man of war vietnam weapons cache location

The government was trying to win their alliance in its war with the Viet Cong.īy early 1955, Diem had consolidated his power and control over South Vietnam. The Montagnards, dark-skinned tribesmen numbering about 700,000, live in the highlands of central Vietnam. They were brought in by government troops from a village where they were used as labor force by communist Viet Cong forces. The Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Indochina was also re-organized into MAAG, Vietnam to train the South Vietnamese army.Īn American officer serving with the South Vietnam forces poses with group of Montagnards in front of one of their provisionary huts in a military camp in central Vietnam on November 17, 1962. Eisenhower promised American support to his government to ensure a non-communist Vietnam.įollowing through on that commitment, American aid to South Vietnam began as early as January 1955.

In a letter to Ngo Dinh Diem – the new Prime Minister of the Bao Dai government on October 23, 1954, President Dwight D. Second and most importantly, if the communists won in Vietnam, communism could spread throughout Southeast Asia and become a greater threat to the U.S. First, they feared that the general elections would not be fair and free under the communists’ influence. However, the accords apparently did not please the United States. General elections were to be held within two years, by July 1956, to unify the country. Civilians were able to move freely between two states for a 300-day period. Under the terms of the Geneva Accords, France agreed to withdraw its troops from Indochina while Vietnam was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh and Bao Dai respectively, at the 17th parallel. (Note: the other part of this photo collection: Vietnam War: Escalation and Withdrawal through rare photographs, 1968-1975). This victory led to the Geneva Conference where the French and Viet Minh negotiated a ceasefire agreement. On May 07, 1954, Viet Minh forces won the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and ended French involvement in Indochina. Army helicopters pour machine-gun fire into a tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh, near the Cambodian border, in March of 1965.

Man of war vietnam weapons cache location