Dinh Nhu, the brother of South Vietnam's president, Ngo Dinh Diem. A former servant of the Ngô family, Tung's military background was in security and counterespionage...
, a Diem loyalist. The generals hated Tung, because, at the Diem regieme's behest, he had disguised his men in regular army uniforms and framed them for the Xa Loi Pagoda raids
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
that August. At nightfall, Nhung took Tung and Major Le Quang Trieu—his brother and deputy and drove them to the edge of the air base. Forced to kneel over two freshly dug holes, the brothers were shot into their graves and buried.
In the early morning of November 2, Diệm agreed to surrender. The ARVN officers had intended to exile Diệm and Nhu, having promised them safe passage. Most, including Minh, wanted Diệm to have an "honorable retirement".
Minh and Don asked Lucien Conein
Lucien Conein
Lt. Col. Lucien Emile Conein was a noted U.S. Army officer and Office of Strategic Services / Central Intelligence Agency operative...
to secure an American aircraft to take the brothers out of the country. Assistant Secretary of State Roger Hilsman
Roger Hilsman
Roger Hilsman is an author and political scientist. He served as an American soldier in Merrill's Marauders and then the Office of Strategic Services in China-Burma-India Theater of World War II during World War II and as an aide and adviser to President John F. Kennedy...
recommended that if the generals decide to exile Diệm, he should also be sent outside Southeast Asia. He further 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 the junta. Minh arrived in full military ceremonial uniform to supervise the arrest of the Ngo 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, Diem's hideout was found and surrounded, and Minh sent General Mai Huu Xuan
Mai Huu Xuan
Major General Mai Hữu Xuân was a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and a participant in the November 1963 coup that deposed President Ngô Đình Diệm and ended in his assassination....
, his deputy Colonel Nguyen Van Quan, his bodyguard Nguyen Van Nhung
Nguyen Van Nhung
Major Nguyễn Văn Nhung was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . After joining the French Army in 1944 during the colonial era of Vietnam, he soon met and became the aide-de-camp and bodyguard of Dương Văn Minh, and spent the rest of his career in this role as Minh rose up the ranks...
and Duong Hieu Nghia
Duong Hieu Nghia
Colonel Dương Hiếu Nghĩa, born in Sa Đéc in 1925, was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Nghia graduated from the Da Lat National Military Academy. During the Vietnam War, he served in various infantry and armored units. His highest administrative position was Province Chief of Vinh...
to arrest the brothers.
Nhung and Nghia sat with 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 with two fingers. This was taken to be an order to kill both brothers. During the journey, the brothers were killed. An investigation by Don later determined that Nghia and Nhung sprayed them with bullets before repeatedly stabbing them. When the corpses arrived at military headquarters, the generals were shocked. Don ordered another general to tell reporters that the brothers had died in an accident. He went to confront Minh in his office.
- Don: Why are they dead?
- Minh: And what does it matter that they are dead?
Don later reported that Minh had answered his question in a "haughty" tone. At this time, Xuan walked into Minh's office through the open door, unaware of Don's presence. Xuan snapped to attention
At attention
The position of At attention, or Standing at attention is a military posture which involves the following general postures:* Standing upright with an assertive and correct posture: famously "chin up, chest out, shoulders back, stomach in"....
and stated "Mission accomplie".
Minh had his subordinates reported that the Ngo 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. Don's assertion that 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 Don reiterated their position in a meeting with Conein and Lodge a few days after the coup.
Culpability regarding killings of Diệm and Nhu
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 the generals into discord. The criticism of the killings caused the officers to distrust and 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 ColbyWilliam Colby
William Egan Colby spent a career in intelligence for the United States, culminating in holding the post of Director of Central Intelligence from September 1973, to January 1976....
, the director of the CIA's Far Eastern division. Don was equally emphatic, saying "I can state without equivocation that this was done by General Duong Van Minh and by him alone." Lodge thought that Xuan was also partly culpable asserting that "Diem 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 that "We had no alternative. They had to be killed. Diệm could not be allowed to live because he 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
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...
became president, Minh blamed him for the assassinations. In 1971, Minh claimed that Thieu had caused the deaths by hesitating and delaying the attack by his 5th Division
5th Division (South Vietnam)
The Fifth Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam —the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975—was part of the III Corps that oversaw the region of the country surrounding the capital, Saigon....
on Gia Long Palace. Don was reported to have pressured Thieu 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 Dinh
Ton That Dinh
Major General Tôn Thất Đính is a retired officer who served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He is best known as one of the key figures in the November 1963 coup that deposed and resulted in the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the first president of the Republic of Vietnam .A favourite of...
to send more troops—and do it quickly because after taking the palace you will be made a general." Thieu stridently denied responsibility and issued a statement that Minh did not dispute: "Duong Van Minh has to assume entire responsibility for the death of Ngo Dinh Diem."
Tran Van Huong
Tran Van Huong
Trần Văn Hương was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the penultimate president of South Vietnam prior to its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam.-Biography:...
, an opposition politician who was jailed by Diem, and a future prime minister and president, gave a scathing analysis of the generals' action. He said "The top generals who decided to murder Diem 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 a spectacular comeback of the president and Mr. Nhu if they were alive."
Conein asserted that Minh's humiliation by Diem 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 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 Diem and Nhu would not have been killed if they were in the palace, because there were too many people present.
Rule
Minh took over the government under a military juntaMilitary dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
on 6 November, which consisted of 12 generals. To give the regime a civilian veneer, Diem's figurehead Vice President Nguyen Ngoc Tho
Nguyen Ngoc Tho
Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ is a Vietnamese politician who was the first Prime Minister of South Vietnam, serving from November 1963 to late January 1964. Thơ was appointed to head a civilian cabinet by the military junta of General Dương Văn Minh, which came to power after overthrowing and assassinating Ngô...
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 Diem regime, Tho was a figurehead with little influence, which lay with Diem's brothers. Diem held Tho 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. Tho 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 the makeup of the cabinet. The Americans then recognized Minh and immediately restored the aid programs and that had been cut to punish Diem in the last days of his rule.
With the fall of Diem, various American sanctions that were imposed in response to the repression of the Buddhist crisis
Buddhist crisis
The Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam from May 1963 to November 1963 characterized by a series of repressive acts by the South Vietnamese government and a campaign of civil resistance, led mainly by Buddhist monks....
and the attacks
Xa Loi Pagoda raids
The Xa Loi Pagoda raids were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on August 21, 1963...
by Nhu's Special Forces on Xa Loi Pagoda
Xa Loi Pagoda
The Xá Lợi Pagoda is the largest pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was built in 1956 and was the headquarters of Buddhism in South Vietnam. The pagoda is located at 89 Bà Huyện Thanh Quan Street in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City and lies on a plot of 2500 square metres...
were lifted. The freeze on US economic aid, the suspension of the Commercial Import Program
Commercial Import Program
The Commercial Import Program, sometimes known as the Commodity Import Program , was an economic aid arrangement between South Vietnam and its main supporter, the United States...
and various capital works initiatives were lifted, and Tho 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 Diem. Minh was said to have preferred playing mah-jongg
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
, playing tennis at the elite Cercle Sportif, tending to his garden and giving tea parties to fighting the Vietcong or running the country. He was criticised for being lethargic and disinterested. Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow is an American journalist and historian.After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in Asia during World War II, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1947; in 1947 and 1948 he attended the Sorbonne, and from 1948 to 1949 the Institut d'Études Politiques de...
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 the end of Diem'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. Tho's civilian government was plagued by infighting. According to Tho's assistant, Nguyen Ngoc Huy, the presence of Generals Don and Dinh in both the civilian cabinet and the MRC paralysed the governance process. Dinh and Don were subordinate to Tho in the civilian government, but as members of the MRC they were superior to him. Whenever Tho gave an order in the civilian hierarchy with which the generals disagreed, they would go into the MRC and give a counter-order.
The press strongly attacked Tho, accusing his civilian government of being "tools" of the MRC. Tho's acquiescence to and corruption under Diem's presidency was also called into question, and he was accused of helping to repress the Buddhists by Diem 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 Tho's anti-Diem 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, a Council of Notables comprising sixty leading citizens met for the first time, having been selected by Colonel Pham Ngoc Thao
Pham Ngoc Thao
Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, known to friends as Albert Thảo , a major provincial leader in South Vietnam and infiltrator of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, was a communist agent of the Vietminh and later the Vietnam People's Army...
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 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 Tho halted Nhu's Strategic Hamlet Program
Strategic Hamlet Program
The Strategic Hamlet Program was a plan by the governments of South Vietnam and the United States during the Vietnam War to combat the Communist insurgency by means of population transfer.In 1961, U.S...
. Nhu had trumpeted the program as the solution to South Vietnam's difficulties with Vietcong insurgents, believing that the mass relocation of peasants into fortified villages would isolate the Vietcong from their peasant support base. According to 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 communists, 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 Diem. Many were indiscriminately arrested without charge, most of whom were later released. Dinh and the new national police chief General Mai Huu Xuan
Mai Huu Xuan
Major General Mai Hữu Xuân was a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and a participant in the November 1963 coup that deposed President Ngô Đình Diệm and ended in his assassination....
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 Diem, 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 the Vietcong surged in the wake of Diem’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 Diem. The incidence of Vietcong attacks continued to increase as it had done during the summer of 1963, the weapons loss ratio worsened and the rate of Vietcong defections fell. The units that participated in the coup were returned to the field to guard against a possible major communist offensive in the countryside. The falsification of military statistics by Diem's officials had led to miscalculations, which manifested themselves in military setbacks after Diem's death.
Overthrow by Nguyễn Khánh
General Nguyễn KhánhNguyen Khanh
Nguyễn Khánh is a former general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam who variously served as Head of State and Prime minister of South Vietnam while at the head of a military junta from January 1964 until February 1965. He was involved in or against many coup attempts, failed and successful,...
began to plot against the MRC after it was created. Khánh expected 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
I Corps (South Vietnam)
The I Corps Tactical Zone was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975. It was one of four corps which the ARVN oversaw. This was the northernmost region of South Vietnam, bordering North Vietnam...
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 Vietcong under Diem’s, but that Minh’s MRC had disbanded it and released communist prisoners. Khánh was assisted by Generals Tran Thien Khiem
Tran Thien Khiem
General Trần Thiện Khiêm was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. During the 1960s he was involved in several coups. He helped President Ngo Dinh Diem put down a November 1960 coup attempt and was rewarded with promotion...
, who controlled the forces around Saigon, Ðỗ Mậu
Do Mau
Brigadier General Ðỗ Mậu was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam best known for his roles as a recruiting strategist in both the 1963 coup that toppled President Ngo Dinh Diem and the 1964 coup led by General Nguyen Khanh that deposed the junta of General Duong Van Minh...
and Nguyễn Chánh Thi
Nguyen Chanh Thi
Lieutenant General Nguyễn Chánh Thi was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He is best known for frequently being involved in coups in the 1960s and wielding substantial influence as a key member of various juntas that ruled South Vietnam from 1964 until 1966, when he was...
. 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 January 30, 1964, in a bloodless coup, completely catching the MRC off guard. Minh, Don and Le Van Kim
Le Van Kim
Lieutenant General Lê Văn Kim is a former general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He was the brother in law of General Trần Văn Đôn and together with General Dương Văn Minh, the trio organised the 1963 South Vietnamese coup which toppled President Ngô Đình Diệm and ended in his arrest and...
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, Don, Kim, Dinh and Xuan. 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
Vietnamese National Army
On March 8, 1949, after the Elysee accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnam's military force created shortly after that. It was commanded by...
in 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 Diem 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 the popular Minh would be a unifying and stabilising factor in the new regime. However, Khánh soon sidelined Minh.
Minh reportedly resented that fact that he had been deposed by a younger officer who 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 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” 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”.
August and September power struggle with Khánh
In August, Khánh drafted 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 demonstrations in the cities broke out, with the Buddhists prominent, calling for an end to the state of emergency and the new constitution.In response to claims that he was harking back to the Diem era of Roman Catholic domination, Khánh made concessions to the Buddhists, sparking opposition from the Catholic Khiem and Thieu. They then tried to remove him in favour of Minh, and they recruited many officers. Khiem and Thieu sought out Taylor and sought a private endorsement to install Minh by staging a coup against Khánh, but the U.S. ambassador did not want any more changes in leadership, fearing a corrosive effect on the government. This deterred Khiem's group from staging a coup.
The division among the generals came to a head at a meeting of the MRC on August 26–27. Khánh and Khiem blamed one another for the increasing unrest across the nation. Thieu and another Catholic General, Nguyễn Hữu Có
Nguyen Huu Co
Lieutenant General Nguyễn Hữu Có served as an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and was prominent in several coups and juntas in the 1960s....
, called for the replacement of Khánh with Minh, but the latter refused. Minh reportedly claimed that Khánh was the only one who would get funding from Washington, so they supported him, prompting Khiem to angrily say, "Obviously, Khánh 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 Khiem 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 the rioting. However, the triumvirate did little due to their disunity. Khánh dominated the decision-making and sidelined Khiem and Minh.
On 13 September, Generals Lâm Văn Phát
Lam Van Phat
Major General Lâm Văn Phát served as an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . He is best known for leading two coup attempts against General Nguyễn Khánh in September 1964 and February 1965...
and Dương Văn Đức
Duong Van Duc
Major General Dương Văn Đức was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He is best known for leading a coup attempt against General Nguyễn Khánh on September 14, 1964...
, 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 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 U.S. 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 Khiem 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 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 powers of the position to make it unappealing to Minh. The HNC then (selected?) Phan Khắc Sửu
Phan Khac Suu
Phan Khắc Sửu was President of South Vietnam from 1964–1965.-Biography:He was an octogenarian, a trained agricultural engineer and was a member of the Cao Đài religion.He was a member of Emperor Bảo Đại’s political cabinet....
as chief of state, and Sửu selected Trần Văn Hương
Tran Van Huong
Trần Văn Hương was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the penultimate president of South Vietnam prior to its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam.-Biography:...
as prime minister, although the junta remained the real power. By the end of the year, Minh was back in Vietnam after his tour.
Khánh prevails
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 the most important and unspoken reason was that they were potential rivals for power. According to Khánh and the Young Turks, the group was led by Minh and had been making 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, which was speculated to be due to the fact that many of them were themselves old, and did not appreciate the negative attitude towards seniors. 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
Pleiku
Pleiku is a town in central Vietnam, located in that nation's central highland region. It is the capital of the Gia Lai Province; it is inhabited primarily by the Bahnar and Jarai ethnic groups, sometimes known as the Montagnards or Degar....
, and later removed from the military.
Exile
Minh then went into exile in BangkokBangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where he occupied himself with his hobbies, such as growing orchids 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. Nevertheless, the American Ambassador, Ellsworth Bunker
Ellsworth Bunker
Ellsworth F. Bunker was an American businessman and diplomat...
, was openly contemptuous of him and referred to him in public with obscenities. In return, he wrote a pro-war article for the respected Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
quarterly in 1968, condemning the communists and rejecting a power-sharing agreement. This helped to end his exile, with the support of the Americans.
Minh opposed General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
Nguyen Van Thieu
Nguyễn Văn Thiệu was president of South Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. He was a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , became head of a military junta, and then president after winning a fraudulent election...
, who was still 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 was regarded as a potential leader of a “third force” which could come to a compromise with the North that would allow eventual reunification without a military takeover by one of the parties. His brother, Dương Văn Nhut
Duong Van Nhut
Dương Văn Nhut was a major general in the North Vietnamese army during the Vietnam war. He was also brother of Dương Văn Minh, the last president of South Vietnam.-References:...
, was a one-star general in the North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese army. In 1973, Minh proposed his own political program for Vietnam, which was a middle way between the proposals of Thiệu and the communists. Thiệu, however, was strongly opposed to any compromise. He is known to have had contact with Hanoi, who were careful to not endorse or condemn him.
Second presidency
In late-April 1975, President Thiệu fled to TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and handed over power to Vice President Trần Văn Hương
Tran Van Huong
Trần Văn Hương was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the penultimate president of South Vietnam prior to its surrender to the communist forces of North Vietnam.-Biography:...
on April 21. Hương prepared for peace talks with North Vietnam but, when his overtures were rejected, he resigned. As the main attack on Saigon developed on 27 April 1975, in a joint sitting of 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 was widely assumed that Minh, who had long-standing contacts with the communists, 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, North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese forces fought their way into the outskirts of the capital. Later that afternoon, as President 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 South Vietnamese Air Force, bombed Tân Sơn Nhứt
Tan Son Nhut Air Base
Tan Son Nhut Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. It is located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War , stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there...
. As Biên Hòa
Bien Hoa
Biên Hòa is a city in Dong Nai province, Vietnam, about east of Ho Chi Minh City , to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1.- Demographics :In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. In 2005, the population wss 541,495...
fell, General Nguyễn Văn Toàn
Nguyen Van Toan
Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Toàn was born in Huế and served as a general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam .-Military education:Toan graduated from the Dalat Military Academy in 1952 and became an armor officer....
, 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 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.
PAVN columns advanced into the city center encountering very little resistance. Except in the Mekong Delta, where South Vietnamese military forces were still intact and aggressive, the South Vietnamese military had virtually ceased to exist. Just after 05:00 on 30 April, U.S. Ambassador Martin boarded a helicopter and departed. At 10:24, President Minh went on radio and ordered all South Vietnamese forces to cease fighting and later declared an unconditional surrender. He announced, “The Republic of Vietnam policy is the policy of peace and reconciliation, aimed at saving the blood of our people. We are here waiting for the Provisional Revolutionary Government to hand over the authority in order to stop useless bloodshed.” Upon receiving the order to surrender, Generals Nguyễn Khoa Nam
Nguyen Khoa Nam
Major General Nguyễn Khoa Nam , was a native of Đà Nẵng and served in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam .-Education:He received his primary education at the École des Garçons in Đà Nẵng and graduated in 1939...
and Lê Văn Hưng
Le Van Hung
Lê Văn Hưng was born in Hóc Môn, in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, and graduated from Thủ Đức Military Academy, 5th class, in 1955. He held many commands from company to battalion level...
, the commander and deputy commander of IV Corps
IV Corps (South Vietnam)
The IV Corps was a corps of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam , the army of the nation state of South Vietnam that existed from 1955 to 1975...
, which was still vigorously fighting in Cần Thơ in the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
region not yet overrun, committed suicide, having previously decided to fight to the death. They gathered their staff and family to say farewell before shooting themselves; the populace purportedly did not want to them to fight to the death, believing that it would cause futile bloodshed.
Around noon, a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace
Reunification Palace
Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace , built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
. When the communist troops entered the Independence Palace in Saigon, they found Minh and his cabinet sitting around the big oval table in the cabinet room waiting for them. As they entered, Minh said, “The revolution is here. You are here.” He said, “We have been waiting for you so that we could turn over the government.” The ranking North Vietnamese officer, Colonel Bùi Tín
Bui Tin
Former People's Army of Vietnam Colonel Bùi Tín is a Vietnamese dissident.-Biography:Bùi Tín was born near Hanoi in 1927, and was educated in Huế....
replied, “There is no question of your transferring power. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.” Later in the afternoon, he went on radio again and said, “I declare the Saigon government is completely dissolved at all levels.”
After his official surrender, he was summoned to report back. After a few days he was permitted to return to his villa, unlike almost all remaining military personnel and public servants, who were sent to reeducation camp
Reeducation camp
Reeducation camp is the official title given to the prison camps operated by the government of Vietnam following the end of the Vietnam War. In such "reeducation camps", the government imprisoned several hundred thousand former military officers and government workers from the former regime of...
s, often for over a decade in the case of senior officers. He lived there in seclusion for the next eight years, where he continued to raise birds and grow exotic orchids
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
. It was assumed that Hanoi had resolved that as Minh had not actively opposed them in the final years of the war, he would be allowed to live in peace as long as he remained quiet and did not engage in political activities.
Life in exile
Minh was allowed to emigrate to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1983 and settled near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and it was again assumed that the communists had permitted him to leave on the basis that he remain aloof from politics and history. In the late 1980s, there was speculation that he would be allowed to return to Vietnam to live out his last years, but this never came to pass. In the last few years of his life, he lived in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, with his daughter, Mai Duong. As he aged, he found he needed a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
for mobility. In exile, Minh kept his silence, did not talk about the events in Vietnam and did not produce a memoir.
Death
On 5 August 2001, Minh fell at his home in Pasadena. He was taken to Huntington Memorial HospitalHuntington Memorial Hospital
Huntington Hospital is a 635-bed not-for-profit hospital in Pasadena, California. It is named for Southern California businessman and booster Henry E...
in Pasadena and he died the next night at the age of 85. He was buried in Rose Hills Memorial Park
Rose Hills Memorial Park
Rose Hills Memorial Park is the largest cemetery in the United States and is located in Whittier, California. It is owned and operated by Service Corporation International .-Mausoleums and Chapels:...
in Whittier, California
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
.
During his time as an army officer, Minh was popular among the military and supporters of the Republic of Vietnam, due to his victories over the Bình Xuyên
Binh Xuyen
Bình Xuyên, often linked to its infamous leader, General Le van "Bay" Vien, was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside the law and had sided with the Viet Minh...
and the Hòa Hảo
Hoa Hao
Hòa Hảo is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú Sổ, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider Sổ to be a prophet, and Hòa Hảo a continuation of a 19th-century Buddhist ministry known as Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương...
in the 1950s, and because he was regarded as being above the corruption that tainted most of South Vietnam's leading officers and civilian leaders. However, most are now divided in their position on Minh's place in history due to the events of 1975.
External links
- "General Duong Van Minh Dies at 86", Asian Week, 17–23 August 2001
- "Gen. Duong Van Minh Buried at Rose Hills", Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, 19 August 2001 - "Duong Van Minh, 85, Saigon Plotter, Dies", New York Times, 8 August 2001
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