In it he called for communists to rise up and gather support, overthrow South Vietnam’s leader Ngo Dinh Diem and expel foreign advisors and businessmen. Vietnam War memory quiz – events 1946-1964, Vietnam War memory quiz – events 1965-1975, Vietnam War memory quiz – terms and concepts (I), Vietnam War memory quiz – terms and concepts (II), The program of the National Liberation Front or Viet Cong (1962), A CIA report on Viet Cong weaknesses and vulnerabilities (1965), A Viet Cong guerrilla on the Tet Offensive (1968), A Viet Cong soldier on their approach to tactics and warfare (1985). He was to adopt a more aggressive policy against the North Vietnamese and their communist allies in the … On March 26, 1964, the first U.S. service member imprisoned during the Vietnam War was captured near Quảng Trị, South Vietnam when an L-19/O-1 Bird Dog observation plane flown by Captain Richard L. Whitesides and Captain Floyd James Thompson was brought down by small arms fire. The NLF also adopted its own anthem called Giai Phong Mien Nam (Liberate the South): “To liberate the South we decided to advance. The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) used well-organized logistics methods to supply and equip their fighting forces. US Defence pamphlet: Know Your Enemy: the Viet Cong (1966) The insurgents continued their violence between 1958 and 1959 while improving their organisation and command structures and obtaining the backing of Moscow. Although the USA attempted to support the South Vietnamese Army (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) with foreign aid and training; it became clear that ARVN was not capable of fighting the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese due to high corruption and low morale. Elections on reunification were scheduled for J… The program of the National Liberation Front or Viet Cong (1962) After the American military escalation in 1965, eradication of the Viet Cong became the number one objective for the US military. South Vietnam’s status as a developing nation recovering from war and colonialism received extensive media coverage in the West. The phrase "Viet Cong" denotes only southerners who supported the communist cause — but in many cases, they were integrated with fighters from the regular North Vietnamese army, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). Lém was alleged to have murdered a general and seven members of … Under the cover of night on Dec. 5, 1967, a coalition of Viet Cong guerrillas and North Vietnamese troops set the village of Dak Son on fire as its inhabitants slept. The attitude of most American soldiers towards the Viet Cong evolved into a combination of hatred, fear and begrudging admiration. The Viet Cong was the name given by Western sources to the National Liberation Front (NLF) during the Vietnam War. The revolutionary movement in South Vietnam was formalised on December 20th 1960, with the formation of Mat Tran Dan Toc Giai Phong Mien Nam (the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam). With the approval of Hanoi, the NLF increased its terrorist activities in the South. Finally, in January 1973 a peace treaty was signed by the United States and all three Vietnamese parties (North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the Viet Cong). By the mid-1950s, he was a high ranking member of the North Vietnamese government, occupying a seat in the Lao Dong Politburo. At midnight on January 30, 1968, Vietcong forces (with some support from the People’s Army of Vietnam, better known in the U.S. as the North Vietnamese Army or NVA) simultaneously attacked five provincial capitals in central South Vietnam along with the coastal city of Da Nang, with a second, much bigger wave of attacks hours later. A historian’s view: Military forces of the non-communists regrouped in South Vietnam, which became a separate state. By mid-1959, however, the North was providing obvious support to the Viet Cong. It began to send military advisors to help train and support the South Vietnamese army. Publisher: Alpha History Once France failed and Vietnam was divided into a Communist north and non-communist south, the USA went to support the Government of the none Communist South Vietnam. Oh bones have broken and blood has fallen, the hatred is rising high. The seeds of the NLF were several thousand communists who defied the terms of the Geneva Accord (1954) and remained underground in South Vietnam. These attacks, though aimed at foreign or South Vietnamese government targets, often killed innocent civilians, destroyed private property and disrupted business. Despite both Kennedy and Johnson pouring more and more US ‘military advisors’ into South Vietnam to support and train the SVA, US Marines landed in South Vietnam in 1965 to effectively lead to campaign against the North while the SVA assisted it. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, Increased Efficiency During the Vietnam War. This escalation prompted US president John F. Kennedy to increase the number of American military advisors in South Vietnam, with several thousand arriving over the next six months. Their reasons for remaining in the South are open to debate. For more information, please visit our FAQ or Terms of Use. In an interview shortly after her release, Marge recollected her arrest and detention by the National Liberation Front (NLF). URL: https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/viet-cong/ The NLF was a political group with its own army – the Peoples’ Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam (PLAF) that operated in South Vietnam and Cambodia. The Viet Cong tried to create a popular uprising in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War with their 1968 Tet Offensive but were able to seize control of just a few small districts in the Mekong Delta region. Beyond that, district, province and national government had no meaning… After 1965, ARVN and US troops were to blame for many turning to the VC.” The Viet Cong relied on elements of speed and surprise. Although the Viet Cong started out as a loose grouping of guerrilla fighters, they increased markedly in professionalism and in numbers over the course of the conflict. The Viet Cong were cursed and condemned for not following the Western conventions of war. Strengths and weaknesses of North Vietnam/Vietcong: Strengths: A large supply of soldiers. Nguyễn Văn Lém (Vietnamese: [ŋʷǐənˀ vān lɛ̌m]; 1931/1932 – 1 February 1968), often referred to as Bảy Lốp, was a member of the Viet Cong.He was summarily executed in Saigon during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched a massive surprise attack. Since, Scott catalogue doesn't list them, Kimmo (kuikka) encouraged me to create our catalogue for those members who interested in this area or want to identify their stamps. Others claim they did so under orders from Hanoi, which wanted to disrupt the development of the South and prepare for a future war. She visited Russia in the early Sixties, and was personally impressed by the deference she received. South Vietnam instituted a plan encouraging desertion from the Viet Cong and the 'return to the embrace of the Vietnamese Nation'. Fearing that Vietnam would turn communist — just as China had done in 1949 — and that the contagion would spread to neighboring countries, the United States sent increasing numbers of "military advisors" into the conflict, followed in the late 1960s and 1970s by hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops. NVA = North Vietnamese Regular Army. Date published: June 18, 2019 vietcong had alot of support from the south of Vietnam, well the peasants anyway. At the height of the Vietnam War, if you had asked an American who their country was fighting in Vietnam, most would have answered the Viet Cong. ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/the-viet-cong-the-vietnam-war-195432. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Within each region, there were several districts and villages, overseen by one or more NLF cadres. To equip the growing number of Viet Cong forces in the South, the insurgents continued to rely heavily on arms and supplies captured from South Vietnamese forces. Szczepanski, Kallie. [3] She praised the USSR for their support of the Viet Cong. Once he arrived in Paris, what factors led to Tang’s political awakening? South Vietnamese soldiers, often defending their homes and families, fought surprisingly well, and nowhere did the population rise up to support the Viet Cong. They were … The action was caught by U.S. television news crews, which also recorded the brutal impromptu street execution of a Viet Cong rebel by a South Vietnamese military official. The formation of an organised communist insurgency in South Vietnam was masterminded by Le Duan. Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese Marxist revolutionary leader and also the president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. U.S. Marines were deployed to the coastal Vietnamese city 50 years ago last month. Phases of captures. Buddhist monks, former members of religious sects like the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao, displaced peasants and urban workers could be found in NLF ranks. Arm by arm under a common flag.”. Shortly after its formation, the NLF issued a ten-point program that called on the Vietnamese people to “overthrow the camouflaged colonial regime of the American imperialists and the dictatorial power of Ngo Dinh Diem”. There was also no official NLF headquarters or even a particular area where NLF officials could be found. Those who invested in the South … In 1957 alone, there were more than 150 assassinations attributed to communist subversives. The Viet Cong had guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of revolutionaries that … The South Vietnamese initially went on the offensive and they attacked the smaller Viet Cong. The Politburo considered North Vietnam’s domestic policies, such as economic and military reform, … The insurgents also carried out bombings of hotels and cafes in Saigon and other cities. They were adept at hiding among civilian populations, taking shelter in the thick jungle and moving only in the dead of night. Newspapers in Saigon began referring to the insurgents as Viet Cong, a shortened form of Viet Nam Cong San (Vietnamese communists). During the war (54-75), there are a few genuine VCs operating in the cities, carefully hiding their identity of course; however even with the sympathizers, they remained a minority, probably 5% in my estimate. Are urging us to advance to kill the enemy, Authors: Jennifer Llewellyn, Jim Southey, Steve Thompson They were allied with North Vietnam and the troops of Ho Chi Minh, who sought to conquer the south and create a unified, communist state of Vietnam. In April of 1975, the southern capital at Saigon fell to the communists' troops. Some historians suggest that indigenous communist groups in South Vietnam chose to remain there, rather than shift to the North. A Viet Cong soldier on their approach to tactics and warfare (1985). However, joining the communist bloc actually resulted in continued foreign interference, this time from China and the Soviet Union. Support from peasants The Vietcong won the ‘hearts and minds’ of the South Vietnamese peasants. A CIA report on Viet Cong weaknesses and vulnerabilities (1965) Support from peasants. American military personnel in Vietnam knew the Viet Cong as “VC”, “Victor Charlie”, “Charlie” or “Chuck”. They were painted as communist revolutionaries and heartless terrorists, responsible for every act of carnage in South Vietnam. Photographer Adams confirmed … Whatever the reasons, by 1959 there were as many as 20 different communist cells scattered around South Vietnam. By the mid-1960s, most main force Vietcong troops were armed with Chinese versions of the Russian AK-47 submachine gun. Many southerners joined the Viet Cong and fought against both the government of South Vietnam and the armed forces of the United States between 1959 and 1975. The NLF’s military arm was the People’s Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF). Study Questions for Truong Nhu Tang, A Viet Cong Memoir How did Tang’s upbringing shape his vision of what the revolution would be like and what the future of Vietnam would be like? The Viet Cong were the guerrilla force that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South … Devine. The Viet Cong were supported and trained by the government of communist North Vietnam. They would offer to help them in their daily work and … "American soldiers called the Vietnamese communist … Almost one-quarter of the 80,000 NVA and Viet Cong deployed during the Tet Offensive (January and February 1968) were killed. Which nations provided military aid to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War? Bennett and his South Vietnamese Rangers were overwhelmed and he was taken prisoner by the Viet Cong. Using guerrilla methods they targeted foreign and government personnel, buildings and facilities. The South Vietnamese people did not rise up in rebellion against their own government, ARVN soldiers did not mutiny and the Saigon government did not collapse. The origins of the Viet Cong begin with the Geneva Accords of 1954. This prompted many Western companies to assist Saigon with trade and investment. This logistics organization helped greatly in their war against the American and South Vietnamese military during the Vietnam War.. Viet Cong: The Việt Minh flag. In 1956, Le Duan developed a plan titled the ‘Road to the South’. The Viet Cong were featured and demonised in the American press. Citation information A police chief and his family were murdered in September. TV_time May 12, 2004, 10:51pm #5. The Việt Nam Độc Lập Đồng Minh Hội had … Our country has been separated for so long. In 1957, Diem announced a five-year economic plan and called for foreign loans and domestic investment. A Viet Cong guerrilla on the Tet Offensive (1968)