De
Tham Guerrilla
Resistance--1883-1913
--De Tham, a Vietnamese resistance leader, led a
thirty-year guerrilla campaign against the colonial
French occupiers in the mountains near Yen The in
northeastern Tonkin. In 1909 the French launched a major
offensive against his forces. De Tham was involved in the
1908 Hanoi Uprising.This guerrilla
resistance ended with De Tham's assassination in
1913.
Hanoi
Uprising
--June
1908--"Abortive"
uprising led to French execution of thirteen rebels and
hundreds of arrests.
Vietnamese
Troop Mutiny--1916--
16 year-old Vietnamese King Duy Tan took part in
revolt and was exiled to the French island of Reunion. In
their policy of colonial control, the French allowed the
Vietnamese monarchy to exist as a puppet government. As
with most colonial empires, the French recruited local
forces to aid them. In this case, the Vietnamese troops
mutinied against their rulers.
Thai
Nguyen Uprising--1917--As
in the previous year's mutiny, Vietnamese troops rebelled
in the province of Thai Nguyen and held the town of Thai
Nguyen for several day before the French put down the
rebellion and recaptured the town.
The
Nghe-Tinh Revolt--1930-1931--A
peasant revolt with backing and support from the
underground Vietnamese Communist Party. French forces
suppressed the local soviets (A soviet is a council of
peasants, workers or soldiers in a socialist or
revolutionary form of government) which formed in local
villages. Many of these revolutionaries were arrested and
at least 80 were executed by the colonial government.
(External
link on this war.)
Yen
Bai uprising--Feb.
9, 1930
A rebellion launched by the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang,
(VNQDD -- Vietnamese Nationalist
Party--See
external link)
began as a planned mutiny of Vietnamese troops in the Yen
and Bai garrison. Other attacks on Son Tay and Lam Thu
failed. The French suppressed the uprising, arresting
executing many VNQDD leaders. Several villages were
bombed and shelled by French forces. (External
link)
World
War II--During
the Second World War, while France was defeated and
partially occupied by Germany in 1940, both Japan and her
ally Thailand initiated border conflicts with the French
colonial forces in Vietnam and Indochina.
Franco-Japanese
Border War
(Sept.
22, 1940-Sept. 24,
1940)--Soon
after France fell to Germany, Japan sought passage
through French Indochina in order to attack
Nationalist Chinese forces near the border. French
authorities in Hanoi refused, prompting Japan to
launch a ground attack on the French border forts at
Long-Son and Dong-Dang. Two days later, Japanese
aircraft bombed the port city of Haiphong and the
Japanese navy landed troops at the port. During the
two days of fighting, nearly 800 French troops were
killed.
Franco-Thai
Border War
(Jan.
9, 1941-Jan. 28,
1941)--Thailand,
then an ally of Japan, initiated an invasion of French
Indochina after early border skirmishes from November
1940. After early successes, the Thai forces were
forced back by French reinforcements. At sea, the
French navy, in the form of one cruiser, wiped out
nearly one third of the Thai navy off the island of
Kho Chang on Jan. 17. Japan arranged a cease-fire on
Jan. 28. Per a written agreement signed on March 11,
France gave portions of Laos and Cambodia to Thailand.
(External
link on this war.)
Viet
Minh Resistance to Japanese
Occupation
(1944-1945)--
In late 1944, the Vietnamese Communists, led by Ho Chi
Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap, initiated a resistance
movement against the Japanese. The Viet Minh
(Vietnamese abbreviation for " League of the
Revolution and Independence of Vietnam") sought
independence from both Japan and France.
First
Indochina War--1945-1954--Vietminh
guerrilla war against the French culminating in the Viet
Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu.
Binh
Xuyen Suppression --April,
1955--The
South Vietnam government of Ngo Dinh Diem used military
action to eliminate the paramilitary power of the Binh
Xuyen criminal organization.
Hoa
Hao Suppression --June,
1955--The
South Vietnam government of Ngo Dinh Diem used military
action to eliminate the paramilitary power of the Hoa Hao
religious sect in the countryside around Saigon.
(External
link on
the Hoa Hao religion. Includes articles on religious
persecution in Vietnam today.)
Cao
Dai Suppression --1955--The
South Vietnam government of Ngo Dinh Diem used military
action to eliminate the paramilitary power of the Cao Dai
religious sect.
North
Vietnamese Peasant Uprisings of
1956--A
peasant uprising in opposition to the Communist
government's policy of forcing the rural population into
collective farms. The government put down the
revolt.
Second
Indochina War--1956-1975--The
so-called "Vietnam War" was really a regional and
international conflict involving not just North and South
Vietnam and the U.S. but also embroiling Laos, Cambodia,
Thailand, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Below
are some of the "smaller" conflicts that in part made up
the Second Indochina War.
The
American-Vietnamese War--
1956-1975--The
Communist North Vietnamese and the southern Viet Cong
engaged in a long war to overthrow the pro-American
government of South Vietnam. The U.S. and other allied
nations sent troops to aid the Saigon regime. The last
U.S. combat troops left in 1973 and Saigon fell to the
North Vietnamese on April 30, 1975. Known in the U.S.
and much of the world as "The Vietnam War." Known in
Vietnam as "The American War."
Anti-Diem
Coup Attempt-- Nov.
11-Nov. 13, 1960--Bloody
coup attempt against South Vietnam's leader, Diem.
Over 300 killed or wounded. Diem would later be
overthrown and murdered in late 1963.
Laotian
Civil War-- 1959-1975--North
Vietnam sent large numbers of troops into Laos to aid
the Communist Pathet Lao against the U.S.-backed Royal
Laotian government. The Pathet Lao seized power in
1975 and maintains a good relationship with
Hanoi.
Cambodian
Civil War-- 1967-1975--North
Vietnam sent large numbers of troops into Cambodia to
aid the Communist Khmer Rouge against the U.S.-backed
Cambodian government. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA)
had maintained a large presence in eastern Cambodia
for years prior to the beginning of the Khmer Rouge
war in 1967. Following the fall of the U.S.-backed
governments in Cambodia and South Vietnam, the two
former Communist allies engaged in warfare between
themselves. (See below).
Paracel
Islands Battle (Jan. 19-20,
1974)-Two-day
naval and ground battle in the disputed Paracel Islands
in the South China Sea between South Vietnamese forces
and military forces from the People's Republic of China.
The islands had been in Vietnamese hands since the end of
French rule in 1954, but in 1974, China sent ships and
troops to the islands. In January, 1974, South Vietnamese
forces, with an American advisor, landed on the islands.
A battle ensued between Chinese and South Vietnamese
naval ships, while soldiers from the two countries fought
on the islands. The South Vietnamese fled, leaving the
Chinese in possession of the islands. Chinese losses
included: 18 killed, 67 wounded, and 4 minesweepers
damaged. South Vietnames losses included: 53 killed, 16
wounded, 48 captured, 1 corvette sunk, and 3 frigates
damaged. The American advisor, Gerald Emil Kosh, was also
captured. Kosh and several of the Vietnamese troops were
released later in the month.
Post-Unification
Southern Resistance--1975-mid-1980s--Armed
resistance by several groups against the Communist Hanoi
government following the fall of Saigon in 1975. These
groups include: the Montagnard ethnic group in the
Central Highlands; the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao religious
groups (who reportedly ceased fighting in the mid-1980s);
and various anti-communist groups collectively known as
chu quoc or "national salvation." The chu quoc included
the Dai Viet and the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, two armed
nationalist (and therefore anti-communist) organizations
and soldiers from the old South Vietnamese Army
(ARVN).
The Montagnard
resistance ended in 1987 as the government and the
Montagnards came to an accomodation regarding the degree
to which the central government would interfere, or not
interfere, with life in the highlands.
The Cao Dai and
Hoa Hao religious sects, offered up stiff resistance in
Chau Doc an Tay Ninh Provinces, where these groups
primarily live, but, like with the Montagnards, the
resistance tapered off in the mid-80s due to
accomodations allowed for these religious
groups.
Hmong
Rebellion in Laos--1975-Present--Armed
resistance by the Hmong ethnic group against the
Communist Pathet Lao government is really just a
continuation of the fighting between the Pathet Lao and
the Hmong, who were armed and supported by the United
States in the Laotian Civil War. The Hmong claim that the
Vietnamese army is fighting them in support of the
Laotian government.
Third
Indochina War--1977-1991--The
Third Indochina War began with the conflict between the
Khmer Rouge government of Cambodia and the Communist
government of a united Vietnam. Partially as a result of
Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia (a Chinese ally) in late
December of 1978, China launched what it described as a
"punitive" attack on northern Vietnam. This 29-day war
ended with the bloodied Chinese army declaring victory
and returning home.
Cambodia-Vietnamese
War--1977-1991--During
their war against the U.S.-sponsored regimes in Saigon
and Phnom Penh, the North Vietnamese and the Khmer
Rouge were able to mask their ideological differences
and ignore the historical hostility between their two
peoples. After taking power though, these differences
turned violent. Beginning with low-level cross-border
raids and escalating into full-fledged war in late
December of 1978 when Vietnam launched a massive
conventional invasion of Cambodia, swiftly occupying
the nation within days. Vietnam set up a new
government in Phnom Penh with Khmer Rouge defectors
but found itself immersed in a long and difficult war
of occupation as the Khmer Rouge returned to the
guerrilla warfare they knew so well. Vietnamese troops
left after more than a decade, with the friendly
government of Heng Samrin in control of most of
Cambodia.
Sino-Vietnam
War--Feb.
17-Mar. 16, 1979--
Similar to the difficulties between Cambodia and
Vietnam, the Hanoi regime enjoyed good relations with
China during the war against the United States and
South Vietnam, but once that conflict ended,
ideological and historical differences interfered with
Sino-Vietnamese relations. Using the Vietnamese
invasion of Cambodia as a pretext, China launched a
massive attack along their common border. Vietnam's
border troops put up a very good defense, causing
major casualties to the Chinese People's Liberation
Army (PLA). Within a month of the invasion, China
basically declared that it had taught Hanoi a lesson
and withdrew. Results of this war include: moving
Hanoi closer to the Soviet Union, which was a rival of
China; a modernization of the PLA as China realized
they did not do very well against a smaller country;
and the beginning of a long-lasting but low-level
border conflict with between Vietnam and China. (See
below).
Sino-Vietnam
Border Conflict--1980-1991--
After the Chinese invasion of Vietnam in 1979,
continued warfare and infiltration along the border
kept these two neighbors in a state of low-level
warfare which resulted in thousands of battle
casualties on both sides. The two Communist neighbors
began to maintain cordial relations, for several years
in the 1990s, but in the 21st Century, the two
communist neighbors have engaged in diplomatic
arguements over who controls resource-rich islands and
areas of the South China Sea. Vietnam increasingly is
engaging in more cooperation with the United States to
counter Chinese influence in the region.
Spratly
Island Clash-- (March
14, 1988)-Chinese
and Vietnamese forces battled over control of the
Spratly Islands when Vietnam sent two armed
transport ships and a landing craft carrying around
100 People’s Army of Vietnam soldiers to
Johnson South Reef, Collin Reef, and Lansdowne Reef
in the contested Spratly Island chain. In response,
Chinese naval ships and ground troops went to the
islands and confronted the Vietnamese soldiers on
Johnson South Reef. Chinese and Vietnamese ships
exchanged fire and the heavily outgunned Vietnamese
vessels were sunk, leaving 64 Vietnamese soldiers
dead and 11 wounded. The Chinese forces, which
suffered only one wounded casualty, captured nine
Vietnamese troops who were later released. China
still maintains control of the islands.
Thai-Vietnam
Border Conflict--1980-1990--Following
the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, Vietnamese forces
often crossed over from Cambodia into Thailand in
operations against Cambodian guerrilla forces. This
led to several battles with the Thai
military.
Sources on
Vietnamese History and Vietnamese Wars:
O'Ballance,
Edgar The
Wars in Vietnam:
1954-1980.
New York: Hippocrene Books. 1981.
Fall, Bernard
B.
Street Without
Joy.
New York: Schocken Books. 1972.
Thompson, Sir
Robert.WAR
IN PEACE: Conventional and Guerrilla Warfare Since
1945.
Harmony Books; 1st U.S. ed edition. 1985.
Library
of Congress/Federal Research Division:
Vietnam
Also see
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/vntoc.html#vn0141
for an index of information on Vietnam.