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PART B: INSURGENCY IN SOUTH VIETNAM, Red 2. Purple 3. Purple blue 4. Blue …
PART B: INSURGENCY IN SOUTH VIETNAM
Support from the North for the insurgency in the South
● The actions of these anti-Communist governments increased support among the ordinary peasants for the Communists.
● By 1959, the communist government in the North authorised armed struggle against Diem's regime, which included supporting armed groups that were carrying out guerrilla attacks on Diem's government officials.
● Ho Chi Minh encouraged these armed groups to join together in a collective resistance organisation to overthrow Diem's government and subsequently unify Vietnam.
In 1960, the National Liberation Front (NLF) was established in the South.
o South Vietnamese opponents of the government (of various religious, political and ethnic minority groups)
o Large numbers of Communist North Vietnamese taking their orders from Ho Chi Minh.
● The military arm of the NLF, the People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), was formed in 1961 to coordinate the insurgency in the South.
● These insurgents came to be known as the Viet Cong, a derogatory term used by the Diem regime and the USA, meaning Vietnam Communists.
Strategies of the Viet Cong (Armed Struggle):
o Reinforcements and supplies to the guerrilla fighters were transported from the North to the South via a trail known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
o They attacked South Vietnamese government military forces, officials and buildings, gradually making the countryside unsafe for government forces.
o They also attacked American air force and supply bases to undermine American support for the Diem regime.
Strategies of the Viet Cong (Winning Hearts and Minds):
Their promises of land reform to the peasants contrasted sharply with Diem's unpopular policies and practices, further undermining Diem's control of the countryside.
o Support for the NLF grew, with villagers readily supporting the guerrillas by providing food, shelter and information.
o Many others even joined the guerrilla forces.
o A network of anti-Diem and communist supporters began to form in the South, strengthening communist influence in the area.
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