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- [00:00]
Lindsey Graham
There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free. Listen with Wondry in the Wondery app as a member of Noiser plus at Noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts@intohristory.com it's the morning of April 30, 1975, in Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. Lieutenant Bui Quang Tan's hand shakes as he grips the controls of his T54 tank and maneuvers through the city streets. Through his tank's periscope, he can see the presidential palace ahead of him. Its once pristine white facade now bears the scars of a city under siege. Thanh and his comrades have been fighting for this moment for years. They've marched hundreds of miles through the jungles under near constant bombardment, and somehow they've made it here to the heart of enemy territory. Tann sweeps his periscope left and right, catching glimpses of a city in chaos. Helicopters buzz across the skies. Gunfire rattles through the streets. Tom's radio crackles with updates from other units. The final assault on Saigon is nearly complete, but the work is not done yet. There is one last symbolic victory to be had. Tan pushes his tank forward toward the presidential palace. Metal gates buckle and crash as the tank bursts through into the courtyard beyond. D debris scatter as Thanh brings his tank to a halt. He climbs out, a Viet Cong flag clutched in his hands, and begins running up the front steps. Inside the palace, the South Vietnamese president waits to surrender. When lieutenant Bui Kuang Tan raises the Viet Cong flag above Saigon's presidential palace, he marks the end of a long and bloody civil war. But the unification of modern Vietnam was a story 30 years in the making, one that began when revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh first declared Vietnamese independence on September 2, 1945.
- [02:12]
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- [02:52]
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- [03:17]
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- [03:24]
Lindsey Graham
From Noiser and Airship. I'm Lindsey Graham and this is History. Daily history is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 2, 1945 Ho Chi Minh declares independence for Vietnam Foreign 1945 in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, 30 years before the fall of Saigon, an enormous crowd has gathered in a square in the center of the city. They're all waiting to hear from one man. 55 year old ho Chi Minh is the leader of the country's Viet Minh independence movement, and today he will tell his nation that their time has come. From beside a makeshift wooden stage, Ho Chi Minh gazes out over the mass of people. He's a slender man with intense eyes and a wispy gray beard. He folds and refolds the speech in his hands, the nervous excitement he feels reminding him of when he left Vietnam as a boy in 1911 to become a cook on a French steamer. He spent decades traveling the world, living in France, Britain and America, as well as the Soviet Union and China, where he learned about socialism. But Ho Chi Minh never forgot his homeland, and in the early 1940s, he returned to Vietnam to lead a new independence movement. Vietnam has long been dominated by foreign powers. For most of the past 65 years, the French have ruled Vietnam, extracting wealth from the country while denying its citizens basic rights. But When World War II erupted, the entire region fell under the sway of Imperial Japan. In 1941, Japanese troops were stationed in the country with the cooperation of the French colonial administrators. Ho Chi Minh called it a double yoke, twice the subjugation, and by his tally, 2 million Vietnamese died from an avoidable famine. This was just one of the many injustices his people suffered under French and Japanese occupation. But the landscape of power has shifted dramatically in recent months. In March 1945, as Allied victory in Europe grew closer, Japan became suspicious that French colonial authorities might assist Allied operations in the region. So Japanese forces launched a coup, arresting French administrators and dismantling their control. For the first time in decades, the French grip on Vietnam was broken. But the new Japanese rule in the country hasn't lasted long either. Only just this morning, Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies, finally bringing an end to World War II. But peace leaves behind a power vacuum in Vietnam. With both Japan and France now out of the picture, Vietnam's future is up for grabs. It's exactly the kind of opportunity Ho Chi Minh and his supporters have been preparing for. Trumpets echo across the square, and drums roll as a voice calls out in Vietnamese announcing the arrival of the President of the Provisional Government. Ho Chi Minh steps out onto the wooden platform. Despite the immense crowd of hundreds of thousands of people, it's eerily quiet. He can hear his own footsteps as he approaches the microphone. And once there, he begins with the words that once inspired another revolution centuries earlier in a country thousands of miles away. All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These words from the American Declaration of Independence are warmly applauded by the crowd in Hanoi. Ho Chi Minh looks down at his notes. He's thought hard about this speech. It's more than just a call for freedom. It's a clear overture to America. Ho Chi Minh is a communist, but he still admires America's democratic ideals. During the war against Japan, his Viet Minh independence movement worked closely with American intelligence agents, providing crucial information about Japanese troop movements in Vietnam. And now that the war is over, Ho Chi Minh hopes that his former partners in Washington will will support an independent Vietnam. After all, the United States was the ultimate example of breaking free from colonial rule. But America will turn its back on Ho Chi Minh's overture. Within only months, French forces will return to Vietnam to reclaim their colony. At first, America will remain neutral before eventually providing the French with tacit support and eventually direct military and financial aid. Washington will rationalize that. With communism gaining strength across Europe, it needs France as an ally more than it needs Vietnam. But this decision will set Vietnam on a path to three decades of war and division. A bitter conflict that will consume the nation, cost millions of lives, and embroil the very country that inspired Vietnam's call for independence.
- [08:28]
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- [08:59]
Chico Felitti
Everyone has that friend who seems kind of perfect for Patty. That friend was Desiree. Until one day I texted her and.
- [09:08]
Lindsey Graham
She was not getting the text. So I went to Instagram. She has no Instagram anymore. And Facebook. No Facebook anymore.
- [09:15]
Chico Felitti
Desiree was gone. And there was one person who knew the answer.
- [09:20]
Lindsey Graham
I am a spiritual person, a magical person, a witch.
- [09:24]
Chico Felitti
A gorgeous Brazilian influencer called Kat Torres, but who was hiding a secret from Wondery. Based on my smash hit podcast From Brazil comes a new series, Don't Cross Cat, about a search that led me to a mystery in a Texas suburb.
- [09:42]
Lindsey Graham
I'm calling to check on the two missing Brazilian girls. Maybe get some undercover crew there. The family are freaking out. They are lost.
- [09:49]
Chico Felitti
I'm Chico Felitti. You can listen to Don't Cross Cat on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [10:08]
Lindsey Graham
It's May 1, 1954. In a valley in northwest Vietnam, nine years after Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independence, Wandong Ving lies in the mud, trembling as he grips his rifle. A 20 year old soldier in the Viet Minh. This is his first battle and he's terrified. Ving's orders are clear, though. When the signal comes from his platoon leader, Ving is to storm the French positions ahead. If all goes well, this will be the Viet Minh's final decisive assault in a war that's dragged on for almost a decade. After Ho Chi Minh's declaration of independence in 1945, the French quickly returned to Vietnam to reclaim their colony, and initially there was hope that war could be avoided. Peace talks with the French led to an Agreement in March 1946, one that appeared to promise autonomy to the Vietnamese. But the French had no intention of letting their old colony go. By November of that same year, tensions exploded when French naval forces bombarded the northern port city of Haiphong, killing an estimated 6,000 Vietnamese civilians. This massacre convinced Ho Chi Minh that diplomacy was futile. By the end of that year, he had declared war against the French, marking the beginning of the First Indochina War. As French colonial forces advanced through the country, Ho Chi Minh and his forces fled into the mountains, where they began a relentless campaign of guerrilla warfare. The French were outnumbered, but they had more modern weapons and a powerful ally in the United States. With the Cold War deepening, American policymakers in Washington, D.C. were terrified that communism would spread across The Globe By 1950, US foreign policy had firmly embraced what was known as the Domino theory, the idea that the fall of one country to communism would lead to another and then another. America had once opposed French colonialism in Southeast Asia. But President Truman decided to send American weapons, money and military advisors to support French forces in Vietnam. But despite all their advantages in technology, money and manpower, the French have failed to defeat their enemy. By 1954, France has suffered more than 100,000 casualties and spent billions of dollars without success. Now it's on the verge of a humiliating defeat. As the signal is given and Wang Dong Ving raises his rifle and charges forward. Machine gunfire erupts from the French positions. Ving's platoon leader is shot in the mouth. Other men fall to the left and right, but Ving forces himself forward, firing into the chaos. Suddenly, two French soldiers emerge in front of him. Ving instinctively aims and fires, but nothing happens. He's out of ammunition. Ving attacks the first soldier with his bayonet. Seeing this, the other soldier turns and flees. This is the first time Ving has killed anyone. But there's no time to process that. He just keeps pushing forward. Not far away, in a reinforced bunker buried in the Earth, 51 year old French Colonel Christian de Castries studies maps by lamplight. When he arrived at this remote valley six months ago, he was confident he could achieve a decisive victory. The plan was to fortify a base in the valley and lure the Viet Minh into the open, where French artillery and air power could easily destroy them. But today it's the French, not the Vietnamese, who have become trapped. De Castries fortress has become a prison. Since the Viet Minh launched their attack in March, a string of outposts have fallen. And now just a few thousand French troops are trying to fight off a force of up to 50,000 Viet Minh. Their airstrip has been destroyed. Supplies dropped by parachute are falling into enemy hands. And the endless monsoon rains are turning defensive trenches into a quagmire of rot and filth. Then finally, on May 7, 1954, after relentless Viet Minh assaults on French positions, De Castry knows his men cannot resist the onslaught any longer. He radios his superiors in Hanoi to tell them that the end is near. Soon after, the Vietnamese break into his command bunker. The first soldier inside is not much older than a boy. De Castre pleads with him not to shoot, stuttering in French, that he surrenders. Eventually, the boy lowers his gun. De Castre will be spared, at least for now. As the boy marches him out of the bunker, De Castri catches His name from another Vietnamese soldier. It's Hoang Dung Ving. Days of hand to hand fighting have hardened this once callow boy into a fearsome fighter. The battle of Dien Bien Phu effectively ends French colonial rule in Indochina. At the Geneva peace conference that follows, the two sides agree to divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel. With Ho Chi Minh's forces retreating to the north and the French to the south. This partition is intended to be temporary, with a promise of nationwide elections in 1956 to reunify the country. But the United States is convinced that if there is an election, then Ho Chi Minh will win and communism will spread across Southeast Asia. So the Americans will scramble to establish a new anti communist government in South Vietnam. But just like the French before them, the United States will soon discover that even the mightiest militaries in the world can't win every war. It's early on, September 2, 1969, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Fifteen years after the end of war with France. Ho Chi Minh lies in his modest home, his breathing labored and weak. At 79 years old, his last battle is with diabetes and heart problems. But despite his body's growing frailty, his mind remains sharp and he's all too aware of the significance of the date. It's exactly 24 years since he stood up and declared his nation's independence. But the fight for a unified and free Vietnam goes on. The past four years have brought a level of destruction beyond anything Vietnam experienced under French rule. More than half a million US Troops are now in the country and they've dropped more bombs than fell on all of Europe during World War II. Towns, cities and countryside, no part of Vietnam has been left untouched. So as his heart struggles to beat, Ho Chi Minh tries to focus on his vision for a unified and independent Vietnam. Just weeks ago, he received a letter from US President Richard Nixon that proposed peace talks while threatening escalation if North Vietnam refused to negotiate. Ho Chi Minh welcomed the offer, but made no concessions in return. He knows Nixon's threats ring hollow. America's own people are turning against this war, taking to the streets in protest. So Ho Chi Minh's vision for independence feels within reach. If he can just fight through his illness, he is sure he will live to see the Americans leave, just as the French did before them. But each breath becomes more difficult, and at 9:47am his heart stops entirely. Ho Chi Minh's body may have finally surrendered, but his struggle continues without him. Over the next six years, American forces steadily withdraw while the North Vietnamese gather their strength to launch a massive invasion of the south. Finally, in 1975, Saigon Falls and the long civil war in Vietnam comes to an end. The country is unified and the former capital of the US backed South Vietnam is renamed Ho Chi Minh City in tribute to the man who first declared the modern country's independence on September 2, 1945. Next on History Daily September 3, 1260 an Egyptian army wins a pivotal battle, halting the westward expansion of the Mongol Empire. From Noiser and Airship this is History Daily Hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Shazi Sound design by Gabriel Gould Supervising sound designer Matthew Filler Music by Thrum this episode is written and researched by Galen Foote Edited by William Simpson Managing producer Emily Burke Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser. Limu, Emu and Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. But now we want you to feel it. Cue the emu music.
- [18:36]
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- [18:40]
Lindsey Graham
Increase your wealth.
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- [18:46]
Lindsey Graham
That may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty. Liberty. Liberty Savings. Very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates. Excludes Massachusetts.