Quote:
Originally Posted by afc wimbledon
There was no 'south' and 'north' though, the seperation itself was a wholly artificial idea, the division was predomonantly religeous, the Catholic minority opposed the Communists who drew their strengh from the Budhist majority.
The CIA sponsered and largely paid for a huge evacuation of Catholics from the North into the South in order to create an area where there was at least a chance to set up an opposing goverment.
The South never defended itself though and was always wholly propped up by the US, as soon as the americans withdrew a vastly larger and better equiped army of the south collapsed within few weeks of the North attacking, not exactly a sign they were opposed to the North or prepared to die for the South.
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True the war was lost within a month but it was mostly because of poor leadership. The generals did not allow the South Vietnamese to fight, but instead regrouped its forces to stall for time (perhaps to get money from the US or get them back into the war). They took the wrong roads and defends the wrong areas, refugees fleeing for their lives blocked certain roads and both civilians and officers were attacked.
If you're a history buff read about the
Battle of Ban Me Thuot and see one of the greatest military blunders in history by the South Vietnamese government and generals.