The OSS and Ho Chi Minh
Subtitle: unexpected allies in the war against Japan
By: Dixee R. Bartholomew-Feis.
Series: Modern war studies
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 2006
Place of publication: [Lawrence]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 435
Subjects: Hồ, Chí Minh, 1890-1969.; United States. Office of Strategic Services.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Secret service -- United States.; World War, 1939-1945 -- Vietnam.; United States -- Foreign Relations -- Vietnam.; Vietnam -- Foreign Relations -- United States.; United States -- Foreign relations -- 1933-1945.
Description: "Some will be shocked to learn that the United States and Ho Chi Minh, our nemesis for much of the Vietnam War, were once allies. Indeed, during the last year of World War II, American agents in Indochina found themselves working closely with Ho Chi Minh and other anticolonial factions - compelled by circumstances to fight together against the Japanese. Dixee Bartholomew-Feis reveals how this relationship emerged and operated and how it affected Vietnam's struggle for independence." "The men of General William Donovan's newly formed Office of Strategic Services collaborated closely with communist groups in both Europe and Asia against the Axis enemies. In Vietnam, this meant that OSS officers worked with Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, whose ultimate aim was to rid the region of all imperialist powers, not just the Japanese. Ho, for his part, did whatever he could to encourage the OSS's negative view of the French, who were desperate to regain their colony. Revealing details not previously known about their covert operations, Bartholomew-Feis chronicles the exploits of these allies as the developed their network of informants, sabotaged the Japanese occupation's infrastructure, conducted guerilla operations, and searched for downed American fliers and Allied POWs." "Although the OSS did not bring Ho Chi Minh to power, Bartholomew-Feis shows that its apparent support for the Viet Minh played a significant symbolic role in helping them fill the power vacuum left in the wake of Japan's surrender. Her study also hints that had America continued to champion the anticolonials and their quest for independence, rather than caving in to the French, we might have been spared our long and very lethal war in Vietnam." "Based partly on interviews with surviving OSS agents who served in Vietnam, Bartholomew-Feis's narrative and insights speak to the yearnings of an oppressed people - and remind us that history does indeed make strange bedfellows."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The situation on the ground: Vietnam; title: The situation on the ground: the United States; title: The first on the ground: Miles, Meynier, and the GBT; title: The chameleon: Charles Fenn; title: Endings and beginnings; title: After the coup de main: March and April 1945; title: The relationship deepens: Ho Chi Minh and the Americans; title: On to Hanoi; title: "Cochinchina is burning.".