Operation Bravo
Encyclopedia
Operation Bravo was the name of a phony coup planned by Ngo Dinh Nhu
, the younger brother and chief advisor of President Ngo Dinh Diem
of South Vietnam
. Nhu was aware that there was a plot against the Ngo family, and he intended to have his loyalist forces stage a fake uprising, to induce dissidents to come into the open, before having his loyalists crush the "rebellion". He hoped that this would reaffirm his family's prestige and power. However the plan failed as Nhu was unaware that General Ton That Dinh
, who was to lead the operation, was part of the conspiracy. What was intended as Operation Bravo was then incorporated into the real coup
and Diem and Nhu were assassinated.
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...
, the younger brother and chief advisor of President Ngo Dinh Diem
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...
of South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. Nhu was aware that there was a plot against the Ngo family, and he intended to have his loyalist forces stage a fake uprising, to induce dissidents to come into the open, before having his loyalists crush the "rebellion". He hoped that this would reaffirm his family's prestige and power. However the plan failed as Nhu was unaware that General 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...
, who was to lead the operation, was part of the conspiracy. What was intended as Operation Bravo was then incorporated into the real 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...
and Diem and Nhu were assassinated.