1960 South Vietnamese coup attempt

The revolt was led by 28-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Vương Văn Đông, and Hong's uncle Hoang Co Thuy. and had been a political activist since World War II. He was the secretary-general of a minority opposition party called the Movement of Struggle for Freedom, which had a small presence in the rubber-stamp National Assembly. They felt that politically minded officers, who joined Diệm's secret Catholic-dominated Cần Lao Party, which was used to control South Vietnamese society, were rewarded with promotion rather than those most capable. However, the Americans who worked with Thi were less impressed. The CIA described Thi as "an opportunist and a man lacking strong convictions". It also claimed that discontent with Diệm among high-ranking civil servants was at their highest point since the president had established in power, and that the bureaucrats wanted a change of leadership, through a coup if needed. It was said that Nhu and his wife were the most despised among the civil service. The US Ambassador Elbridge Durbrow, who had been in the post since 1957, had a long record of trying to pressure Diệm into political reforms. He felt that South Vietnam's political problems were due to Diệm's illiberalism and thought the communist insurgency would be more easily defeated if Diệm reached out to a broader cross-section of society, cracked down on corruption, cronyism, abusive public servants, and implemented land reform. However, the South Vietnamese president saw authoritarianism as the solution to political problems and opposition, and the US military hierarchy in Vietnam agreed, leading to frequent disputes between Durbrow and the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG). Durbrow frequently reported to Washington that Diệm's strong-arm tactics against opposition only created more dissent and opportunities for the communists. Around this time, Durbrow began to advise Diệm to remove Nhu and his wife from the government, basing his arguments on a need to cultivate broad popular support to make South Vietnam more viable in the long term. His key suggestions included Nhu being sent abroad as an ambassador, removing Nhu's wife and intelligence director Tran Kim Tuyen from public power and sending them overseas, new defense and interior ministers, and "altering the nature of the Cần Lao Party" On September 16, after another fruitless meeting with Diệm, Durbrow reported to Washington: "If Diệm's position in [the] country continues to deteriorate ... it may become necessary for [the] US government to begin consideration [of] alternative courses of action and leaders in order [to] achieve our objective." Once they were on their way, the officers claimed that the Presidential Guard, who were meant to guard the presidential palace, had mutinied against Diệm. == Coup ==

According to Stanley Karnow, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Vietnam: A History, the coup was ineffectively executed; This meant that phone lines into the palace remained intact, which allowed Diệm to call for aid from loyal units. The paratroopers headed down the main thoroughfare of Saigon towards Independence Palace. Durbrow later recalled receiving a telephone call from an aide to Diệm who insisted that he call Diệm and tell him to surrender or face a howitzer attack on the palace. Durbrow refused and no attack took place. He consequently learned that the aide was forced to make the call. Most of the rebel soldiers had been told that they were attacking in order to save Diệm from a mutiny by the Presidential Guard. Only one or two officers in any given rebel unit knew the true situation. However, the rebels also suffered a setback when Hong was killed during the battle for the police headquarters. He had been sitting in his jeep behind the frontline when he was hit by stray gunfire. The pair managed to trick the rebels into allowing a column of tanks drive past, which were later turned against the rebels. At dawn, civilians began massing outside the palace gates, verbally encouraging the rebels and waving banners advocating regime change. Radio Saigon announced that a "Revolutionary Council" was in charge of South Vietnam's government. Diệm appeared lost, while many Saigon-based ARVN troops rallied to the insurgents. According to Nguyễn Thái Bình, an exiled political rival, "Diệm was lost. Any other than he would have capitulated." Đông on the other hand, was worried that Diệm could be killed in an attack. Đông felt that despite Diệm's shortcomings, the president was South Vietnam's best available leader, believing that enforced reform would yield the best outcome. (pictured left, with Lyndon Johnson) |alt=A middle-aged lady wearing a light-coloured dress and with short hair, fluffy at the front, sits at a dinner table smiling. To the right is a taller, older man in a dark suit, striped tie and light shirt who is turning his head to the left, talking to her. A man in a suit is visible, standing in the background. Thi demanded that Diệm appoint an officer as prime minister and that Diệm remove Madame Nhu from the palace. Saigon Radio broadcast a speech authorised by Thi's Revolutionary Council, claiming that Diệm was being removed because he was corrupt and suppressed liberty. Worried by the uprising, Diệm sent his private secretary Vo Van Hai to negotiate with the coup leaders. In the afternoon, Khanh left the palace to meet with rebel officers to keep abreast of their demands, which they reiterated. The rebels' negotiators were Đông and Major Nguyen Huy Loi. They wanted officers and opposition figures to be appointed to a new government to keep Diệm in check, The rebels also suggested that Diệm appoint General Lê Văn Tỵ, the chief of the armed forces, be made defence minister. Diệm asked Ty, who had been put under house arrest by the plotters, if he was willing, but the officer was not. Phan Quang Đán joined the rebellion and acted as the rebels' spokesman. The most prominent political critic of Diệm, Đán had been disqualified from the 1959 legislative election after winning his seat by a ratio of 6:1 despite Diệm having organised votestacking against him. He cited political mismanagement of the war against the Viet Cong and the government's refusal to broaden its political base as the reason for the revolt. In the meantime, Thuy went about organising a coalition of political parties to take over post-Diệm. He had already lined up the VNQDĐ, Đại Việt, and the Hòa Hảo and Cao Đài religious movements, and was seeking more collaborators. American representatives privately recommended to both sides to reach a peaceful agreement to share power. In the meantime, loyalist forces continued to head towards the capital, while the rebels publicly claimed on radio that Diệm had surrendered in an apparent attempt to attract more troops to their cause. After a brief but violent battle that killed around 400 people, the coup attempt was crushed. This included a large number of civilians, who had been engaging in anti-Diệm protests outside the palace grounds. Thi exhorted them to bring down the Ngos by charging the palace, and 13 were gunned down by the loyalist soldiers from the 2nd Armored Battalion as they invaded the grounds. The others dispersed quickly. == Aftermath ==

(pictured here as a major general), a CIA officer who assisted Diệm in the past, called for the removal of the US ambassador to Saigon |alt=Man with dark hair and moustache in a dress uniform, suit and tie, sitting at a table, with a star indicating his rank, in front of a map on a wall. After the failed coup, Đông, Thi, Liễu and several other prominent officers fled to Tan Son Nhut and climbed aboard a C-47. For Diệm and his family, the failed coup was a turning point in relations with the US support, which had generally been unconditional and strong since 1955. He felt the US had let him down and that some Americans had been encouraging his overthrow and undermining his rule. In the wake of the failed coup, Diệm blamed Durbrow for a perceived lack of US support, while his brother Nhu further accused the ambassador of colluding with the rebels. Durbrow denied this in later years, saying that he had been "100% in support of Diệm". McGarr asserted that "Diệm has emerged from this severe test in position of greater strength with visible proof of sincere support behind him both in armed forces and civilian population." The Ngô brothers indicated to the Americans that Carver should be deported, and soon after, Carver received a death warrant. The threat was supposedly signed by the coup leaders, who were ostensibly angry because Carver had abandoned them and withdrawn American support for them. The rift between American diplomatic and military representatives in South Vietnam began to grow. In the meantime, Durbrow continued his policy of pressuring Diệm to liberalize his regime. Durbrow saw the coup as a sign that Diệm was unpopular and with the South Vietnamese president making only token changes, the ambassador informed Washington that Diệm might have to be removed. The Ngô brothers were so paranoid that they felt that Khanh was suspect as he had broken through the rebel lines too easily. Khanh's action gained him a reputation of having helped the president, but he was later criticised for having a foot in both camps. Critics claimed that Khanh had been on good terms with the rebels and decided against rebelling when it was clear that Diệm would win. Khanh was later dispatched to the Central Highlands as the commander of II Corps. General Dương Văn Minh, who did not come to Diệm's defense during the siege and instead stayed at home, was demoted. Minh and Lieutenant General Tran Van Don, the commander of the 1st Division in central Vietnam, but who was in Saigon when the coup attempt occurred, were the subject of a military investigation by the regime, but were cleared of involvement by junior officers appointed by Diem. Lansdale continued to be critical of Durbrow, and wanted to replace him as ambassador. Two months later, the incoming US President John F. Kennedy started a review of Washington's stance with regards to Saigon. Lansdale's report predicted South Vietnam's demise, and along with it, the rest of South East Asia and US preeminence in global affairs, unless a new direction was found. He blamed what he saw as Durbrow's poor judgement for the problems in the alliance, and that the current ambassador could not work effectively anymore because he had "sympathized strongly" with the coup. Lansdale's submissions were seen as being important in Kennedy's decision to replace Durbrow with Frederick Nolting in May 1961. Nolting was a mild man who was seen as unlikely to pressure Diệm to reform and therefore upset him. Kennedy was thought to have seriously contemplated the appointment of Lansdale, before encountering complaints from sections of the State and Defense Departments, among them Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Kennedy also increased funding for Diệm immediately and made a show of support for the Vietnamese leader at the advice of Lansdale. == Trial ==

The trial of those charged with involvement in the coup occurred more than two years later in mid-1963. Diệm scheduled the hearing in the middle of the Buddhist crisis, a move that was interpreted as an attempt to deter the populace from further dissent. Nineteen officers and 34 civilians were accused of complicity in the coup and called before the Special Military Court. Diệm's officials gave the Americans an unsubtle warning not to interfere. The official prosecutor claimed to have documents proving that a foreign power was behind the failed coup but said that he could not publicly name the nation in question. It was later revealed in secret proceedings that he pinpointed two Americans: George Carver, an employee of the United States Operations Mission (an economic mission) who was later revealed to be a CIA agent, and Howard C. Elting, described as the deputy chief of the American mission in Saigon. On 8 November, political opponents who had been imprisoned on the island of Poulo Condore were released by the military junta. Đán was garlanded and taken to military headquarters, and on 10 November, Suu was released and welcomed by a large crowd at the town hall. Suu later served as president for a brief period and Dan as a deputy prime minister. Thi, Đông and Liễu returned to South Vietnam and resumed their service in the ARVN. == Notes ==