Duy Tan survives air crash

I'm not too sure if this has been discussed before, but if it has, then apologies.

It is 1945. The Second World War had just ended and the French are fighting to reclaim control of Vietnam from the Vietminh. The French -backed regime under the puppet Emperor Bao Dai is but ineffective and corrupt. In light of this, Charles De Gaulle asked Prince Vinh San (aka Emperor Duy Tan) to return to Vietnam to take over from Bao Dai. Remember that the prince was still quite a popular figure in Vietnam for having led a rebellion (which failed) against the French in the midst of the First World War. He was supposedly one of the few people who could provide an alternative to Ho Chi Minh's brand of nationalism. Unfortunately, he died in an air crash in 1945 in Central Africa on the way back to Vietnam.

Now let's say that the plane crash did not take place and Duy Tan arrives in Vietnam in one piece. How is this going to affect the politics of Indochina and possibly the rest of Southeast Asia at this point? I was thinking that it may still result in a North-South Vietnam divide but the South Vietnamese state this time may be stronger. I mean, that's pretty much assuming that Duy Tan does not make the mistakes of Diem and Thieu in the RVN period. What do you think?
 
This is a really great idea and one of those lost chances of history. I think the trope of "possible figure who could have prevented bad reality" is something we should record on the AH wiki.
 
I was looking at this as a possible POD for a TL I am considering with a pro west North and a communist South.

I too am considering doing a TL on this.

Anyway, I think that the communist North capitalist South division stays. Even before the Second World War, the Vietminh and it's predecessor the Indochina Communist Party were more active in north Vietnam. Chances were that thy would have had a greater degree of legitimacy there. Things could get messy if one tried to switch the arrangements, methinks.
 
I too am considering doing a TL on this.

Anyway, I think that the communist North capitalist South division stays. Even before the Second World War, the Vietminh and it's predecessor the Indochina Communist Party were more active in north Vietnam. Chances were that thy would have had a greater degree of legitimacy there. Things could get messy if one tried to switch the arrangements, methinks.

Not too many other fans of SE Asia on AH, PM and we can talk about ideas if interested.
 
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