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Ngo Dinh Diem enters into Vietnamese government service in 1921

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Ngo Dinh Diem enters into Vietnamese government service in 1921

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After graduating as the valedictorian in his class, Diem entered the imperial bureaucracy as a mandarin. He quickly rose in power, becoming an administrative supervisor and then from district to province chief of 300 villages.

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Diem is promoted to governor and begins to enact his anti-communist plans for Vietnam in the 1930s.

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Diem is promoted to governor and begins to enact his anti-communist plans for Vietnam in the 1930s.

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In 1925, Diem exposed a communist cell in Quang Tri to the French. The French promote him to governor of the province of Phan Thiet. In 1930-1931, the Communist Party instigated peasant revolts which Diem along with the French had to put down.

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The Japanese take control of Vietnam in 1945, however their rule was not the same as the French rule. The Japanese offered Diem the premiership of a puppet regime under his old sovereign, Bao Dai, to which Diem refused.

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Ho Chi Minh writes the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2nd, 1945

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Ho Chi Minh writes the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2nd, 1945

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In the year 1945, after Japan's surrender and withdrawal from Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh wrote his Declaration of Independence and declared Vietnam an independent country to be known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

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The Viet Minh take control of Vietnam in September 1945

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The Viet Minh take control of Vietnam in September 1945

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After Japan's surrender, the communist marched into Hanoi and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh as its leader. Diem was arrested and while he was in prison, Minh arrested his brother Khoi and Khoi's son, convicting them to a death by live burial.

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Diem and Minh have a meeting In February 1946 about working together but Diem refuses because of Minh's actions 

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Diem and Minh have a meeting In February 1946 about working together but Diem refuses because of Minh's actions 

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Ho Chi Minh wanted to expand his supporters and so he wanted Diem because he was popular amongst many and also the face of Vietnamese Catholics. Diem refused because he described Ho as the man who "burned and destroyed the country" as well as killed many.

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Franco-Viet Minh War starts in November 1946

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Franco-Viet Minh War starts in November 1946

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In November 1946, French infantry and armored divisions re-occupied Vietnam, sparking the war.

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The United States intervenes in the Franco-Viet Minh War in 1950

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The United States intervenes in the Franco-Viet Minh War in 1950

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The US intervened, believing that it was necessary to support a third force, neither communist nor colonialist, in former colonies undergoing struggles for independence. Colonialism was dying out; for the West to retain any influence in the developing world, it would have to ally itself with anticommunist movements of national liberation. Such ally was the one they saw in Diem's ideologies.

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The Korean War ended in 1953 and the countries that participated in the fighting was South Korea and the United States against North Korea and China. US involvement was due to the threat of communism.

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A truce was signed by representatives of the French high command and the Viet Minh on July 20th, 1954 (otherwise known as the Geneva Accords)

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A truce was signed by representatives of the French high command and the Viet Minh on July 20th, 1954 (otherwise known as the Geneva Accords)

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This stopped the conflict of the Franco-Viet Minh War and started peace talks. An agreement was signed that a demarcation line would be formed along the 17th parallel, dividing Vietnam into two temporary political entities. It also set up elections to be held in both North and South Vietnam in 1956, with reunification to follow. Both signatories agreed that they would be bound by the results of these elections, whether they resulted in the formation of a socialist government or a capitalist democracy.

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Joseph Stalin had died in March 1953 and and his successors, Georgi Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev, wanted to mend US-Russia relations

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Joseph Stalin had died in March 1953 and and his successors, Georgi Malenkov and Nikita Khrushchev, wanted to mend US-Russia relations

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The Geneva Conference presented an occasion for the USSR to demonstrate its good faith in pursuing what Khrushchev would later term "peaceful coexistence" with the United States.

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Migration of Vietnamese Refugees in 1954

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Migration of Vietnamese Refugees in 1954

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One article of the Geneva Accords was the allowance of Vietnamese people to migrate to the political entities of their choice. Due to this, in early August 1954, over two hundred thousand refugees were awaiting evacuation from Hanoi and Haiphong. Diem had only expected a mere 10,000 refugees and so there were problems moving this amount of people. The US navy stepped in to help.

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The CIP is established in January 1955 in order to help the South Vietnamese economy

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The CIP is established in January 1955 in order to help the South Vietnamese economy

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The Commercial Import Program (CIP) promoted industrialization and economic self-sufficiency without the hyperinflation that often comes with injecting money into an economy. However, this system was abused by the upper classes and the government, leaving the lower class without anything and unable to grow under the plan of the CIP.

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Diem declared that:

landlords could collect no more than 25 percent of a farmer's crop

rent could be higher if the landlord furnished supplies like fertilizer

tenants had the right to farm abandoned or uncultivated land

However, these policies were not enforced and often ignored by landowners.

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Diem  scheduled a referendum to determine who would lead South Vietnam: himself or Bao Dai. Although it was clear that he would win, he still used various tactics to secure his victory such as through stuffing ballot boxes, intimidating voters, and spreading anti-Bao Dai propaganda.

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The number of Catholic in Vietnam's Diocese of Saigon surpasses that of European cities

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The number of Catholic in Vietnam's Diocese of Saigon surpasses that of European cities

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By 1956, the Diocese of Saigon had more Catholics than. Paris or Rome. Of Vietnam's approximately 1,450,000 Catholics, over 1,000,000, lived in the south, fifty-five percent of them refugees from the north.

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Ordinance No. 6 of the Anti-Communist Denunciation Campaign is passed in January 1956

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Ordinance No. 6 of the Anti-Communist Denunciation Campaign is passed in January 1956

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Diem used tactics to rid South Vietnam of communists but they were harsh and discriminating. Many of the South Vietnamese who were originally in support of him switched up on him because they or their friends and family were subjected to the torture, imprisonment, and executions that Diem enacted.

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Formation of the Can Lao Nhan Vi Cach Mang Dang, or Revolutionary Workers' Party and their rise in power in the 1950's

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Formation of the Can Lao Nhan Vi Cach Mang Dang, or Revolutionary Workers' Party and their rise in power in the 1950's

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Diem's brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu formed the Can Lao political party, in order to rally for support for his brother Diem. They gained tremendous power in the 1950s. In 1956, they controlled most sections of the administration of South Vietnam, they spied on potential traitors, and pressured government officials and army officials to join the party through scare tactics.

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Washington's Diem Experiment exposed in mid-1959

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Washington's Diem Experiment exposed in mid-1959

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In mid-1959, when newspaper articles critical of Washington's Diem experiment prompted a congressional investigation, that the fairytale promulgated in the American media and the speeches of-American statesmen began to resemble the real-life horror story-playing itself out in South Vietnam.

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National Assembly Elections in August 1959

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National Assembly Elections in August 1959

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In August 1959, there were elections for positions in the South Vietnamese National Assembly, which like the 1956 election, was rigged in favor of those allied with Diem.

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April 26th, 1960. Caravelle Group publishes letter to the press

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April 26th, 1960. Caravelle Group publishes letter to the press

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The Caravelle Group coauthored a letter to the president demanding reforms. They released this letter on this date at a press conference with various journalists from various countries present. It was also a list of grievances that implied that conditions in South Vietnam were worse than when Diem assumed office.

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In 1961, Diem created an initiative in order to suppress the influence of communism from spreading in South Vietnam. He created places called Agrovilles where the Vietnamese government relocated Vietnamese peasants to villages where they would be guarded from communist influence. However, this initiative caused many to become angry with Diem's regime because he forced them to move and then build the agroville themselves. In addition, during the first half of 1961, VC guerrillas assassinated over five hundred local officials and civilians, and kidnapped over one thousand more from these agrovilles.

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The battle of Ap Bac was over the control of the village of Ap Bac. It is said in the text that the US and ARVN had won technically due to the military objective of acquiring Ap Bac. However, it was also the VC's victory because they had only lost 18 men in the conflict compared to the ARVN's 61 killed and more than 100 wounded. The VC also won in the regard that they discredited the leadership of the ARVN and Diem because they had lost more people over territory the North did not really want anyway.

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Thich Quang Duc's protest on June 11th, 1963

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Thich Quang Duc's protest on June 11th, 1963

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Thich Quang Duc was a 73-year-old bonze who protested Diem's regime on June 11th, 1963. He arrived at one of Saigon's major boulevards and placed a cushion to sit down on. He sat in a lotus position while two other monks poured gasoline on him and around him. They then set the gasoline on fire along with him. He stated that this was his return to Buddha. This was a protest against Diem for not keeping his promise.

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Summer of 1963, Diem's regime conducted violent raids on Buddhist temples

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Summer of 1963, Diem's regime conducted violent raids on Buddhist temples

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The Diem regime violently raided Buddhist temples and attempted to arrest those who were protesting inside them. They used violence against the peaceful protestors, killing an estimated several hundred. He raided as many as 2,000 pagodas and arrested monks, nuns, student activists, and ordinary citizens.

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1963 talks of reunification of North and South Vietnam

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1963 talks of reunification of North and South Vietnam

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With France's involvement, there was a peace conference in Paris of unification that Diem had supported this. The ICC delegated the discussions and sent a Polish ambassador to facilitate discussions. Ho Chi Minh was pressured by the USSR and China to partake in their fight or that North Vietnam would be the battlefield of a USSR-PRC war and so was also looking for reunification. Ho Chi Minh would have consented to a unified Vietnam with a federated government. He added that one nonnegotiable point was that the Americans have to leave the country and leave the issues in Vietnam domestic.

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United States throws away an opportunity in 1963 to extricate itself from Vietnam with smallest amount loss of life and resources

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United States throws away an opportunity in 1963 to extricate itself from Vietnam with smallest amount loss of life and resources

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The opportunity that scholars claimed the US threw away was the opportunity to avoid the Vietnam War. The US did not agree to withdrawal and reasoned that the domino theory of communism was something they had to protect against.

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September 2nd, 1963 - Kennedy interview showing support of the South Vietnamese coup

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September 2nd, 1963 - Kennedy interview showing support of the South Vietnamese coup

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The underlying message that Kennedy delivered during his television interview with Walter Cronkite was that the government of Vietnam, Diem's regime, could regain the support of the people and that would lead to the South winning the war. He also adds that if he does not regain the support of the people, it would severely affect the outcome of the war.

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November 1st, 1963 - Diem is assassinated

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November 1st, 1963 - Diem is assassinated

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On the morning mass of All Souls Day, Diem was going to St. Francis Xavier church to pray and take communion. His 11am convoy was to arrive to take him to the JGS but instead, he was murdered before then and the convoy carried him and Madame Nhu's corpse. The coup leaders although they were knowing about the possible coup, were still shaken when they saw that he was murdered