Routledge Library Editions: Revolution in Vietnam
Volume 7
War by other Means
First published in 1989 by Allen & Unwin
This edition first published in 2022
by Routledge
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1989 Carlyle A. Thayer
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-03-214885-4 (Set)
ISBN: 978-1-00-324163-8 (Set) (ebk)
ISBN: 978-1-03-215283-7 (Volume 7) (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-03-215285-1 (Volume 7) (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-00-324344-1 (Volume 7) (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003243441
Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.
Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.
Carlyle A. Thayer 1989
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.
First published in 1989
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Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:
Thayer, Carlyle A.
War by other means : national liberation and revolution in Vietnam 1954-60.
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN 0 04 820045 X.
ISBN 0 04 370187 6(pbk.).
1. Vietnam History 1945-1975. 2. Vietnam Politics and government 1945-1975.1. Title.
959.704'2
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-83595
Set in 10/1 lpt Times by Times Graphics, Singapore Printed by Chong Moh Offset Printing, Singapore
To the memory of Colonel Alan P. Thayer, USA
Tables
4.1 Results of ARVN military operations launched against dissident forces in 1956: a comparison of Communist and non-Communist estimates
6.1 Results of Operations Truong Tan Buu and Thoai Ngoc Hao, July 1956-February 1957
6.2 Cumulative results of the Anti-Communist Denunciation Campaign to 1959 based on PAVN complaints
6.3 Results of the Anti-Communist Denunciation Campaign by time period based on PAVN complaints
6.4 Land reform undertaken by the Republic of Viet-Nam, 1957-61
6.5 US aid to the Republic of Viet-Nam, 1955-60
6.6 US counterpart funding for the Republic of Viet-Nam, 1955-60
6.7 US personnel in Viet-Nam, 1958-61 727
6.8 PAVN complaints to the ICC concerning US military personnel and equipment
7.1 US Intelligence estimates of armed Communist strength in South Viet-Nam, 1955-59
7.2 Communist military units in South Viet-Nam: order of battle, 1957-58
7.3 US estimates of Communist-directed assassinations and abductions, 1958-59
Maps
1 States within a stateareas of Nam Bo under sect control, 1954-55
3 Areas controlled by the Binh Xuyen, 1954-55
4 The provinces of western Nam Bo
5 Areas controlled by the Cao Dai, 1954-55
6 Areas under the control of Hoa Hao military forces, 1954-55
7 The provinces of eastern Nam Bo
8 The Central Highlands of Trung Bo
9 The northern provinces of Trung Bo
10 Armed struggle in Nam Bo, April 1959-May 1960
Acknowledgements
The Viet-Nam War still lives with us, a decade and a half after the withdrawal of American and Australian troops. In recent years, a renewed interest in the history of the conflict has led to a veritable flood of books on the market. Few of these have focused on the Communist side, and, remarkably, no comprehensive account of the origins of the conflict has appeared. Those writers who have attempted to redress this neglectRalph Smith, George Kahin and Gabriel Kolkohave relied in part on unpublished research conducted by me over a decade ago.
The impetus for publishing this study arises from this renewed public interest and encouragement given by my colleagues and my publisher, John Iremonger. In writing this book, I have revised substantially my two volume PhD dissertation and incorporated documentation which has since become available. Most of the new material has been published in Hanoi and confirms previous research based on captured Communist documents and declassified intelligence reports. I have benefited from discussion with Party historians in Ho Chi Minh City arranged by the Viet-Nam Social Sciences Committee.
Research for this book was conducted in Viet-Nam, Australia, Republic of China (Taiwan), Thailand, France, England and the United States. I would like to thank Douglas Pike for granting access to his documentary collection, then housed in US government premises in Taiwan and now established as the Indochina Archive at the University of California at Berkeley. The late William Gausmann, then editor of Viet Nam Documents and Research Notes, was enormously helpful during my 1972 visit to Saigon. I would also like to thank the staffs of the National Library of Australia (and especially its Advanced Studies Reading Room); the Menzies Library, Institute of Advanced Studies, the Australian National University; National Library of the Republic of Viet- Nam; Ministry of Open Arms, Republic of Viet-Nam; Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University; Library of Congress; Widner Library, Harvard University; South-East Asia Treaty Organisation, Bangkok; and the Chatham House Library of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, for their professional services.
Over the past two decades I have accumulated numerous intellectual debts to friends and colleagues. In particular, I would like to thank the following for assistance in preparing this study: the late Harry Benda, John Girling, Huynh Sanh Thong, King C. Chen, Robert J. ONeill, the late Karl Pelzer, Gary Porter, Jeffrey Race, William S. Turley, Geoffrey Warner, Christine P. White and Lee E. Williams. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to Alvaro Ascui, Shirley Ramsay and Jenny Crook for technical assistance in the preparation of the book manuscript. Special thanks go to the staff of the Defence Academys Computer and Audio-Visual Centres. Last but not least, I must record my very special appreciation to my wife, Zubeida Bibi, for her patience, understanding and support during my trips overseas and long absences from home.
Abbreviations
ACDCAnti-Communist Denunciation CampaignAEZAgriculture Exploitation ZoneARVNArmy of the Republic of Viet-NamCATOCombat Arms Training OrganisationCCPChinese Communist PartyCIACentral Intelligence AgencyCIPCommercial Import ProgramCPCCommunist Party of ChinaCPSUCommunist Party of the Soviet UnionDMZDemilitarised ZoneDPRKDemocratic Peoples Republic of KoreaDRVNDemocratic Republic of Viet-NamGVNGovernment of Viet-Namha.hectareICCInternational Control CommissionICPndochinese Communist PartyMAAGMilitary Assistance Advisory GroupMSUMichigan State UniversityNATONorth Atlantic Treaty OrganizationNFLSVNNational Front for the Liberation of South VietNamPKICommunist Party of IndonesiaPAVNPeoples Army of Viet-NamPRCPeoples Republic of ChinaRLRRoyal Lao GovernmentRVNRepublic of Viet-NamSEATOSouth-East Asia Treaty OrganisationTERMTemporary Equipment Recovery MissionTRIMTraining Relations and Instruction MissionUSUnited StatesUSISUnited States Information ServiceUSOMUnited States Operations MissionUSSRUnion of Soviet Socialist RepublicsVCPViet-Nam Communist PartyVNAViet-Nam News AgencyVNQDDViet-Nam Nationalist PartyVWPViet-Nam Workers Party
