1. On November 1st, 1963, the coup d'état of the Republic of Vietnam led to the assassination of the Ngo Dinh Diem - Ngo Dinh Nhu brothers, opening a new turning point for the war in Vietnam. Behind this assassination is the interesting story of a counter-coup plan devised by Ngo Dinh Nhu, named Bravo, and this plan became "a taste of his own medicine", contributing to the deaths of the Diem - Nhu brothers.
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3. On January 2nd, 1963, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam was defeated at the Battle of Ap Bac (My Tho, Tien Giang). For American commanders at the time, this was an unacceptable defeat for Ngo Dinh Diem's army. The collected documents have noted that the enemy force (the Liberation Army) was only ¼ as large as the ARVN, and the ARVN also had the support of armored vehicles and helicopters, but in the end, they were still beaten to pieces.
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5. On February 25th, 1963, for the first time during the war in Vietnam, US President John F. Kennedy proposed a plan to withdraw American personnel from South Vietnam. The relationship between Ngo Dinh Diem's government and Washington at this time was extremely tense. At this time, Ngo Dinh Diem's government was opposed by the people in the country, and the United States needed to replace the ruler in South Vietnam. The United States began secretly hatching a coup plan to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem's government, to resolve tensions and avoid later consequences.
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7. With his network of secret agents, Ngo Dinh Nhu - Ngo Dinh Diem's younger brother and senior advisor - soon discovered unusual changes in the Saigon government. Knowing that a coup would happen, Nhu devised a plan called "Bravo" to prevent the possibility of being overthrown. Ngo Dinh Nhu right then was no different from a director drawing a script that could have affected thousands of lives.
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9. The Bravo plan was divided into 2 steps:
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11. Step 1: Colonel Le Quang Tung - Commander of the ARVN Special Forces will withdraw part of this force from Saigon to fool the generals opposing the Ngo Dinh Diem government. Then forces loyal to Ngo Dinh Diem would secretly besiege Saigon, riot, and fake a coup. This disturbance would create a condition for the Diem - Nhu brothers to escape to Vung Tau. A new government of "coupers" would be established, but not in real power.
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13. Step 2: Generals Ton That Dinh and Huynh Van Cao will bring their troops to siege, attack, and retake Saigon from the "new government", bringing the Diem - Nhu brothers, now safe in Vung Tau, back to Saigon and regain power. This plan was also used to break the plot to assassinate Hitler on July 20th, 1944, in which Hitler escaped being assassinated and then returned to arrest and execute thousands of people involved in the plot.
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15. In addition, generals Nguyen Khanh and Ton That Dinh were instructed, that if anyone outside the plan wants to participate (meaning this person is from the real coup faction), just let them join, and then the time will come. At an appropriate point, these 2 generals will declare the truth and kill that person. With this, Ngo Dinh Nhu created a mole right in the heart of the coup faction. Furthermore, if the real coup forces hit too hard that they isolated Ton That Dinh's army, the ARVN 2nd Army Corps stationed in the Central Highlands and the 4th Army Corps in the Mekong Delta will coordinate their attacks in a pincer movement and eliminate the coup faction.
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17. In short, if Operation Bravo was successful, Ngo Dinh Nhu would have brought his loyalist forces to defend Saigon and eliminate the coup factor. This could have been a good ending for the Diem – Nhu brothers.
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19. BUT,
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21. Operation Bravo had a fatal flaw, in that Ngo Dinh Nhu had bet his brothers’ lives on the loyalty of those loyal to them, or those they thought were loyal. It only takes one person playing a key role in the plan betraying and the whole plan would be destroyed. There were 4 key people in the plan including Huynh Van Cao, Nguyen Khanh, Le Quang Tung, and Ton That Dinh, and that person was General Ton That Dinh.
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23. Ton That Dinh was not only the person who took on the most tasks and was also the most important element of the operation, but also the one who directly protected the Diem - Nhu brothers. Ironically, Ton That Dinh was part of the coup faction, and the whole plan was detailed by Dinh to this faction. In the end, the fake coup turned real, and the rest is history.
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25. On November 1st, 1963, the real coup took place. Diem - Nhu brothers were assassinated, marking a significant turning point in the Vietnam War.