Buddhist Uprising

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Buddhist Uprising

Part of Vietnam War/Buddhist Uprising

Date	March 26-June 8, 1966
Location	Da Nang-Hue, South Vietnam
Result	South Vietnamese government victory

Belligerents

ARVN (South Vietnamese government)
National Police

ARVN (rebels)
Buddhist militants

Commanders

Premier Nguyen Cao Ky

Col. Dam Quang Yeu

Strength

3,400+

1,500+

Casualties and losses

150+ KIA

The Buddhist Uprising of 1966 occurred due to the dismissal of the South Vietnamese General, Nguyen Chanh Thi, who was strongly supported by the Buddhist organisation, the "Struggle Movement".

During the Ngo Dinh Diem regime, the persecution of the Buddhist population generated the growth of Buddhist institutions as they seek to participate in national politics. In 1965, after a series of military coups that followed the fall of the Diem regime in 1963, Air Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky and General Nguyen Van Thieu finally came to power holding the positions of Premier and Chief of State, respectively. During that time, there were still tensions between the Buddhist and Catholic factions in the South Vietnamese government.

[edit] The Cause

From the beginning of Nguyen Cao Ky's administration it was clear that the Buddhists would stage some kind of demonstration, and from Nguyen Cao Ky's point of view, Buddhist leaders were traitors and so he welcomed any confrontation with them. Within the circle of the South Vietnamese government, General Nguyen Chanh Thi was a devout Buddhist and a competent commander regarded by Nguyen Cao Ky as a threat. A combination of those factors resulted in the dismissal of General Nguyen Chanh Thi by Premier Nguyen Cao Ky. The dismissal caused widespread demonstrations in the northern provices during the early months of 1966.

[edit] The Fight Begins

On April 1, after radio stations in Da Nang and Hue were taken over by demonstrators, the Mayor of Da Nang openly supporting the rebelling ARVN soldiers of the I Corps. The soldiers, under the command of Colonel Dam Quang Yeu, proceeded to take up positions around the city. And despite the threat posed to the US military base there, all American troops remained neutral. On April 3, Premier Nguyen Cao Ky claimed that Da Nang is under Communist control and vowed to 'liberate' it.

Nguyen Cao Ky personally took command of two marine battalions and were airlifted out to Da Nang by US aircraft. When Premier Ky arrived in Da Nang on April 5, he found that the roads outside the US military base was blocked by the combined Buddhist and I Corp forces. As the situation worsened, the US military find it increasingly difficult to remain neutral and finally enter the conflict on April 9.

Premier Nguyen Cao Ky, leading three-thousand marines, entered Da Nang again on May 14. During the sporadic fighting that followed, the marines gradually pushed the rebel soldiers towards the east of the Tourane River. By that time, the government soldiers had already retaken the Da Nang City Hall and radio station. The rebel soldiers then seized a bridge across the Tourane River, heavily used by the US military, they mined the bridge and the ammunition dump to prevent government soldiers from crossing to the other side.

On May 18 the government soldiers were preparing to cross the bridge as rebel gunners open fire, the rebels soldiers then warned the government forces of the charges. In an effort to prevent the destruction of the bridge, General Lewis Walt attempted to ease the hosilities between the two sides by having discussions with the I Corp officer who mined the bridge but it was fruitless. General Walt and his officers decided to defuse the charges so two engineers of the US Marines were sent in secretly to defuse it. As the minutes went by, General Walt was given a thumbs up and the signal was given for government soldiers to cross the bridge. By the end of May, the marines under Premier Ky's command finally broken the remaining pockets of rebel soldiers and Buddhist militants in Da Nang, the Buddhist fighters managed to hold out for four hours against government ground assaults at Tan Ninh Pagoda.

Finally on June 8, the last rebel and Buddhist strongholds in Hue were rooted out by four hundred police. The collapse of the Buddhist uprising effectively ended the significance of the "Struggle Movement" as a political force.