Trình Minh Thế (1920 – 3 May 1955) was a Vietnamese nationalist and

Cao Dai Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a Monotheism, monotheistic Religious syncretism, syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

leader during the end of the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

and the beginning of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Early life

Thế was born in Tây Ninh Province and raised in 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 ...

religion. He was trained in military officer school by the Japanese

Kempeitai The , also known as Kempeitai, was the military police arm of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1881 to 1945 that also served as a secret police force. In addition, in Japanese-occupied territories, the Kenpeitai arrested or killed those suspecte ...

when Japan began using Cao Đài

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

troops. By 1945, he was an officer in the

militia.

Career

In June 1951, Thế broke from the Cao Đài hierarchy and took about 2,000 troops with him to form his own militia, the Liên Minh, devoted to combating both the French and the

Việt 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 Fron ...

. Thế's father and one of his brothers formed their own military group in the Liên Minh and were later killed in combat by

. Thế's forces were implicated in a series of

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

bombings in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

from 1951 to 1953—which were blamed on

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

s at the time—and may also have been responsible for the assassination of the French General Chanson at Sa Đéc in 1951. In 1954, United States military advisor Edward Lansdale negotiated with Thế to use his militia to back up

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic ...

and the

ARVN The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...

. On 13 February 1955, Thế's troops were officially integrated into the

South 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 th ...

ese army, where he assumed the rank of

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

. He led the Liên Minh on a triumphal march into Saigon.Nguyễn Công Luân Nationalist in the Viet Nam Wars: Memoirs of a Victim Turned Soldier 2012 "Then we heard of General Trình Minh Thế in Tây Ninh province, Việt Nam South. The war in South Việt Nam before 1954 was not as intense as in the North, and communism did not prosper well in the South, where people were leading easy ..." Through Lansdale, the U.S. continued to fund Thế and other Caodaist groups. However, as the South Vietnamese government faltered, many of the militia leaders declared their open opposition to Diệm and began an attempted coup. Thế's loyalties at this point were unclear, and it was also unclear whether the U.S. intended to support Diệm against the rebels; some said that Thế might be a realistic replacement for Diệm. However, when the Liên Minh entered Saigon again it appeared to be in response to Lansdale's last-minute call for them to protect Diệm.

Death

On 3 May 1955, while standing near his military jeep, Thế was shot in the back of the head by a sniper. The murder was unsolved, with some blaming the French (who had vowed to kill Thế for years) and others blaming the South Vietnamese government. Trình Minh Sơn, Thế's son, claims that his father was killed from a pistol with its muzzle against his head. He also claims that he was shot by two bullets, not one bullet as stated by official media. His son says it was possible that Thế was assassinated by the South Vietnamese government to prevent him from forming the basis of a possible future opposition to the government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinh, Minh The 1922 births 1955 deaths People of the First Indochina War Vietnamese military personnel Assassinated military personnel Vietnamese Caodaists Deaths by firearm in Vietnam South Vietnamese military personnel killed in action People from Tây Ninh province Assassinated Vietnamese politicians People murdered in Vietnam 1950s murders in Vietnam 1955 crimes in Vietnam 1955 murders in Asia

Early life

Career

Death

See also

References