| 1955 in the Vietnam War | |||
|---|---|---|---|
← 1954 1956 → | |||
 Ngô Đình Diệm took power after a rigged election | |||
| |||
| Belligerents | |||
 South Vietnam |
Anti-government insurgents: Viet Minh cadres [2]-Bình Xuyên Supported by SDECE -Hòa Hảo sect -Cao Đài sect | ||
| Commanders and leaders | |||
| Ba Cụt | |||
In 1955, the Prime Minister of South Vietnam Ngô Đình Diệm faced a severe challenge to his rule over South Vietnam from the Bình Xuyên criminal gang and the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects.[citation needed] In the Battle of Saigon in April, Diệm's army eliminated the Bình Xuyên as a rival and soon also reduced the power of the sects. The United States, which had been wavering in its support of Diệm before the battle, strongly supported him afterwards.[citation needed] Diệm declined to enter into talks with North Vietnam concerning an election in 1956 to unify the country. Diệm called a national election in October and easily defeated Head of State Bảo Đại, thus becoming President of South Vietnam.[citation needed]
In communist North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh initiated a land reform program that was accomplished with many executions and imprisonments of "landlords."[citation needed] Ho was unable to get the support of China and the Soviet Union to press for preliminary talks that would lead to the 1956 elections called for in the Geneva Accord.
- ^ "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960". Pentagon Papers. 1 Chapter 5 (Section 3). Beacon Press: 314–46. 1971. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
- ^ Thousands of Viet Minh cadres had stayed behind after the Vietnam was split into North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government still held out that a referendum on unification as per the Geneva Accords would go ahead. As such they forbid the southern Viet Minh cadres from anything but low level insurgency actions instead issuing directives to focus on political agitation in preparation for the upcoming elections.[1]