North Vietnam

“ A reported 90,000 soldiers were taken to North Vietnam in the evacuated units, while the U.S. and the GVN estimated that 5,000 to 10,000 trained men were left behind as "cadre." If French estimates are correct that in 1954 the Viet Minh controlled over 60 to 90 percent of South Vietnam's villages outside the Cao Dai and Hoa Hao regions, those 5000 to 10,000 cadre must have represented only a small fraction of the remaining Viet Minh apparatus--cadre, local workers, sympathizers--in the countryside. ”

“ Norodom Sihanouk has reached the conclusion that China, not North Vietnam, will exercise the dominant influence over South East Asia in the years to come and has evinced a readiness to reach an accommodation with the Chinese, whose objectives do not necessarily coincide with those of the North Vietnamese at all points ... ”

“ There is little doubt that Diem and his government applied the term Viet Cong somewhat loosely within South Vietnam to mean all persons or groups who resorted to clandestine political activity or armed opposition against his government; and the GVN meant by the term North as well as South Vietnamese communists, who they presumed acted in concert. At the close of the Franco-Viet Minh War in 1954, some 60,000 men were serving in organized Viet Minh units in South Vietnam. For the regroupments to North Vietnam, these units were augmented with large numbers of young recruits ”

“ The North Vietnamese themselves possessed at the outset little capacity to carry out a balanced program of industrial development; in fact, handicapped as the DRV was by annual fluctuations in their agriculturally based economy and shortages of native technicians, its capability to absorb foreign aid was distinctly limited. ”

“ PAVN Modernizes At the close of hostilities, the Viet Minh probably had some 300,000 to 400,000 men under arms—about 130,000 regulars of which all but about 70,000 were concentrated in North Vietnam and Laos. (See Map, ff.) 83 The French had fielded 420,000 troops, including about 200,000 Vietnamese. Both sides received extensive aid from non-combatants, the French chiefly from the U.S., and the DRV chiefly from China. ”

“ France Retains a Significant Foothold in Indochina The results at Geneva also allowed France to hold on to something very tangible — most of Indochina itself. The Viet Minh forces and auxiliaries in Cambodia and Laos were shunted aside, preserving paramount French influence in Vientiane and Phnom Penh. Moreover, in South Vietnam the French maintained clear title to their military, cultural, and economic interests; in North Vietnam, they had some prospect of salvaging their investments. ”

“ Moreover there is evidence that the Viet Minh systematically broadened its family ties in the South through hundreds of hasty, directed marriages for departing "warriors" and by recruiting very young men and boys just before departure. [12]
72. NIE 63-56, op. cit., 10. 73. U.S. Interagency Intelligence Committee, Draft Memorandum, "The North Vietnamese Role in the Origin, Direction, and Support of the War in South Vietnam," (DIAAP-4, May, 1967) , op. cit., 16–17. 74. ”

“ Ho eventually (March, 1946) negotiated with the French, accepting a French military presence in North Vietnam for a period of five years in return for vague French assurances to the DRV as a "Free State within the French Union." When Ho was attacked for this by the pro-Chinese elements within the DRV, he declared:
"You fools! Don't you realize what it means if the Chinese stay? Don't you remember your history? The last time the Chinese came, they stayed one thousand years! "The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying out. ”

“ I was a political officer. I went to the North just like all the other combatants in my unit. I believed, at the time, that regroupment was only temporary, because from the study sessions on the Geneva Agreement we drew the conclusion that we could return to the South after the general elections.
(A PA) [Our political officer] explained that: "we were granted Vietnam north of the 17th parallel now, but in 1956 there would be a general election and we would regain the South and be reunited with our families. ”

“ While in Tonkin the Viet Minh flowed in through and behind the French and continued to build a nation and unify the people with surprising efficiency, in the South they were unable to do so. Not only were the Viet Minh centers of power in the North and the China base area too remote to support effectively the southern insurgency, but also the French had imitated the Japanese in arming and supplying certain South Vietnamese factions, fomenting civil war against the southern arm of the Viet Minh. ”

“ In completely liberated North Viet-Nam, power is in the hands of t he people; this is a firm basis for the peaceful reunification of Viet-Nam, a task which receives ever-growing and generous help from the Soviet Union, China, and other brother countries. Thanks to this assistance, the consolidation of the North has scored good results. ”

“ We think North Vietnam is on the brink of deciding whether or not to go the military route. To the extent we cut back, we encourage military action.
It is not a matter of economizing -- we don't have enough. We have done what we can. Unused equipment disintegrates rapidly. ”

“ For the United States, the plight of these peoples lent humanitarian dimensions to its policy toward Vietnam, and new perspectives to its economic and military assistance.
2. Exodus to South Vietnam In accordance with Article 1 of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, 190,000 troops of the French Expeditionary Corps were moved from North Vietnam to the South. In addition, some 900,000 civilians exercised their option under Article 14 (d) of the Armistice. ”

“ Vietnam must be reunited.' [September 2, 1957.] 'Every hour, every minute, the people of the North think of their compatriots in the South. The South Vietnamese people relentlessly have fought for nearly twenty years, first the French colonialists, then the American-Diemists. They are indeed the heroic sons and daughters of the heroic Vietnamese nation. ”

“ North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that. ”

“ This war, like most wars, is filled with terrible irony. For what do the people of North Vietnam want? They want what their neighbors also desire: food for their hunger; health for their bodies; a chance to learn ”

“ South Vietnam supports armed forces tonight of almost 700,000 men - and I call your attention to the fact that this is the equivalent of more than 10 million in our own population. Its people maintain their firm determination to be free of domination by the North. ”

“ In fact, the modernization they envisaged for North Vietnam surpassed in degree and urgency any of the My-Diem undertakings in South Vietnam. yet the latter aroused the peasant's apprehensions, and eventually their hostility. What of Ho Chi Minh's internal security? From the record of DRV policy from 1950 to 1960, it is clear that, while "progress towards socialism" in both the agrarian and industrial realms was always one principal State/ Party objective, a well-disciplined society thoroughly submissive to Party leadership was another, and frequently overriding goal. ”

“ The North Vietnamese know that they cannot achieve their aggressive purposes by force. There may be hard fighting before a settlement is reached; but, I can assure you, it will yield no victory to the Communist cause. ”

“ The Vietnamese revolution has moved into a new position. Our people must endeavor to consolidate the North, taking it toward socialism, and carry on the struggle for peaceful reunification of the country and completion of the tasks of the National People's Democratic revolution throughout the country. ”

“ During the time allowed for collecting forces for the move north, the Viet Minh evidently undertook to bank the fires of revolution by culling out of their units trained and reliable cadres for "demobilization," "recruiting " youth — forcibly in many instances — to take their place, and caching weapons.11 Particularly in Annam and the Highlands, then, the Viet Minh posed a significant challenge to Ngo Dinh Diem. His test of strength with the Viet Minh, however, was to be deferred by the Geneva Settlement and DRV policy for some years. ”

“ The proponent of these undertakings was Ho's Sino-phile lieutenant Truong Chinh; see Central Intelligence Agency, Biographic Handbook, North Vietnam-South Vietnam (CIA/CR BH 6.6) , item on Truong dated 15 March 1965; also Bernard B. Fall, ed., Primer for Revolt (New York: Praeger, 1963) , XIX-XX; P. J . Honey) Communism in North Vietnam (Cambridge : M.I.T. Press, 1963) , 11-14, 32-35, 45-46; and William Kaye) "A Bowl of Rice Divided, he Economy of North Vietnam," in P. J. Honey, ed., North Vietnam Today ( New York: Praeger, 1962) , 107–108. ”

“ The monopoly of Viet Cong leadership by the infiltrators from the North became evident after 1960. By 1965, they were clearly dominant. For example, while southerners still controlled the Viet Cong of the Mekong Delta, in the provinces just north of Saigon -- Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Hoa, and Phuoc Tuy especially -- regroupees and northerners had assumed most of the principal cow_mand positions. A document captured in January 1966 listed 47 VC officials attending a top-level party meeting for that region, of whom 30 had infiltrated from 1961 through 1965. ”

“ Strength: It is estimated that the Viet Cong in North Vietnam, currently have available approximately 268,000 regular army troops organized into 14 Infantry Divisions, 1 Artillery Division, 1 Anti-aircraft Artillery Groupment, 11 independent Infantry Regiments, 5 Security Regiments, plus comb at support and service support units. In addition, there are para-military forces estimated to number up to approximately 235,000 personnel, which are organized as two separate forces, the Provincial Forces and the Armed Militia ... ”

“ The people of Vietnam, North and South, seek the same things: the shared needs of man, the needs for food and shelter and education--the chance to build and work and till the soil, free from the arbitrary horrors of battle--the desire to walk in the dignity of those who master their own destiny. For many painful years, in war and revolution and infrequent peace, they have struggled to fulfill those needs. ”

“ The Viet~minh Regroupees (Santa Monica: Rand Corporation, August, 1966, RM-4703-ISA/ARPA) , 25–26; Central Intelligence Agency, Current Intelligence Weekly Review (2 February 1956) SECRET. The former speculates based on interviews with POVs and defectors, but reaches conclusions similar to those of the latter. A like 1954 estimate by the U.S. Army Attache, Saigon, is included in Current Intelligence Weekly Review (7 October 1954) , 6.
69. Fall, Ho on Revolution, op. cit., 302.
70. Some 1,000 Chinese advisers entered North Vietnam; hundreds of Vietnamese were trained in China ”

“ Counteract among the people and in the military sense within the RVNAF VC propaganda denigrating the Diem regime and painting it as opposed to the reunification of North and South Viet-Nam.
⁠ (e) Foster a spirit of national unity and purpose among all elements of the Vietnamese society.
⁠ (f) strengthen the people's confidence in and respect for the RVNAF as a security force vis-a-vis the VC.
⁠ (g) Raise South Viet-Nam's prestige among the peoples of other countries especially in Asia and Africa as a means of enhancing the GVN's national security and stability. ”

“ Diem was depicted as a strong and capable leader, firmly in command of his own house, leading his people into modern nationhood at a remarkable pace. As late as the summer of 1959, Ambassador Durbrow and General Williams assured the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Vietnam's internal security was in no serious danger, and that Vietnam was in a better position to cope with invasion from the North than it had ever been. ”

“ That is why everything we are doing in the North i s aimed at strengthening both the North and the South. Therefore, to work here is the same as struggling in the South: it is to struggle for the South and for the whole of Viet-Nam.
"Struggle is always accompanied by difficulties. ”

“ All national powers belong to the entire Vietnamese people regardless of race, gender, economic conditions, social class, and religion Article 2. The territory of Vietnam — North, Center and South — is a single, indivisible whole. ”

“ Without varying from our stated purpose of supporting Diem Government as long as it exists we must now prepare in our minds for alternative.88
Dulles agreed the
task in South Vietnam was difficult (but) regarded basic factors as favorable. People were opposed to communism and had great natural resources...they received greater aid from abroad than North...situation was much improved now that there was full cooperation between French and American authorities. The problem must not be approached in spirit of defeatism. ”

“ Soviet Pressure on Partition There is evidence to believe that both the Chinese and the Soviets were instrumental in bringing about a series of Viet Minh concessions on the issue of where to draw the demarcation line between North and South Vietnam. ”

“ Fall once accepted a figure of 120,000, but later tended to a ceiling of 100,000. Cf., Fall in Lindholm, ed., Viet-Nam, op. cit., 57; and Fall, Vietnam Witness, op. cit., 216. The 130,000 total approximates the figures published by the Research Staff of the Council on Foreign Relations in 1956; 150,000 Viet Minh troops and their families. [7] Wilfred G. Burchett, the Australian communist, has referred to "the withdrawal of the 140,000 Viet Minh and the cadres to the north." ”

“ Moreover, he said: "North, Central and South Vietnam are territories of ours. Our country will certainly be unified, our entire people will surely be liberated." 62/ By 1957 the bar to independence and unification, the b a l eful foreign presence in Vietnam was plainly, in Ho's view, the US:
"The Vietnamese people have perseveringly carried on the struggle for the implementation of the Geneva Agreement to reunify the country, because South Viet-Nam is still ruled by t he US imperialists and their henchmen. ”