Rump South Vietnam?

so as South Vietnam fell apart the Ford Administration and US military believed that after the fall of Buon Me Thuot, a massive infusion of US money ($722,000,000) and maybe limited US troops to hold a rump Republican of Vietnam below the 13th Parallel, the American public was against sending military aid by 79%, 58% even objected to the limited 250,000,000 for humanitarian aid which did pass, the Armed Services Committee of the Senate left their meeting room and marched to the White House demanding the first face to face meeting between a Senate Committee and the President since Wilson was President and bluntly told Ford they would not give him a cent for military aid and they feared a bridge head of US troops to protect an American evacuation would lead to the US getting sucked into the war again

but could the infusion of cash or anything else save a rump South Vietnam during March 1975?
 
so as South Vietnam fell apart the Ford Administration and US military believed that after the fall of Buon Me Thuot, a massive infusion of US money ($722,000,000) and maybe limited US troops to hold a rump Republican of Vietnam below the 13th Parallel, the American public was against sending military aid by 79%, 58% even objected to the limited 250,000,000 for humanitarian aid which did pass, the Armed Services Committee of the Senate left their meeting room and marched to the White House demanding the first face to face meeting between a Senate Committee and the President since Wilson was President and bluntly told Ford they would not give him a cent for military aid and they feared a bridge head of US troops to protect an American evacuation would lead to the US getting sucked into the war again

but could the infusion of cash or anything else save a rump South Vietnam during March 1975?
What they needed wasn't cash, neither was it more weapons.
They desperately needed ammunition- no oil and bullets never helps when you have too many artillery and guns.
 
A rump South Vietnam that I was thinking of was making a semi-nation out of the large influx of boat people somewhere.
(the somewhere would, obviously, be important.)
 
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed:

  • The economy is in a complete shambles.
  • The military with several notable exceptions is in disarray, which means their ability to conduct a fighting withdrawal and eventually halt the North Vietnamese Army is problematic.
  • The infrastructure to handle the influx of refugees, this alone could break the embryonic republic.

From memory I believe there was a proposal by the French that had this as a model. However, the biggest flaw that I have with the solution is that it requires the North Vietnamese invasion to be stopped. Which requires intervention from the U.S, or external political pressure on North Vietnam. Essentially a level of political sophistication that the majority of South Vietnamese politicians did not have.
 
Not finished yet

Ky wanted to fight a holding action turn Saigon into Stalingrad while possibly finding an island bulwark. His government of national preservation would be far more democratic that the roc, and was offered support by Australia since withlam had been given the gate and semi free Indonesia.
 
Strange enough...

The strange thing is, in many South Vietnamese atlas and maps, Phú Quốc was not painted as Vietnamese territory! Also, few mentioned Phú Quốc as a possible last resort of RVN. I read one article concerning the fate of Phú Quốc when Saigon fell, it mentioned that some of the inlanders did fled to the Island in late April, and then use boats to flee there to foreign ships on 2 May 1975. Other sources said that Khmer Rouge landed on Phú Quốc on 1 May 1975, killing dozens, finally repelled by Vietnamese communists days later. It seemed that Phú Quốc was either controlled by ARVN remnant preparing to flee or not under controlled by anyone in the first week of May. Further investigations is needed to find out whether Phú Quốc is the last stand of ARVN, and whether it is usable as RVN's "Taiwan".
 
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