1965 South Vietnamese coup
After defying his colleagues and travelling around the country for a day in a fruitless attempt to rally support for a comeback, Khánh went into exile after being named to fill the meaningless post of Ambassador-at-Large and allowed an elaborate, ceremonial, military send-off to save face.However, these moves only served to weaken Khánh as large demonstrations and riots broke out in the cities, with majority Buddhists prominent, calling for an end to the state of emergency and the abandonment of the new constitution, as well as a progression back to civilian rule.[2] Fearing he could be toppled by the intensifying protests, Khánh made concessions,[6] repealing the new constitution and police measures, and promising to reinstate civilian rule and remove Cần Lao Party—a secret Catholic organization used to infiltrate and spy on society to maintain President Ngô Đình Diệm's regime—members from power.[20] In January 1965, the junta-appointed Prime Minister Trần Văn Hương intensified the anti-communist war effort by expanding military expenditure using aid money and equipment from the Americans, and increasing the size of the armed forces by widening the terms of conscription.[21][23] Khánh persisted with the facade of civilian government by retaining figurehead chief of state Phan Khắc Sửu and making economics professor Nguyễn Xuân Oánh the caretaker prime minister.In an attempt to pre-empt his deposal, Hương had backed a plot led by some Dai Viet-oriented Catholic officers, reported to include Generals Thiệu and Nguyễn Hữu Có.[34] Taylor cabled Washington to say "I can well visualize [the] necessity at some time of using full U.S. leverage ... to induce our Vietnamese friends to get Khánh out of [the] position of commander-in-chief (from which he pulls the strings) and to install their very best governmental line-up.[37] On February 14, the commander of the Marine Brigade General Lê Nguyên Khang reported to an American official that he was involved in plotting against Khánh but said he and the other Young Turks were not ready because the military was not sufficiently united.[53] Shortly before noon on 19 February, Thảo and Phát attacked, using around 50 tanks and a mixture of infantry battalions to seize control of the post office and radio station in Saigon, cutting off communication lines.[54] In the meantime, Thảo's main partner Phát headed towards Tan Son Nhut Air Base – the country's military headquarters – to capture it with an assortment of marines, paratroopers and special forces troops.[53][58] Lodge was one of the strongest advocates among US policymakers of Diệm's removal, and during his tenure as ambassador, refused to meet with the Vietnamese leader for extended periods to show his displeasure with Saigon's non-compliance with American advice.American government analysts concluded that the rebellion was "primarily a move by die-hard neo-Diemists and Catholic military militants disturbed at the rise of Buddhist influence, opposed to Gen. Khánh and—in a vague, ill-thought way—desirous of turning back the clock and undoing some of the results of the November 1963 ouster of Diệm.Kiem was the leader of the National Defense Force (NDF), a body based on the secret Catholic Cần Lao Party[37] that was used to sustain Diệm's autocratic rule, but had petered away after his deposal and execution.The CIA had reported that the NDF's members and associates counted among them some senior military officers including Có, Thiệu and General Nguyễn Bảo Trị, commander of the 7th Division based in the town of Mỹ Tho immediately to the south of the capital.[37] American intelligence analysts had thought General Trần Văn Đôn was involved in the coup with Phát and Thảo, but altered their assessment when he stayed in the mountain resort town of Da Lat instead of heading for the capital.[56] Eight months after the coup was over, Đôn told the American historian George McTurnan Kahin that he had been plotting with Thảo, who had planned for him to become Defense Minister and Chief of Staff of the military, but said the Dai Viet and Kiem had insisted on installing the Catholic Khiêm.[33] Ambassador Khiêm had been putting pressure on his bitter rival Khánh for over two months by charging him and the Buddhists of seeking a "neutralist solution" and "negotiating with the communists",[53] and as soon as the coup broke, he was immediately deemed by media analysts as a key figure behind the action.[53] As Diệm had strongly discriminated in favor of minority Catholics and placed restrictions on Buddhism, the rebels' radio addresses caused an unsurprisingly negative response among the Buddhist majority.[61] The Diemist speeches also alarmed pro-Buddhist or anti-Diệm generals, such as Thi and Có, who had been part of the failed 1960 and successful 1963 coups against Diệm respectively, and feared retribution from Thảo and Phát.The two American generals had lost confidence in Khánh, but the pro-Diệm ideology being expressed by Thảo's supporters alienated them, due to fears the coup plotters would destabilize and polarize the country if they took power.[62] In threatening to flatten Tan Son Nhut, Kỳ appeared unconcerned about the junta members who had been captured there, nor the more than 6,000 Americans who worked there, but intervention from Westmoreland stopped any air strike.[61] Kỳ was the most convenient outlet, as the air force along with both the American and South Vietnamese military headquarters were adjacent to one another at Tan Son Nhut, making communication easy, whereas Thi was commanding I Corps in the far north.[62] While this was happening, the Americans consulted with Thi and General Cao Văn Viên, the commander of III Corps surrounding Saigon, to assemble units hostile to both Khánh and the current coup into a Capital Liberation Force.[49] Close to midnight, there were reports that Khánh's loyalists had entered the capital and had passed a rebel roadblock in the Chinese business district of Cholon, around 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of central Saigon.The coup collapsed when, between midnight and dawn, anti-Thảo forces swept into the city from the south along with some components of the 7th Airborne Brigade loyal to Kỳ from Bien Hoa in the north.Whether the rebels were genuinely defeated by the overwhelming show of strength or whether a deal was struck to end the revolt in exchange for Khánh's ouster is disputed, although a large majority support the latter.However, the authenticity of the announcement was put into doubt when paratroopers wrested control of the station from the rebels and Sửu then spoke in person, saying he was trying to get into contact with both factions and convince them to eschew bloodshed.[67] Kỳ, Thi and Thiệu became the key figures in a junta that continued with Sửu and Quát as a civilian front, although General Trần Văn Minh became the nominal commander-in-chief of the armed forces.Westmoreland sent Rowland to meet with the eight available members of the AFC—Kỳ, Thi, Cao, Thiệu, Minh, Khang, Có and Phạm Văn Đồng[45]—to devise a plan to thwart Khánh's attempts to reestablish himself.[64] Military bands played as he theatrically bent down and picked up some loose dirt before putting it in his pocket; Khánh said he was taking his beloved homeland with him,[68] and vowed to one day return.
Vietnam WarSaigonBiên HòaSouth VietnamNguyễn Cao KỳNguyễn Chánh ThiNguyễn KhánhTrần Thiện KhiêmLâm Văn PhátPhạm Ngọc Thảomarine brigadeArmy of the Republic of Vietnamhad seized power in January 1964failed coup in September 1964Maxwell TaylorassassinatedNgô Đình Diệmcampaigned heavily against Diệm's discriminatory religious policieshis ouster in November 1963Tan Son Nhut Air BaseBien Hoa Air BaseJanuary 1964 South Vietnamese coupSeptember 1964 South Vietnamese coup attemptDecember 1964 South Vietnamese coupDương Văn MinhGulf of Tonkin incidentNorth VietnameseCần Lao PartyTrí QuangNguyễn Văn ThiệuĐại Việt Quốc dân đảngDương Văn Đứcdeposed the High National CouncilTrần Văn HươngPhan Khắc SửuNguyễn Xuân OánhNguyễn Hữu CóU. Alexis JohnsonViet CongSihanoukCold WarHigh National CouncilII CorpsRepublic of Vietnam NavyChung Tấn CangCentral Intelligence AgencyPhan Huy QuátLê Nguyên KhangDương Hiếu NghĩaGia Long PalaceMarylandSaigon Naval ShipyardNhà Bè Basemarinesparatroopersspecial forcesWilliam WestmorelandVũng TàuHenry Cabot Lodge Jr.the coup against Diệmoverthrowsubsequent execution in 1963Nguyễn Bảo Trị7th DivisionMỹ ThoTrần Văn ĐônDa LatGeorge McTurnan KahinNha Trangfailed 1960IV CorpsRobert R. RowlandPhú Lâm9th DivisionCần Thơ25th Division5th DivisionCao Văn ViênDa NangBa XuyenChineseCholon7th Airborne Brigadeno confidenceTrần Văn MinhHuỳnh Văn CaoPhạm Văn ĐồngSóc TrăngUnited NationsThe New York TimesHalberstam, DavidHammer, Ellen J.Kahin, George McT.Karnow, StanleyLangguth, A. J.Moyar, MarkTrương Như TảngMilitary of South VietnamAirborneAir ForceCivilian Irregular Defense Group programPopular ForcesRegional ForcesJunk ForcePresidential GuardCombined Action ProgramRangersBien HoaBinh ThuyCam RanhPhan RangPhù CátPleikuTan Son NhutTuy HoaJanuary 1964September 1964December 1964Đặng Văn QuangĐỗ Cao TríĐỗ MậuDư Quốc ĐốngHoàng Cơ MinhHoàng Xuân LãmLâm Quang ThiLâm Quang Thơ