Embers Of War: The Fall Of An Empire And The Making Of America's Vietnam (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
I had the good fortune of hearing the author speak and then talking to him a bit about the Vietnam War. The book won the Pulitzer Prize. Excellent, especially in its "what if" tendencies. In June 1919, a young man from Vietnam set out to approach the world leaders gathered in Paris to present them with a petition entitled "The Demands of the Vietnamese People." He especially hoped to reach Woodrow Wilson whose fourteen points seemed to promise self-determination for all people. The petition spoke of "the struggle of civilization against barbarism." The man's name was Nguyen Ai Quoc (He Who Loves His Country). He would later become one of the great revolutionaries of the 20th century Ho Chi Minh (He Who Enlightens). The first of so many opportunities to prevent the tragedies that would occur in this small country. Saigon was known as the "Pearl of the Far East" or the "Paris of the Orient." The next opportunity comes with President Roosevelt. He wanted postwar independence for Indochina. DeGaulle on the other hand did not. He wanted to keep the colonies. For that matter, so did the British. It would be difficult for Roosevelt to hold sway, especially since he would eventually be facing death. Many Vietnamese hoped the Americans in WWII would liberate them. And many Americans wanted to. But the French seemed determined. Even Sartre complained about "the inferiority complex" France had acquired in the War. So a defense of the empire was necessary. And of course there were companies like Michelin Tire who wanted the rubber plantations, known as the "graveyard of the peasants." To this day, I hate to buy Michelin tires. The American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the key intelligence service in the War. They fought with the Vietnamese and Ho knew them. Once again, he hoped they could make a difference, but it was difficult to go against the French and the so-called "conservatives" in the US government. Ho actually rescued US pilots that crashed. He once got an autographed picture from Claire Chenault, the founder of the famed "fighting tigers." Ho proudly brandished the photo everywhere. The OSS probably did not fully comprehend Ho's communism, but so what. Ho hoped young Vietnamese could go to the US and study to learn to build a modern country. He once asked, "Am I any different from your George Washington?" Harry Truman came along, and he was not Roosevelt's first choice for VP. Unfortunately, when the UN was formed, the "conservative" defenders of colonialism held sway. Emperor Bao Dai spoke to his people, "I prefer to be a free citizen than an enslaved king." Viet Minh flags were everywhere. Vietnamese excitement was everywhere, hoping for a free nation. Ho spoke, "All men are created equal . . . " from our own Declaration of Independence. He called on the Allies to recognize Vietnamese freedom and independence. The crowd cheered the American flag. America seemed to be their only hope. Americans and Vietnamese celebrated together. Truman worried about a stable and friendly France to secure Europe. De Gaulle had Truman's ear. But when Archimedes Patti of the OSS wrote, he was ignored. If he had been listened to, Vietnam could have been free. There would have been a struggle, but it would have been better than what happened. Maybe Ho could have been more like Tito of Yugoslavia. Chinese troops came to Hanoi to help with withdrawing the Japanese. The Communists were not as popular in Saigon. The North/South split was always there. The French General Gracey arrived in Saigon and proclaimed martial law. He sent out a thousand French soldiers to almost no restrictions. They terrorized the Vietnamese. They were beaten, jailed, and even hanged. One French woman who sympathized with the Viet Minh had her head shaved like in France to women who went with German soldiers. They took over. Angered by their brutality, Gracey ordered the men back to their barracks. The Vietnamese got revenge, massacring scores of civilians, including women and children. This could be the beginning of the war: September 23, 1945. Peter Dewey became the first American killed. The French and Viet Minh accused each other of being responsible. A Major with the pseudonym "Leclerc" took over. But it was the policies of his civilian counterpart that would lead to war with France. That man was Georges d'Argenlieu, a former monk who was told by de Gaulle to brook no defiance from any Vietnamese. While Vietnam was referred to as "independent," it was really controlled by France. Ho still tried to gain support. He promised to safeguard private property. Any change in the economic system would be "gradual." "Capitalists" would be welcome. Meanwhile, French forces returned to Vietnam. In negotiations, the French referred to "guided self-government." The French also had the support of the "colons" or the French who had moved there. Socialists and Communists in France abandoned Ho. Ho always looked at the Philippines as an inspiration because America had allowed its freedom. Ho clearly warned the French that if they wanted a fight it would happen. Such discussions were a missed opportunity. Ho claimed he was not looking for complete independence, but who can say. Vo Nguyen Giap led the Viet Minh while Ho was away. He was only 35, a self-taught military commander. He would lead fights against both the French and the Americans. The author ranks him with the finest military leaders in history. His name meant "armor." His father and older sister died in a French camp. He hated the French. Yet he admired Napoleon. His wife would later die in prison, and he would not know for 3 years. He would notice Ho's piercing eyes. But he believed Ho was manipulating people rather than being sincere. Perhaps that was his own rationality seeing a different view of things. Ho made effort possible to gain independence but was rebuffed in almost every instance. There was interest almost solely with the Americans but the Cold War was just beginning to heat up. So the conservatives in the State Department and in France triumphed and war began. The French worked hard to convince Americans that Ho and the Viet Minh were one and the same with Stalinism. Giap promoted terror and assassinations. He had to watch out that he did not lose the Vietnamese people though by too many. He always tried to be selective in his killings. The French set up Bao Dai as the emperor, hoping to use him. But he was smarter than they realized. Henry R. Luce had an enormous impact with his two magazines: Time and Life. Along with conservative columnist Joseph Alsop, they pushed for American support of the French against the Communists. Dean Acheson would be part of US involvement here for two decades. He was one of the men who finally told Johnson there was no light at the end of the tunnel. For a while he was supportive of Vietnamese independence. But soon Mao took over China and nuclear proliferation began. Some of the red baiters even accused him of being a communist. Truman and Acheson felt the need to show strength against its spread somewhere. By 1950, America was ready to support fully the French. Ho's hope for support from America that he held since WWI was now almost certainly dashed. In 1950, the Viet Minh won a great victory at RC4 when Giap made his biggest blunder of the war. A young French Lieutenant named de Lattre began a new policy by setting up a defense line around the Hanoi Haiphong area. Giap saw how the Chinese human wave attacks helped in Korea, so he planned a massive assault. For the first time, American made napalm canisters would be used. It was a huge defeat for the Viet Minh. De Lattre became known as King Jean. His death of cancer would be a great loss. He complained on his death bed about not understanding Indochina. His last words were searching for his son who died fighting there. Senator John Kennedy would go to Vietnam. He was taken aback and realized the French were losing. He became convinced the US should connect with emerging nations. Nehru warned him about going to war over communism. Sadly, many other senators, both Republicans and Democrats, and even Truman and Acheson agreed with JFK. The pressures of the Cold War affected decisions. In January 1952, two time bombs exploded in the center of two main downtown squares. Some people are quick to claim that the US was involved. I could never understand that. Why? Logevall, like myself, finds no evidence to justify such a claim. Giap spoke of the war with the French as having no front. He quoted Pascal: "The enemy is everywhere and nowhere." French soldiers had much to deal with. Lack of food. Biting insects. Burrowing ticks. Poisonous snakes and scorpions. Bloodsucking leeches. Fearsome tigers. And, of course, the rats. I have seen them, and they are huge. In your fear, they can seem as large as a woodchuck. A new president was elected in the US with a crazy VP. Ho was worried and could never understand how anti-colonial US could support imperial France. He even reminisced about seeing Harlem and the Statue of Liberty. For Eisenhower and others, it was a case of wanting to speak out against Communism, but defend the rights of people who want to be free. I believe they were sincere. It's just that their anti-Communist comments often came back to haunt them. McCarthyism was still a powerful force. The French used erroneous conclusions to feel they had control. But the great Bernard Fall found out that the Viet Minh dominated 70 percent of the delta INSIDE the French perimeter, pretty much everywhere except Saigon, Hanoi, and Haiphong. I found it interesting that Britain did not share the US's worries about Communism. They had no powerful Red Baiters. The British also had a concern about the US's unwillingness to negotiate with adversaries. Giap had his own problems at Dien Bien Phu. His soldiers were tired of the high casualties. One surgeon and six assistants took care of 50,000 men. Soldiers lacked steel helmets, so many head injuries. Flies laid eggs on the wounds. Ticks infested the infirmary. Acute shortage of beds. One big question I had is what would have been the result if the US agreed to send in B-26 bombers at Dien Bien Phu. Leaders resisted the French pressure. It is possible, however, it may have made a difference, at least for a while. It might have ended Giap's tenure as head general. I think the US knew the future was hopeless. Yet they would get into the same hopeless situation later. The mud at Dien Bien Phu grew so bad, men had to relieve themselves where they were than slog through it. Genevieve de Galard-Terraube, age 29, was known as the "Angel of Dien Bien Phu for her work as a surgeon there. By April 17th of 1954, the first gangrene case occurred. Maggots grew under bloody bandages. They crawled over the hands and faces and in the ears of wounded soldiers. The lead surgeon, Major Grauwin, assured the men that the maggots aided in healing. Among the Viet Minh, a man known now only by his initials as N.T. asked to postpone an attack for one day so his men could rest. He was called "unruly." His pleas were ignored: 3 of his 71 men survived the attack. Even Moscow floated a partition idea in 1954 to divide the country between North and South, like Korea. On April 29th, the all-out assault on Dien Bein Phu began. Air drops of supplies were often unable to be retrieved. Almost 700 drops were made by American pilots. James McGovern and Wallace Buford were the only ones to die. Many of the "French" soldiers were actually Moroccans, Algerians, Vietnamese, Tai, Arabs. When Captain Jean Pouget asked for reinforcements, the response he got was, "Not another man, not another shell, my friend. You're a para. You're there to get yourself killed." Pouget signed off and disabled the radio. By the end of the day, he was captured. General de Castries at the command post was told, "But what you have done until now surely is magnificent. Don't spoil it by hoisting the white flag. You are going to be submerged by the enemy, but no surrender, no white flag." He would be captured also, dressed impeccably. The battle was over. Asian troops had defeated a European army in fixed battle for the first time. In France, citizens demanded to know who was responsible for putting soldiers in this trap. The author reviews mistakes that were made. Even so, the main problem was failing to account for an independent Vietnam. At the Geneva Conference, Americans were told not to socialize with the Chinese. The Viet Minh wanted an end to the war because of the high toll they suffered. Efforts were made to try and keep Laos and Cambodia somewhat neutral. One of the problems with setting up a vote was the fear that Ho would win. But elections were to be held in two years after the signing: 1956. That agreement would give nationalists time to build up their support. The Viet Minh did not get a fair line across the country between North and South. It is believed it was the pressure of China and the Soviets who put pressure on to end this all. The final French losses for the war were enormous. Staggering percentage of deaths. The remaining soldiers left Hanoi. The Viet Minh had a victory parade. Ho Chi Minh did not attend, as always modest. Sadly, many Vietnamese wanted the French connection. Viet Minh leaders spoke of French poetry books. All of this could have been handled so differently. Ho always insisted he was not a pawn of the hard liners in his government. Unfortunately, the hard liners were there as in any government. Eisenhower, however, made it clear he had no intention of supporting the Geneva accords. Essentially, other than Ho, none of the countries involved cared much. President Diem, meanwhile, had little charisma or managerial talent or even a sense of humor. So nationalists made little progress. Senator Mike Mansfield referred to Diem as the "last chance." The North followed China's lead in land reform. It failed just as badly. Land was seized and panic set in. It pitted neighbor against neighbor. Everything "belonged to the people" including buffalo dung. Colonel Lansdale was assigned the CIA role of helping Diem. About a million people fled to the South. No such movement went north. When I spoke to Vietnamese from the North, they all told me about atrocities, especially to Catholics. I think the author underplays this in his efforts to make Ho sound almost perfect. He puts some of the blame for the movement on Lansdale. In "The Battle of Saigon" Diem's national army fought against the criminal syndicate Binh Xuyen. His victory cemented his role as president. The vice kingpin Bay Vien went to Paris and settled to a cushy retirement. Now the Americans were in South Vietnam and the French were out. Ngo Dinh Diem now had American backing. Ho now knew the 1956 elections were in jeopardy. No country was out there to push for following the Geneva accords. Even supervision by the ICC would not satisfy American leaders. In 1955, Diem had an election to determine whether or not to keep a monarchy with Bao Dai. Even friendly observers were dismayed at the cheating. Diem was now in virtual total control. On the plus side, he did help modernize the country. His chief adviser was his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu who was married to the crazy and charismatic Madame Nhu. Americans stressed words like freedom and democracy. Graham Greene referred to Diem as Patriot Ruined by the West. Even JFK started to support Mr. Diem. Diem continued to alienate people whose backing he needed. He ignored American experts on land reform. His Can Lao party, mostly Catholics, pervaded all South Vietnamese life. A new insurgency began against Diem. Bernard Fall went back to Vietnam in 1957 calling it a "bad love affair." He thought the Americans were at least not colonialists like the French. He realized the situation was not at all stable. He noted how village chiefs had a high casualty rate. They were, of course, being assassinated. He soon realized Saigon was surrounded by village chiefs who were now communists. There was a clear pattern. To survive, the chief had to declare loyalty to the communists. The ARVN were not being outfought but rather "outadministered." No one could convince Diem of this. Some key Americans knew what was happening but were unable to change things. Both the Chinese and the Soviets did not want Ho to begin any kind of fight in the South. They had other interests. Finally, the North decided to step up its activities in the South. Just in time with the infamous 10/59 decree by Diem which effectively cut out opposition. He only managed to grow the opposition. Catholics were granted power more than any other group. The Americans were too unwilling to interfere. On July 8, 1959, eight American advisers near Bien Hoa watched a movie. Six VC guerrillas slipped in undetected and open fired. Chester Ovnand and Dale Buis were killed. They are the first of the second Indochina War. They are the first two names on the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Along with over 58,000 others. Excellently researched and presented, Logevall does a great job presenting French genesis of, and American entry into the Vietnam conflict.My only critique is this:For all of the factual presentation, there is not a significant amount of analysis--save for the last chapter. Particularly though, analysis is lacking of Eisenhower's thought process behind escalating American involvement in the conflict.Great read!
What do You think about Embers Of War: The Fall Of An Empire And The Making Of America's Vietnam (2012)?
Just won this book on first reads giveaways. Very excited. Will update once read and reviewed.
—Jackie
Excellent history of our involvement in Vietnam.
—betmenka
That was one hell of a book. Highly recommended.
—Chaya
