Thank you! Also thanks for pointing that out, I'll make a quick edit. Although I'm sure given it's proximity, Durham would come into contact with radiation spread by winds anyway. Cheers!
Stars and Sickles - An Alternative Cold War
- Thread starter Hrvatskiwi
- Start date
-
- Tags
- cold war
Thank you! Also thanks for pointing that out, I'll make a quick edit. Although I'm sure given it's proximity, Durham would come into contact with radiation spread by winds anyway. Cheers!
Bump because I'm proud of this one and the exams hiatus is over#shameless
It's a good one, too
very laconic. I like it. If it gets xt828's approval without constructive criticism, it must be good.Next update, as I said before, will be on Vietnam.
Chapter 40a: Red Tide, Yellow Peril - Indochina (1945-1970) (Part 1)
Red Tide, Yellow Peril: Indochina (1955-1970, Part 1)
For Indochina during the 1940s to mid-1950s, see here:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8586294&postcount=61
===
The war between the French and the Viet Minh was brought to an end by the Geneva Accords which divided Vietnam between a socialist state to the north of the 17th Parallel and a western-aligned state in the south headed by the French puppet emperor Bao Dai. A three-nation International Control Commission (ICC), composed of India, which headed the group, Poland and Canada, was tasked with overseeing elections for the reunification of Vietnam. As it turned out, the ICC decided that conditions in both the north and the south weren't appropriate for reliable nationwide referendums and the division of the country would remain until it was united by force.
The Emperor Bao Dai in the last days of French colonialism
Although Bao Dai was the head of state for the southern State of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected prime minister, and in an April 1956 referendum (which is widely believed to have been fraudulent), Diem abolished the monarchy and became the first President of the Republic of Vietnam (ROV). Diem's presidency would prove short-lived. In November he was overthrown by Le Van "Bay" Vien, leader of the Binh Xuyen Force militia/criminal syndicate. Bay Vien had been given total control over the policing of the Saigon-Cholon area by the French in gratitude of his extermination of Viet Minh forces in Saigon and the execution of their commander, Nguyen Binh. He then cleared out Route 15 to Vung Tau, after which he was promoted to Major General by the French colonialists. Under Bay Vien's command was five regular battalions and two battalions of public security shock troops. With these he ousted Diem and declared himself the Provisional President of the Republic of Vietnam. The only resistance to this coup was by Catholic refugees, many of whom were gunned down by Bay Vien's "public security" forces.
Bay Vien appears in LIFE magazine
The Republic of Vietnam had virtually ceased to exist as a coherent state. Only Saigon-Cholon and areas with remaining French garrisons were under de facto government control. In much of the centre of the country, numerous officers began to either operate as independent warlords or throw in their lot with the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (VNQDD), also known as the Vietnamese Koumintang. In the Mekong Delta, numerous armed groups existed in perpetual conflict with each other. Many of these groups were associated with religious sects, mainly the Hoa Hao and the Cao Dai. The most notorious of the Hao Hao leaders was the self-proclaimed "General" Ba Cut, who had been described as "war drunk". Ba Cut extorted payment out of locals, justifying the shake-downs as payment for the elimination of pirates. Piracy virtually ceased within Ba Cut's sections of the Mekong, deterred by the heads mounted on pikes down the river and near towns under his control. The most powerful Cao Dai warlord was Trinh Minh The, who controlled the area around Tay Ninh and frequently battled with Ba Cut's forces. Alongside these groups were the Viet Minh, who continued to operate in the jungles and along the rivers, gathering their strength for the coming conflicts.
In the north of Vietnam, the so-called Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) engaged in a campaign of systematic persecution of landowners. Using much of the same language as Stalin had in his campaign against the kulaks, the North Vietnamese communists killed at least 14,000 people who had been defined as "class enemies". According to some sources, likely numbers of those killed is around 150,000. A 1957 visit to Moscow by Ho Chi Minh and Le Duan gained the approval of the preeminent communist power for a militant struggle for the liberation of Vietnam. The North Vietnamese leadership constructed a chain of command for communist insurgents in the Republic of Vietnam. The primary issue for the National Liberation Front (NLF, also known as Viet Cong) in the south was supply. To rectify this issue, the Viet Cong were instructed to prepare logistical infrastructure such as roads to allow greater volumes of men and materiel to be sent south. The main supply route for this cargo was the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads which wound through neighbouring Laos and Cambodia. Protection of these supply lines prompted a number of Vietnamese interventions in the aforementioned states, which were vital in installing communist governments in all of the former French Indochinese countries.
In Laos, prime minister Prince Souvanna Phouma announced that, with the holding of elections, the Royal Lao Government had fulfilled its Geneva obligations. The International Control Commission in Laos adjourned sine die in response. Souvanna's government began to expand diplomatic relations, admitting diplomats from Taipei and Saigon, thus angering Moscow, Peking and Hanoi. Furthermore, as the French military mission in Laos wound down, they were replaced the the US Programs Evaluation Office (PEO). In December 1958, the PAVN occupied several villages in the Laotian Tchepone District near the DMZ between North and South Vietnam. The new prime minister, Phoui Sananikone, who had been the primary force promoting greater alignment with the United States, protested against the illegal occupation of these villages. The North Vietnamese responded by claiming that these villages were historically part of the Dai Viet, representing a unilateral reinterpretation of the French map used by the Troung Gia Armistice Commission in the summer of 1954 to draw the DMZ. This response bolstered the anti-Vietnamese nationalist opposition, allowing Phoui to bestow upon himself emergency powers from the National Assembly to deal with the crisis.
Whilst a state of emergency was being declared in Laos, the local communist militias, the Pathet Lao, were to be partially integrated into the Royal Lao Army (RLA) in accordance with the Geneva Accords. As monsoon rains descended upon the Xieng Khouang plateau and the Plain of Jars, the two battalions that were supposed to be absorbed into the RLA instead mutinied and marched east, prompting a renewed civil war between the communists and the royalists. Between July 28 and July 31, PAVN units led offensives on RLA positions and transferred immediately their gains to Pathet Lao troops, thus providing a degree of plausible deniability to their involvement in the Laotian conflict. The PAVN also began to provide specialist and technical support to Pathet Lao forces, thus increasing their combat potential.
Graphical representation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Back in South Vietnam, Bay Vien had been slowly consolidating his power over other anti-communist elements throughout the country. He cultivated an alliance with the VNQDD who dominated the Central Highland area, as well as securing the loyalty of many ARVN officers by bribing them with funds gained from the drugs, extortion and prostitution in the capital. In the Mekong Delta, ARVN forces began to drive the sects out. After a long and indecisive campaign against Ba Cut, the notorious warlord was killed during a parlay which was supposed to negotiate Ba Cut's normalisation with the regime. The destruction of the sects' military presence created fertile ground for the ever-increasing Viet Cong insurgency.
1960 saw the Laotian issue arise again. On August 9th, Captain Kong Le and his special forces-trained paratroop battalion seized control of Vientiane in a bloodless coup, styling themselves the "Neutralists" and promoting peace, an end to foreign interference, an end to the corruption caused by foreign aid and better treatment for soldiers. Prime minister Tiao Samsanith, as well as government officials and military leaders met in the royal capital Luang Prabang to discuss their response. Anti-coup units flocked around General Phoumi Nosavan, the first cousin of Thailand's prime minister, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. With CIA support, Sarit set up a covert military advisory group called "Kaw Taw". Kaw Taw supplied artillery, technical personnel and advisors to Phoumi's forces. Thailand also committed the Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit to operate within Laos, as well as initiating a land blockade, cutting off the main source of imported goods to Vientiane. With supply assistance from Air America (organised through CIA channels) and covert military assistance from the Thais, Phoumi's troops began to move north from Savannakhet to Vientiane. The USSR instituted a military air bridge from Hanoi to Vientiane in early December, flying in PAVN artillery and gunners to reinforce the Neutralist-Pathet Lao coalition against the coming assault. On December 13, Phoumi's army began a 3-day bombardment of Vientiane. 500 civilians and 17 soldiers were killed by shellfire. The Neutralists and Pathet Lao saw that attempting to hold against the royalist army would be impossible, and began a fighting retreat, covered by PAVN 105mm howitzers, to the Xieng Khouang plateau. From December 23, the Neutralists and Pathet Lao became official allies. On January 1, 1961, Neutralist, Pathet Lao and PAVN forces drove 9000 royalist troops from the Plain of Jars. Two days later, the Royal Laos Air Force (RLAF) acquired its first counterinsurgency aircraft, four reconfigured T-6 Texan training aircraft from the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). On 7 January, the PAVN presence was escalated by the introduction of another four North Vietnamese battalions into the conflict. Two of these battalions immediately entered combat on Route 7, one of the roads to Vientiane, and another moved into action at Tha Thom. The fourth battalion was kept as a reserve force. On 15 January, the 925 Independent Brigade of the PAVN crossed into Laos to reinforce the anti-government coalition. The US began supply of Hmong guerrillas later that month to oppose the Vietnamese and the Laotian communists. In February the first four volunteer pilots from the Royal Thai Air Force arrived to fly more four more T-6s supplied to the RLAF. The volunteer pilots had been officially discharged from the RTAF to discourage scrutiny by international observers. By the end of March, five out of eight RLAF T-6s had been destroyed by enemy action. On 9 March, the communists seized the only road junction between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. RLA troops sent to counterattack dropped their weapons and ran. US special forces Team Moon had been assigned as advisors to the RLA units in the area. On 22 April Team Moon was overrun. Two sergeants were killed and team leader Captain Walter H. Moon was captured. He was later executed whilst trying to escape captivity.
Child soldiers in the Laotian Civil War
As the conflicts in Indochina increased in intensity, President Gore began to provide greater support for the local anti-communist forces, including the governments of Prince Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia, Prince Souvanna Phouma in Laos and Bay Vien in Vietnam. Whilst he was wary of involving any American forces beyond special forces, given the remaining memories of the failed US intervention in China, he did encourage the involvement of other Western-aligned governments. Japanese, Malayan and Thai troops were all involved in fighting in South Vietnam, with mixed success.
Despite Thai and American aid, the situation for the Royal Lao Army continued to deteriorate. In April 1961, General Phoumi urgently requested US air support to ward off communist assaults on Luang Prabang, Pakxan, Vientiane and Savannakhet. President Gore authorised the actions and 16 A-26 Invader light bombers attacked the communist assault groups, effectively deterring them from taking the major urban centres of the country. The Programs Evaluation Office shedded its civilian disguise and was redesignated the Military Advisory Assistance Group (MAAG). Having barely survived a brush with certain defeat, the RLA had been rendered all but ineffective. The defense of the kingdom was solely in the hands of tribal irregular militias, primarily from the Hmong people, but also including some Yao and Lao Theung (Midland Lao). By the summer of 1961, the CIA had mustered 9,000 hill tribesmen into the ranks of the "Secret Army". They were aided by 9 CIA agents, 9 special forces augmenters, and 99 Thai special forces troopers from the Police Aerial Resupply Unit. In December, the royalists decided that they would reassert control over the provincial capital of Nam Tha, near the Chinese border to the northwest. By February 1962, Nam Tha had been reinforced by royalist paratroopers. A major PAVN assault broke the RLA forces and routed them. The royalists retreated over a hundred miles into Thailand. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Americans pressured the Royal Lao Government into entering into a coalition with the Pathet Lao and Kong Le's Neutralist. The US also disbanded its MAAG in Laos, hoping that Laos could be "neutralised" as rather than falling wholesale to the Vietnamese and their local allies.
By mid-1962, however, the Pathet Lao and Neutralists had begun to squabble with each other. This was primarily driven by disagreements within the right-wing (exemplified by Kong Le) and the left-wing (Quinim Polsena and Col. Deuane Sunnalath) factions of the Neutralists. On the 12 February 1963, Col. Ketsana, Kong Le's second-in-command, was assassinated. Shortly afterwards, Quinim Polsena and his deputy were assassinated, likely in retaliation. Hmong leader Vang Pao, whose forces had been trained in Hua Hin in Thailand, gathered three irregular battalions and spearheaded a drive into Sam Neua against the Pathet Lao. The US reestablished the local MAAG group to support their efforts. In August 1963, the RLAF received its first four T-28 Trojan trainer aircraft, retooled for counter-insurgency warfare. Hmong forces began serious attempts to infiltrate the Ho Chi Minh Trail, prompting King Sisavong to promote Vang Pao to Brigadier-General in September. Hmong support for the royalist cause would prove unwise, with 18-20,000 Hmong tribes-people killed between 1963 and 1965, with many more suffering the same fate after the end of the war at the hands of the Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao. During this period, Laos was rocked by a number of coup attempts in Vientiane. With the capital in turmoil, the PVAN and Pathet Lao troops overran the royalist and Neutralist positions on the Xieng Khouang plateau. By the 19 May, the USAF began flying missions over the renewed fighting under the code-name Yankee Team. These were primarily (but not exclusively) reconnaissance missions over the Laotian panhandle to obtain target information on men and materiel being moved to the ROV via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Summer of 1964 saw the RLA successfully clear Route 13 between Vientiane and Luang Prabang of communist forces. By December the USAF initiated Operation Barrel Roll, a bombing campaign over the Xieng Khouang plateau. In February 1965, Kouprasith Abhay, the commanding officer of Military Region 5, mounted a coup. Phoumi fled into exile. On 3 April, the US began Operation Steel Tiger over the Laotian panhandle to locate and destroy enemy forces and materiel being moved south at night into South Vietnam. By the later part of the year, this strategy had shifted to greater concentration on the border area between Laos and South Vietnam in Operation Tiger Hound.
In July 1966, RLA forces seized the Nam Bac Valley. Three infantry regiments, one independent infantry battalion and one artillery battalion took Nam Bac and established a defensive line north of Luang Prabang. On the plateau, the Pathet Lao advances were ground to a halt by air attacks on their rear supply areas and counterattacks by RLA forces. 1967 saw increases in the bombing campaign and slow advances by the communists. Laotian irregular troops continued to operate out of Nam Bac, whilst RLA troops garrisoned the area in order the secure the airstrip for their resupply. In order to destroy this threat, the PAVN dispatched the 316th Infantry Division to Laos to assault Nam Bac. The royalist garrison in the valley was soon surrounded. The RLA defenders possessed 105mm howitzers for artillery support and could call on RLAF T-28s for close air support. USAF fighter-bombers struck the communist supply lines. Communist anti-aircraft fire closed the Nam Bac airstrip to fixed wing resupply. On 25 December, a Vietnamese artillery barrage kicked off their offensive. On 13 January 1968, the Vietnamese launched a multi-divisional attack on the RLA at Nam Bac, achieving a decisive victory over the RLA and leaving only tribal irregulars responsible for the entirety of the Kingdom's defensive needs. Throughout 1968, the communists seized control of northern Laos. At the Battle of Lima Site 85, they even threatened US technical personnel, who were evacuated at the last minute, although the Hmong and Thai defenders weren't as fortunate. This marked the beginning of a dry season offensive which finally crushed the Lao Royal Government. The United States withdrew air support, redirecting USAF resources to Biafra and by March 1969, the communists were in control of the entire country with the exception of Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Tchepone and the extreme southeast of the country, besides the ROV border. In April, ROV forces crossed into Laos and drove towards Tchepone, seizing the city and cutting off the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In May, the PAVN and Pathet Lao forces managed to drive the ARVN troops out of the country, followed by the remaining royalist bastions. In June, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) was declared.
Viet Cong guerrilla armed with Soviet-produced RPG-2
In South Vietnam itself, the ARVN gradually developed tactics to counter the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong. Whilst the Viet Cong ran rampant in the early 1960s, by 1966 the Viet Cong were beginning to be pushed out of certain districts. ARVN control of the cities was essentially unchallenged, but whilst the Viet Cong remained a threat, Thai troops discovered a massive underground network of tunnels and had secured a number of intelligence documents which forced the Viet Cong to rework strategies. As concern continued to mount in Hanoi, it was eventually decided that the success of the revolution in the south depended on the involvement of the PAVN and a conventional campaign to unify the country. September 1969 saw the PAVN cross the 17th Parallel and annihilate the ARVN's advance defenses. As the PAVN advanced down the country, Bay Vien lost control of the capital to a VNQDD coup and was dragged through the streets by vengeful civilians, who tore his corpse limb-from-limb. Defeated on the front and chaotic in the capital, the Republic crumbled entirely. Viet Cong units rose up in coordinated offensives that were only barely fought off by Thai, Japanese and Malayan forces, for those same forces to be soundly defeated by People's Army of Viet Nam. Saigon fell to the communists in March.
For Indochina during the 1940s to mid-1950s, see here:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8586294&postcount=61
===
The war between the French and the Viet Minh was brought to an end by the Geneva Accords which divided Vietnam between a socialist state to the north of the 17th Parallel and a western-aligned state in the south headed by the French puppet emperor Bao Dai. A three-nation International Control Commission (ICC), composed of India, which headed the group, Poland and Canada, was tasked with overseeing elections for the reunification of Vietnam. As it turned out, the ICC decided that conditions in both the north and the south weren't appropriate for reliable nationwide referendums and the division of the country would remain until it was united by force.
The Emperor Bao Dai in the last days of French colonialism
Although Bao Dai was the head of state for the southern State of Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected prime minister, and in an April 1956 referendum (which is widely believed to have been fraudulent), Diem abolished the monarchy and became the first President of the Republic of Vietnam (ROV). Diem's presidency would prove short-lived. In November he was overthrown by Le Van "Bay" Vien, leader of the Binh Xuyen Force militia/criminal syndicate. Bay Vien had been given total control over the policing of the Saigon-Cholon area by the French in gratitude of his extermination of Viet Minh forces in Saigon and the execution of their commander, Nguyen Binh. He then cleared out Route 15 to Vung Tau, after which he was promoted to Major General by the French colonialists. Under Bay Vien's command was five regular battalions and two battalions of public security shock troops. With these he ousted Diem and declared himself the Provisional President of the Republic of Vietnam. The only resistance to this coup was by Catholic refugees, many of whom were gunned down by Bay Vien's "public security" forces.
Bay Vien appears in LIFE magazine
The Republic of Vietnam had virtually ceased to exist as a coherent state. Only Saigon-Cholon and areas with remaining French garrisons were under de facto government control. In much of the centre of the country, numerous officers began to either operate as independent warlords or throw in their lot with the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (VNQDD), also known as the Vietnamese Koumintang. In the Mekong Delta, numerous armed groups existed in perpetual conflict with each other. Many of these groups were associated with religious sects, mainly the Hoa Hao and the Cao Dai. The most notorious of the Hao Hao leaders was the self-proclaimed "General" Ba Cut, who had been described as "war drunk". Ba Cut extorted payment out of locals, justifying the shake-downs as payment for the elimination of pirates. Piracy virtually ceased within Ba Cut's sections of the Mekong, deterred by the heads mounted on pikes down the river and near towns under his control. The most powerful Cao Dai warlord was Trinh Minh The, who controlled the area around Tay Ninh and frequently battled with Ba Cut's forces. Alongside these groups were the Viet Minh, who continued to operate in the jungles and along the rivers, gathering their strength for the coming conflicts.
In the north of Vietnam, the so-called Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) engaged in a campaign of systematic persecution of landowners. Using much of the same language as Stalin had in his campaign against the kulaks, the North Vietnamese communists killed at least 14,000 people who had been defined as "class enemies". According to some sources, likely numbers of those killed is around 150,000. A 1957 visit to Moscow by Ho Chi Minh and Le Duan gained the approval of the preeminent communist power for a militant struggle for the liberation of Vietnam. The North Vietnamese leadership constructed a chain of command for communist insurgents in the Republic of Vietnam. The primary issue for the National Liberation Front (NLF, also known as Viet Cong) in the south was supply. To rectify this issue, the Viet Cong were instructed to prepare logistical infrastructure such as roads to allow greater volumes of men and materiel to be sent south. The main supply route for this cargo was the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of roads which wound through neighbouring Laos and Cambodia. Protection of these supply lines prompted a number of Vietnamese interventions in the aforementioned states, which were vital in installing communist governments in all of the former French Indochinese countries.
In Laos, prime minister Prince Souvanna Phouma announced that, with the holding of elections, the Royal Lao Government had fulfilled its Geneva obligations. The International Control Commission in Laos adjourned sine die in response. Souvanna's government began to expand diplomatic relations, admitting diplomats from Taipei and Saigon, thus angering Moscow, Peking and Hanoi. Furthermore, as the French military mission in Laos wound down, they were replaced the the US Programs Evaluation Office (PEO). In December 1958, the PAVN occupied several villages in the Laotian Tchepone District near the DMZ between North and South Vietnam. The new prime minister, Phoui Sananikone, who had been the primary force promoting greater alignment with the United States, protested against the illegal occupation of these villages. The North Vietnamese responded by claiming that these villages were historically part of the Dai Viet, representing a unilateral reinterpretation of the French map used by the Troung Gia Armistice Commission in the summer of 1954 to draw the DMZ. This response bolstered the anti-Vietnamese nationalist opposition, allowing Phoui to bestow upon himself emergency powers from the National Assembly to deal with the crisis.
Whilst a state of emergency was being declared in Laos, the local communist militias, the Pathet Lao, were to be partially integrated into the Royal Lao Army (RLA) in accordance with the Geneva Accords. As monsoon rains descended upon the Xieng Khouang plateau and the Plain of Jars, the two battalions that were supposed to be absorbed into the RLA instead mutinied and marched east, prompting a renewed civil war between the communists and the royalists. Between July 28 and July 31, PAVN units led offensives on RLA positions and transferred immediately their gains to Pathet Lao troops, thus providing a degree of plausible deniability to their involvement in the Laotian conflict. The PAVN also began to provide specialist and technical support to Pathet Lao forces, thus increasing their combat potential.
Graphical representation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Back in South Vietnam, Bay Vien had been slowly consolidating his power over other anti-communist elements throughout the country. He cultivated an alliance with the VNQDD who dominated the Central Highland area, as well as securing the loyalty of many ARVN officers by bribing them with funds gained from the drugs, extortion and prostitution in the capital. In the Mekong Delta, ARVN forces began to drive the sects out. After a long and indecisive campaign against Ba Cut, the notorious warlord was killed during a parlay which was supposed to negotiate Ba Cut's normalisation with the regime. The destruction of the sects' military presence created fertile ground for the ever-increasing Viet Cong insurgency.
1960 saw the Laotian issue arise again. On August 9th, Captain Kong Le and his special forces-trained paratroop battalion seized control of Vientiane in a bloodless coup, styling themselves the "Neutralists" and promoting peace, an end to foreign interference, an end to the corruption caused by foreign aid and better treatment for soldiers. Prime minister Tiao Samsanith, as well as government officials and military leaders met in the royal capital Luang Prabang to discuss their response. Anti-coup units flocked around General Phoumi Nosavan, the first cousin of Thailand's prime minister, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat. With CIA support, Sarit set up a covert military advisory group called "Kaw Taw". Kaw Taw supplied artillery, technical personnel and advisors to Phoumi's forces. Thailand also committed the Thai Police Aerial Reinforcement Unit to operate within Laos, as well as initiating a land blockade, cutting off the main source of imported goods to Vientiane. With supply assistance from Air America (organised through CIA channels) and covert military assistance from the Thais, Phoumi's troops began to move north from Savannakhet to Vientiane. The USSR instituted a military air bridge from Hanoi to Vientiane in early December, flying in PAVN artillery and gunners to reinforce the Neutralist-Pathet Lao coalition against the coming assault. On December 13, Phoumi's army began a 3-day bombardment of Vientiane. 500 civilians and 17 soldiers were killed by shellfire. The Neutralists and Pathet Lao saw that attempting to hold against the royalist army would be impossible, and began a fighting retreat, covered by PAVN 105mm howitzers, to the Xieng Khouang plateau. From December 23, the Neutralists and Pathet Lao became official allies. On January 1, 1961, Neutralist, Pathet Lao and PAVN forces drove 9000 royalist troops from the Plain of Jars. Two days later, the Royal Laos Air Force (RLAF) acquired its first counterinsurgency aircraft, four reconfigured T-6 Texan training aircraft from the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF). On 7 January, the PAVN presence was escalated by the introduction of another four North Vietnamese battalions into the conflict. Two of these battalions immediately entered combat on Route 7, one of the roads to Vientiane, and another moved into action at Tha Thom. The fourth battalion was kept as a reserve force. On 15 January, the 925 Independent Brigade of the PAVN crossed into Laos to reinforce the anti-government coalition. The US began supply of Hmong guerrillas later that month to oppose the Vietnamese and the Laotian communists. In February the first four volunteer pilots from the Royal Thai Air Force arrived to fly more four more T-6s supplied to the RLAF. The volunteer pilots had been officially discharged from the RTAF to discourage scrutiny by international observers. By the end of March, five out of eight RLAF T-6s had been destroyed by enemy action. On 9 March, the communists seized the only road junction between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. RLA troops sent to counterattack dropped their weapons and ran. US special forces Team Moon had been assigned as advisors to the RLA units in the area. On 22 April Team Moon was overrun. Two sergeants were killed and team leader Captain Walter H. Moon was captured. He was later executed whilst trying to escape captivity.
Child soldiers in the Laotian Civil War
As the conflicts in Indochina increased in intensity, President Gore began to provide greater support for the local anti-communist forces, including the governments of Prince Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia, Prince Souvanna Phouma in Laos and Bay Vien in Vietnam. Whilst he was wary of involving any American forces beyond special forces, given the remaining memories of the failed US intervention in China, he did encourage the involvement of other Western-aligned governments. Japanese, Malayan and Thai troops were all involved in fighting in South Vietnam, with mixed success.
Despite Thai and American aid, the situation for the Royal Lao Army continued to deteriorate. In April 1961, General Phoumi urgently requested US air support to ward off communist assaults on Luang Prabang, Pakxan, Vientiane and Savannakhet. President Gore authorised the actions and 16 A-26 Invader light bombers attacked the communist assault groups, effectively deterring them from taking the major urban centres of the country. The Programs Evaluation Office shedded its civilian disguise and was redesignated the Military Advisory Assistance Group (MAAG). Having barely survived a brush with certain defeat, the RLA had been rendered all but ineffective. The defense of the kingdom was solely in the hands of tribal irregular militias, primarily from the Hmong people, but also including some Yao and Lao Theung (Midland Lao). By the summer of 1961, the CIA had mustered 9,000 hill tribesmen into the ranks of the "Secret Army". They were aided by 9 CIA agents, 9 special forces augmenters, and 99 Thai special forces troopers from the Police Aerial Resupply Unit. In December, the royalists decided that they would reassert control over the provincial capital of Nam Tha, near the Chinese border to the northwest. By February 1962, Nam Tha had been reinforced by royalist paratroopers. A major PAVN assault broke the RLA forces and routed them. The royalists retreated over a hundred miles into Thailand. Seeing the writing on the wall, the Americans pressured the Royal Lao Government into entering into a coalition with the Pathet Lao and Kong Le's Neutralist. The US also disbanded its MAAG in Laos, hoping that Laos could be "neutralised" as rather than falling wholesale to the Vietnamese and their local allies.
By mid-1962, however, the Pathet Lao and Neutralists had begun to squabble with each other. This was primarily driven by disagreements within the right-wing (exemplified by Kong Le) and the left-wing (Quinim Polsena and Col. Deuane Sunnalath) factions of the Neutralists. On the 12 February 1963, Col. Ketsana, Kong Le's second-in-command, was assassinated. Shortly afterwards, Quinim Polsena and his deputy were assassinated, likely in retaliation. Hmong leader Vang Pao, whose forces had been trained in Hua Hin in Thailand, gathered three irregular battalions and spearheaded a drive into Sam Neua against the Pathet Lao. The US reestablished the local MAAG group to support their efforts. In August 1963, the RLAF received its first four T-28 Trojan trainer aircraft, retooled for counter-insurgency warfare. Hmong forces began serious attempts to infiltrate the Ho Chi Minh Trail, prompting King Sisavong to promote Vang Pao to Brigadier-General in September. Hmong support for the royalist cause would prove unwise, with 18-20,000 Hmong tribes-people killed between 1963 and 1965, with many more suffering the same fate after the end of the war at the hands of the Vietnamese and the Pathet Lao. During this period, Laos was rocked by a number of coup attempts in Vientiane. With the capital in turmoil, the PVAN and Pathet Lao troops overran the royalist and Neutralist positions on the Xieng Khouang plateau. By the 19 May, the USAF began flying missions over the renewed fighting under the code-name Yankee Team. These were primarily (but not exclusively) reconnaissance missions over the Laotian panhandle to obtain target information on men and materiel being moved to the ROV via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Summer of 1964 saw the RLA successfully clear Route 13 between Vientiane and Luang Prabang of communist forces. By December the USAF initiated Operation Barrel Roll, a bombing campaign over the Xieng Khouang plateau. In February 1965, Kouprasith Abhay, the commanding officer of Military Region 5, mounted a coup. Phoumi fled into exile. On 3 April, the US began Operation Steel Tiger over the Laotian panhandle to locate and destroy enemy forces and materiel being moved south at night into South Vietnam. By the later part of the year, this strategy had shifted to greater concentration on the border area between Laos and South Vietnam in Operation Tiger Hound.
In July 1966, RLA forces seized the Nam Bac Valley. Three infantry regiments, one independent infantry battalion and one artillery battalion took Nam Bac and established a defensive line north of Luang Prabang. On the plateau, the Pathet Lao advances were ground to a halt by air attacks on their rear supply areas and counterattacks by RLA forces. 1967 saw increases in the bombing campaign and slow advances by the communists. Laotian irregular troops continued to operate out of Nam Bac, whilst RLA troops garrisoned the area in order the secure the airstrip for their resupply. In order to destroy this threat, the PAVN dispatched the 316th Infantry Division to Laos to assault Nam Bac. The royalist garrison in the valley was soon surrounded. The RLA defenders possessed 105mm howitzers for artillery support and could call on RLAF T-28s for close air support. USAF fighter-bombers struck the communist supply lines. Communist anti-aircraft fire closed the Nam Bac airstrip to fixed wing resupply. On 25 December, a Vietnamese artillery barrage kicked off their offensive. On 13 January 1968, the Vietnamese launched a multi-divisional attack on the RLA at Nam Bac, achieving a decisive victory over the RLA and leaving only tribal irregulars responsible for the entirety of the Kingdom's defensive needs. Throughout 1968, the communists seized control of northern Laos. At the Battle of Lima Site 85, they even threatened US technical personnel, who were evacuated at the last minute, although the Hmong and Thai defenders weren't as fortunate. This marked the beginning of a dry season offensive which finally crushed the Lao Royal Government. The United States withdrew air support, redirecting USAF resources to Biafra and by March 1969, the communists were in control of the entire country with the exception of Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Tchepone and the extreme southeast of the country, besides the ROV border. In April, ROV forces crossed into Laos and drove towards Tchepone, seizing the city and cutting off the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In May, the PAVN and Pathet Lao forces managed to drive the ARVN troops out of the country, followed by the remaining royalist bastions. In June, the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR) was declared.
Viet Cong guerrilla armed with Soviet-produced RPG-2
In South Vietnam itself, the ARVN gradually developed tactics to counter the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Cong. Whilst the Viet Cong ran rampant in the early 1960s, by 1966 the Viet Cong were beginning to be pushed out of certain districts. ARVN control of the cities was essentially unchallenged, but whilst the Viet Cong remained a threat, Thai troops discovered a massive underground network of tunnels and had secured a number of intelligence documents which forced the Viet Cong to rework strategies. As concern continued to mount in Hanoi, it was eventually decided that the success of the revolution in the south depended on the involvement of the PAVN and a conventional campaign to unify the country. September 1969 saw the PAVN cross the 17th Parallel and annihilate the ARVN's advance defenses. As the PAVN advanced down the country, Bay Vien lost control of the capital to a VNQDD coup and was dragged through the streets by vengeful civilians, who tore his corpse limb-from-limb. Defeated on the front and chaotic in the capital, the Republic crumbled entirely. Viet Cong units rose up in coordinated offensives that were only barely fought off by Thai, Japanese and Malayan forces, for those same forces to be soundly defeated by People's Army of Viet Nam. Saigon fell to the communists in March.
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Chapter 40b: Every Sihanouk and Commie - Indochina (1945-1970) (Part 2)
Every Sihanouk and Commie: Indochina (1945-1970, Part 2)
Whilst the 1950s and 1960s in Laos and Vietnam were dominated by the activities of leftists, Cambodia was a less straightforward case, made particularly complicated by the continuous oscillation of Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk between leftist and rightist forces in his country. Precipitously hanging onto power in the post-independence period, his eventual fall from power would accelerate the polarisation of Cambodian society and lead to the turmoil of the 1970s.
Within Cambodia, from 1944 onwards a number of armed groups had formed to oppose the French attempts to reimpose colonialism on the country, going by the designation of Khmer Issarak. From 1944-1948, several of these Issaraks, particularly in Battambang and Siem Reap provinces (occupied by Thailand) were sponsored by the Thai government. These formerly Thai-sponsored guerrillas even included communists such as Son Ngoc Minh, Sien Heng and Tou Samouth. These guerrillas formed a government-in-exile in Bangkok. After 1948, with the Thai transfer of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces back to French control, several of the Thai-sponsored Issaraks dissolved or began to cooperate with the Sihanouk government in Phnom Penh with operated as part of the French Union. By contrast, Viet Minh-guided Issaraks coalesced into the Khmer Issarak Association and continued to fight against the French and the official Cambodian authorities. In the 1950s, the Khmer Issarak Association groups would largely develop into communist organisations.
After the Geneva Conference of 1955, the majority of the communist Issaraks exiled themselves to the DRV, leaving only a few bands behind to fight against the Phnom Penh government. Several rightist Issarak commanders, such as Dap Chhuon and Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey allied with the Sihanouk government in different periods, often against the leftist Issaraks. The significance of the different types of Issarak is a subject of dispute amongst Indochinologists. Whilst the exploits of left-wing Issaraks have been subsumed into the wider narrative of the communist liberation struggles in Vietnam and Laos, there is more solid evidence of rightist Issaraks having the key role in attaining national independence. Dap Chhuon was put in charge of the Siem Reap province by the Sihanouk government in 1949, until he was executed a year later on the orders of American client President Lon Nol.
Meeting between Viet Minh and Khmer Issaraks
Communist Issarak commanders included Sien Heng, Long Bunruot, Son Ngoc Minh and Tou Sarmouth. Heng had become a communist relatively early, in 1945. He attained control of the communist movement within Cambodia after Son Ngoc Minh's departure for Hanoi in the mid-50s. Turning rogue, Heng allied with the Sihanouk government in 1955 and was the Prince's most valuable asset in suppressing communist activity. Long Bunruot had joined the Thai Communist Party in 1946 whilst studying at Thammasat University in Bangkok. One of the most active Khmer Issarak commanders, he continued to fight the Sihanouk government after independence. He would later adopt the nom de guerre Nuon Chea and take revenge on Heng, who was his aunt's husband. Son Ngoc Minh was one of many communist leaders who had temple origins. Originally a monk named Achar Mean, his alias was inspired by Ho Chi Minh and former Prime Minister Son Ngoc Thanh. Having joined the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) in 1945, he was the first Cambodian to join that Vietnamese-dominated organisation. Son Ngoc Minh was a founding member and first president of the People's Liberation Central Committee (PLCC), which was founded as a response to Chhuon's expulsion of leftists from the Khmer People's Liberation Committee (KPLC). Despite his enthusiasm for the cause, comments at Hatien in 1950 reveal his cynicism about the prospects of revolutionary war in the country: "revolution in Cambodia is almost impossible.
In 1955, with French relinquishment of control over Cambodia, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father in order to constitutionally participate in politics. He was elected Prime Minister by a landslide. By 1960, with his father's death, Prince Sihanouk once again became Head of State. In 1963, Sihanouk forced the National Assembly to approve a constitutional amendment that made him Head of State with no fixed terms of office. Sihanouk followed a policy of "extreme neutrality" regarding the neighbouring conflicts in Vietnam. He allowed PVAN and Viet Cong forces to move through the Cambodian-Vietnamese borderlands and to supply forces through Cambodian territory. He also allowed arms shipments destined for the Viet Cong to be transferred via the port at Sihanoukville in exchange for Vietnamese purchase of Cambodian rice at higher than market prices. On the other hand, he also allowed South Vietnamese "hot pursuit" of Viet Cong guerrillas into Cambodia, although this was a rare occurrence, as well as allowing USAF bombings of less densely-populated areas. Many Cambodians resented Vietnamese incursions into their country, which was reflected in the 1966 election, which saw a strong swing to the right amongst the national electorate and installed Lon Nol as prime minister. Sihanouk was convinced that the People's Republic of China would eventually dominate the Indochina region and tailored his foreign policy around appeasement of what he saw as the future hegemon. The Prince is quoted as saying: "our interests are best served by dealing with the camp that one day will dominate the whole of Asia - and coming to terms before its victory, in order to obtain the best terms possible".
Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
When Lon Nol moved to halt the illegal sale of rice to the communists, soldiers were dispatched to the rice fields to forcibly collect the harvests and pay only the low government price. On 11 March 1967, whilst Sihanouk was visiting France, rebellion broke out around Sumlaut in Battambang Province when villagers attacked a tax collection brigade. Lon Nol responded to the revolt by declaring martial law. Upon his return, Sihanouk ordered the arrest of the leaders of the so-called "counter government", leftists Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon and Hu Nim, all of whom escaped into the northeast. Sihanouk also had many of the Chinese middlemen involved in the illegal rice trade arrested, raising government revenues and placating the conservatives. Typical of Sihanouk's balancing act policies, Lon Nol was forced to resign and the Prince named new leftists to the government to balance against the conservatives. The Battambang Revolt spurred Sihanouk to reevaluate his relationship with the communists, and he would later reintroduce Lon Nol as his prime minister and restore normal diplomatic ties with the Americans. In 1970, Sihanouk would be overthrown in a coup by Lon Nol whilst the Prince was overseas visiting Europe, the Soviet Union and China. Anti-Vietnamese riots had rocked Phnom Penh, with Khmer mobs attacking the embassies of the DRV and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRGROV). On 12 March, deputy prime minster Sirik Matak cancelled Sihanouk's trade agreement with North Vietnam. Lon Nol gave the DRV an ultimatum that all PAVN and NLF forces were to withdraw from Cambodia by the 15th or face military action. The Vietnamese failed to comply. On the 16th, 30,000 youths gathered outside the National Assembly in Phnom Penh to protest against the Vietnamese presence. Lon Nol showed hesitancy at overthrowing Sihanouk until he was finally forced (at gunpoint) by Sirik Matak and three army officers to sign the necessary documents.
On the 18th March, the Cambodian army took up positions around the capital. The National Assembly unanimously invoked Article 122 of the constitution, withdrawing confidence in the Sihanouk government. Lon Nol assumed the emergency powers of the Head of State, whilst Cheng Heng took the actual position. This effectively marked the foundation of the Khmer Republic. 23 March, Sihanouk called for a general uprising against Lon Nol via Beijing Radio. Large-scale popular demonstrations calling for Sihanouk's return began in Kompong Cham, Taheo Province and Kampot Province. Two National Assembly deputies were killed by demonstrations in Kompong Cham on 26 March. On the same day, Lon Nol's brother, police official Lon Nil, was set upon by plantation owners in Tonle Bet and killed. The Cambodian army brutally suppressed the demonstrations, utilising tanks and live ammunition to disperse the demonstrators. Several hundred were killed and thousands arrested. In response to the coup, North Vietnamese forces intervened in Cambodia at the request of Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea.
PAVN and their Cambodian allies enter Phnom Penh
Whilst the 1950s and 1960s in Laos and Vietnam were dominated by the activities of leftists, Cambodia was a less straightforward case, made particularly complicated by the continuous oscillation of Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk between leftist and rightist forces in his country. Precipitously hanging onto power in the post-independence period, his eventual fall from power would accelerate the polarisation of Cambodian society and lead to the turmoil of the 1970s.
Within Cambodia, from 1944 onwards a number of armed groups had formed to oppose the French attempts to reimpose colonialism on the country, going by the designation of Khmer Issarak. From 1944-1948, several of these Issaraks, particularly in Battambang and Siem Reap provinces (occupied by Thailand) were sponsored by the Thai government. These formerly Thai-sponsored guerrillas even included communists such as Son Ngoc Minh, Sien Heng and Tou Samouth. These guerrillas formed a government-in-exile in Bangkok. After 1948, with the Thai transfer of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces back to French control, several of the Thai-sponsored Issaraks dissolved or began to cooperate with the Sihanouk government in Phnom Penh with operated as part of the French Union. By contrast, Viet Minh-guided Issaraks coalesced into the Khmer Issarak Association and continued to fight against the French and the official Cambodian authorities. In the 1950s, the Khmer Issarak Association groups would largely develop into communist organisations.
After the Geneva Conference of 1955, the majority of the communist Issaraks exiled themselves to the DRV, leaving only a few bands behind to fight against the Phnom Penh government. Several rightist Issarak commanders, such as Dap Chhuon and Prince Norodom Chantaraingsey allied with the Sihanouk government in different periods, often against the leftist Issaraks. The significance of the different types of Issarak is a subject of dispute amongst Indochinologists. Whilst the exploits of left-wing Issaraks have been subsumed into the wider narrative of the communist liberation struggles in Vietnam and Laos, there is more solid evidence of rightist Issaraks having the key role in attaining national independence. Dap Chhuon was put in charge of the Siem Reap province by the Sihanouk government in 1949, until he was executed a year later on the orders of American client President Lon Nol.
Meeting between Viet Minh and Khmer Issaraks
Communist Issarak commanders included Sien Heng, Long Bunruot, Son Ngoc Minh and Tou Sarmouth. Heng had become a communist relatively early, in 1945. He attained control of the communist movement within Cambodia after Son Ngoc Minh's departure for Hanoi in the mid-50s. Turning rogue, Heng allied with the Sihanouk government in 1955 and was the Prince's most valuable asset in suppressing communist activity. Long Bunruot had joined the Thai Communist Party in 1946 whilst studying at Thammasat University in Bangkok. One of the most active Khmer Issarak commanders, he continued to fight the Sihanouk government after independence. He would later adopt the nom de guerre Nuon Chea and take revenge on Heng, who was his aunt's husband. Son Ngoc Minh was one of many communist leaders who had temple origins. Originally a monk named Achar Mean, his alias was inspired by Ho Chi Minh and former Prime Minister Son Ngoc Thanh. Having joined the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) in 1945, he was the first Cambodian to join that Vietnamese-dominated organisation. Son Ngoc Minh was a founding member and first president of the People's Liberation Central Committee (PLCC), which was founded as a response to Chhuon's expulsion of leftists from the Khmer People's Liberation Committee (KPLC). Despite his enthusiasm for the cause, comments at Hatien in 1950 reveal his cynicism about the prospects of revolutionary war in the country: "revolution in Cambodia is almost impossible.
In 1955, with French relinquishment of control over Cambodia, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father in order to constitutionally participate in politics. He was elected Prime Minister by a landslide. By 1960, with his father's death, Prince Sihanouk once again became Head of State. In 1963, Sihanouk forced the National Assembly to approve a constitutional amendment that made him Head of State with no fixed terms of office. Sihanouk followed a policy of "extreme neutrality" regarding the neighbouring conflicts in Vietnam. He allowed PVAN and Viet Cong forces to move through the Cambodian-Vietnamese borderlands and to supply forces through Cambodian territory. He also allowed arms shipments destined for the Viet Cong to be transferred via the port at Sihanoukville in exchange for Vietnamese purchase of Cambodian rice at higher than market prices. On the other hand, he also allowed South Vietnamese "hot pursuit" of Viet Cong guerrillas into Cambodia, although this was a rare occurrence, as well as allowing USAF bombings of less densely-populated areas. Many Cambodians resented Vietnamese incursions into their country, which was reflected in the 1966 election, which saw a strong swing to the right amongst the national electorate and installed Lon Nol as prime minister. Sihanouk was convinced that the People's Republic of China would eventually dominate the Indochina region and tailored his foreign policy around appeasement of what he saw as the future hegemon. The Prince is quoted as saying: "our interests are best served by dealing with the camp that one day will dominate the whole of Asia - and coming to terms before its victory, in order to obtain the best terms possible".
Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia
When Lon Nol moved to halt the illegal sale of rice to the communists, soldiers were dispatched to the rice fields to forcibly collect the harvests and pay only the low government price. On 11 March 1967, whilst Sihanouk was visiting France, rebellion broke out around Sumlaut in Battambang Province when villagers attacked a tax collection brigade. Lon Nol responded to the revolt by declaring martial law. Upon his return, Sihanouk ordered the arrest of the leaders of the so-called "counter government", leftists Khieu Samphan, Hou Yuon and Hu Nim, all of whom escaped into the northeast. Sihanouk also had many of the Chinese middlemen involved in the illegal rice trade arrested, raising government revenues and placating the conservatives. Typical of Sihanouk's balancing act policies, Lon Nol was forced to resign and the Prince named new leftists to the government to balance against the conservatives. The Battambang Revolt spurred Sihanouk to reevaluate his relationship with the communists, and he would later reintroduce Lon Nol as his prime minister and restore normal diplomatic ties with the Americans. In 1970, Sihanouk would be overthrown in a coup by Lon Nol whilst the Prince was overseas visiting Europe, the Soviet Union and China. Anti-Vietnamese riots had rocked Phnom Penh, with Khmer mobs attacking the embassies of the DRV and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRGROV). On 12 March, deputy prime minster Sirik Matak cancelled Sihanouk's trade agreement with North Vietnam. Lon Nol gave the DRV an ultimatum that all PAVN and NLF forces were to withdraw from Cambodia by the 15th or face military action. The Vietnamese failed to comply. On the 16th, 30,000 youths gathered outside the National Assembly in Phnom Penh to protest against the Vietnamese presence. Lon Nol showed hesitancy at overthrowing Sihanouk until he was finally forced (at gunpoint) by Sirik Matak and three army officers to sign the necessary documents.
On the 18th March, the Cambodian army took up positions around the capital. The National Assembly unanimously invoked Article 122 of the constitution, withdrawing confidence in the Sihanouk government. Lon Nol assumed the emergency powers of the Head of State, whilst Cheng Heng took the actual position. This effectively marked the foundation of the Khmer Republic. 23 March, Sihanouk called for a general uprising against Lon Nol via Beijing Radio. Large-scale popular demonstrations calling for Sihanouk's return began in Kompong Cham, Taheo Province and Kampot Province. Two National Assembly deputies were killed by demonstrations in Kompong Cham on 26 March. On the same day, Lon Nol's brother, police official Lon Nil, was set upon by plantation owners in Tonle Bet and killed. The Cambodian army brutally suppressed the demonstrations, utilising tanks and live ammunition to disperse the demonstrators. Several hundred were killed and thousands arrested. In response to the coup, North Vietnamese forces intervened in Cambodia at the request of Khmer Rouge leader Nuon Chea.
PAVN and their Cambodian allies enter Phnom Penh
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Always good to see Cambodia in a TL .
From a quick appraisal this seems to have broadly tracked in line with the OTL.
.From a quick appraisal this seems to have broadly tracked in line with the OTL.
Always good to see Cambodia in a TL
From a quick appraisal this seems to have broadly tracked in line with the OTL.
Yeah, Cambodia has essentially been OTL this far, although that will change in the 1970s.
What do you have planned?
Happy to talk via PM if you do not want to discuss on your thread and are interested.
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I've pretty much decided that ITTL Saloth Sar will not be able to come to power, thus avoiding the worst excesses of TTL's Khmer Rouge, but that almost from the beginning it will be Vietnamese-aligned in a similar manner as Laos.
There will be a few fairly significant consequences of this, including China not having Cambodia as an ally (given that the Vietnamese-Chinese relationship essentially collapsed once the Americans had left). There will still be strong US involvement in Thailand, however let's just say that China's desire to expand it's influence in South-East Asia is going to be channeled elsewhere, to a few countries that aren't insignificant themselves. To tell straight away would probably be giving too much away, but I will answer guesses
That is a difficult proposition for a number of reasons.
The first point to consider is the traditional antipathy between the Vietnamese and the Khmer both at the time and to the present day. Although the NVA was instrumental in the Khmer Rouge 'winning' the Cambodian Civil War in an advise, assist and accompany role - by and large they remained at the best 'Cold Allies.' In fact there were reports / anecdotes that they had intermittent skirmishes with each from 1970 onwards.
The Khmer Rouge were radical Maoists and Year Zero is IMHO inevitable, unless your TL's Khmer Rouge are radically different and not having read all of your TL - I don't know.
So with regards to have a Vietnamese leaning Cambodia requires a bit of work and if you are interested please see my comments below:
Scenario One have the Khmer Rouge come to power and inflict their murderous reign of terror again. IIRC in 1976 / 1977 the newly reunified Vietnam planned an operation to liberate Prince Sihanouk, which involved an airborne drop at night in Phnom Penh and an exfil involving the Mekong River. I presume that he would then become the head of the government / face of the resistance and we may very well see a return of the Sangkum regime. Would be an interesting scenario to explore.
Scenario Two when the Khmer Republic was formed a key delegation led by Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak visited North Vietnam. There they met representatives from North Vietnam and Communist China who showed them the documents signed by Prince Sihanouk allowing the Communists to ship goods through their territory. At the meeting they made an offer that if this arrangement continued they would regard the overthrow of Prince Sihanouk as an internal matter and cease supporting the Khmer Rouge. Have the Khmer Republic take up this offer and we avoid the Khmer Rouge coming to power and would also be another interesting scenario to explore. Although this would probably involve Lon Nol's medical conditions worsening for this to occur.
Whilst those scenarios are pretty interesting ones of their own accord, I'd disagree at the unlikelihood of a Vietnamese client Cambodia for a number of reasons:
1) Whilst I agree that there is a lot of antipathy for the Vietnamese in Cambodia (as is often the case when one state is a lot smaller and weaker than the other, this is primarily one-way), there were also a lot of members of the Khmer Rouge (I'm using that term to refer to the Cambodian Communists as a whole, rather than just the Pol Pot and co. clique) that had close ties with the Vietnamese and hoped to gain Vietnamese support for their revolution, knowing that there wasn't all that much revolutionary sentiment amongst much of the population.
2) I would disagree that Year Zero was inevitable. In fact, I would regard it as more of an aberration than anything else. A good comparison is what German fascism would look like without Hitler. It would be very different, even if it shares some ideas. Cambodia would be the same without Saloth Sar, IMHO. And although those Khmer Rouge radicals will be around, ITTL they will be dominated by those they will characterise as "Vietnamese lackeys".
3) Simply because a Vietnamese-supported Communist movement will be in power in Cambodia, doesn't mean it's going to be popular. In fact, many everyday Cambodians won't be big fans of the revolutionaries. ITTL, the United States didn't send troops to South Vietnam and Saigon fell in 1970, not 1975. The DRV is thus more powerful than it was (simply by being bled less) and can afford to put more effort into securing Cambodia. Cambodia is going to be an interesting case, because in a lot of ways it will resemble the French period, simply with Communist trappings instead of European colonialist ones.
We're going to have to agree to disagree here particularly on points 1 and 2 and I have no intention to derail your thread.
Point three - is a given, but in the event that the US never intervenes in South Vietnam - why do the Khmer Rouge come to power? The Sangkum's policy towards North Vietnam was understandable in OTL, and if South Vietnam falls by 1970 I would expect a soft 'Finlandisation' to occur. All in all from your description it is the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea some 10 years before OTL.
With the coup that ousted Sihanouk going as per OTL, Sihanouk is going to be dependent on assistance from the Communists is he hopes to get back into power at all. That's going to be the major reason for the Khmer Rouge-lite coming to power. Of course that will have to be revealed in a later update once we get to the 70s
What about a map of the current situation?
A world map? Or of somewhere in particular?
Chapter 41: Bin Surega Yoranhada - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1955-1970)
Bin Surega Yoranhada: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 1955-1970
For more information about the establishment of the DPRK and the unification of the Korean Peninsula:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=7786930&postcount=49
AND
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8485910&postcount=56
===
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had occupied a unique position in the Asian communist movement. Situated on the North-East Asian frontline between the so-called "Communist Bloc" and Japan, the West's steadfast ally and democratic bastion in the North Pacific, Korea has often been torn between the two communist giants on its northern frontier: the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China. The political development of the country has largely reflected this contest of loyalties. Much like a teenager whose parents are undergoing an ugly divorce, Korea was often tugged between the two states engaged in their own rivalry, whilst attempting to forge its own destiny outside of the paternalistic shadow of its two great power patrons.
Whilst the DPRK was ruled since its foundation by Korean war hero and communist leader Kim Il-Sung, the bombshell dropped by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at the so-called 'Secret Speech' of the Twentieth Party Congress of the CPSU shook the foundations of his control. Throughout Eastern Europe, the local general secretaries who emulated Stalin and his style of leadership were toppled and replaced by reformists. Kim Il-Sung was the only Asian communist leader to experience this fate. Before he could calcify his dictatorship, the party he helped create brought about his downfall.
Kim Il-Sung gives victory speech to KPA troops in Seoul
In the summer of 1956, Kim Il-Sung was summoned to Moscow, formally for a diplomatic visit, but in reality to get a dressing-down from Khrushchev and the new ruling clique in the Kremlin. During Kim's absence, Pak Chang-Ok (leader of the 'Soviet Korean' faction in the Worker's Party of Korea), Choe Chang-Ik and Kim Tu-Bong (co-leaders of the pro-Chinese Yan'an faction within the WPK) and others devised a plan to attack Kim Il-Sung and expel him at the Second Plenary Session of the Third Central Committee in 1956.
Upon Kim Il-Sung's arrival back in Seoul, he continued his official duties ignorant of the forces aligning against him. When the plenary opened, he found himself under fire from several speakers. Choe Chang-Ik accused him of "perverting the Leninist principle of collective leadership" and of creating "distortions of socialist legality" (communist jargon for arbitrary arrest and executions). He also criticised Kim's concentration of the power of the party and the state in his hands, as well as ignoring the hunger of the Korean people whilst drafting Five-Year Plans. Yun Kong Hum accused Kim of crafting a police state. Sensing blood in the water, the members of the other factions frenzied. The domestic faction, which had been left out of the plotting, accused Kim Il-Sung of ignoring the need of the southern part of the country for reconstruction, as well as implying that he had embezzled Soviet and Chinese aid for himself. The Soviet faction accused the Vice Chairman of cronyism and of deviating from the principle of fraternal internationalism. Kim Il-Sung himself sat there quiet until given a chance to speak in his defence. Giving an impassioned and fiery speech denouncing those that would turn against him, he silenced voices that mere seconds ago had shouted him down. He cursed them for their hubris, claiming that he had done more for his country single-handedly than any of them had, and that to oust him would be to throw their nation to the imperialist wolves.
A silence reverberated throughout the speaking chamber. For a section, the leaders of the parliamentary coup were terrified. They saw on the faces of many of their acquaintances hesitation and shame. Sensing that this was his last chance, Choe Chang-Ik spoke up. "So what would you all do, then?". All eyes on the room turned to him. "Will you stand against him, like he so-often points out he did against the Japanese? Or will you lie down, will you bow as this tyrant throws you and all your sons and daughters into a labour camp, or worse? Do you really think that all of you who for hours denounced the Vice Chairman will live if you merely submit once again? He is not such a gracious man". Appealing to their fears proved effective, as Kim Tu-Bong, Chairman of the KWP, called a vote. Three-quarters of the plenum voted to arrest Kim Il-Sung. He was taken into custody, and ironically was sentenced to death in a kangaroo court.
Choe Chang-Ik, second Premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
With the fall of Kim Il-Sung, Kim Tu-Bong became the effective head of state, with Choe Chang-Ik the head of government. Kim Tu-Bong would pass away of natural causes in 1963, to be replaced by Pak Hon-Yong, who in line with the 1962 DPRK Constitution, was named President of the DPRK. Choe Chang-Ik, as a member of the Yan'an faction, was fond of Maoist China, but recognised that the Soviet Union could offer more to the DPRK's development needs, providing technical and industrial advisors by the thousands. Combining Soviet expertise with aid from both the USSR and China, the DPRK saw rapid reconstruction of the southern part of the country. Efforts were made to create a southern economy complementary to the north, focusing on light industry, as opposed to the heavy industry and mineral extraction activities that dominated the north's economic landscape.
The Korean leadership and the Mao regime in China shared close relations throughout this period, based on cultural and racial similarities, similar aesthetics, and recognition of the partnership between the Chinese Communist Party and the Korean communists in the anti-colonialist struggle against the Japanese. Reflecting this, they often sided with the Chinese on international disputes, occasionally even against the Soviet Union. But when it came to choosing a side in the Sino-Soviet Split, realpolitik prevailed. The Chinese had few advisors in Korea, and the security guarantee of the Soviet Union was worth more than anything the Chinese could give Korea. In 1964 construction began on a Soviet naval base on Cheju-do (Jeju Island), which was followed by the construction of a joint Korean-Soviet airbase on Koje-do, southwest of Pusan, close to the disputed Tsushima Island (Korean: Daema-do). That being said, the WKP has repeatedly denounced the Soviets during border clashes with the Chinese.
The Korean leadership also contributed to a number of national liberation movements in Asia, including supplying the North Kalimantan insurgents with armaments and the North Vietnamese with technical advisors and pilots. They gave support in the United Nations for the Chinese invasion of Taiwan in January 1958, as well as contributing commando forces to the Chinese side in the Himalayan War. Korean troops have also participated in a number of war exercises with the Warsaw Pact, even though they aren't a member of said organisation. This has mostly focused on large-scale infantry maneuvers and amphibious landings, considered the most relevant experience for troops, should a wider war with the West occur (which would likely involve a joint Soviet-Korean invasion of Japan).
Korean troops engage in Warsaw Pact military exercise in Romania
For more information about the establishment of the DPRK and the unification of the Korean Peninsula:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=7786930&postcount=49
AND
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=8485910&postcount=56
===
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had occupied a unique position in the Asian communist movement. Situated on the North-East Asian frontline between the so-called "Communist Bloc" and Japan, the West's steadfast ally and democratic bastion in the North Pacific, Korea has often been torn between the two communist giants on its northern frontier: the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China. The political development of the country has largely reflected this contest of loyalties. Much like a teenager whose parents are undergoing an ugly divorce, Korea was often tugged between the two states engaged in their own rivalry, whilst attempting to forge its own destiny outside of the paternalistic shadow of its two great power patrons.
Whilst the DPRK was ruled since its foundation by Korean war hero and communist leader Kim Il-Sung, the bombshell dropped by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at the so-called 'Secret Speech' of the Twentieth Party Congress of the CPSU shook the foundations of his control. Throughout Eastern Europe, the local general secretaries who emulated Stalin and his style of leadership were toppled and replaced by reformists. Kim Il-Sung was the only Asian communist leader to experience this fate. Before he could calcify his dictatorship, the party he helped create brought about his downfall.
Kim Il-Sung gives victory speech to KPA troops in Seoul
In the summer of 1956, Kim Il-Sung was summoned to Moscow, formally for a diplomatic visit, but in reality to get a dressing-down from Khrushchev and the new ruling clique in the Kremlin. During Kim's absence, Pak Chang-Ok (leader of the 'Soviet Korean' faction in the Worker's Party of Korea), Choe Chang-Ik and Kim Tu-Bong (co-leaders of the pro-Chinese Yan'an faction within the WPK) and others devised a plan to attack Kim Il-Sung and expel him at the Second Plenary Session of the Third Central Committee in 1956.
Upon Kim Il-Sung's arrival back in Seoul, he continued his official duties ignorant of the forces aligning against him. When the plenary opened, he found himself under fire from several speakers. Choe Chang-Ik accused him of "perverting the Leninist principle of collective leadership" and of creating "distortions of socialist legality" (communist jargon for arbitrary arrest and executions). He also criticised Kim's concentration of the power of the party and the state in his hands, as well as ignoring the hunger of the Korean people whilst drafting Five-Year Plans. Yun Kong Hum accused Kim of crafting a police state. Sensing blood in the water, the members of the other factions frenzied. The domestic faction, which had been left out of the plotting, accused Kim Il-Sung of ignoring the need of the southern part of the country for reconstruction, as well as implying that he had embezzled Soviet and Chinese aid for himself. The Soviet faction accused the Vice Chairman of cronyism and of deviating from the principle of fraternal internationalism. Kim Il-Sung himself sat there quiet until given a chance to speak in his defence. Giving an impassioned and fiery speech denouncing those that would turn against him, he silenced voices that mere seconds ago had shouted him down. He cursed them for their hubris, claiming that he had done more for his country single-handedly than any of them had, and that to oust him would be to throw their nation to the imperialist wolves.
A silence reverberated throughout the speaking chamber. For a section, the leaders of the parliamentary coup were terrified. They saw on the faces of many of their acquaintances hesitation and shame. Sensing that this was his last chance, Choe Chang-Ik spoke up. "So what would you all do, then?". All eyes on the room turned to him. "Will you stand against him, like he so-often points out he did against the Japanese? Or will you lie down, will you bow as this tyrant throws you and all your sons and daughters into a labour camp, or worse? Do you really think that all of you who for hours denounced the Vice Chairman will live if you merely submit once again? He is not such a gracious man". Appealing to their fears proved effective, as Kim Tu-Bong, Chairman of the KWP, called a vote. Three-quarters of the plenum voted to arrest Kim Il-Sung. He was taken into custody, and ironically was sentenced to death in a kangaroo court.
Choe Chang-Ik, second Premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
With the fall of Kim Il-Sung, Kim Tu-Bong became the effective head of state, with Choe Chang-Ik the head of government. Kim Tu-Bong would pass away of natural causes in 1963, to be replaced by Pak Hon-Yong, who in line with the 1962 DPRK Constitution, was named President of the DPRK. Choe Chang-Ik, as a member of the Yan'an faction, was fond of Maoist China, but recognised that the Soviet Union could offer more to the DPRK's development needs, providing technical and industrial advisors by the thousands. Combining Soviet expertise with aid from both the USSR and China, the DPRK saw rapid reconstruction of the southern part of the country. Efforts were made to create a southern economy complementary to the north, focusing on light industry, as opposed to the heavy industry and mineral extraction activities that dominated the north's economic landscape.
The Korean leadership and the Mao regime in China shared close relations throughout this period, based on cultural and racial similarities, similar aesthetics, and recognition of the partnership between the Chinese Communist Party and the Korean communists in the anti-colonialist struggle against the Japanese. Reflecting this, they often sided with the Chinese on international disputes, occasionally even against the Soviet Union. But when it came to choosing a side in the Sino-Soviet Split, realpolitik prevailed. The Chinese had few advisors in Korea, and the security guarantee of the Soviet Union was worth more than anything the Chinese could give Korea. In 1964 construction began on a Soviet naval base on Cheju-do (Jeju Island), which was followed by the construction of a joint Korean-Soviet airbase on Koje-do, southwest of Pusan, close to the disputed Tsushima Island (Korean: Daema-do). That being said, the WKP has repeatedly denounced the Soviets during border clashes with the Chinese.
The Korean leadership also contributed to a number of national liberation movements in Asia, including supplying the North Kalimantan insurgents with armaments and the North Vietnamese with technical advisors and pilots. They gave support in the United Nations for the Chinese invasion of Taiwan in January 1958, as well as contributing commando forces to the Chinese side in the Himalayan War. Korean troops have also participated in a number of war exercises with the Warsaw Pact, even though they aren't a member of said organisation. This has mostly focused on large-scale infantry maneuvers and amphibious landings, considered the most relevant experience for troops, should a wider war with the West occur (which would likely involve a joint Soviet-Korean invasion of Japan).
Korean troops engage in Warsaw Pact military exercise in Romania
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I actually have an almost-finished world map for 1972. Might duplicate it and recolour it to represent the situation at the moment, but I feel like that will be easier to do once the 1970s roll around. But we'll see. Patience
Sorry for not responding sooner to these great posts!
The nuclear accident post is truly fascinating, and this would definitely provide yet another reason for the US political system to shift on its foundations.
In addition to the emergence of an anti-nuclear constituency, would it be safe to say that general health and environmental concerns are more on the front-burner now? You've got this constant open sore of a fallout zone reminding the nation how important conservation is to promote general environmentalism. And you've got all these child-aged victims leading to an increased preoccupation with what we put in our bodies. For health issues, that's kind of the mentality we have today, and I don't see any particular reason why society couldn't start obsessing about it earlier.
At the same time, I would imagine the US operations in Southeast Asia are probably less controversial than IOTL. With no large ground commitment in Vietnam, air missions in Laos probably don't really seem like an escalation.
It seems pretty clear that without that US ground presence, the Hmong have nowhere to go. A criminal number were left behind IOTL anyway, and here we might have an actual genocide on our hands.
As for where China might extend its influence in Southeast Asia, well...there aren't really many countries left! Burma seems the obvious choice. And then you've got the island nations and Singapore. I guess my guess is Burma, but a China-aligned Singapore would be really interesting.
North Korea can only be better off without the Kims, though obviously this is somewhat evened out by the south not being nearly as well off as IOTL. Morally, I suppose you have to cheer for millions elevated out of concentration camp living in exchange for millions living somewhat closer to- but still on the happy side of- the poverty line.
I was a little confused about the tenses in the Korean chapter, as it shifted into the present tense, notably when talking about the Korean regime cooperating with the Warsaw Pact. Is this a hint that the communist bloc might actually survive ITTL, or was it meant to be the "present tense of 1970," so to speak?
Anyway, by 1970 it's looking a lot like east Asia is really not working out for the US. They haven't had a notable victory in the region since the surrender of Japan. Meanwhile in Africa, they've seen some success when supporting popular movements. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw more US support for African democracies in the coming decade.
Hopefully it will mean the US will switch to supporting popular movements in general, rather than backing unstable dictators.
The nuclear accident post is truly fascinating, and this would definitely provide yet another reason for the US political system to shift on its foundations.
In addition to the emergence of an anti-nuclear constituency, would it be safe to say that general health and environmental concerns are more on the front-burner now? You've got this constant open sore of a fallout zone reminding the nation how important conservation is to promote general environmentalism. And you've got all these child-aged victims leading to an increased preoccupation with what we put in our bodies. For health issues, that's kind of the mentality we have today, and I don't see any particular reason why society couldn't start obsessing about it earlier.
At the same time, I would imagine the US operations in Southeast Asia are probably less controversial than IOTL. With no large ground commitment in Vietnam, air missions in Laos probably don't really seem like an escalation.
It seems pretty clear that without that US ground presence, the Hmong have nowhere to go. A criminal number were left behind IOTL anyway, and here we might have an actual genocide on our hands.
As for where China might extend its influence in Southeast Asia, well...there aren't really many countries left! Burma seems the obvious choice. And then you've got the island nations and Singapore. I guess my guess is Burma, but a China-aligned Singapore would be really interesting.
North Korea can only be better off without the Kims, though obviously this is somewhat evened out by the south not being nearly as well off as IOTL. Morally, I suppose you have to cheer for millions elevated out of concentration camp living in exchange for millions living somewhat closer to- but still on the happy side of- the poverty line.
I was a little confused about the tenses in the Korean chapter, as it shifted into the present tense, notably when talking about the Korean regime cooperating with the Warsaw Pact. Is this a hint that the communist bloc might actually survive ITTL, or was it meant to be the "present tense of 1970," so to speak?
Anyway, by 1970 it's looking a lot like east Asia is really not working out for the US. They haven't had a notable victory in the region since the surrender of Japan. Meanwhile in Africa, they've seen some success when supporting popular movements. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw more US support for African democracies in the coming decade.
Hopefully it will mean the US will switch to supporting popular movements in general, rather than backing unstable dictators.
The Goldsboro incident will definitely give a greater impetus to nuclear safety, which will carry along to the design and construction of nuclear power plants to make them safer. Like you said, as well, it's reasonable to assume that there will be an increased preoccupation with consumption and therefore more of a preference for organic foods. Personally I'm a GM supporter, so you could consider this a bad thing, but since it also makes nasty stuff less palatable, it will mean a populace that overall eats healthier. Fast food in particular is going to be a lot less... uhhh... unsavoury than IOTL. Conservationism definitely gets a lot more support after Goldsboro, since it reminds mid-20th century Americans something they had largely forgotten: that their wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of their environment around them. The Progressives of course are going to be really keen on this, but within the Republicans and Democrats environmental concerns seem to be based more on regional lines than anything else. Highly-urbanised states like New York will probably be less concerned with environmentalism than states that take more pride in their natural features. Rural areas will probably see themselves and be seen by others as bastions of "natural living". This of course creates some dilemmas for modernism. Does technology really solve all problems or does it create more too? I wouldn't go as far as saying that it will make Americans Luddites, but there may be a certain resurgence of romanticism about the American past, wood cabins and non-wasteful Indians and all that type of thing.
Definitely less controversial than OTL. Americans don't mind a few pilots or army technicians going filibustering in exotic locale #617, as long as "their boys" aren't being drafted. If you ask most Americans in Stars & Sickles' universe where Laos and Vietnam were, they would have no clue.
The Hmong really got the short straw here. None are resettled in the United States, and they're essentially at the mercy of the Laotians and Vietnamese. Tragically, the outcome is likely to be an extended and unsuccessful low-intensity guerrilla campaign by the Hmong, who will be all but exterminated with no-one in the international community noticing or caring. Those that aren't killed are forced to carry identity cards that point out their ethnicity and what state has jurisdiction over them, but aren't given citizenship, passports etc. Basically it sucks to be among the Hmong. Unfortunately not everyone can be better off ITTL. *wishes there was a cry emoticon*
As for where China might extend its influence in Southeast Asia, well...there aren't really many countries left! Burma seems the obvious choice. And then you've got the island nations and Singapore. I guess my guess is Burma, but a China-aligned Singapore would be really interesting.
Shut up and eat your internet cookie. You've earned it
Burma is the area I was talking about, although it's quite possible that there may be a degree of Indian interest in the country as well... Not to mention how complicated the ethnic situation there is...A China-aligned Singapore would be interesting but I doubt it's likelihood. I haven't really decided what to do with Singapore to be honest, I'm thinking that the most likely outcome is for it to kinda be the Asian Switzerland it has been so far: happy to take everyone's money but otherwise not get involved. That's probably in the best interests of all the major powers' trade situation anyway.
Indonesia and the Philippines are also going to be areas where the Chinese seek to project power. Not that they will necessarily be successful doing so. ITTL, China in the 1960s is spinning a lot of plates at once, both at home and abroad, and frankly some of them are going to have to fall. Although their primary revolutionary strategy may change somewhat in the 1970s. Whether that is better or worse for the region is yet to be seen...
I've got to agree with you there. As far as I'm concerned, there were a particular alignment of circumstances which allowed the anomaly of Jucheist North Korea to exist IOTL. These were:
1) Historical Korean "hermit kingdom" experience (counteracted by interaction with the USSR, China, and the wider Asia-Pacific region)
2) The constant presence of US and hostile South Korean forces on the Southern border (less intense with US and Japanese forces over a bit of sea, however narrow that sea is)
3) The Kim Dynasty (obviously done away with)
4) Underlying ideology of Korean supremacy, which arguably is a consequence of or predates Japanese colonisation (counteracted at least partially by greater attention to socialist internationalism)
Basically, whilst South Korea isn't the bustling uber-modern place it is IOTL, there is a lot less wealth disparity and there aren't the excesses of the DPRK we all know and don't love. Still there is going to be a degree of DPRK hard-headedness when it comes to the US and Japan. The Koreans haven't forgiven Japan for the colonial period, and the government is more than willing to give the false impression that the US is supporting their 'lackey'/'pig dog'/*insert derogatory Korean slang and/or communist jargon word here* in a plot to return Korea to the Japanese Empire. After all, in Korean eyes the Japanese can't have anything other than ulterior motives, which strangles Northeast Asian diplomatic normalisation in the crib.
The Korean chapter is supposed to be written in the present tense of Stars & Sickles 2015. And yes, the allusion/implication is that the communist 'bloc' as it's referred to survives, but describing the international situation of the S&S 21st Century isn't going to be as easy as "the communist bloc vs the free world" to say the least.
Anyway, by 1970 it's looking a lot like east Asia is really not working out for the US. They haven't had a notable victory in the region since the surrender of Japan. Meanwhile in Africa, they've seen some success when supporting popular movements. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw more US support for African democracies in the coming decade.
Hopefully it will mean the US will switch to supporting popular movements in general, rather than backing unstable dictators.
Whilst you could say that East Asia hasn't been going well for the United States, you could say they haven't had that many big fights in the area either. Obviously you have the US inability to prevent the fall of the Nationalists in mainland China and then Taiwan (one big loss or a big one and a little one, depending how you're counting), Korea kinda slipping away whilst they were distracted, which doesn't concern them and their core interests, and Indochina, where a limp-dicked response by the US hasn't been able to contain determined North Vietnamese attempts to dominate former French Indochina. North Kalimantan was really more of a British/Commonwealth problem than American, and whilst the British lost North Kalimantan to a pro-Indonesian liberation movement, the British did suppress Chin Peng's guerrillas in Malaya, which is staunchly pro-Western. Thailand as well is the single most significant state in Indochina, which is a bulwark of anticommunism and very loyal to US interests (mainly because it gives them an opportunity to get a strong ally against the Vietname... I mean... against communism). Plus the periphery of the Asia Pacific region is allied with the US: Australia, NZ, Dutch New Guinea, Philippines. It could be worse for the Americans.
Also it shouldn't be forgotten that the US have allies in both Pakistan and India, so whilst they may not have a particularly powerful position in East Asia, South Asia is looking very promising. Whilst Dewey lost China, Jackson essentially won India. The US still has a pretty strong international position, with a decent relationship with Latin America and strong involvement with Europe, the "Outer Pacific" and South Asia.
Africa is an interesting one. By interfering in the Nigerian Civil War, the Americans ITTL have already got more directly involved in Africa than they ever have been IOTL. Furthermore, Africa is for both superpowers the "most distant battlefield". The premier Soviet ally on the continent, the Congo, is on an extremely long leash, and more than capable of telling the Russians where to shove it if they don't like Moscow's line. Meanwhile, the most steadfastly anticommunist countries in Africa are the Bight States, who're poised to become the Persian Gulf of Stars & Sickles, and the South Africa/Rhodesia-Nyasaland alliance, which the Americans have to be cautious about supporting as not to undermine their relationship with majority-rule states in Sub-Saharan Africa and touching a nerve with black voters at home. Africa presents something of a conundrum for both sides, especially with a greater number of significant local actors onstage. That's only going to increase in the 70s and 80s.
By the way Expat, thanks again for commenting. Always great to see feedback and engagement by readers, and you and xt828 not only give plenty of that but actually active assist me in improving this timeline. Once I complete this TL and hopefully turn it into an e-book, you two especially are going to get a special thanks. Much appreciated