1. The beginning.
I've been thinking about this small experiment for the last two weeks, and finally, after hesitating a bit, here you have this first bit of a not to lengthy exploration of this what if (what if Franco had joined the USA in Vietnam). I hope it's not too ASB.
1. The beginning.
When Lyndon Baines Johnson began his search for allies after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, one of the of most improvable and, at the same time, most likely, was Francisco Franco, who, by then, had been directing the fate of Spain for the last twenty nine years with the help of his wits, cunning and "the Grace of God".
Known for his hatred towards anything that smelled to Communism, Franco answered with his habitual calm to the first request made by the White House, pointing out at the troubles that fighting a guerrilla war meant. However, in spite of his reluctance to take part in the brewing conflict, when Johnson pressed Franco again asking him to contribute a military contingent to the war effort, the Spanish dictator, that had resisted Hitler's charm in Hendaya, gave in (1). Perhaps the influence of his Minister of the Army, General Muñoz Grandes (2), and his pro-US stance played some role in Franco's final decision. Perhaps it was Franco's hatred towards Communism. Whatever the cause, by joining Johnson, Franco settled his fate.
Muñoz Grandes had close contacts with the US military, and had negotiated agreements with Washington. He saw Spanish participation in the war as an opportunity to further strengthen ties with the United States. But Franco was even more cautious in committing himself to the US cause than he was about Hitler's. In the end, he finally decided to send a medical team which were destined to the Truong Cong Dinh hospital in the Go Gong district, about 45 kilometers from the capital, Saigon (3).
It was late August 1965 (4) when the first Spanish medical team arrived to Go Cong, in the area of the IV Corps Tactical Zone (IV CTZ), hardly a few days after the end of Operation Starlite, the first US major action in Vietnam. They were to be followed, in October, by twenty-five Army engineers. Based at My Tho, the capital of Dinh Toung Province, these engineers were engaged in reconstruction projects, such as road and bridge building. The first Spanish combat troops were to arrive later on (December 11th, 1965, just six days after Operation Tiger Hound began to interdict the flow of supplies through the Ho Chi Minh Trail).
(1) Here you have the POD.
(2) The first commander of the Blue Division in Russia.
(3) That's true. From 1966 to 1971 nearly 100 Spaniards worked at the hospital of Go Gong, even if the activities of those soldiers were kept under secret and the first book about them was not published in Spain until 2006.
(4) IOTL, this event took place in September 1966.
1. The beginning.
When Lyndon Baines Johnson began his search for allies after the Gulf of Tonkin incident, one of the of most improvable and, at the same time, most likely, was Francisco Franco, who, by then, had been directing the fate of Spain for the last twenty nine years with the help of his wits, cunning and "the Grace of God".
Known for his hatred towards anything that smelled to Communism, Franco answered with his habitual calm to the first request made by the White House, pointing out at the troubles that fighting a guerrilla war meant. However, in spite of his reluctance to take part in the brewing conflict, when Johnson pressed Franco again asking him to contribute a military contingent to the war effort, the Spanish dictator, that had resisted Hitler's charm in Hendaya, gave in (1). Perhaps the influence of his Minister of the Army, General Muñoz Grandes (2), and his pro-US stance played some role in Franco's final decision. Perhaps it was Franco's hatred towards Communism. Whatever the cause, by joining Johnson, Franco settled his fate.
Muñoz Grandes had close contacts with the US military, and had negotiated agreements with Washington. He saw Spanish participation in the war as an opportunity to further strengthen ties with the United States. But Franco was even more cautious in committing himself to the US cause than he was about Hitler's. In the end, he finally decided to send a medical team which were destined to the Truong Cong Dinh hospital in the Go Gong district, about 45 kilometers from the capital, Saigon (3).
It was late August 1965 (4) when the first Spanish medical team arrived to Go Cong, in the area of the IV Corps Tactical Zone (IV CTZ), hardly a few days after the end of Operation Starlite, the first US major action in Vietnam. They were to be followed, in October, by twenty-five Army engineers. Based at My Tho, the capital of Dinh Toung Province, these engineers were engaged in reconstruction projects, such as road and bridge building. The first Spanish combat troops were to arrive later on (December 11th, 1965, just six days after Operation Tiger Hound began to interdict the flow of supplies through the Ho Chi Minh Trail).
(1) Here you have the POD.
(2) The first commander of the Blue Division in Russia.
(3) That's true. From 1966 to 1971 nearly 100 Spaniards worked at the hospital of Go Gong, even if the activities of those soldiers were kept under secret and the first book about them was not published in Spain until 2006.
(4) IOTL, this event took place in September 1966.
