Political Warfare in Republican Vietnam: Nexus of Army and State, 1955-1975

by Robert A. Silano

Overview

   This work examines the development of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces as a national institution; explores the historical origins of the political warfare system; and assesses that system's nurturing of military morale, popular support, and ways to weaken enemy resolve. North Vietnam in the 1940s and South Vietnam in the 1960s embraced the system of political control over the military that was developed in Soviet Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution and in Republican China in the 1920s where it influenced both the Nationalist and Communist movements. The book discusses the overall effectiveness of political warfare activities in the Republic of Vietnam's army, the advice and support offered by the U.S. military to the South Vietnamese political warfare establishment, and the consequences of the war's end for the members of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces who served in the political warfare system.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476651910
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	08/22/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Robert A. Silano was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1966, and was an instructor at the Army Special Warfare School in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served in the Republic of Vietnam from 1969 to 1971 and continued his service in the Department of the Army until 1977. He was a faculty member of the Institute of Higher Defense Studies, National Defense University, from 1986 to 1992 and served as editor of The Joint Force Quarterly from 1992 to 2004, and as director of the National Defense University Press.
The late Robert A. Silano was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1966, and was an instructor at the Army Special Warfare School in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served in the Republic of Vietnam from 1969 to 1971 and continued his service in the Department of the Army until 1977. He was a faculty member of the Institute of Higher Defense Studies, National Defense University, from 1986 to 1992 and served as editor of The Joint Force Quarterly from 1992 to 2004, and as director of the National Defense University Press.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Lewis M. Stern
Preface
Introduction: Propaganda and Political Warfare
Leaflets and Loudspeakers delete9 | The Commissar delete12 | Two Chinas delete13 | Two Vietnams delete16 | Army of the Republic
1. Toward a National Army
Military Culture delete25 | Troupes Indigènes delete29 | On the Western Front delete33 | The Interwar Years
2. War Over French Indochina
Oriental Vichy delete48 | Greater East Asia delete53 | Victory Without Peace delete60 | Yellowing the Force
3. Independence Under Fire
Contra Mundum delete71 | The Brothers Ngô delete79 | Personalism as Ideology delete82 | Party in the Army
4. A Directorate of Generals
The Rolling Coup delete89 | Men on Horseback delete94 | Regular and Territorial Forces delete102 | Soldiering
5. The Polwar Establishment
A Chinese Model delete114 | Organizational Structure delete116 | Advisory Relations delete121 | The Cultural Divide
6. Conducting Political Warfare
Policy Guidance delete135 | The Polwar Staff delete135 | Battalions and Companies delete136 | Branch Training
7. Troop Action—Body, Mind, and Spirit
Psychological Warfare delete152 | Indoctrination delete154 | Military Security delete159 | Welfare delete161 | Chaplaincies
8. Civic and Enemy Action—Suasion
Words and Deeds delete171 | Target Audiences delete173 | Media Selection delete175 | Joint and Combined Efforts
9. Agitation and Integration Propagandas
The Intangibles delete192 | Morale and Welfare delete197 | Popular Support delete199 | Enemy Susceptibilities
Epilogue: Without Army or State
Final Things delete205 | Army of the Republic delete206 | Vengeance Is Mine delete209 | The Diaspora delete211 | A Cynical Peace delete214 | Rites of Passage
Appendix 1: RVNAF Leadership and Command
Appendix 2: RVNAF General and Flag Officers
Appendix 3: Vietnamese Piaster Conversion Table
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index