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| Important historical events that affected [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]]'s adult life, together with those mentioned in his 1962 paper (e.g., failed agrarian reform, napalm bombs, famine, conquest for rice, etc.) are summarized, in particular the atmosphere in which [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] had lived for ten years working for the French colonialists (from 1935 to 1945), and the historical conditions that drove this French-educated engineer to become a | | Important historical events that affected [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]]'s adult life, together with those mentioned in his 1962 paper (e.g., failed agrarian reform, napalm bombs, famine, conquest for rice, etc.) are summarized, in particular the atmosphere in which [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] had lived for ten years working for the French colonialists (from 1935 to 1945), and the historical conditions that drove this French-educated engineer to become a |
| "Francophile anticolonialist"<ref name=Fran-anticolon/> <ref name=Logevall.2012/><sup>:9</sup> <!--<ref name=fn-NNB-hero />--><ref name=quotations-NNC-VQL/><!--{{efn|name=Fran-anticolon|"French teachings and models over Confucian ones. Some of these teachings were, to say the least, unhelpful to the colonial enterprise. Voltaire's condemnation of tyranny, Rousseau's embrace of popular sovereignty, and Victor Hugo's advocacy of liberty and defense of workers' uprisings turned some Vietnamese into that curious creature found also elsewhere in the empire: the Francophile anticolonialist."{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=9}} }}--><!--{{efn|For more extensive quotations regarding "Francophile anticolonialists", see ''Notes on Vietnam History.''{{sfn|Vu Quoc Loc|2023}} }}{{efn|name=quotations-VQL}}--> and to join the [[Viet Minh]] in 1945 (e.g., the French brutal repressions in 1940 and 1945, the power vacuum after the Japanese ''coup de force'' in 1945, [[Ho Chi Minh]]'s call for a general uprising from [[:vi:Chiến_khu_Tân_Trào|Tân Trào]], the 1945 [[August Revolution]], the Black Sunday on 1945 Sep 2 in Saigon, etc.). The key principle is to summarize a historical event only when it was directly related to [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]]'s activities. | | "Francophile anticolonialist"<ref name=Fran-anticolon /> <ref name=Logevall.2012/><sup>:9</sup> <!--<ref name=fn-NNB-hero />--><ref name=quotations-NNC-VQL/><!--{{efn|name=Fran-anticolon|"French teachings and models over Confucian ones. Some of these teachings were, to say the least, unhelpful to the colonial enterprise. Voltaire's condemnation of tyranny, Rousseau's embrace of popular sovereignty, and Victor Hugo's advocacy of liberty and defense of workers' uprisings turned some Vietnamese into that curious creature found also elsewhere in the empire: the Francophile anticolonialist."{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=9}} }}--><!--{{efn|For more extensive quotations regarding "Francophile anticolonialists", see ''Notes on Vietnam History.''{{sfn|Vu Quoc Loc|2023}} }}{{efn|name=quotations-VQL}}--> and to join the [[Viet Minh]] in 1945 (e.g., the French brutal repressions in 1940 and 1945, the power vacuum after the Japanese ''coup de force'' in 1945, [[Ho Chi Minh]]'s call for a general uprising from [[:vi:Chiến_khu_Tân_Trào|Tân Trào]], the 1945 [[August Revolution]], the Black Sunday on 1945 Sep 2 in Saigon, etc.). The key principle is to summarize a historical event only when it was directly related to [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]]'s activities. |
| Care is exercised in selecting references and quotations that complement, but not duplicate, other Wikipedia articles at the time of this writing. | | Care is exercised in selecting references and quotations that complement, but not duplicate, other Wikipedia articles at the time of this writing. |
| For example, the history and the general use of [[napalm]] bombs, which [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] mentioned in his 1962 article, are not summarized. | | For example, the history and the general use of [[napalm]] bombs, which [[Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] mentioned in his 1962 article, are not summarized. |
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| == First Indochina War ==
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| <span style="background-color:yellow">I AM HERE 2024.5.11.</span>The broader historic events of [[World War II]] and the [[First Indochina War]]—specifically, the short interwar period between end of the former and the beginning of the later—led to the context in which [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Nguyen Ngoc Bich]] fought the French colonists until he was captured.
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| The activities directly or indirectly affected Bich's life by four historic individuals are summarized.
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| French General [[de Gaulle]], by his desire to reconquer Indochina as a French colony, was a main force that led to the First Indochina War, in which [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] fought.
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| Ho Chi Minh, founder and leader of the [[Viet Minh]], called for the general uprising{{em dash}}against the French colonists and the Japanese occupiers{{em dash}}to which [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] responded. US President [[FDR|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] ardent anticolonialism could have prevented the two Indochina wars, and changed the course of history. US President [[Harry Truman]] was a reason that the [[First Indochina War]] is now called the “French-American” War in Vietnamese literature,{{sfn|Lady Borton|2020}} and through his support for the French war effort supplied napalm bombs, which [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] mentioned in his 1962 paper. The US funded more than 30% of the war cost in 1952 under US President [[Eisenhower]], and "nearly 80%" in 1954 under [[Truman]].{{efn|Video time 0:11 to 0:32:{{sfn|PBS US involvement in Vietnam}} "In 1952, General Dwight Eisenhower was elected President, in part because he promised to take a tougher stance on communism. That year, American taxpayers were footing more than 30% of the bill for the French war in Vietnam {{bracket|or rather the "French-American" war{{sfn|Lady Borton|2020}}}}. Within two years, that number would rise to nearly 80%." }}
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| <!--REF: [https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/45c681ef-d364-4851-9f64-7ecce19e3c79/us-involvement-in-indochina-video-ken-burns-lynn-novick-the-vietnam-war/ US Involvement in Indochina]]-->
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| === Charles de Gaulle ===
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| <!--
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| [[File:De-gaulle-radio.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Charles de Gaulle speaking on the BBC, 1941]]
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| [[File:De Gaulle-OWI (cropped).jpg|thumb|120px|left|[[Charles de Gaulle]] in 1942]]
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| At the beginning of [[World War II]], in his historic four-minute call-to-arms broadcast from London on 1940 June 18, later known as ''L'Appel du 18 Juin'' in French history, the mostly then unknown{{efn|The permanent undersecretary at the British Foreign Office knew only that de Gaulle had a 'head like a pineapple and hips like a woman's', whereas the counselor at the US embassy in Paris and most of de Gaulle compatriots never heard of him.{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=24}}}} General [[de Gaulle]] counted on the French Empire, with Indochina as the "Pearl of the Empire", rich in rubber, tin, coal, and rice,{{sfn|Logevall|p=28}} to provide resources to fight the Axis, with the support of the British Empire and the powerful industry of the United States.
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| Understanding that Indochina was under the menace of occupation by the Japanese, [[de Gaulle]] harbored the dream of wresting this colony back into the fold of the French Empire, writing in his memoirs "As I saw her move away into the mist, I swore to myself that I would one day bring her back."{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=25}}
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| [[File:1945 Aug 12 de Gaulle Truman White House.jpg|thumb|250px|right|US President [[Harry Truman|Truman]] and French General [[de Gaulle]], White House, 1945 Aug 12.]]
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| "Within two weeks" of the death of US President [[FDR|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] on 1945 Apr 12, de Gaulle pressured [[Harry Truman]] on the Indochina issue, and his government launched "an intensive propaganda effort to mold world opinion in favor of the status quo {{bracket|French control}} in Indochina",{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=116}} and this after having approved the Japanese occupation of Indochina since 1940 September 22.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=452}} By the time General [[de Gaulle]]{{efn|By Aug 1946, [[de Gaulle]] had resigned from the presidency of the French Provisional Government on 1946 Jan 20.{{sfn|de Gaulle web}} }} came to the US in 1945 Aug (inset photo) <!--, after US President [[FDR|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] had died on 1945 Apr 12,--> to campaign for US military aid from then US President [[Harry Truman]], the "French had been forced to drown several Vietnamese uprisings in blood. They had seen the colonial economy completely disrupted. They had been humiliated by the Germans in Europe and incarcerated by the Japanese in Indochina. Even to begin to reassert sovereignty in Indochina, the French were forced to go hat in hand to the Americans {{bracket|see inset photo, [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1945_Aug_12_de_Gaulle_Truman_White_House.jpg de Gaulle visited Truman]}}, British, and Chinese."{{sfn|Marr|1984|p=413}}
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| [[File:Baodai2.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Emperor [[Bao Dai]]]]
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| De Gaulle was a prime mover leading to the First Indochina War in which the French-educated [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] fought on the [[Viet Minh]] side against the French colonialists.
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| On 1945 Aug 20, just ten days before he abdicated on 1945 Aug 30,{{efn|Under the pressure of the [[Viet Minh]],{{sfn|Patti|1980|pp=186-187}} [[Bao Dai]] had decided to abdicate on 1945 Aug 24,{{sfn|Patti|1980|pp=186-187}} and abdicated officially on 1945 Aug 30.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=220}} [[Ho Chi Minh]] then appointed "Mr. Nguyen Vinh Thuy" ([[Bao Dai]]'s birth name) as "Supreme Counsellor"{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=220}} of the Provisional Government of Vietnam.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=220}}}} Vietnam Emperor [[Bao Dai]] sent a moving plea to de Gaulle:{{efn|In the foreword by Devillers for Tønnesson's 2010 book ''Vietnam 1946''.{{sfn|Tønnesson|2010|pp=xiii-xiv}} }}
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| <!--{{cquote|''Hello.''}} can also use this style to have large double quotes, but no frame.-->
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| {{Quote frame |quote=<span style="font-size:110%">{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❝}}}} I beg you to understand that the only means of safeguarding French interests and the spiritual influence of France in Indochina is to recognize the independence of Vietnam unreservedly and to renounce any idea of reestablishing French sovereignty or rule here in any form. . . . Even if you were to reestablish the French administration here, it would not be obeyed, and each village would be a nest of resistance. . . . We would be able to understand each other so easily and become friends if you would stop hoping to become our masters again.{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❞}}}}</span> |author=<span style="font-size:103%">[[Bao Dai]] |source=message to [[de Gaulle]] on 1945 Aug 20{{sfn|Tønnesson|2010|pp=xiii-xiv}}</span>}}
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| [[File:1945 May Patti in Kunmiing.png|150px|thumb|right|[[Office_of_Strategic_Services|OSS]] Maj. [[Archimedes Patti]] in [[Kunming]], 1945 May.]]
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| Just a few days later on 1945 Aug 26 (or very shortly thereafter), [[Ho Chi Minh]] put the resistance in much stronger terms to US [[Office_of_Strategic_Services|OSS]] Major [[Archimedes Patti]], who still remembered vividly after some 35 years:{{efn|From 1945 Aug 26 to 1980, when Patti published his book.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=4}} }}
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| {{Quote frame |quote=<span style="font-size:110%">{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❝}}}} If the French intended to return to Viet Nam as imperialists to exploit, to maim and kill my people, [I] could assure them and the world that Viet Nam from north to south would be reduced to ashes, even if it meant the life of every man, woman, and child, and that [my] government's policy would be one of scorched earth to the end. {{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❞}}}}</span> |author=<span style="font-size:103%">[[Ho Chi Minh]] to [[Archimedes Patti]] |source=''Why Viet Nam?'' 1980, p.4.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=4}}</span>}}
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| The Southeast Asia and Buddhism expert [[Paul Mus]], who first met [[Ho Chi Minh]] in 1945, recounted that [[Ho Chi Minh]] said{{sfn|NYT Paul Mus obituary}} then:{{efn |name=Paul Mus interview|In his interview in the 1968 documentary ''[[In the Year of the Pig]],'' at the {{plain link|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pibqRPi8Bo&t=13m56s|name=Youtube video time 13:56}}, Paul Mus recounted: "[[Ho Chi Minh]] said {{bracket|in 1945}}, 'I have no army.' That's not true now {{bracket|in 1968}}. 'I have no army.' 1945. 'I have no finance. I have no diplomacy. I have no public instruction. I have just hatred and I will not disarm it until you give me confidence in you.' Now this is the thing on which I would insist because it's still alive in his memory, as in mine. For every time [[Ho Chi Minh]] has trusted us, we betrayed him."}}
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| {{Quote frame |quote=<span style="font-size:110%">{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❝}}}} I have no army, no diplomacy, no finances, no industry, no public works. All I have is hatred, and I will not disarm it until I feel I can trust you [the French].{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❞}}}}</span> |author=<span style="font-size:103%">[[Ho Chi Minh]] |source=according to [[Paul Mus]], the ''New York Times'' 1969 obituary{{sfn|NYT Paul Mus obituary}}</span>}}
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| [[Paul Mus]] added "For every time [[Ho Chi Minh]] has trusted us, we betrayed him."{{efn|name=Paul Mus interview}}
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| === Ho Chi Minh ===
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| [[File:Ho Chi Minh Declaration of Independence 1945 Sep 2.pdf|150px|thumb|left|[[Ho Chi Minh]] declaring Vietnam independence 1945 Sep 2.]]
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| <!--
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| [[File:Ho Chi Minh 1946 and signature.jpg|150px|thumb|left|Ho Chi Minh in 1946, with dedication to his god-daughter and signature]]
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| [[File:Ho Chi Minh, Giap, farewell to OSS team 1945.png|200px|thumb|right|[[Ho Chi Minh]] and [[Vo Nguyen Giap]] giving a farewell party to the US Army intelligence DEER team<!--{{efn|name=OSS-HCM}}--> ([[Office_of_Strategic_Services|OSS]]), 1945.]]
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| For thirty years, from 1912 when [[Ho Chi Minh]] first visited Boston and New York City until about 1948-1949, Ho held out his hope that the US would provide military support for his anticolonialist resistance against the French.{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=xxii}}
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| Since that visit to the US in his early twenties, [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]]{{emdash}}like [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]], a Francophile anticolonialist,{{efn|name=Fran-anticolon}}{{efn|name=quotations-VQL}} who was both a communist and a nationalist{{efn|"For many decades there would be a heated debate among diplomats, politicians and political scientists in every corner of the world as to whether [[Ho Chi Minh]] was a communist or a nationalist. The answer is that he was both."{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=120}} }} {{emdash}}developed a "lifelong admiration for Americans".{{sfn|Langguth|2000|p=55}}{{efn|As cited in Logevall (2012),{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=721}} Note 22, p. 721.}}
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| Seizing on the opportunity of the Japanese entering Tonkin in 1940 September{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=452}} to begin occupy Indochina (with French agreement){{sfn|Patti|1980|p=452}} to rid Vietnam of French colonial yoke,{{efn|Ho was convinced that with the Japanese occupation of Indochina and "with international events moving fast and Decoux's government isolated from metropolitan France, the potential for revolution in Vietnam was much enhanced."{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=34}} }} [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] (who was in [[Liuzhou]], China) returned to the China-Vietnam border and began a "training program for cadres".{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=452}} Then on 1941 February 8,{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=524}} Ho crossed the border to enter Vietnam for the first time after 30 years away (from 1911 to 1941), and sheltered in cave Cốc Bó{{sfn|Brocheux|2007|p=73}} near the [[:vi:Pác_Bó|Pác Bó]] hamlet, in the Cao Bằng province, less than a mile from the Chinese border.{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=34}}{{efn|Devillers (1952) received incorrect information that Ho was in "Tsin Tsi" (Jingxi, Guangxi, China) as he wrote:{{sfn|Devillers|1952|p=97}} "En mai 1941, il réussit à convoquer à Tsin Tsi dans le Kwang Si, à 100 km environ au Nord de Cao Bang, un 'Congrès' (In May 1941, he succeeded in calling for a plenum at Jingxi in the Guangxi province, about 100 km north of the Cao Bang province)." }} There [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] convened a plenum in 1941 May, and founded the [[Viet Minh]], an anticolonialist organization that [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] joined in 1945.
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| On 1941 Oct 25, the [[Viet Minh]] published its first manifesto: "Unification of all social strata, of all revolutionary organizations, of all ethnic minorities. Alliance with all other oppressed peoples of Indochina. Collaboration with all French anti-fascist groups. One goal: the destruction of colonialism and imperialist fascism."{{efn|"Union de toutes les couches sociales, de toutes les organisations révolutionnaires, de toutes les minorités ethniques. Alliance avec tous les autres peuples opprimés de l'Indochine. Collaboration avec tous les élements antifascistes français. Un but: la destruction du colonialisme et de l'impérialisme fascistes."{{sfn|Devillers|1952|p=97}}}}
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| [[File:Zhang Fakui.jpg|120px|thumb|right|{{lang-de|[[:de:Zhang_Fakui|Gen. Chang Fa-kwei]]}} in 1946.]]
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| In 1942 August, [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] (named "Nguyen Ai Quoc" at that time) crossed the border into China with the intention of attracting the interest of the Allies in Chungking{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=7}} (now [[Chongqing]]) for the Vietnamese resistance movement, arrested by the Chinese on 1942 August 28 for being "French spy",{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=525}} but the real reason was [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]]'s political activities, viewed as "Communistic", instead of "nationalistic", by the Chinese ([[Chiang Kai-shek]]) and the Allies at Chungking (now [[Chongqing]]).{{sfn|Devillers|1962|p=103}}{{efn|name=quotations-VQL|See quotations in ''Notes on Vietnam history''.{{sfn|Vu Quoc Loc|2023a}} }} Ho was detained for thirteen months, starting at the Tienpao prison,{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=51}}{{efn|Tienpao in the [[Wade-Giles]] transliteration is Tianbao in [[pinyin]].{{efn|name=analysis-VQL|See the analysis in ''Notes on Vietnam History''.{{sfn|Vu Quoc Loc|2023a}}}} }} moving through eighteen different prisons,{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=77}}{{efn|name=quotations-VQL}} and ending up at Liuchow{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=46}} (now [[Liuzhou]]), from where he was released on 1943 September 10, after changing his name from Nguyen Ai Quoc to [[Ho Chi Minh]].{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=453}} At that time, the name "Nguyen Ai Quoc" was very popular, while hardly any one heard of the new name "[[Ho Chi Minh]]".{{efn|[[:vi:Hoàng_Quốc_Việt|Hoang Quoc Viet]] recounted in his [https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F8F9FACD595E4A74BCA28655493A1743 1981 interview with the PBS]: "I was sent to the southern part of the country at one point to discuss things with our comrades there. The discussion was very heated and it was very difficult to iron things out. Then I happened to mention the name Ho Chi Minh. These people in the south asked me who Ho Chi Minh was.
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| I told them that he was Nguyen Ai Quoc. They all stood up and clapped and said that as I was a representative sent by Ho Chi Minh then there was no need for any further discussion. This was because at that time there was a feud going on between the so called "Old Viet Minhs" and "New Viet Minhs". But when they heard from me that Ho Chi Minh was indeed Nguyen Ai Quoc, they were all overjoyed, saying that if Nguyen Ai Quoc had returned home to lead the movement then everything would be solved, that there should be unity and solidarity."}}
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| [[Ho Chi Minh]] returned to Vietnam in 1944 September, after obtaining the authorization from the Chinese authority, {{lang-de|[[:de:Zhang_Fakui|Gen. Chang Fa-kwei]]}} ([[:de:Zhang_Fakui|Zhang Fakui]], {{lang-vi|[[:vi:Trương_Phát_Khuê|Trương Phát Khuê]]}}){{emdash}}who was under "severe pressure from the Japanese ''Ichigo'' offensive" to obtain intelligence in Indochina{{emdash}}and after submitting the "Outline of the Plan for the Activities of Entering Vietnam".{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=134}}{{efn|A French report at that time stated: "more than 200 political refugees had passed from China to Tonkin, most of them armed with pistols and daggers (''poiguards''), and that among them was a certain 'Nguyen Hai Quoc', who had crossed the border under the name of 'Ho Chi Minh'. Nguyen Hai Quoc, a man 'around sixty years old', was 'the probable leader' of the Viet Minh: 'Under Nguyen Hai Quoc's leadership, the new elements coming from Kwangsi have undertaken to reawaken the movement and bring back to their former activities the implacables who had taken refuge in the mountains'" {{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|pp=118, 208}} }}
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| All three protagonists{{emdash}}the French [[Vichy_France|Vichy]] colonialists, the Japanese occupiers, and the [[Viet Minh]]{{emdash}}were deceived by US war plan,{{efn|"... to confuse the Japanese, possibly the French as well, concerning US
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| intentions. Perhaps Roosevelt meant the plan seriously at first, and then changed
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| it into a deceptive operation when he realized that it could not be carried out ... Indochina came to play a similar role in Roosevelt's war against Japan as Norway
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| occupied in Churchill's war against Germany. For a long time, Churchill toyed with
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| the idea of a Norwegian landing as a way of securing the transport route to Russia
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| and bringing Sweden into the war. Then, when his generals and admirals adamantly
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| refused to carry out the project, Norway instead became the focus of elaborate
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| deception and diversion plans, aiming at inducing Hitler to keep as many troops as
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| possible in an irrelevant theatre."{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|pp=170, 220}} }} and expected a US invasion of Indochina.{{efn|The US was the only country among the Allies (British and Chinese) that could invade Indochina; see Chap. 4, Colliding Plans, in Tønnesson (1991).{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=156}} }}
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| Such expectation was the main reason{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=209}} that, in 1945 February-March, during an "unusually cold month of February,"{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=56}}{{efn|"13-2-1945, Tết Nguyên Đán Ất-Dậu. Chưa bao giờ rét như thế này. Tại Hà Nội, buổi trưa, hàn thử biểu xuống tới 4 độ." It has never been that cold. The temperature went down to four degrees Celcius at noon in Hanoi on 1945 Feb 13, Tết, new year day, Lunar year Ất-Dậu.{{sfn|Đoàn-Thêm|1965|p=3}}}} [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] once again crossed back into China, and walked from the [[:vi:Pác_Bó|Pác Bó]] hamlet to [[Kunming]] to meet{{efn|It takes about two weeks to walk from [[:vi:Pác_Bó|Pác Bó]] to [[Kunming]] using likely the same road (among several others) undertaken by the invading Mongols in the thirteen century.{{sfn|Vu-Quoc-Loc|2023b}} }} (and to "make friends with"{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=210}}) American [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]] and [[Office of War Information|OWI]] (Office of War Information) officers to exchange intelligence.{{efn|[[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]]'s "mission was probably to obtain information on the development of the war, try to gain Allied recognition for his league and perhaps also secure the [[Viet Minh]] a role in a forthcoming invasion". At the same time, [[:vi:Hoàng_Quốc_Việt|Hoang Quoc Viet]] carried out a similar mission in Kwangsi (now [[Guangxi]]) with the Chinese {{lang-de|[[:de:Zhang_Fakui|Gen. Chang Fa-kwei]]}}, who told him that "I hope we shall soon meet again in Hanoi".{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=210}} See also the [https://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_F8F9FACD595E4A74BCA28655493A1743 PBS interview with Hoang Quoc Viet in 1981].}}{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=238}} [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]]'s report to the [[Office_of_Strategic_Services|OSS]] mentioned the Japanese ''coup de force'' on the evening of 1945 March 9.{{sfn|Tønnesson|1991|p=238}}
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| [[File:Maj Gen Claire Chennault 1945.07.23.png|150px|thumb|right|Maj. Gen. [[Claire Chennault]] on 1945 Jul 23, four months after he met [[Ho Chi Minh]] on 1945 Mar 29.]]
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| In [[Kunming]], [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] requested [[Office_of_Strategic_Services|OSS]] Lt. Charles Fenn{{efn|[[Office_of_Strategic_Services|OSS]] Lt. Charles Fenn helped "make Ho Chi Minh the undisputed leader of the Viet Minh in 1945".{{sfn|Bartholomew-Feis|2006|p=96}} }} to arrange for a meeting with Gen. [[Claire Chennault]], commander of the Flying Tigers.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=58}} In the meeting that occurred on 1945 Mar 29, [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] requested a portrait of [[Claire Chennault|Chennault]], who signed across the bottom "Yours sincerely, Claire L. Chennault".{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=58}} [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] displayed the portrait of [[Claire Chennault|Chennault]], along with those of [[Lenin]] and [[Mao]], in his lodging at [[:vi:Chiến_khu_Tân_Trào|Tân Trào]] as "tangible evidence to convince skeptical Vietnamese nationalists
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| that he had American support".{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=58}} As additional evidence, [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] also possessed six brand-new US Colt .45 pistols in original wrappings that he requested and got from Charles Fenn.{{sfn|Fenn|1973|p=79}}{{sfn|Bartholomew-Feis|2006|p=158}} This "seemingly insignificant quantity" of arms,{{efn|That Ho gave the new pistols to his rivals, but not to his own people, testified to his political acumen in rallying his rivals to accept him as the top leader.{{sfn|Vu Quoc Loc|2023a}}}} together with "Chennault's autographed photograph" as evidence, convinced other factions of the primacy of the [[Viet Minh]]. [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]]'s American-backing ruse worked.{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=58}}
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| In [[Cochin China]] (the south),{{efn|[[Jean-Louis Taberd]] was likely among the first to explain the meaning of "[[Cochin China]]" in his 1837 scientific article; see quotation in ''Notes on Vietnam History''.{{sfn|Vu Quoc Loc|2023a}} }} where [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] lived and worked, [https://indochine.uqam.ca/en/historical-dictionary/1464-trn-vn-giau-h-nam-hoang-trn-vn-19112010.html Tran Van Giau] ({{lang-vi|[[:vi:Trần_Văn_Giàu|Trần Văn Giàu]]}}), a [[Viet Minh]] leader and "[[Ho Chi Minh]]'s trusted friend",{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=186}} on 1945 Aug 22 used [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]]'s ruse of "American backing for the [[Viet Minh]]", to convince other pro-Japanese nationalist groups (Phuc Quoc, Dai Viet, United National Front{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=524}}) and religious sects ([[Cao Dai]], [[Hoa Hao]]) that they would be outlawed by the invading Allies, and thus should accept the leadership of the [[Viet Minh]], which had strong support of "the Allies with arms, equipment and training".{{sfn|Patti|1980|p=186}}
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| [[File:Ho Chi Minh, Bao Dai, Siphanouvong 1945.png|200px|thumb|left|[[Souphanouvong]], [[Ho Chi Minh]], [[Bao Dai]], 1945 Sep 4]]
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| Fearing a US invasion with the French colonialists helping, the Japanese initiated operation Bright Moon (''Meigo sakusen''), leading to a ''coup de force'' on 1945 March 9 to neutralize the French forces and to remove the French colonial administration in Indochina (and thus the status of [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]]'s job in the French colonial government).
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| The resulting power vacuum following this ''coup de force'' changed the political situation, and provided a favorable setting for the [[Viet Minh]] takeover of the government. In 1945 April, [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] walked a perilous journey from [[:vi:Pác_Bó|Pác Bó]] to [[:vi:Chiến_khu_Tân_Trào|Tân Trào]], the [[Viet Minh]] headquarters in the Liberated Area. There, on 1945 August 16, [[Ho Chi Minh|Ho]] called for a general uprising to throw out the Japanese occupiers that ultimately led to the [[August Revolution]].
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| Even though being a son of a [[Cao Dai]] pope,{{sfn|Tram-Huong|2003}}{{sfn|Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau|2008}} [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] joined the [[Viet Minh]] in 1945,{{efn|See the quotation from a French doctoral thesis in ''Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography''.{{sfn|Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau|Vu-Quoc-Loc|2023}}}} instead of the [[Cao Dai]] force.
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| CBS reporter [[David Schoenbrun]] interviewed [[Ho Chi Minh]] on 1946 Sep 11, the same day that a telegram was dispatched from the High Commissioner d'Argenlieu to the French Indochina Committee on the arrest of [[Draft:Nguyen Ngoc Bich|Bich]] on 1946 Aug 25.:{{efn|See ''Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography''.{{sfn|Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau|Vu-Quoc-Loc|2023}}. }}
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| {{Quote frame
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| |quote=<p><span style="font-size:110%">{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❝}}}} President Ho, how can you possibly fight a war against the modern French army? You have nothing. You've just told me, what a poor country you are. You don't even have a bank, let alone an army, and guns, and modern weapons, the French planes, tanks, napalm. How can you fight the French?</span>
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| </p>
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| <p><span style="font-size:110%">
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| {{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❝}}}}And he [Ho] said: Oh we have a lot of things that can match the French weapons. Tanks are no good in swamps. And we have swamps in which the French tanks will sink. And we have another secret weapon, it's nationalism. And don't think that a small ragged band cannot fight against a modern army. It will be a war between an elephant and a tiger. If the tiger ever stands still the elephant will crush him and pierce him with his mighty tusks. But the tiger of Indochina is not going to stand still. We're going to hide in our jungles by day and steal out by night. And the tiger will jump on the back of the elephant and tear huge chunks out of his flesh and then jump back into the jungle. And after a while the mighty elephant will bleed to death.{{resize|120%|{{font color|blue|❞}}}}</span></p> |author=<span style="font-size:103%">CBS reporter [[David Schoenbrun]] |source=Youtube video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWY9KbIXpdI&t=190s French involvement in Vietnam & Dien Bien Phu - 1962, time 3:10].{{sfn|Giniger|1984}}</span>}}
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| == Test citing Reference and Notes ==
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| This section is left here temporarily to test citing the references while I work on this article.
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| [[User:Loc Vu-Quoc|Loc Vu-Quoc]] ([[User talk:Loc Vu-Quoc|talk]]) 08:26, 11 May 2024 (CDT)
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| === Citing Refs and Notes ===
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| Francophile anticolonialist<ref name=Fran-anticolon/>
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| <b>Note:</b> | | <b>Note:</b> |
| See, e.g., [[battle of Vinh Yen]] (1951), [[battle of Na San]] (1952), [[battle of Dien Bien Phu]] (1954), etc. | | See, e.g., [[battle of Vinh Yen]] (1951), [[battle of Na San]] (1952), [[battle of Dien Bien Phu]] (1954), etc. |
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| <b>Note:</b> | | <b>Note:</b> |
| "French teachings and models over Confucian ones. Some of these teachings were, to say the least, unhelpful to the colonial enterprise. Voltaire's condemnation of tyranny, Rousseau's embrace of popular sovereignty, and Victor Hugo's advocacy of liberty and defense of workers' uprisings turned some Vietnamese into that curious creature found also elsewhere in the empire: the Francophile anticolonialist."{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=9}} | | "French teachings and models over Confucian ones. Some of these teachings were, to say the least, unhelpful to the colonial enterprise. Voltaire's condemnation of tyranny, Rousseau's embrace of popular sovereignty, and Victor Hugo's advocacy of liberty and defense of workers' uprisings turned some Vietnamese into that curious creature found also elsewhere in the empire: the Francophile anticolonialist."{{sfn|Logevall|2012|p=9}} |
Introduction
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Bich, 1962
| Nguyễn Ngọc Bích
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| Born
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18 May 1911
Ben Tre, Vietnam
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| Died
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4 Dec 1966
Thu Duc, Vietnam
|
| Occupation
|
*Engineer
- Resistance fighter
- Medical doctor
- Politician
|
| Title
|
Doctor (medical)
|
| Known for
|
Resistance war, politics
|
Nguyễn Ngọc Bích (1911–1966) was a French-educated engineer, a hero in the Vietnamese resistance against the French colonists,[1]:850. [2] a French-educated medical doctor, an intellectual and politician, who proposed an alternative viewpoint to avoid the high-casualty, high-cost war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.[3]
The Nguyen-Ngoc-Bich street in the city of Cần Thơ, Vietnam, was named after him to honor and commemorate his feats (of sabotaging bridges to slow down the colonial French-army advances) and heroism (being on the French most-wanted list,[4]:122 imprisoned, subjected to an "intensive and unpleasant interrogation"[4]:122 that left a mark on his forehead,[5] and exiled) during the First Indochina War.
Upon graduating from the École polytechnique (engineering military school under the French Ministry of Armed Forces) and then from the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (civil engineering) in France in 1935,[6] Dr. Bich returned to Vietnam to work for the French colonial government. After World War II, in 1945, he joined the Viet-Minh, and became a senior commander in the Vietnamese resistance movement, and insisted on fighting for Vietnam's independence, not for communism.
Suspecting[7]
of being betrayed by the Communist faction[7] of the Viet-Minh and apprehended by the French forces, he was saved from execution by a campaign for amnesty by his École polytechnique classmates based in Vietnam, mostly high-level officers of the French army,[8]: 299 and was subsequently exiled to France, where he founded with friends and managed the Vietnamese publishing house Minh Tan (in Paris), which published many important works for the Vietnamese literature.[9] In parallel, he studied medicine and became a medical doctor. He was highly regarded in Vietnamese politics, and was suggested by the French in 1954 as an alternative to Ngo Dinh Diem as the sixth prime minister of the State of Vietnam under the former Emperor Bao Dai as Head of State,[10]:84 who selected Ngo Dinh Diem as prime minister. While Bich's candidature for the 1961 presidential election in opposition to Diem was, however, declared invalid by the Saigon authorities at the last moment for "technical reasons",[11][6], he was "regarded by many as a possible successor to President Ngo Dinh Diem".[11][12][13]
A large majority of the information in this article came from the master document
Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography,[14] which contains even more information, including primary-source evidence and photos, than presented here.
Important historical events that affected Bich's adult life, together with those mentioned in his 1962 paper (e.g., failed agrarian reform, napalm bombs, famine, conquest for rice, etc.) are summarized, in particular the atmosphere in which Bich had lived for ten years working for the French colonialists (from 1935 to 1945), and the historical conditions that drove this French-educated engineer to become a
"Francophile anticolonialist"[15] [16]:9 [2] and to join the Viet Minh in 1945 (e.g., the French brutal repressions in 1940 and 1945, the power vacuum after the Japanese coup de force in 1945, Ho Chi Minh's call for a general uprising from Tân Trào, the 1945 August Revolution, the Black Sunday on 1945 Sep 2 in Saigon, etc.). The key principle is to summarize a historical event only when it was directly related to Bich's activities.
Care is exercised in selecting references and quotations that complement, but not duplicate, other Wikipedia articles at the time of this writing.
For example, the history and the general use of napalm bombs, which Bich mentioned in his 1962 article, are not summarized.
Regarding the French using American-made napalm bombs in the First Indochina War,
well-known battles[17] are also not summarized.
| Bao Dai to de Gaulle
|
| ❝I beg you to understand that the only means of safeguarding French interests and the spiritual influence of France in Indochina is to recognize the independence of Vietnam unreservedly and to renounce any idea of reestablishing French sovereignty or rule here in any form. . . . Even if you were to reestablish the French administration here, it would not be obeyed, and each village would be a nest of resistance. . . . We would be able to understand each other so easily and become friends if you would stop hoping to become our masters again.❞
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| --- Bao Dai, message to de Gaulle on 1945 Aug 20
|
References
- ↑
Buttinger, Joseph (1967b), Vietnam: A Dragon Embattled, Vol.2, Frederik A. Praegers, New York. Retrieved on 25 Feb 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1
Note:
See extensive notes and quotations in ◉ Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau & Vu-Quoc-Loc (2023), Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography, Internet Archive. Retrieved on 21 Mar 2023, CC BY-SA 4.0. and ◉ Vu Quoc Loc (2023a), Notes on Vietnam History, Internet Archive, retrieved 27 Jun 2023, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- ↑
Nguyen-Ngoc-Bich (March 1962), "Vietnam—An Independent Viewpoint", The China Quarterly 9. Retrieved on 18 Feb 2023, pp. 105–111. See also the contents of Volume 9, which included the articles of many well-known experts on Vietnam history and politics such as Bernard B. Fall, Hoang Van Chi, Phillipe Devillers (see, e.g., his classic 1952 book Histoire du Viet-Nam in Section References and French French Cochinchina, Ref. 40), P. J. Honey, Gerard Tongas (see, e.g, J'ai vécu dans l'Enfer Communiste au Nord Viet-Nam, Debresse, Paris, 1961, reviewed] by P. J. Honey), among others.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
Cooper, Chester L. (1970), The Lost Crusade: America in Vietnam, Dood, Mead & Company, New York. Retrieved on 7 Mar 2023
- ↑
Note:
A photo showing the injury mark on the forefront of Dr. Bich as a result of this "intensive and unpleasant interrogation" can be found in Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau & Vu-Quoc-Loc (2023), Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography, Internet Archive. Retrieved on 21 Mar 2023, CC BY-SA 4.0..
- ↑ 6.0 6.1
Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau (2018), Le Temps des Ancêtres: Une famille vietnamienne dans sa traversée du XXe siècle, L'Harmattan, Paris, France. Retrieved on 18 Feb 2023. Preface by historian Pierre Brocheux.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1
Note:
On the betrayal suspicion, Cooper, Chester L. (1970), The Lost Crusade: America in Vietnam, Dood, Mead & Company, New York. Retrieved on 7 Mar 2023, p.123, wrote: "Whether the Viet Minh had actually betrayed him to French agents is not known for certain, but Bich always suspected that this was how he had been discovered," whereas the assertion that he "was betrayed by his Communist colleagues to the French" was written in the short biography that accompanied Bich's 1962 article, as written in
Honey, P.J., ed. (March 1962), "Special Issue on Vietnam", The China Quarterly 9. Retrieved on 18 Feb 2023. Volume 9, which contained the articles written by several well-known intellectuals on Vietnam history and politics such as Bernard B. Fall, Hoang Van Chi, Phillipe Devillers (See Philippe Devillers (1920–2016), un secret nommé Viêt-Nam, Mémoires d'Indochine, Internet archived 2022.06.29), P. J. Honey, William Kaye (see e.g., A Bowl of Rice Divided: The Economy of North Vietnam, 1962), Gerard Tongas, among others. See the Editorial and the brief introduction of the contributors.
- ↑
Tran-Thi-Lien (2002), Henriette Bui: The narrative of Vietnam's first woman doctor, in Gisele Bousquet and Pierre Brocheux, Viêt Nam Exposé: French Scholarship on Twentieth-Century Vietnamese Society, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 9780472098057, DOI:10.3998/mpub.12124, at 278–309. Google Book (search for "Bui Quang Chieu Ngoc Bich"), accessed 20 May 2023.
- ↑
Note:
A list of important books published by Minh Tan can be found in
Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography.
- ↑
Langguth, Arthur John (2000), Our Vietnam: The war, 1954–1975, Simon & Schuster, New York. Retrieved on 14 Mar 2023
- ↑ 11.0 11.1
Honey, P.J., ed. (March 1962), "Special Issue on Vietnam", The China Quarterly 9. Retrieved on 18 Feb 2023.
- ↑
Note:
A direct quote from the brief introduction of the contributors to The China Quarterly, Volume 9, 1962, reads: Dr. Bich's "personal influence upon Cochin Chinese opinion is considerable, and he is regarded by many as a possible successor to President Ngo Dinh Diem".
- ↑
Note:
The Editorial of The China Quarterly, Volume 9, reads: "Five of our articles are by specialists who have observed the Hanoi regime from a distance. M. Tongas and Mr. Hoang Van Chi are writing on the basis of personal experience. Dr. Bich presents an independent view of the whole Vietnamese situation.
- ↑
Nguyen-Ngoc-Chau & Vu-Quoc-Loc (2023), Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography, Internet Archive. Retrieved on 21 Mar 2023, CC-BY-SA 4.0. (Backup copy.) Much of the information in the present article came from this biography, which also contains many relevant and informative photos not displayed here.
- ↑
Note:
"French teachings and models over Confucian ones. Some of these teachings were, to say the least, unhelpful to the colonial enterprise. Voltaire's condemnation of tyranny, Rousseau's embrace of popular sovereignty, and Victor Hugo's advocacy of liberty and defense of workers' uprisings turned some Vietnamese into that curious creature found also elsewhere in the empire: the Francophile anticolonialist."Template:Sfn
- ↑
Logevall, Fredrik (2012), Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam, Random House, New York. Retrieved on 12 Apr 2012, 864 pp. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in History: "For a distinguished and appropriately documented book on the history of the United States, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000). A balanced, deeply researched history of how, as French colonial rule faltered, a succession of American leaders moved step by step down a road toward full-blown war" • Winner of the 2013 Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians • Winner of the 2013 American Library in Paris Book Award • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations 2013 Gold Medal Arthur Ross Book Award • Finalist for the 2013 Cundill Prize in Historical Literature.
- ↑
Note:
See, e.g., battle of Vinh Yen (1951), battle of Na San (1952), battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954), etc.
