American Strategic Deception Bureau

　"Can't we remedy the situation? For example, send a highly respected person to Hue to replace Nguyen Chinh Thi? Or mediate the conflict between the monks and the army, so that the officers and soldiers of the First and Second Divisions can be more patient, and the Buddhist temples can be less aggressive..."

　Deputy Air Force Commander Nguyen Cao Ky asked, "How can we fight against each other when the Wu bandits have not yet been eliminated? It is better to keep the peace."

　"A respected person? Mediation? Too late! Even if we invite Emperor Bao Dai from France now, it will be useless!

　The whole of Hue is in chaos! Who can we turn to for mediation?

　Earlier, Nguyen Chinh Thi had opened the armory in Hue without authorization and distributed all kinds of guns and ammunition. The Buddhists in the city and the monks from the temples seized the guns and ammunition and engaged in a bloody battle with the mutinous soldiers and the remaining Catholics! Gunfire was heard everywhere, the whole city was on fire, and the situation had long since gotten out of control.

　Du Mao replied casually, "The CIA's Saigon intelligence station just forwarded a message saying that the First Military Region headquarters has been burned down by rebels. The entire Hue is in chaos. No one knows where Nguyen Cheng Thuy is! I can't reach Nguyen Cheng Thuy even with the radio."

　Whether we want to capture him, kill him, or recall him to Saigon, we can no longer do it..."

　"The First Military Region Headquarters in Hue was burned down? The Americans said so? Is this information reliable?" someone asked.

　"Ahem, although the information from the Americans may not be reliable, there's no need to lie about something this unimportant."

　Chief of General Staff Tran Van Dun spoke up, "But that doesn't matter. We sent Nguyen Chinh Thi to Hue in the First Military Region as a strategic move. If it succeeds, that's welcome; if it doesn't, it won't affect the overall situation. The key to victory now lies in the Third Military Region! It depends on Saigon!"

　"Yeah, who would have thought? The 5th Division clearly

　Saigon was taken, but the 18th Infantry Division was defeated in Vung Tau?"

　Du Mao continued to make sarcastic remarks, but the generals of the General Staff no longer cared about his disrespect. Instead, they looked at the map with frowns.

　After all, as long as Vung Tau Port is not taken, the Third Military Region where the capital is located will not be completely under control.

　As long as Ngo Dinh Diem gathered troops to counterattack from the sea, the capital Saigon would be wide open.

　——Vung Tau Port is a small peninsula located in the southeast of the capital Saigon, facing the mouth of the Mekong River. It is an excellent deep-water port and another important anchorage for the South Vietnamese Navy besides Da Nang.

　Vung Tau is to Saigon what Hong Kong is to Guangzhou. Therefore, after the Third Military Region Commander Zun Shiding, Airborne Force Commander Gao Wenyuan, Rangers Commander Li Guangshao and others led their remnants of troops and fled Saigon on naval vessels, their first stop was Vung Tau.

　Although as the Governor-General of Saigon and Commander of the Third Military Region, Major General Son Suk-seo's performance on the first day of the coup was quite similar to that of General Jang Tae-wan in the "Double Twelve Coup" in Seoul in "The Fifth Republic", his subordinates were all traitors, and he tried his best to get no reinforcements, which looked extremely disappointing.

　However, after boarding the navy's landing craft and hastily evacuating Saigon, Major General Sonmuro Ding, after recovering from the shock, also regained some of his martial virtues.

　He formulated a counterattack plan on the ship, and then personally led the last few hundred remaining defeated soldiers to land and rush into the city of Vung Tau, wiping out the small number of coup forces in the city, and once again took control of this important city which is the sea gate of the capital Saigon.

　Next, Zun Shiding successfully mobilized the Catholic militia near Vung Tau, and reunited a group of remaining paratroopers, commandos, special forces and security forces who had fled Saigon, as well as a group of marines who refused to participate in the coup, and regrouped more than 3,000 troops.

　Meanwhile, the coup forces didn't learn of Thon Thi Dinh's escape to Vung Tau until the evening of March 30th. However, Nguyen Van Thieu's 5th Division had already suffered heavy losses and was exhausted after a day of hard fighting. Therefore, Duong Van Minh ordered Xuan Loc's 18th Division to attack Vung Tau directly without further advance to Saigon.

　As a result, the 18th Division felt that with Saigon already captured, the remaining enemy forces in Vung Tau were like frightened birds, fish swimming in a cauldron, and could be defeated at any moment. Compared to the remaining enemy forces in Vung Tau, they were more worried about being attacked by "friendly forces" in their base after the troops were deployed. In the midst of warlord chaos, who would dare to easily show their backs to their allies?

　So, the commander of the 18th Division left enough reserves in Xuan Loc and personally led only five battalions to attack Vung Tau. These five battalions were heavily underpaid, and along the way they encountered harassment from Viet Cong guerrillas, with some soldiers falling behind or deserting.

　Finally, on the morning of March 31, only more than a thousand people from the entire 18th Division rushed to Vung Tau overnight and engaged in a firefight with the miscellaneous troops assembled by Zun Shiding.

　As a result, because the 18th Division's attack route on Vung Tau Port was close to the coast, it was soon bombarded by the South Vietnamese Navy loyal to Ngo Dinh Diem. The division commander turned around and fled immediately, and the morale of the rest of the officers and soldiers collapsed instantly, and they scattered like birds and beasts. Many of them even defected again and joined Zun Shi Ding.

　The South Vietnamese Navy's limited small gunboats and landing craft with guns mounted on their decks would be no match for North Vietnamese torpedo boats if used in a serious naval battle; even against the sturdy coastal fortresses, they would probably be outmatched.

　But if the South Vietnamese Navy was on an open and unobstructed coastline, bombarding an enemy force that had deployed in formation would be easy.

　As for Nguyen Cao Ky's coup air force, why didn't it send out bombing attacks on Vung Tau Port, disperse naval vessels, and provide fire cover for the 18th Division?

　Because, on the night of March 30, when the Saigon coup was launched, a Viet Cong guerrilla group took advantage of the fact that the South Vietnamese army was killing each other, the vigilance was lax, and the rotation of defense was chaotic, and launched a surprise attack on Tan Son Nhat Airport and Bien Hoa Air Force Base, setting a fire in the oil depot. For a time, black smoke billowed and flames filled the sky. The flames that shot up into the sky illuminated the General Staff Headquarters as bright as day.

　What was even more terrible was that the raging fire spread, not only killing a large number of ground crew members, but also igniting several ammunition depots of the South Vietnamese Air Force!

　There was a series of tremendous explosions immediately, hundreds of tons of aerial bombs and bullets and artillery shells were all set off like fireworks in that night!

　The next day, Deputy Air Force Commander Nguyen Cao Ky was dragged out of the prostitute's bed and went to the scene to inspect the situation. He found that two-thirds of his combat aircraft had been burned and scrapped, and the runway was full of potholes. It would take at least two days to clear a runway.

　Moreover, even if the runway is repaired, we will still have to face the dilemma of lack of fuel and ammunition, and there will not be many planes left that can fly.

　In fact, after discovering that the oil depot and ammunition depot had become ruins, Nguyen Cao Ky's first reaction was to ask the US military for ammunition and aviation gasoline.

　However, General Harkins, commander of the US forces in Vietnam, claimed that they could not provide logistical support and military assistance to any of the warring parties until the end of the civil war, and that the South Vietnamese Air Force had to base itself on existing resources and find ways to eliminate its comrades in a cost-effective manner.

　Unlike Ambassador Lodge, who was determined to eliminate Diem, General Huggins sided with Diem. While he couldn't disobey Washington's orders and help Diem suppress the rebellion, he could still easily employ some tactics to embarrass the coup leaders.

　Seeing that the American father could not get any oil and bombs, Ruan Gaoqi simply gave up and let the Air Force

　He lay low and no longer undertook combat missions. He simply sent his trusted subordinates to carefully watch over the remaining aviation gasoline and the last few intact planes, ready to flee by plane if things went wrong.

　At the same time, at the combat meeting of the General Staff, Nguyen Cao Ky did not forget to play the victim and complain.

　"General Yang, those Vietcong are so disrespectful! Just yesterday, you announced you'd be 'seeking common ground while reserving differences' with the Vietcong and discussing national affairs, and yet in the middle of the night, our Air Force was stabbed so ruthlessly by the Vietcong? It's clear the Vietcong have absolutely no desire for peace!"

　Listening to Ruan Gaoqi's sarcasm, Yang Wenming looked very embarrassed. Others wanted to help their old boss, but they didn't know what to say.

　General Duong Van Minh, a prominent "suspected communist collaborator" within the South Vietnamese government, despite having once held the supreme command of the South Vietnamese army, maintained long-standing private ties with the Vietcong. He repeatedly claimed within the General Staff that the guerrillas' rampage in the countryside stemmed from President Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​obsessive faith in God, which offended Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Buddhist followers, as well as some intellectuals, allowing the Vietcong to exploit this vulnerability.

　As long as Ngo Dinh Diem is overthrown, his fanatical admiration for Catholicism and his erroneous idea of ​​turning South Vietnam into a crusader state are corrected, religious freedom and political tolerance are restored, and a few government positions and parliamentary seats are offered to bribe the Viet Cong leaders, the situation should be stabilized and peace restored, right?

　Aren't the American Communist Party and the Japanese Communist Party both operating openly? And haven't we seen the White House crack down on them?

　Why does Yang Wenming have such a seemingly naive idea?

　Because Yang Ming-Ning had come into contact with the Viet Cong at the end of World War II, and even knew two early leaders of the Viet Cong base in the south, Huang Jinfa and Nguyen Huu Tho. He knew that these two Viet Cong leaders were from urban middle-class backgrounds and were only pursuing freedom and independence with their passion.

　In addition, Yang Wenming's younger brother is also doing well in North Vietnam and is said to have a lot of connections.

　Therefore, Yang Ming-Ning felt that as long as he took control of power in South Vietnam, he could distance himself a little from the Americans and not let the Viet Cong think that the United States was colonizing Vietnam. Then he could condescend to sit down and have a good discussion with the leaders of the Viet Cong guerrillas in the south and Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, and show some sincerity. He should be able to negotiate a passable result, such as a "peaceful reunification roadmap" lasting 20 to 30 years.

　Then, given Yang Wenming's age, he must have retired before the unification line was truly launched. The rest can only be determined by the wisdom of future generations.

　While Dang Minh had good intentions, the problem was that the Viet Minh of the early years of independence and the war against the French was no longer the same as the Viet Cong today. Even the Viet Cong guerrilla leaders he knew back then were completely different from those he had been twenty years earlier.

　During these two decades, the Vietcong underwent repeated trials and tribulations of war and internal purges. While some problems arose, including overcorrection, excessive force, the wrongful killing of good individuals, and the sedition of dissidents, the Vietcong was ultimately reborn. From the loose, petty-bourgeois organization of two decades ago, a chaotic and chaotic organization filled with opportunists, it has become a disciplined, powerful, and resilient force.

　It was pure delusion for Yang Ming-Ning to want to play the role of mediator between the irreconcilable Viet Cong and the Americans based solely on his personal relationship.

　Therefore, even though on the day of the coup on March 30, Dung Minh publicly announced that he would "lift the ban on political parties" and implement "true democracy", and invited representatives of the Vietnamese Communist Party to come to Saigon for negotiations to see if the Vietnamese Communist Party could also participate in the new government and thus quell the war in South Vietnam.

　But the Viet Cong guerrillas on the other side did not give him any face at all and blew the coup's air force to pieces that night.

　Yang Wenming's good intentions were met with a cold shoulder, which made him extremely embarrassed.

　But, ultimately, it just felt a bit awkward.

　Although the lingering Vietcong were indeed a thorn in the side, President Ngo Dinh Diem, who was attempting a comeback, was the real concern for the generals.

　After chatting for a few minutes, everyone turned their main attention back to the current chaotic and confusing battle situation.

　At present, although the coup army led by the General Staff has occupied Saigon, there are actually not many troops that they can command.

　——In addition to the paralyzed Air Force and the Marine Corps of less than a thousand people, the total number of divisions is only the 5th, 18th and 25th Divisions of the Third Military Region, plus the 7th Division poached from the Fourth Military Region, a total of four divisions.

　The 1st and 2nd Divisions of the 1st Military Region were completely dismantled by the "Special Envoy of the General Staff" Nguyen Chinh Thi and could no longer be relied upon.

　The Third Division was won over by President Ngo Dinh Diem in Da Nang, and was expected to board a ship and take the sea route towards Saigon soon.

　While Nguyen Khanh, commander of the Second Military Region, verbally supported the coup, he was far from proactive. Instead, he procrastinated, having yet to deploy a single troop to Saigon. Despite repeated telegrams from the General Staff urging him to join the fight, Nguyen Khanh resorted to making up stories about the need to guard against the Hmong militia in Dak Lak Province. He said the Second Military Region would not dare to leave its base until negotiations with the Hmong warlords were complete.

　Please, how many Hmong militiamen are there in Dak Lak province? Do you, Nguyen Khanh, need to use the forces of an entire military region to monitor and guard against them?

　It's obvious that you, the old fox, want to preserve your strength and prepare to sell the troops in your hands at a higher price, okay?

　total

　In short, all the generals in Saigon now understood that Nguyen Khanh must have made up his mind to sit on the mountain in the western plateau and watch the fight between Yang Ming-Nguyen and Wu Tingyan, and then either go down the mountain to pick fruits, or use the troops in his hands to negotiate terms with the victorious party!

　But even if they understood Nguyen Khanh's ill intentions, what could they do? Faced with President Ngo Dinh Diem coming back for revenge, could they not fight?

　On the other hand, the forces that President Ngo Dinh Diem could use to counterattack Saigon and suppress the coup army mainly included the 9th and 21st Infantry Divisions under the command of General Huang Van Gao, commander of the 4th Military Region, which had not defected, plus several scattered troops poached by the president from the 1st Military Region, a group of stragglers gathered by General Zun Shiding, commander of the 3rd Military Region, in Vung Tau, and the entire basically complete lineup of the South Vietnamese Navy.

　Of course, the navy could not reach the shore after all, and the outcome of the decisive battle would depend on the army.

　Basically, the decisive battle was between Diem's ​​two divisions and Dang Ming-lin's four divisions, with some small scattered units on both sides.

　But the problem is that although Dung Minh may be more popular among the people at the moment, Diem was able to gather more "volunteers" for his own use.

　Although Buddhists far outnumbered Catholics in South Vietnam, during Diem's ​​reign, Catholics were given large quantities of firearms and ammunition, and they formed Catholic militias to bolster their power. However, Buddhists were long prohibited by Diem from possessing firearms and ammunition, and they did not have their own civilian armed forces.

　Therefore, in the event of a sudden incident, Diem could quickly mobilize many Catholic militias loyal to him from the countryside, while Dung Van Minh could only rely on his regular troops. If a war of attrition were to develop, the coup forces would not be able to recover as quickly as President Diem's ​​forces!

　In view of this, Yang Wenming believed that they must give full play to their internal advantages, take advantage of the brief window period when their own forces are relatively concentrated and the enemy forces are relatively dispersed, and make every effort to launch an active attack, first defeating Huang Wengao, the commander of the Fourth Military Region entrenched in the Mekong Delta.

　Once the heavy troops of the Fourth Military Region were defeated, even if President Ngo Dinh Diem had the support of the navy, it would be impossible for him to sweep across the country with just one division.

　Even the Catholic militia around him would likely be demoralized by this and might even refuse to fight for Ngo Dinh Diem.

　Now that the strategic direction had been decided, the General Staff immediately began intensive staff work, formulating an operational plan for a southern expedition to the Mekong Delta as quickly as possible. The coup forces were ready to mobilize all four divisions they now controlled, cross the Mekong River and head south, relying on a two-to-one advantage in strength to defeat Huang Wengao's two divisions in one fell swoop, and then calmly deal with President Ngo Dinh Diem who was about to return from the sea.

　48 hours later, a hastily crafted battle plan was initially produced and presented to the bosses. Yang Wenming and Chen Wendun took a quick look based on their experience and didn't seem to find any particularly obvious problems. There was no time to continue polishing and revising it, so they could only start implementing it directly.

　However, before the three divisions of the Third Military Region could regroup in Saigon according to this hastily concocted battle plan, the Seventh Division, on the front lines resisting the Fourth Military Region and guarding the My Tho ferry, received dire news: "The former president, commanding the main force of the navy, has just entered the Mekong River with a large number of ferries. The 9th and 21st Divisions are launching a forced crossing! The Marines are also attacking our rear! We are outnumbered and our firepower is weak. The ferry is about to fall! The enemy will soon march north to Saigon!"

　Well, before General Yang Ming-Ning could send his troops south, President Ngo Dinh Diem had already taken the lead and arrived right in front of him...

　Now, both sides can only continue to set up the battlefield in Saigon and engage in a life-and-death battle to decide the outcome!

　If Diem loses again, there will be no next time. And if Dang Minh loses, there is still General Nguyen Khanh of the Second Military Region.

　But even if Nguyen Khanh took action and defeated Ngo Dinh Diem through a series of battles, the future power of South Vietnam would have nothing to do with the defeated Yang Minh.

　So, for Yang Wenming, he seems to have a way out, but in fact he also only has one chance.

　In short, another no-holds-barred fighting competition with Saigon as the arena is about to start in this hot dry season in Vietnam!

　, watching several South Vietnamese Navy sailors, shirtless, operating the only 127mm naval gun on the ship, constantly adjusting the elevation angle, spewing smoke and fire at the rebel Seventh Division position on the shore.

　Since they were all new on board, they were unfamiliar with the ship and the guns they were carrying. Consequently, their firing speed was as slow as a tortoise, their accuracy was poor, and few of their rounds actually hit the enemy positions. Some shells even landed too close, hitting the Mekong River's surface and sending up columns of water and waves over ten meters high.

　A group of idle American sailors stood by the side of the ship in the distance, pointing and talking at the South Vietnamese sailors who were clumsily operating the ship's guns, as if they were mocking these "yellow monkeys" whose artillery skills were so poor that they turned the bombardment on the other side into a fireworks display, which was really unbearable to watch.

　Of course, no matter how much they couldn't stand it, the Americans would definitely not help, because that would violate their neutrality...

　——After President Ngo Dinh Diem decided to march south to counterattack Saigon, he planned to board the newly received destroyer "Treatise on Trieu Thi Trinh", which was the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer Yukikaze that had been converted into an armed yacht, and sail out of Da Nang with high spirits and head towards the mouth of the Mekong River to seek revenge.

　But the problem was that it had been less than a week since the South Vietnamese Navy sent people to take over the ship. Without American sailors, it would probably be impossible to operate it. The South Vietnamese Navy Commander Hu Jinquan originally planned to let the American sailors stay for 30 days to teach the South Vietnamese sailors various ship-handling techniques by words and deeds.

　As a result, the civil war broke out just three days after the new ship arrived in Da Nang, and the South Vietnamese sailors he brought with him had just boarded the ship. How could he handle the situation in such a short period of time?

　If they were forced to steer the new ship carrying the president out to sea based on their instincts, what would happen if it stalled, collided with another ship, or ran aground?

　But what if such a "big ship" with a displacement of 2,000 tons and a very impressive appearance is left at the rear and is useless?

　Both President Ngo Dinh Diem and Navy Commander Hu Tien Quan were unwilling to give up: this counterattack on Saigon was their last resort. If they were defeated again, keeping the ship would be a gift to the rebels - rather than that, they would rather let the ship perish along with them!

　Fortunately, the commander of the US forces in Vietnam, General Hawkins, was a supporter of Ngo Dinh Diem, and there were also many die-hard hardliners in the Pentagon who supported Ngo Dinh Diem.

　Therefore, after Ngo Dinh Diem managed to contact General Hawkins, the Pacific Fleet Command sent the latest instructions to the sailors who drove the Snow Wind/Treatise Thi Trinh to Vietnam - in the civil war of the South Vietnamese regime, American sailors must remain neutral and not fire at any side.

　In other words, as long as American sailors do not operate any shipborne weapons and are only responsible for driving the ship, communications, and radar, they will not be considered to have violated neutrality.

　——Of course, the Pentagon would not directly order these sailors to serve Ngo Dinh Diem. Ngo Dinh Diem had to find a way to make them work hard.

　Diem, with his long career in government, readily understood the hidden meaning behind the US response. He first gave each American sailor who had sailed the ship to Da Nang a gold bar as a reward, and officers received double the pay based on their rank. Later, Diem offered even more generous terms to hire these sailors to continue sailing the Trieu Thi Trinh and participate in his counteroffensive in Saigon.

　Of course, in order to avoid violating the Pentagon's neutral observation instructions, the machine guns, naval guns and all weapons and equipment on the Trieu Thi Trinh would be operated by officers and soldiers of the South Vietnamese Navy. The American sailors only needed to concentrate on driving the ship and at most keep an eye on the radar screen.

　——The American sailors were only responsible for driving the "Treatise on the Trieu" to the My Tho ferry on the Mekong River. It was the South Vietnamese Navy's own responsibility to fire artillery shells.

　It sounds like trying to cover one's ears and steal a bell, and it is indeed the case. But as long as the US military is willing to play dumb, then everyone else will be happy to play dumb.

　In this way, the "Treatise on the Trieu", piloted by American sailors, carried President Ngo Dinh Diem and Commander Hu Tien Quan and participated in the Battle of My Tho as the flagship.

　In fact, the shelling of the Zhao Shizhen on the opposite shore of My Tho did not last long.

　Because no matter how glorious its past military achievements were, it was essentially just an armed yacht. Its magazine was pitifully small, with a maximum ammunition capacity of only 40 rounds, and it was not even full. Even with the South Vietnamese sailors' slow speed, like an old ox and a broken cart, it only took an hour to finish the battle.

　Fortunately, in addition to the lonely 127mm naval gun on the "Treatise on Trieu", the other small gunboats owned by the South Vietnamese Navy, as well as the landing craft and landing ships that had been modified and equipped with artillery, also joined the chorus of destruction.

　All at once, naval guns of all calibers opened fire, occasionally joined by a few rockets. Countless steel pellets streaked across the river with a piercing whistle, ultimately landing on the 7th Division's positions on the north bank, sending up clouds of crimson flames and smoke. Before long, the thick cloud of smoke rose higher and higher, enveloping the My Tho Ferry. Only through the occasional gaps in the smoke could the flashes of exploding shells be seen, a truly spectacular sight.

　Faced with the frenzied bombardment launched by the South Vietnamese Navy after its general mobilization, the Seventh Division stationed on the riverbank was extremely weak and had almost no ability to fight back.

　After all, My Tho was a completely undefended city, without any usable fortresses along the riverbank. The 7th Division's field artillery lacked the courage to engage the naval guns, so they retreated out of range of the naval guns and hastily called for aircraft cover.

　Faced with the 7th Division's request for air support, the coup army's air force commander, Nguyen Cao Ky, initially lay down and pretended to be dead.

　Attacking a friendly force was difficult, but he remained unmoved. Later, under the repeated pressure of the General Staff, he reluctantly dispatched two "Skyraider" propeller attack aircraft to support the 7th Division.

　As a result, the South Vietnamese Air Force pilots had only learned ground attack and had never received any anti-ship attack training. The two Skyraider attack aircraft did not achieve any results. Instead, they ran head-on into the anti-aircraft fire of the South Vietnamese Navy ships. One was shot down and the other fled with injuries.

　From then on, no planes from either side appeared in the sky above the My Tho battlefield.

　Chen Shanqian, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, was enduring the navy's frenzied bombardment in My Tho City, while seeing two other divisions of the 4th Military Region crossing the river under the cover of the navy. Behind them were the marines who had taken a detour from Vung Tau Port and were constantly harassing them... After only two hours, Chen Shanqian could no longer hold on. He simply ignored Yang Wenming's order to "hold on to the end" and directly abandoned his position and withdrew his troops back to Saigon.

　But despite this, Chen Shanqian was still a step too late - relying on the navy's fire cover and the large number of ferries they brought, the Fourth Military Region's counter-insurgency troops had successfully crossed the river. Many soldiers of the Seventh Division were exchanging fire with the enemy on the beach and in the streets, and could not withdraw for a while.

　On the contrary, after seeing the division commander Chen Shanqian leading the escape, the morale of the Seventh Division, which had already been devastated by artillery shells, completely collapsed. Hundreds of soldiers directly turned against their side on the battlefield and surrendered to the friendly forces of the Fourth Military Region who had crossed the river: they were originally from the Fourth Military Region.

　By the time Tran Thien Khiem finally escaped back to Saigon, his 7th Division had been reduced to fewer than 3,000 men, all of its heavy equipment gone. The remainder had either been killed in action, fled, or defected to President Ngo Dinh Diem, turning their guns on Saigon once again.