Mai Huu Xuan
Encyclopedia
Major General Mai Hữu Xuân was a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) and a participant in the November 1963 coup
that deposed President Ngô Đình Diệm
and ended in his assassination
.
Xuân started his career in the Vietnamese National Army
of the French-backed State of Vietnam
and worked in military security and was made an ARVN general, but was later put into a minor job by Diệm. During the coup against Diệm, Xuân led trainee enlisted men in a successful attack on the headquarters of the National Police, and the secret police. Xuân then led a group that arrested Diệm and his brother and adviser Ngo Dinh Nhu
after their hiding place was discovered. During the trip back to headquarters, the Ngo brothers were executed, leading to a debate over who gave the order.
Xuân was then a member of the ruling junta, and served as the Mayor of Saigon and the head of the National Police, during which time he was accused of arresting people for ransom. After three months, the junta was overthrown by General Nguyễn Khánh
and Xuân was arrested along with Generals Trần Văn Đôn
, Lê Văn Kim
and Tôn Thất Đính
, accused of plotting to make peace with the communists and making South Vietnam a neutral state. Khánh was able to find evidence and his military tribunal convicted them of “lax morality”, and being unqualified to command due to a “lack of a clear political concept”. Xuân and his colleagues were put under house arrest for a period, before being released and compulsorily retired after a service limit was introduced.
during the French-backed State of Vietnam
era in the 1950s in military security. When Ngô Đình Diệm became Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, Xuân fought for him as an officer in the Vietnamese National Army
(VNA) in the Battle for Saigon in May 1955, against the Bình Xuyên
organised crime syndicate that sought to take over the capital. The VNA dismantled the Bình Xuyên and Xuân was made a general. Xuân turned against Diệm after he was relegated to a minor job, and he readily joined the plot against Diệm as opposition to his rule grew in 1963.
.
The next morning Diem and Nhu, who had escaped from the siege on the palace, agreed to surrender. The coup leader, General Dương Văn Minh
dispatched a convoy to pick them up from their hideout in Cholon. The convoy was led by Xuan and consisted of Colonels Nguyen Van Quan and Duong Ngoc Lam. Quan was the deputy of Minh and Lam had been the commander of Diem's Civil Guard until defecting mid-way through the coup once a rebel victory seemed assured. Two further officers made up the convoy: Major Duong Hieu Nghia
and Captain Nguyen Van Nhung
, Minh's bodyguard.
When the officers arrived, Diem requested that the convoy stop at the palace so that he could gather personal items before being exiled. Xuan turned him down, clinically stating that his orders were to take the brothers directly to headquarters. Nhu expressed disgust that they were to be transported in an APC, asking "You use such a vehicle to drive the president?" Xuan said that it was selected to protect them from "extremists". Xuan ordered the brothers' hands be tied behind their backs before shoving them into the carrier. One officer asked to shoot Nhu, but Xuan turned him down.
After the arrest, Nhung and Nghia sat with the brothers in the APC. 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. An investigation by Don later determined that Nghia had shot the brothers at point-blank range
with a semi-automatic firearm
and that Nhung sprayed them with bullets before repeatedly stabbing the bodies with a knife.
The generals were shocked to see the dead bodies and Tran Van Don
ordered another officer to tell reporters that the brothers had died in an accident. He went to confront Minh in his office.
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". Although the blame was widely placed on Minh, US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
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."
Xuan did not survive long in his new post. General Nguyen Khanh
, disgruntled that Minh and the other leading generals did not offer him a position in the 12-man junta, began to plot. Instead, Khanh was transferred to command I Corps
, based around Huế
and Da Nang
in the far north of the Republic of Vietnam. It was speculated, that this was done to keep Khanh as far away from Saigon as possible, as the others regarded him as untrustworthy. Khanh had wanted a transfer to the IV Corps
in the Mekong Delta
close to Saigon, close to the political intrigue.
Khanh joined forces with other ambitious officers who resented the MRC for giving jobs they felt were insignificant. These included Brigadier General Do Mau
, the Minister of Information, Colonel Nguyen Chanh Thi
, and General Tran Thien Khiem
, who had been demoted from being Chief of Staff of the ARVN to the commander of the III Corps
that surrounded Saigon, which meant that he controlled the troops near the capital.
At the time, French President Charles de Gaulle
was contemplating recognising the People's Republic of China
and wanted Southeast Asia
neutralised as part of his agenda to cultivate relations with the communist bloc. De Gaulle wanted the Americans out of South Vietnam. Khanh told various American officials that Generals Xuan, Don, Minh and Le Van Kim
were "pro-French and pro-neutralist" and part of de Gaulle's plan.
Before dawn on January 30, Khanh and his colleagues seized power in a bloodless coup before dawn, catching the MRC completely off guard. Khanh had Xuan arrested, along with Minh, Don, Kim and Ton That Dinh
, claiming that they were part of a neutralist plot with the French. Khanh noted that they had served in the French-backed Vietnamese National Army
in the early 1950s, although he did as well. The generals were flown to My Khe beach, near Da Nang
and put under house arrest.
Xuan was barred from commanding troops, as were his colleagues. An office was prepared so that he could participate in "research and planning". Worried that Xuan and his idle colleagues would plot against him, Khanh made arrangements to send them to the United States for military study, but this fell through. In any case, the younger generation of officers forcibly retired Xuan and the other generals by making it compulsory for officers to retire after 25 years of military service. When Khanh was himself deposed in 1965, he handed over dossiers proving that Xuan and his colleagues were innocent.
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(ARVN) and a participant in the November 1963 coup
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...
that deposed President Ngô Đình Diệm
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
and ended in his assassination
Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem
The arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm, then president of South Vietnam, marked the culmination of a successful CIA-backed coup d’état led by General Dương Văn Minh in November 1963...
.
Xuân started his career 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...
of the French-backed State of Vietnam
State 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...
and worked in military security and was made an ARVN general, but was later put into a minor job by Diệm. During the coup against Diệm, Xuân led trainee enlisted men in a successful attack on the headquarters of the National Police, and the secret police. Xuân then led a group that arrested Diệm and his brother and adviser Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
after their hiding place was discovered. During the trip back to headquarters, the Ngo brothers were executed, leading to a debate over who gave the order.
Xuân was then a member of the ruling junta, and served as the Mayor of Saigon and the head of the National Police, during which time he was accused of arresting people for ransom. After three months, the junta was overthrown by General Nguyễn Khánh
Nguyen 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,...
and Xuân was arrested along with Generals Trần Văn Đôn
Tran 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:...
, Lê Văn 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...
and Tôn Thất Đính
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...
, accused of plotting to make peace with the communists and making South Vietnam a neutral state. Khánh was able to find evidence and his military tribunal convicted them of “lax morality”, and being unqualified to command due to a “lack of a clear political concept”. Xuân and his colleagues were put under house arrest for a period, before being released and compulsorily retired after a service limit was introduced.
Early career
Xuân served under Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn TâmNguyen Van Tam
Nguyễn Văn Tâm served as Minister in the Nguyễn Dynasty. His son is General Nguyễn Văn Hinh, the Chief of Staff of the Vietnamese National Army...
during the French-backed State of Vietnam
State 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...
era in the 1950s in military security. When Ngô Đình Diệm became Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam, Xuân fought for him as an officer 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...
(VNA) in the Battle for Saigon in May 1955, against 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...
organised crime syndicate that sought to take over the capital. The VNA dismantled the Bình Xuyên and Xuân was made a general. Xuân turned against Diệm after he was relegated to a minor job, and he readily joined the plot against Diệm as opposition to his rule grew in 1963.
Diệm’s assassination
The ARVN conducted a coup against Diệm on November 1, and Xuân led some of the units. He used some newly enlisted troops from the Quang Trung Training Camp to capture the headquarters of the National Police, which also included the secret police under the direct control of Diem’s brother and adviser Ngo Dinh NhuNgo Dinh Nhu
Ngô Ðình Nhu was the younger brother and chief political advisor of South Vietnam's first president, Ngô Ðình Diệm. Nhu was widely regarded as the architect of the Ngô family's nepotistic and autocratic rule over South Vietnam from 1955 to 1963...
.
The next morning Diem and Nhu, who had escaped from the siege on the palace, agreed to surrender. The coup leader, General Dương Văn Minh
Duong Van Minh
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...
dispatched a convoy to pick them up from their hideout in Cholon. The convoy was led by Xuan and consisted of Colonels Nguyen Van Quan and Duong Ngoc Lam. Quan was the deputy of Minh and Lam had been the commander of Diem's Civil Guard until defecting mid-way through the coup once a rebel victory seemed assured. Two further officers made up the convoy: Major 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...
and Captain 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...
, Minh's bodyguard.
When the officers arrived, Diem requested that the convoy stop at the palace so that he could gather personal items before being exiled. Xuan turned him down, clinically stating that his orders were to take the brothers directly to headquarters. Nhu expressed disgust that they were to be transported in an APC, asking "You use such a vehicle to drive the president?" Xuan said that it was selected to protect them from "extremists". Xuan ordered the brothers' hands be tied behind their backs before shoving them into the carrier. One officer asked to shoot Nhu, but Xuan turned him down.
After the arrest, Nhung and Nghia sat with the brothers in the APC. 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. An investigation by Don later determined that Nghia had shot the brothers at point-blank range
Point-blank range
In external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm. The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic...
with a semi-automatic firearm
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
and that Nhung sprayed them with bullets before repeatedly stabbing the bodies with a knife.
The generals were shocked to see the dead bodies and Tran Van Don
Tran 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:...
ordered another officer 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?
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". Although the blame was widely placed on Minh, US Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
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."
Junta and overthrow
Under the military junta, Xuan served as the national police chief. He was accused of arresting people en masse, before releasing them in return for bribes and pledges of loyalty.Xuan did not survive long in his new post. General Nguyen Khanh
Nguyen 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,...
, disgruntled that Minh and the other leading generals did not offer him a position in the 12-man junta, began to plot. Instead, Khanh was transferred to command 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...
, based around Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
and Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
in the far north of the Republic of Vietnam. It was speculated, that this was done to keep Khanh as far away from Saigon as possible, as the others regarded him as untrustworthy. Khanh had wanted a transfer to the 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...
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...
close to Saigon, close to the political intrigue.
Khanh joined forces with other ambitious officers who resented the MRC for giving jobs they felt were insignificant. These included Brigadier General Do Mau
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...
, the Minister of Information, Colonel Nguyen Chanh 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...
, and General 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 had been demoted from being Chief of Staff of the ARVN to the commander of the III Corps
III Corps (South Vietnam)
III 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...
that surrounded Saigon, which meant that he controlled the troops near the capital.
At the time, French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
was contemplating recognising the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and wanted Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
neutralised as part of his agenda to cultivate relations with the communist bloc. De Gaulle wanted the Americans out of South Vietnam. Khanh told various American officials that Generals Xuan, Don, Minh 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...
were "pro-French and pro-neutralist" and part of de Gaulle's plan.
Before dawn on January 30, Khanh and his colleagues seized power in a bloodless coup before dawn, catching the MRC completely off guard. Khanh had Xuan arrested, along with Minh, Don, Kim and Ton That 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...
, claiming that they were part of a neutralist plot with the French. Khanh noted that they had served in the French-backed 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, although he did as well. The generals were flown to My Khe beach, near Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
and put under house arrest.
Retribution by Khanh
Khanh tried Xuan and his colleagues in May. The generals were interrogated for five and a half hours, mostly about details of the coup against Diem, rather than the original charge of promoting neutralism. As Khanh was involved in the plot as well, this did not reveal any new information. The court deliberated for over nine hours, and when it reconvened for the verdict, Khanh stated, "We ask that once you begin to serve again in the army, you do not take revenge on anybody". The tribunal then "congratulated" Xuan and his colleagues, but found that they were of "lax morality", unqualified to command due to a "lack of a clear political concept". Xuan and his fellow generals were chastised for being "inadequately aware of their heavy responsibility" and of letting "their subordinates take advantage of their positions". They were allowed to remain in Da Lat under surveillance with their families.Xuan was barred from commanding troops, as were his colleagues. An office was prepared so that he could participate in "research and planning". Worried that Xuan and his idle colleagues would plot against him, Khanh made arrangements to send them to the United States for military study, but this fell through. In any case, the younger generation of officers forcibly retired Xuan and the other generals by making it compulsory for officers to retire after 25 years of military service. When Khanh was himself deposed in 1965, he handed over dossiers proving that Xuan and his colleagues were innocent.