In 1955, the Prime Minister of South Vietnam Ngô Đình Diệm faced a severe challenge to his rule over South Vietnam from the Bình Xuyên criminal gang and the

Cao Đài Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is (The Great Faith or theThird Un ...

and

Hòa Hảo Hòa Hảo is a religious movement described either as a syncretistic folk religion or as a sect of Buddhism. It was founded in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú Sổ (1920–1947), who is regarded as a saint by its devotees. It is one of the major religio ...

religious sects. In the Battle of Saigon in April, Diệm's army eliminated the Bình Xuyên as a rival and soon also reduced the power of the sects. The United States, which had been wavering in its support of Diệm before the battle, strongly supported him afterwards. Diệm declined to enter into talks with North Vietnam concerning an election in 1956 to unify the country. Diệm called a national election in October and easily defeated Head of State

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , lit. "keeper of greatness", 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was em ...

, thus becoming President of South Vietnam. South Vietnam Map

In communist

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

Ho Chi Minh (: ; born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), commonly known as (' Uncle Hồ'), also known as ('President Hồ'), (' Old father of the people') and by other aliases, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as P ...

initiated a land reform program that was accomplished with many executions and imprisonments of "landlords." Ho was unable to get the support of China and the Soviet Union to press for preliminary talks that would lead to the 1956 elections called for in the Geneva Accord.

January

;1 January Ho Chi Minh at a triumphal parade in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

announced his government's policy to restore and develop the economy of North Vietnam. One of his priorities was a land reform program to give "land to the tillers." South Vietnam became independent from the French Union's franc zone and the Vietnam National Army (VNA) became eligible to receive U.S. military aid directly rather than through the French military establishment still present in South Vietnam. The change increased Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm's control of the VNA. ; 8 January With the advice of American and French experts, the government of South Vietnam adopted Ordinance No. 2 which set the rent tenant farmers were obligated to pay to landlords to a maximum of 25 percent of the crop. Some tenants considered the 25 percent rate exorbitant. During the first year of the operation of the Ordinance about one-fourth of the more than one million tenant farmers in South Vietnam signed contracts with landowners establishing rental rates. The Ordinance was the first major effort of South Vietnam to counter the influence and popularity of the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

in rural areas. The Viet Minh had dispossessed many landlords and given land and influence to poor and landless farmers. ; 22 January Viet Minh leader

Lê Đức Thọ Lê Đức Thọ (; 14 October 1911 – 13 October 1990), born Phan Đình Khải in Nam Dinh Province, was a Vietnamese revolutionary, general, diplomat, and politician. He was the first Asian to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly with ...

departed from southernmost Vietnam for North Vietnam in accordance with the Geneva Accords which permitted free movement for 300 days between the provisional states of North and South Vietnam. His commander,

Lê Duẩn Lê Duẩn (; 7 April 1907 – 10 July 1986) was a Vietnamese communist politician. He rose in the party hierarchy in the late 1950s and became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (VCP) at the 3rd Nati ...

, remained clandestinely in the Mekong Delta and Saigon. Lê Duẩn was charged with maintaining a communist infrastructure in southern region. He remained in the south until 1957. ; 31 January Colonel

Edward Lansdale Edward Geary Lansdale (February 6, 1908 – February 23, 1987) was a United States Air Force officer until retiring in 1963 as a major general before continuing his work with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Lansdale was a pioneer in cl ...

head of the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA)'s Saigon Military Mission (SMM) reported to Washington that his team had smuggled 300 rifles, 50 pistols, 100,000 rounds of ammunition and 300 pounds of explosives into North Vietnam. The arms were distributed to anti-communist organizations in North Vietnam created by the SMM or cached for future use.

February

; 1 February General

Paul Ely Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, French military commander in South Vietnam, informed Diệm that by July 1, 1955, all units of the VNA would be commanded by Vietnamese officers. France was turning over all control and responsibility for the army to the government of South Vietnam. ; 3 February President Diem, prodded by U.S. advisers, adopted the first of several land reform measures in South Vietnam. This initial program governed the amount of rent that could be charged for agricultural land. ; 8 February North Vietnam's land reform program was underway and thousands of "landlords" were being executed or imprisoned. Ho said "Some cadres are using the same methods to crush the masses as the imperialists, capitalists, and feudalists did. These methods are barbaric...It is absolutely forbidden to use physical punishment." Ho's admonishment had little apparent impact as the repression continued. In South Vietnam, France halted subsidies to the

and

religious sects, both of whom had armed forces raised and financed by France to fight the Viet Minh. The sects demanded that the subsidies continue to be paid to them by the Diệm government. Diệm refused and with several million dollars supplied by the CIA's Colonel Lansdale bribed sect leaders to gain their support and integrate their forces into the VNA. ;22 February Representatives of the Bình Xuyên, a well-armed mafia controlling gambling, narcotics, the Saigon police force and the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects agreed to form a United Front against the Diệm government. The Bình Xuyên, under Bảy Viễn, set up defenses around their headquarters in Saigon.

March

; 1 March U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles announced at a press conference in Saigon that "I do not know of any responsible quarter which has any doubt about backing Diệm as the head of this government." In fact, General Lawton Collins, the senior U.S. official in South Vietnam, and many French officials had expressed strong reservations about the ability of Diệm to rule the country. ; 8 March Viet Minh forces evacuated the

Cà Mau Cà Mau () is a city in southern Vietnam. It is the capital of Cà Mau Province, a province in the Mekong Delta region, in the southernmost part of Vietnam's inland territory. The city is characterised by its system of transport canals, and m ...

peninsula at the southernmost tip of South Vietnam to journey to North Vietnam in accordance with the Geneva Accords. Anticipating the evacuation, Col. Lansdale and his group had implemented an accelerated program (Occupation Liberty) to prepare the South Vietnamese army to occupy the area as the Viet Minh withdrew. The occupation proceeded smoothly with propaganda leaflets dropped by air, medical dispensaries established, rice distributed, and roads improved. However, "the political and social conditions which had long generated support for the Viet Minh remained virtually unchanged. CaiMonVillage-autolevel

; 12 March Diệm launched a sudden offensive against Hoa Hao General Ba Cụt in Thốt Nốt, shelling the area heavily. The battle was inconclusive and both sides blamed the other for causing instability and disrupting the situation. ; 21 March The National Front of Bình Xuyên, Cao Đài, and Hòa Hảo demanded that Diệm form a government of "national union" and gave him 5 days to comply. Diệm ignored the demand. ; 28 March Diệm made a counter demand that the Bình Xuyên evacuate the areas and buildings they had occupied in Saigon and vicinity. The French were tacitly helping the Bình Xuyên. Collins wanted the French to persuade Diệm to compromise; Lansdale wanted the French out of South Vietnam. ; 30 March Diệm's replacement of the police chief caused a brief battle between the VNA and Bin Xuyen police and militia. The French brokered a cease fire but the Bình Xuyên, army, and French military each fortified the areas they controlled in Saigon. Due to resignations, Diệm's government now consisted mostly of members of his family. ; 31 March From Saigon, General Collins informed Washington that Diệm lacked "the ability to head a government." Several journalists published similar reports as Saigon descended into chaos during April.

April

;23 April Collins had been recalled to Washington for consultations and at a lunch where Dulles' view was reiterated that Diệm must be replaced. Ba Cụt and three other Hòa Hảo military leaders refused a government offer to integrate, and continued to operate autonomously. ;27 April The State Department sent top-secret cables to the U.S. Embassies in Saigon and Paris ordering the embassies to initiate a process of removing Diệm from power and replacing him with a leader chosen by General Collins and French General Ely in Saigon. The embassies were instructed to tell Diệm that the U.S. and France were "no longer in a position to prevent his removal from office." Six hours after Dulles' cables calling for Diệm's ouster Lansdale, at Diệm's side in Saigon, reported to Washington that fighting had broken out in the streets of Saigon between the Bình Xuyên and the VNA. These were the opening shots in the Battle of Saigon which would continue for about one month. On hearing of the news of the fighting, Dulles canceled the cables, awaiting developments in Saigon before proceeding. Neither the Cao Đài nor the Hòa Hảo joined the Bình Xuyên in the battle. Bribes paid by Diệm and Lansdale to their leaders caused them to remain neutral or to unite their armed forces with the VNA. ;28 April Lansdale cabled Washington asserting that Diệm was still the best alternative as the leader of South Vietnam. ;30 April The VNA had largely defeated the Bình Xuyên and its 40,000 armed soldiers. Casualties on both sides plus civilians amounted to about 500 dead, 1000 wounded and 20,000 homeless due to widespread destruction over a square mile of Saigon. Many of the surviving Bình Xuyên fled to the countryside, taking refuge in the swamps of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

delta. The Bình Xuyên leader, Bảy Viễn, escaped to Paris with French assistance. A few members of the Bình Xuyên would wage guerrilla war against the Diệm government for the next two or three years and would eventually be absorbed into the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

guerrillas.

May

; 8–11 May During three days of talks in Paris among Dulles, French Prime Minister

Edgar Faure Edgar Jean Faure (; 18 August 1908 – 30 March 1988) was a French politician, lawyer, essayist, historian and memoirist who served as Prime Minister of France in 1952 and again between 1955 and 1956. ; 14 May General Collins left Vietnam and his position as the senior U.S. official in South Vietnam to return to the United States. He had failed to persuade Dulles and the Eisenhower Administration that Diệm was not a viable leader of South Vietnam. ; 16 May In the wake of Diệm's victory over the Bình Xuyên, he was lionized in the American media, notably by publisher Henry Luce in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'': "Every son, daughter, and even distant admirer of the American Revolution should be overjoyed and learn to shout...'Hurrah for Ngo Dinh Diem!'...Diem's political assets...are just what his country needs...He is a Roman Catholic and a simon-pure Vietnamese nationalist, thus doubly proof against communist force...back Diem to the hilt." The United States signed a military assistance agreement with Cambodia, thus replacing France in providing assistance to the Cambodian armed forces. ; 20 May French military forces withdrew from Saigon to a coastal enclave. From there they would be slowly withdrawn from Vietnam. ; 28 May

G. Frederick Reinhardt George Frederick Reinhardt (1911–1971) was an American foreign service officer and diplomat from 1937 until 1968. He was considered by his peers to be among the finest diplomats of his era. Reinhardt was the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam ...

, a career diplomat, presented his credentials to Diệm as the U.S.'s new Ambassador to Vietnam. Dulles's instruction to Reinhardt was "to give complete, loyal, and sincere support to the government of President Diệm."

June

; 2 June General Ely, French commander in South Vietnam, left the country signalling the pullout of all French military forces from Vietnam. ;5 June With the Bình Xuyên vanquished, Diệm turned his attention to conquering the Hòa Hảo. The battle between government troops began in Cần Thơ on 5 June. Five Hòa Hảo battalions surrendered immediately; Commander Ba Cụt and three remaining leaders fled to the

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

n border. The other leaders soon surrendered but Ba Cụt and his 3,000 armed men continued to resist the army until 1956. ;25 June—8 July Ho Chi Minh made an official visit to China and the Soviet Union. He received pledges of $200 million in aid from China and $100 million from the Soviet Union, but neither China nor the Soviet Union agreed to attempt to pressure the United States and other Western countries to hold 1956 national elections in Vietnam. ; 30 June

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

, the premier of China, said the United States was violating the Geneva Accords and that the national elections scheduled for July 20, 1956, might not be held due to U.S. and South Vietnamese opposition.

July

; 16 July Diệm in a speech said that South Vietnam was not bound by the Geneva Accords and that conditions necessary for free elections did not exist in the North. ;20 July The Geneva Accords called for consultations to begin on this date regarding national elections to select a government for a united Vietnam on July 20, 1956. Diệm refused to enter into talks with North Vietnam. He said that South Vietnam had not been a signatory of the Geneva Accords and that the "fundamental freedoms" for free and open elections did not exist under the communist government of North Vietnam. The United States declined to pressure Diệm into talks with the North Vietnamese.

August

; 12 August The State Department stated that, "to avoid...accusations...of trying to sabotage the Geneva Settlement...the number of U.S. military personnel at present in Indochina at any given time should not exceed 342 persons, the number called for...at the time the Geneva Accord was signed. ; 30 August Dulles publicly supported Diệm's position that conditions were not right in the North for free elections.

October

Diệm ordered the army to march on the Cao Đài political center in

Tây Ninh Tây Ninh () is a provincial city in south-eastern Vietnam. It is the capital of Tây Ninh Province, which encompasses the town and much of the surrounding farmland. Tây Ninh is approximately to the northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's la ...

under the shadow of the

Black Virgin Mountain Black Virgin Mountain ( vi, Núi Bà Đen meaning "Black Lady Mountain", km, Phnom Chol Baden) is a mountain in Tây Ninh City, Vietnam. The mountain is the center of a Vietnamese myth about ''Bà Đen'', a local deity of Khmer origin. During ...

. He forced the Cao Đài pope, Pham Cong Tac, to flee to Cambodia where he died in 1959. Diệm absorbed the Cao Đài army into the fledgling Army of the Republic of Vietnam. ; 23 October The State of Vietnam referendum of 1955 determined the future form of government of the State of Vietnam, the nation that was to become the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

(widely known as South Vietnam). It was contested by Prime Minister Diệm, who proposed a republic, and former emperor

. Bảo Đại had abdicated as emperor in 1945 and at the time of the referendum held the title of head of state. Diệm won the election, which was widely marred by electoral fraud, with 98.2% of the vote. In the capital Saigon, Diệm was credited with over 600,000 votes, even though only 450,000 people were on the electoral roll. He accumulated tallies in excess of 90% of the registered voters, even in rural regions where opposition groups prevented voting. ; 26 October Diệm was declared the winner of the election and President of the new Republic of Vietnam, more commonly called South Vietnam. ; 31 October The government of South Vietnam reported that 676,348

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

s, 209,132

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s, and 1,041

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

s had migrated to South Vietnam from the North since the conclusion of the Geneva Accords on July 20, 1954. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's participation in the exodus from North Vietnam was called

Operation Passage to Freedom Operation Passage to Freedom was a term used by the United States Navy to describe the propaganda effort and the assistance in transporting in 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist ...

. Between 14,000 – 45,000 civilians and approximately 100,000 Viet Minh fighters moved from South Vietnam to the north. North Vietnam left behind in South Vietnam 8,000 to 10,000 covert civilian and military personnel, most of them members of the communist party The American media portrayed the migration as a spontaneous flight from communism, but French scholar Bernard Fall accused the U.S. of stimulating the exodus in a "very successful psychological warfare operation" managed by Col.

of the CIA.

November

;November 1 The American

Military Assistance Advisory Group Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisors sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around ...

(MAAG) for South Vietnam was created. MAAG was reorganized from covering all of Indochina into MAAGs for each of the countries (Cambodia, Laos, South Vietnam). General

Samuel Tankersley Williams Lieutenant General Samuel Tankersley Williams (August 25, 1897 – April 26, 1984) was a senior United States Army officer. Williams became prominent in army history for being reduced in rank from brigadier general to colonel, and then resuscitati ...

was the chief of the newly created MAAG. (Due to the creation of the MAAG for Vietnam on this date, in 1998 after a high level review by the Department of Defense (DoD) and through the efforts of Richard B. Fitzgibbon's family, November 1, 1955, became the earliest qualifying date for inclusion of American combat deaths on the wall of the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those ...

December

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

's novel ''

The Quiet American ''The Quiet American'' is a 1955 novel by English author Graham Greene. Narrated in the first person by journalist Thomas Fowler, the novel depicts the breakdown of French colonialism in Vietnam and early American involvement in the Vietnam W ...

'' was published in England and later in the U.S. It portrayed American policy in South Vietnam in a negative light. In the words of one reviewer, "American readers were incensed, perhaps not so much because of the biased portrait of obtuse and destructive American innocence and idealism but because...it was drawn with such acid pleasure by a middle-class English snob..." The principal American character in the novel is often erroneously believed to be modeled on CIA operative Edward Lansdale, but Greene began writing the novel before Lansdale's arrival in Vietnam. ; 8 December The executive committee of the American Friends of Vietnam met for the first time. The AFVN was founded in the United States to encourage U.S. support for the Diệm government. The members included many prominent politicians, both Democrat and Republican, including

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

and

Mike Mansfield Michael Joseph Mansfield (March 16, 1903 – October 5, 2001) was an American politician and diplomat. A Democrat, he served as a U.S. representative (1943–1953) and a U.S. senator (1953–1977) from Montana. He was the longest-serving Sen ...

. The committee invited General

John W. O'Daniel Lieutenant General John Wilson O'Daniel (February 15, 1894 – March 27, 1975), nicknamed " Iron Mike", was a senior United States Army officer who served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He is perhaps best known for serving wit ...

("Iron Mike") to serve as Chairman of the Board of AFV. O'Daniel was a fervent supporter of Ngô Đình Diệm. ; 9 December The

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

requested that the ceiling of 342 U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam be raised. With the ongoing withdrawal of the French, the manpower ceiling had become a "serious handicap." Dulles turned down the request to avoid violating the Geneva Accords which prohibited any increases in foreign military personnel in Vietnam. South Vietnam withdrew from the French Union Assembly and terminated many financial and economic agreements with France, thus severing nearly all its former colonial ties to France. ; 12 December The United States closed its embassy in Hanoi, thus ending formal diplomatic relations with North Vietnam. The U.S. would not restore diplomatic relations until 1998. ; 24 December China informed North Vietnam that all members of the China Military Advisory Group, which had been in Vietnam since July 1950, would return to China. This action by China illustrated the Chinese view that the most important task of North Vietnam was to consolidate its rule rather than attempt to force reunification with South Vietnam.Chen Jian (1995), "China's Involvement in the Vietnam War, 1964-1969", ''The China Quarterly'', No. 142 (Jun 1995), p. 357. Downloaded from JSTOR.

References

{{Vietnam War graphical timeline Vietnam War by year

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

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