1960 South Vietnamese Coup Attempt

1960 South Vietnamese Coup Attempt

On November 11, 1960, a failed coup attempt against President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vuong Van Dong and Colonel Nguyen Chanh Thi of the Airborne Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).

The rebels launched the coup in response to Diem's autocratic rule and the negative political influence of his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu and his sister-in-law Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu. They also bemoaned the politicisation of the military, whereby regime loyalists who were members of the Ngo family's covert Can Lao Party were readily promoted ahead of more competent officers who were not insiders. Dong was supported in the conspiracy by his brother-in-law Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Trieu Hong, whose uncle was a prominent official in a minor opposition party. The main link in the coup was Dong's commanding officer Thi, whom he persuaded to join the plot.

The coup caught the Ngo family completely off-guard, but was also chaotically executed. The plotters neglected to seal the roads leading into the capital Saigon to seal off loyalist reinforcements, and they hesitated after gaining the initiative. After initially being trapped inside the Independence Palace, Diem stalled the coup by holding negotiations and promising reforms, such as the inclusion of military officers in the administration. In the meantime opposition politicians joined the fray, trying to exploit Diem's position. However, the president's real aim was to buy time for loyalist forces to enter the capital and relieve him. The coup failed when the 5th and 7th Divisions of the ARVN entered Saigon and defeated the rebels. More than four hundred people—many of whom were civilian spectators—were killed in the ensuing battle. These included a group of anti-Diem civilians who charged across the palace walls at Thi's urging and were cut down by loyalist gunfire.

Dong and Thi fled to Cambodia, while Diem berated the United States for a perceived lack of support during the crisis. Afterwards, Diem ordered a crackdown, imprisoning numerous anti-government critics and former cabinet ministers. Those that assisted Diem were duly promoted, while those that did not were demoted. A trial for those implicated in the plot was held in 1963. Seven officers and two civilians were sentenced to death in absentia, while 14 officers and 34 civilians were jailed. Diem's regime also accused the Americans of sending Central Intelligence Agency members to assist the failed plot. When Diem was assassinated after a 1963 coup, those jailed after the 1960 revolt were released by the new military junta.