The Dominoes Still Stand: A Cold War TL

[okmangeez]

The Dominoes Still Stand: A Cold War TL

By Okmangeez

Chapter 1:

At the end of the Cold War, the United States stood at the top of the world as the undisputed world superpower. To examine how the United States became the lone superpower, edging out their opponent and rival USSR, one must go back to the beginning of the Cold War and study the early events that defined the power capabilities and the role of the United States in the world.

On June 25th of 1950, the Korean War began with the North Korean invasion of South Korea. Despite several warnings of an imminent invasion, such as the rapid North Korean build-up on the 38th Parallel and the increase of Soviet military assistance in the DPRK, the United States was caught flat-footed as the military of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea swept the Republic of Korea's military off its feet. Within three short weeks, almost 90% of the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the invaders, with only the city of Pusan remaining under the RoK's control. The US rapidly deployed its forces into the Korean Peninsula to help its ailing allies after the UN agreed to partake in the Korean War by assisting South Korea (UN Resolution 82). With the UN agreeing to assist the US's endeavor, the United Nations requested America to select a commander to lead the UN forces. There was some debate over who would be the leading commander, but the majority of the Joint Chief of Staffs agreed that Omar Bradley, the lone remaining General of the Army and military commander over Japan, would serve the role well. As a result, Omar Bradley became the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Command (UNCOM) and immediately began to deploy US ground forces into Pusan [1].

By the end of August, nearly 120,000 US soldiers would take a position on the Pusan Perimeter, supported by hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces, 15,000 additional UN soldiers, and around 50,000 Republic of Korea soldiers. The UN forces outnumbered the Korean People's Army's forces heavily, with around 240,000 UN soldiers facing 100,000 KPA soldiers. Additionally, the KPA was critically lacking in supplies, air support, and armor as their failed assaults on the Pusan Perimeter resulted in the loss of carefully hoarded equipment and American air assaults cut the supply lane to a trickle. After much consideration, Bradley believed that the best course of action was to continue the air assaults to whittle down North Korean forces, break out of the Pusan Perimeter, and attempt a small amphibious landing at the port city of Wonsan in order to cut off retreating North Korean forces [2]. On September 1st of 1950, the UN forces began their counterattack out of Pusan, assaulting the city of Kumi with relative ease and taking the city. At the same time, hundreds of American bombers and fighters struck strategic supply hubs in Inchon, Seoul, Kaesong, and Taejon. These air attacks would hamper with the KPA's ability to resupply and would leave the KPA forces stuck in the southern end of Korea in a vulnerable spot that the UN forces would exploit. The UN forces would rapidly advance and cut through the KPA resistance for an entire week before a new theater opened in the Korean War.

On September 10th, the US 1st Marine Division, numbering at 12,000 strong, and 8,000 soldiers of the 3rd ROK Infantry Division landed at the town of Wonsan after a massive air bombardment. Despite fierce resistance from the garrison forces within the city, the attack took the KPA by complete surprise, as the front lines were still hundreds of miles away from the town. As a result, the amphibious invasion successfully secured the port city and thousands of additional UN forces began to reinforce the town to assault North Korea proper. This sudden naval invasion, although not totally unexpected, threw the KPA leadership in a loop. It is rumored that Kim Il-Sung, on hearing that the Americans and South Koreans landed at Wonsan, slammed his fist on his desk and yelled, "We were supposed to roll the damn capitalists in three weeks, not the other way around!" Regardless of the KPA's attempt to resist the UN forces at Wonsan, the defense fell into a disarray as the UN forces coming out of Pusan trapped a large chunk of the KPA in southwest Korea and the UN forces in Wonsan began to move southwards to Kumhwa to prevent any garrison forces in Seoul and Incheon from retreating. By the end of October, the KPA was completely crushed, Seoul was secured, and the UN forces had taken Pyongyang. Within just 4 months, the tide of the war had turned completely against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the UN forces began to set up a defensive line near the 40th Parallel Line in the case of a Chinese offensive, which Bradley believed was possible and hoped to avoid [3]. Although Bradley believed in Truman's "Roll Back" policy of removing North Korea completely, he hoped that by conquering the majority of North Korea and being non-threatening towards the Chinese, he could help the UN and China reach an agreement on the Korean problem. His move was very tactful and was a deciding factor in the eventual Treaty of Manila.

With the fall of Pyongyang and the halt of the UN forces at the 40th Parallel, the upper echelons of the People's Republic of China began to discuss a possible intervention in the Korean War. An emergency meeting was held from October 10th to October 14th in Beijing regarding the approaching UN forces and the imminent fall of North Korea. Most of the military leaders rejected the idea of entering the Korean War, citing that the PRC was still weak and was in no position to enter another war when the Chinese Civil War ended just a year before. However, Mao Ze Dong, the leader of the PRC, believed that intervening in the war was crucial to Chinese security and asked Premier Zhou Enlai, another supporter of intervention, to plead a case to the other leaders. Premier Zhou agreed to convince the leaders and debated with the other leaders of the PRC for two full days, insisting that intervening was necessary due to the fact that the UN forces could cross the Yalu River and invade China if North Korea fell. However, just as the Chinese Politburo seemed convinced of entering the war, news arrived that the UN had completely halted at the 40th Parallel (slightly more south in the west). To most of the Chinese leadership, this action was welcomed by many of the leaders who desired to avoid war and weakened Mao's case for intervention [4]. Mao was furious of the Politburo's decision to withhold troops from entering Korea and argued for intervention with some of the few remaining pro-intervention leaders. Due to his insistence and pressure from the Soviet Union, the PRC leadership agreed to send in 6 divisions (100,000 soldiers) into North Korea to help "defend against any imperialist aggression." These divisions were mainly seen as a token force, as it became clear that the UN forces were far too entrenched, well supplied, better armed, and held complete control of the sea and sky. Despite this, Peng Dehuai, the commander of the People's Volunteer Army forces in Korea, attempted a direct assault on UN positions despite being outnumbered and outgunned. The result was expected, as the Chinese forces suffered 15,000 casualties in a two-week long assault while the UN forces suffered a mere 800 casualties in the same time frame.

The Truman Administration, seeing victory right in front of them, was quite alarmed at the Chinese attack in Korea. When the attacks were easily repulsed, however, President Harry S. Truman believed that the US was in a position to dictate terms and requested for peace negotiations in Inchon. Initially, Mao rejected the idea and prepared to send in more soldiers into Korea. However, the Chinese Politburo and military leaders threatened to rebel against Mao's orders if he "needlessly sent in more Chinese soldiers to die." Thus, on November 3rd of 1950, negotiations between the People's Republic of China and the United States began. The negotiations were held in the city of Manila (initially, Tokyo or Kyoto was offered as neutral grounds, but was rejected vehemently by the Chinese) and went on for 3 weeks. Initially, the PRC demanded that the United States (in their eyes, the United Nations was merely a puppet organization controlled by the United States) to withdraw completely from North Korea and retreat back to the 38th Parallel. To counter this offer, the United States promised to withdraw all US troops above the 38th Parallel and declare all territory above the 40th Parallel as a De-Militarized Zone for 49 years but demanded the complete annexation of North Korea. China objected immediately and countered with a rump North Korea being established above the 39th Parallel line and a Demilitarized Zone between the 39th and 38th Parallel Lines. The United States continued to push its offer on the Chinese, and the Chinese finally caved in to sign after news arrived of another failed offensive on the solidified UN lines. Thus, the Treaty of Manila was signed by the United States, the Republic of Korea, and the People's Republic of China on November 28th of 1950. A day after the treaty was signed, Chinese forces withdrew from Korea and back into Manchuria. After confirming that all Chinese forces left the Korean Peninsula, all UN forces, excluding the RoK Army, withdrew south of the 38th Parallel line except a few select divisions to clear the rest of occupied North Korean territory. The remaining North Korean government and military went into exile in the USSR as the RoK and UN forces crushed the last resistance strongholds in Chosan and Najin.

On December 10th, the last North Korean stronghold in Najin fell and the RoK officially unified the nation under the government in Seoul. President Syngman Rhee, the first Korean president, was hailed as a hero by the Korean people as he managed to swiftly reunite the nation while limiting the death of Koreans (200,000 Koreans died during the six-month war). He would be considered the father of modern-day Korea, bravely leading the people against the onslaught of communism and reuniting the nation under his rule. However, the biggest boost of the end of the war was for President Truman and the Democratic Party. The slogan "One Free Korea" would become a popular phrase used by the Democratic Party to demonstrate that the Democratic Party was successful in not just containing communism, but rolling it back and wiping it out completely from Korea. President Truman would receive a huge boost in popularity as the war ended with minimal American casualties (5,000 dead) and the war ended in a major victory against communism. This wave of popularity and the boost in American prestige and power, combined with major American efforts and success in Europe, convinced Eisenhower to run for the Democratic Party. Despite Eisenhower's hesitation due to some scandals that Truman faced early on, Truman's success in Korea (with minimal losses) and diplomatic push against communism abroad, brought Eisenhower onboard. As a result, Eisenhower ran on the platform of fighting communism and corruption, using only force if absolutely needed. His popularity as a general during WW2, combined with the popularity of the Democratic Party, greatly changed the playing field of the 1952 elections [5].

On the opposite side, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China silently contemplated the losses they have suffered after North Korea's annexation. Stalin was furious that North Korea fell so easily and blamed it on the PRC for being indecisive and cold in "their communist brother's greatest time of need." This began the great Sino-Soviet Split as both sides began to see each other in a much more negative light. Meanwhile, Mao was angry at the other leaders of the Communist Party and blamed them for causing the American victory in the Korean War. The failures of China during the Korean War and the fall of North Korea would begin a long and bitter power struggle between Mao and opposing members of the Chinese Politburo. However, with the fall of North Korea, Mao began to gain more power and popularity amongst the people and leaders, claiming that if he had been able to lead the PVA, North Korea would've never fallen and the Korean Peninsula would be united under communism.

While all eyes were turned to the 1952 US Presidential Elections, a series of events began to unfold across Iran and other parts of the world as the next hopeful president of the United States would have another set of challenges...

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[1]: Major PoD: Douglas MacArthur dies during the Philippine Campaign (towards the end of the war as the US invades the Philippines) and Japan is treated like Germany post-war. Instead of a military government, Bradley is merely the commander over watching the occupation forces and making sure that a proper democratic government is installed. The Emperor is removed but freed from being tried. Protests do appear across Japan but are swiftly put down by the US forces as the democratic government takes power.

[2]: Bradley was a major opponent of the amphibious invasion of Inchon and believed that a slow and steady advance would result in fewer casualties and effectively destroy the KPA. However, he did believe that a small landing in Wonsan was still needed to cut off the KPA.

[3]: In OTL, Bradley was careful and believed that MacArthur's aggressive rhetoric against the Chinese would draw the Chinese into the war.

[4]: In OTL, the Chinese Politburo was convinced by Mao and allowed the People's Liberation Army to enter Korea and assist the North Koreans.

[5]: In OTL, Eisenhower ran as a Republican because of the Korean War, the 1950 Truman Administration Scandal, and the failure of the Truman Administration to "roll back" communism. With the American victory in Korea, it can be said that Eisenhower is much more open to accepting the Democratic nomination.

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AN: All credits go to theg*ddam*hoi2fan for giving me a great idea on writing this TL. I revised some previous works I had in my file and created this new TL.

So basically, the PoD is that MacArthur dies in WW2, too late to directly affect the outcomes of WW2, but change the course of the Korean War, and the Cold War itself. This timeline will not just be focused on Korea. It will inspect events all across the world and things will be very different as time goes on (as you can already see with the 1952 Presidential Election). The next chapter will be about the 1952 elections and the beginning of the Iran Crisis, both of which will go very differently ITTL.

I'm done with finals so I'll be spending quite some time brainstorming, researching, and writing out this time line. Hope you all enjoy!

Feel free to comment, ask questions, or criticize.

 

[okmangeez]

Chapter 2:

After the UN victory in the Korean War, President Truman began to focus on foreign issues, although domestic issues were still discussed. With the relative ease of the communist North Korea's collapse, Truman began to re-evaluate the NSC-68 papers he had submitted in April of 1950. The papers, which called for a rampant increase in military spending to edge out the Soviets in an arms race, seemed rather over the top for the victorious United States. As a result, Truman and his administration began to edit the NCS-68 in order to make the papers align with the new policies and goals of the United States. On February 10th of 1951, the new and improved NCS-69 was approved by President Truman in secret. Contrary to the NCS-68 that was written in 1950, the newly edited NCS-69 outlined a fair balance of the use of diplomacy and military in an attempt to roll back communism worldwide. Instead of advocating for just containment, the papers suggested that communism could be countered and rolled back through diplomatic (and if necessary, the usage of the military) means. The NCS-69 did call for an increase in the military budget, mainly for the sake of national security and the possibility of Soviet aggression in Europe or elsewhere. Originally, the military budget was set to triple, from $13 billion to $40-$50 billion. However, with the approval of the NCS-69, the military budget was set to only double to $30 billion [1]. The rest was to be used to expand the Marshall Plan to Asia, mainly Korea and Japan, and assist in the economic development of newly independent countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. This new strategy replaced the idea of "Communism Containment" and replaced it with "Expand the Free World."

With this mindset, Truman signed the Mutual Beneficial Act [2] on July 2nd of 1951. This act would provide $12 billion dollars in military and economic assistance to countries abroad in order to expand the free world. Despite opposition to the act by several prominent conservatives, notably Robert A. Taft, the act is approved by a wide margin of 270-91. The reason for this huge support is due to the rapid victory of the US in the Korean War and the popular support for the administration that pushed many of the Republican Party to support the joint effort. Additionally, the amount of aid was seen as a fair amount of aid to help the development of other countries, as the US budget was fairly well balanced and the expansion of the military budget was slightly curtailed [3]. This aid would mainly reach both Asia and Europe, as major US allies saw this act as a replacement to the Marshall Plan. The Mutual Beneficial Act would greatly aid America's allies in Asia, as the Philippines, Korea, and Indonesia used the massive amount of aid to build up their economy and modernize their military (Korea would receive more in military aid than any other nations save European ones, as they were directly bordered by both China and the Soviet Union). This would allow Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia view the United States in a much favorable light and would be a major factor in convincing these nations to join PATO later on. Europe also reacted favorably to this act and saw this as America's commitment to both Western Europe and the democratic governments around the world. A memorable moment of Truman's time in office would be his trip to Korea in October of 1951. After greeting RoK President Rhee and touring the rebuilt capital city of Seoul, Truman would give a speech to the audience, promising that America would protect its allies in any time of need and claim that "America will no longer be on the retreat, we will push forward together in order to create a free and prosperous world."

Truman's stunning victory in the Korean War brought a new rush of popularity for the president and the Democratic Party. Despite some scandals that surfaced in 1950 and 1951, these scandals were often forgotten and ignored by the public as they rallied behind the Truman Administration. President Truman's popularity rating shot to an amazing 85% in 1951, even higher than FDR's approval ratings during the Great Depression. Due to his popularity, people called for Truman to run for a third term, as the 22nd Amendment did not apply to him since he was in office when the amendment took effect. However, despite a widespread support for a third term, Truman declined and, once again, requested that Dwight D. Eisenhower, famed WW2 General and close collaborator with the FDR and Truman administration, to run as a candidate for the Democratic Party. Eisenhower had some reservations of jumping aboard the Democrat ticket before but after the victory in the Korean War, these reservations were mainly erased and Eisenhower graciously accepted Truman's offer. With the announcement that Eisenhower would run as a Democrat, the American political landscape was completely shaken as both parties began to plan for the upcoming 1952 presidential election.

Eisenhower carried on Truman's policies to the primaries and argued for the idea of "Free World Expansion." In his views, the Truman Administration's approach in the Korean War was the best one, which allowed minimal casualties and the smooth reunification of Korea. Pushed by the Democratic political machine, "Ike" stood nearly unopposed in the Democratic Convention and was seemingly invincible. Since Ike was running as a Democrat, politicians that were rumored to run for the presidency, such as Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson and Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, stayed out of the primaries and Ike easily became the Democratic candidate for the presidential elections. Since Eisenhower's more liberal approach to foreign relations and civil rights forced the Democratic Party to choose Lyndon B. Johnson, a rookie senator from Texas, to be his running mate, thus appealing to both progressive and conservative voters. The Eisenhower-Johnson ticket was seen as a well-balanced duo and attracted much attention from the nation. On the Republican side, the Republican Convention nominated Thomas E. Dewey, the Governor of New York that had lost against Truman in 1948. As it became clear that Ike would run as a Democrat, the Republican Party scrambled through the ranks to find a candidate that could possibly defeat him. The most obvious choice became Dewey, an experienced candidate that had lost the presidential election twice and wielded significant influence in the Republican Party. Despite his repeated losses in previous elections, the GoP and its voters believed that his experience in elections would allow him to avoid his previous blunders and pull off a victory against the inexperienced Eisenhower. In addition to this, Robert A. Taft, the other major candidate for the Republican Party, was seen as too conservative and out of the touch with the policies of the Untied States to be an effective candidate. As a result, Dewey pulled ahead and received the nomination in order to duel against Eisenhower and Johnson. For his running mate, Dewey had no major preference, though he did show some interest in having Earl Warren, the governor of California, as his running mate again. However, the Republican Party officials rejected this notion, believing that Warren was too old and that the voters did not desire to see a repeat of the 1948 elections. Due to this, Richard Nixon was chosen to be the Vice Presidential candidate and the race towards the White House began.

Dewey, unlike his last presidential run, was much more aggressive towards Eisenhower and constantly pointed out how Eisenhower was inexperienced in politics and never held an elected position. He also criticized the Truman Administration for the scandals that were kept under wrap mainly due to the victory in Korea. Dewey directly challenged Ike, questioning his legitimacy as a candidate for the presidency "because the presidency isn't just ordering people around" and belittling Eisenhower's stance against corruption and communism when his own party was "riddled with corruption." The GoP candidate also attacked the so-called Truman Policy of "Expanding the Free World," claiming that if the United States was irritating and provoking the Soviet Bear and that the rhetorics of the policy would ignore already democratic nations and US allies to fall under communism, citing Latin America as an example. However, Eisenhower responded quickly, claiming that Dewey's claims were baseless and that he had worked closely with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Truman on many key issues regarding the government. Additionally, Ike emphasized the success of the Truman Policy in Korea and the rising support of the United States abroad from both countries in Europe and Asia due to US aid and support. Eisenhower denied Dewey's claim that America was leaving its old allies behind and promised to have a balanced approach towards expanding the free world and aiding US allies in times of need, with the main focus on Latin America. Public support was already highly in favor of Eisenhower and the margin between Ike and Dewey grew when it was revealed that Nixon was supposedly taking bribes from wealthy donors. Although Nixon managed to salvage his career and vice president candidacy due to his effective "Checkers Speech," the damage was done and Dewey's ridicule of Democratic corruption was not taken seriously by the public, who viewed that the accusations were hypocritical.

Two main issues would be brought up during the election period which was mainly focused in the Middle East. The first was the Iranian Crisis, in which the Imperial Kingdom of Iran faced off against the British after the Iranian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Company and attempted to negotiate with the British in order to put Iran on equal terms with Britain in terms of benefiting from the oil production. Britain was staunchly against the nationalization and completely embargoed oil from Iran, refusing to negotiate new terms and demanding that Iran reverses its policies. This became a key issue as both countries were hotly contested against each other, though it was clear that Iran and the Iranian people were suffering from the embargo and the British blockade of Iranian ports. Dewey supported the British in their endeavors and believed that Iran should accept a slightly revised deal, as Dewey believed that Britain should come first due to their strong alliance with the United States. However, Ike took a very different stance and support Truman's policies towards the crisis by supporting a mediated agreement that would benefit both sides. He claimed that the embargo was only eroding the democracy within Iran and destabilizing the already fragile state. "If the United States is to be the leader of the free world, it can not favor one nation over another. Great Britain is our closest ally, but we can not deny that Iran and the Iranian people are resisting for equality." Eisenhower also argued that a stable and democratic Iran would be a crucial ally in the Middle East to help the existence of Israel. American voters were mostly split on the issue, but Britain was rather cold towards Eisenhower's remarks, with Churchill famous saying, "That damned egghead is favoring the uncivilized people over its staunchest ally."

The second issue was primarily around Egypt. Egypt experienced a major political revolution in 1952, as the monarchy was overthrown and was replaced with a military government led by the Free Officers movement. The movement was largely supported by the United States and the Soviet Union, though was greatly opposed by Britain and France. The new prime minister of Egypt, Mohammed Naguib, had appealed to both the United States and the Soviet Union for aid on developing and establishing a democratic nation within Egypt, which was faced with stiff opposition from other officers, including Deputy Prime Minister Gamal Nasser. President Truman authorized for aid to carry into Egypt and assist Naguib in negotiating with the Revolution Command Council (RCC) to allow a gradual democratic state to emerge from the revolution. Despite the promised aid from the United States, Naguib was relying on the next administration to carry on Truman's promises and aid the newly formed government in order to have any chances of having a democratic Egypt. Dewey struck first, claiming that the United States had no business in Egypt and should be focusing on other allies instead of spending millions in aid to Egypt. Additionally, he cited that assisting Egypt would mean going against the will of the British and French government, as the new government was nationalistic and it was inevitable for the nationalization of the Suez Canal would occur. Eisenhower masterfully countered by arguing that the Soviet Union would impose its influence upon Egypt, with only the United States standing between a free Egypt and a communist one. Ike proclaimed that Egypt and Iran were the first steps in the Truman Policy of expanding the free world and that aiding the Egyptian prime minister and helping the government give power to the people should be a priority. Additionally, an Egypt that was democratic and friendly to the United States would help ease the tensions between the Arab countries and Israel and possibly even help the other Arab countries to be less hostile to the Jewish state.

All eyes turned to Election Day, as the fate of the United States and other countries was handed over to the ballot boxes. In the end, it was Eisenhower and Johnson who prevailed, with Eisenhower winning 384 electoral votes while Dewey won only 147. Dewey carried all the Pacific states (California, Washington, Oregon), New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, and Connecticut. In the end, Eisenhower's popularity, Truman's success in the Korean War, and the rapidly improving economy allowed the Democratic Party to win a landslide victory. Eisenhower's victory consolidated Democratic dominance in the White House and a streak of 24 consecutive years of a Democrat in the White House. Some Republicans feared that the Republican Party would never take by the White House and even began to claim that the Democratic Party was setting up a dictatorship, as the Congress also went to the Democrats. However, Ike promised to work with the Republicans and settle key issues that the two parties conflicted in. After it became known that Eisenhower won the elections, some nations sighed in relief while other nations gnashed their teeth in frustration.

A new era of the United States begun as Eisenhower took his oath of office on January 23rd of 1953. The Eisenhower Era officially begun.

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[1]: This was mainly because the Korean War ended early and in a rapid American victory. With an air of confidence and the victory against communism, the Truman Administration believes that the Roll Back policy would work better than a Containment policy.

[2]: In OTL, this was called the Mutual Security Act and the economic portion of the Act was never approved by Congress.

[3]: This is contrary to OTL, where the prolonged Korean War resulted in a government deficit and massive expansion of the military budget. The Mutual Security Act in OTL was only worth $7.5 billion, with $6 billion going into military development instead of economic development. ITTL, the two are balanced as both military and economic development is at $6 billion each.

 

[okmangeez]

Chapter 3:

Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, began implementing his campaign promises and goals immediately after taking office. As promised, Eisenhower fully pushed for a new aid package to send to Egypt, worth around $100 million on February 26th of 1953. The aid was a message to confirm that the United States would assist the new Egyptian government and boosted confidence in the RCC's power over the new Egyptian government. Prime Minister Mohammed Naguib would prove to be extremely friendly to the United States government and managed to convince the Revolution Command Council to write a new constitution that would slowly develop a democratic Egypt. With the approval of the RCC and the United States, Naguib would declare a military government for three years in order to reform the government and write a new Constitution, which would be finished by 1955. However, Prime Minister Naguib would play off both the United States and the Soviet Union to receive funding to develop Egypt. When the Soviet Union became aware of the United States' commitment to Egypt, the Soviet Union began to slowly and discreetly send aid to Egypt, even promising military equipment in the future. The United States would not discover the ties between Egypt and the Soviet Union until decades later, but by then, the situation in Egypt had changed dramatically. In addition to Egypt, Ike rejected Britain's request to initiate a coup d'etat on Iran and contacted the Mosaddegh government in Iran to negotiate an end to the British embargo of Iranian oil, as it was having a disastrous effect on the Iranian economy and people. Despite Churchill's insistence and objections against Ike's decision, he reluctantly agreed to begin negotiations with the Iranians after it became strictly clear that the United States government, in no way shape or form, would support the British in their coup against Mosaddegh. In a phone call with the Prime Minister of Britain, Ike flatly told the British WW2 hero, "The United States will not support any subersive actions in Iran."

In the end, the United States was able to mediate an agreement between Britain and Iran, the famous Alexandrian Deal. The treaty stated that the profit from the sale of oil would be split 50/50 evenly for both countries. In addition to this, it was agreed that the Abadan Refinery would still remain in the hands of the British, but the extraction of oil would be done by Iranians and controlled by Iranians. Prime Minister Mosaddegh would make that last request in order to make sure that Iranian-trained and skilled workers would be able to work the oil refineries and fields if the British attempted to embargo and leave Iran in the future, as the sudden departure of the British Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) resulted in a massive drop in oil production as all the engineers and workers were British. However, because the United States assisted Iran, the Ike Administration subtly warned the Iranian government that although they supported a democratic and free Iran, they would not support a communist controlled Iran at all. This would result in the famous Tudeh Crackdown, as Mosaddegh would order a ban on the Tudeh Party and work with other major parties to exterminate the communists. Despite the Alexandrian Deal being supported by many Americans and other minor countries such as Egypt, it would be seen as a sticking point for Britain and even France, as the two staunch American allies began to believe that America was abandoning its European allies and focusing elsewhere. This deal would cause a small drift between Britain and the United States but was not a major turning point in relations between the two Anglo countries.

Another major international event that occurred was the sudden death of Josef Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, on March 2nd of 1953. It was rumored that he was assassinated by his own party members, but nothing was confirmed. The only thing that was known was that Stalin died in his sleep and was replaced with Georgy Malenkov, a Stalinist that Stalin groomed to become his successor. As he was made the Premier of the Soviet Union, it became evidently clear that Malenkov was much more approachable and open to the nations of the West. Despite being trained by Stalin himself, Malenkov had a much more Western-orientated mind and seemed more open to diplomatic dialogue. Ike believed that the chance to negotiate with the Soviets had finally opened and maintained constant contact with the new Soviet leader in order to ease relations between the two countries and also to prevent any chances of escalation between the two super powers. Despite his more friendlier approach with the West, Malenkov was still a staunch communist and ordered the suppression of the East German Uprising that occurred in June of 1953. Ike would that the Soviets let the people vote for themselves, but Malenkov refused and countered by saying that the people of East Germany were completely satisfied with the communist administration. Even after the East German Uprising, Eisenhower came into an agreement with Malenkov over several key issues, mainly nuclear weapons, and signed a secret agreement to prevent a nuclear arms race and keep the Cold War from turning hot by establishing a "hotline" between the two countries to make sure that they could be in constant contact with each other at all times.

In Europe, Ike reaffirmed America's commitment to NATO, transferring several air wings to Germany and continuing the aid promised by his predecessor. Despite the conflict of interest between the United States and Great Britain, Britain was still friendly to the United States government and the United States still supported Great Britain when the latter nation exploded its first nuclear bomb on October of 1952. However, Churchill, wary of the United States involving itself in "British" affairs and intervening in major events across the world, silently began to expand the military budget of Great Britain in order to make sure that Great Britain would maintain a strong military in the case that the United States ever threatened them. After the Iranian Crisis ended with America pressuring the British to negotiate and threatening to block the blockade of the Iranian ports by force, Churchill believed that Britain could not always rely on American support and power. As a result, Britain would maintain a healthy percentage (though still a small percentage due to the severe costs of the war) of its budget towards maintaining a small, but a modern military that could project its power to the rest of the British Empire. On December 4th, Eisenhower would meet with Churchill and French president Joseph Laniel in the Bahamas to discuss matters of European security, but also discuss the establishment of a Pacific-based alliance to protect key US allies in the Pacific. Truman had once suggested such an alliance, due to Korea's strategic placement in Asia, but the idea was never implemented during his administration. However, Ike believed that a Pacific alliance would not only enhance security in Asia but also help begin the process of rolling back communism in the more vulnerable parts of Asia, specifically Southeast Asia. Churchill and Laniel both agreed with Ike's proposal, but both had demands due to their possessions in Asia. For Britain, Churchill demanded that the United States would not support any independence movements in British Malaya and respect Britain's possession of Hong Kong. These terms were agreeable to Ike, but Ike warned the British Prime Minister that if Malaya became independent, the United States would no longer be obliged to assist the British in Malaya, which Churchill agreed. Contrary to Britain, France laid out more comprehensive demands to the United States. Laniel, weary of the United States supporting minor powers and leaving its major allies in the dust, requested the United States support the French on "maintaining order in Indochina to stop the communists and allow a democratic, free Indochina to be established." At the time, Laniel and his administration had no intentions of letting Indochina to be released peacefully and was pandering to the new administration's "Expand Democracy" agenda. The wording by the French president was carefully crafted. However, Ike was reluctant to send in direct troop support into the jungles of Indochina but agreed to provide air and material support to assist the French struggle against the communists. Additionally, releasing France's rather weak position in Southeast Asia due to the Second World War and the continual struggle against communist guerrillas, President Laniel requested that the United States would also provide aid and assist with the development and democratization of Laos and Cambodia. Eisenhower agreed to help the two former French colonies by diverting funds away from Japan, which had recovered remarkably, and some from Europe. With this agreement, the Pacific Asian Treaty Organization (PATO) was established on May 1st of 1954, signed by the United States, the French Republic, Great Britain, Thailand, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand, with Laos, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Cambodia receiving observer status. This alliance would be based in Manila, and would primarily serve as a Pacific version of NATO. The main goals of the alliance were to prevent the expansion of communism out of China and expand democracy into the region, mainly Vietnam and Burma. The main critical zones of the alliance would be in Korea and Vietnam, as both countries bordered major communist nations, with Korea bordering both the USSR and the PRC. This alliance would secure America's power in Asia and unite a majority of the democratic nations of the world under two major alliances. This move would be vehemently opposed by the USSR and the PRC and it is argued that this is one of many reasons why Malenkov would be ousted from power in 1957. Shortly after the establishment of this alliance, the French narrowly avoided a defeat at Dien Bien Phu and managed to withdraw its troops from the city with the help of US air support and supply drops, as the US Air Force assisted the French on preventing a total encirclement of the city and allowed French forces to live on to fight another day. This battle would mark the beginning of a major stalemate between North Vietnam (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (controlled by France, administered by the Republic of Vietnam starting 1956).

Domestically, Eisenhower began to implement sweeping reforms and changes to the United States. Like his predecessor, Eisenhower would advance the Civil Rights movement further. Truman banned discrimination based on race in the military and in all companies contracted by the military and Ike fully supported Truman's action. In addition to this, the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, which ruled that segregation was inherently unfair and unjust, pushed Eisenhower to begin the process of desegregation throughout the entire United States. Despite this ruling, the South, a stronghold for the Democratic Party, refused to integrate minorities into white schools. Ike's own vice president Lyndon B. Johnson was initially against the idea of desegregation and civil rights. However, due to the pressure made by Eisenhower and the other members of the Democratic Party, in addition to his religious beliefs, Johnson accepted to make a case to the Southern Democrats and help introduce an official bill to end segregation. Appealing to Congress, Johnson cited religious text and anti-communism rhetorics. "The merciful and just God does not condone racial discrimination and segregation. Jesus met with a Samaritan regardless of her status in society and prevented his disciples from chasing her away. Is Jim Crow our answer to "Godless Communism?" How can we preach democracy and liberty when we do not have either for everyone at home?" His sharp and passionate speech resonated with the members of Congress and with the support of the Democrats (excluding the Southern Democrats) and the Republicans (who wanted the split between the Southern Democrats and the DNC to happen) passed the Anti-Segregation Act of 1955. This would be considered the first of several advances for civil rights for minorities and the bill was hailed the first progressive bill towards equality. However, the passage of this act had its consequence, and as expected, the Southern Democrats would break away from the party along with more conservative elements of the Republican Party to form a new party, the Conservative Party. After giving his rousing speech to Congress, Johnson ominously said, "We have just given up the South for two generations," which proved to be true just years later. In addition to this Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1954, as he reasoned that better highways would improve transportation between cities and also assist in evacuation efforts if war did erupt between the superpowers.

By 1956, Eisenhower's popularity was high and the boom experienced by the economy, as the United States was still relatively dominant in the world markets and nations in both Europe and Asia began to buy more American goods due to the rising living conditions of those under the "American Umbrella." Additionally, the rather peaceful relations with the Soviet Union, combined with America's dominance on the world stage, supported Eisenhower's policies and the so-called Truman Policy. Originally, it was planned that Earl Warren would run for the presidency in 1956 as the Republican candidate. However, this plan flew out the window as Warren was nominated for the Supreme Court (as a compromise with the Republican Party by Ike) and was no longer eligible to become a candidate. Additionally, Dewey refused to run again, as he was disgraced for losing the presidential elections three times, the only candidate in American history to do so. As a result, the Republican Nomination was soon wide open for anyone to challenge and it quickly became a race between Harold Stassen and Richard Nixon, both who were relatively unknown, young, and inexperienced. After a close race between the two candidates, Nixon gained an upper hand because the party bosses found him more favorable and Stassen was seen as far too inexperienced (more so than Nixon) and out of touch with the party platform. For his vice president, John W. Bricker was chosen due to his experience as a vice presidential candidate.

The biggest surprise of the 1956 election was the formation of the Conservative Party, claiming to be the "a party for Americans." The party was composed of conservatives from both the Republican and Democratic Party that believed that the two parties were moving far too much to the left and sympathized too much with the communists. Led by rookie Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the presidential nominee, and Alabama Senator John Sparkman, the Conservative Party pandered mainly to the Southern Democrats, claiming that the Eisenhower Administration was quickly moving "towards complete socialism" and had abandoned the conservative voters. The party also claimed that Ike focused far too much on global affairs and paid little attention to domestic problems, which was to some extent true. The Southern Democrats immediately broke rank and supported the new Conservative Party, while many voters in other states began to take interest in this new party. The platform of the Conservative Party was much more outspoken and sharp compared to the old and repetitive rhetorics of the Republican Party. This new party also appealed to many voters that were planning to vote Republican, as the Republican Party expected a huge loss in the elections. With Goldwater's sharp tongue criticizing Ike and converting followers, the 1956 election shaped to be one of the most interesting ones.

On Election Day, millions of Americans voted for one of the three parties and the results would forever change the dynamics of American politics. Eisenhower was re-election smoothly with 400 electoral votes, securing 28-year consecutive years of Democratic victory. Nixon managed to capture 78 electoral votes, capturing California, Oregon, the Dakotas, the Carolinas, and Florida. However, the biggest shock was the Conservative Party capturing 53 electoral votes, with the dark horse Goldwater taking Arizona, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisana, Mississippi, and Georgia. Eisenhower captured 31 million votes, with Nixon taking 16 million and Goldwater receiving 13 million votes. Even more shockingly, the Conservative Party took 10 seats in the Senate, which came as a huge surprise to both the public and the government. The Conservative Party, which was ignored by the two major parties, suddenly found themselves with a new major party that was entering the political arena. Although Eisenhower retained his presidency, he faced new challenges at home and new challenges that were slowly rising abroad...

 

[okmangeez]

Chapter 4:

(AN: Listen to this while you're reading this part

The beginning of the second term for the Eisenhower Administration would start off with a bang as an immediate crisis occurred in Europe. On May 2nd of 1957, the Hungarian people erupted in protest against the communist government and the protesters declared a "Republic of Hungary" in Budapest in front of the statue of Jozesf Bem, a Hungarian and Polish hero. Nearly 100,000 Hungarians were present as members of the MEFESZ (Union of Hungarian University and Academy Students) read off a "declaration of freedom" from the "oppressive puppet communist government that is controlled by Moscow." As the police arrived to arrest the protesters, the crowd began to sing the banned Hungarian National Song, constantly repeating a symbolic line of the song that would be the motto of the Hungarian Revolution; "This we swear, this we swear, that we will no longer be slaves." When the police arrested some of the civilians, the civilians began to disperse from the statue and moved towards the government buildings and police stations. By this time, thousands of other Hungarians have heard of the protesters and by the time the protesters surrounded the Parliament Building, the number of Hungarians had swelled to 500,000. One of the protesters at the Parliament Building climbed the flag pole in front of the building and ripped off the flag, proceeding to cut out the communist symbol in the center and placing the modified flag back on the flag pole. Protesters carrying the Hungarian flag would do the same, or wave the old Hungarian flag, as revolution fervor swept the capital. A Free Hungarian Party was declared as protesters marched through the streets, recruiting more civilians to the cause and surrounded government buildings. By the end of the day, most of the old communist flags were replaced with the old Hungarian flag with a hole in the middle. Peter Veres, a former politician and President of the Writer's Union, would declare that the hole "symbolized the heart that Hungary was missing after years of communist oppression."

Eisenhower was already well aware of the discontent and the possibility of the revolution by the Hungarian people. Against the advice of Dean Acheson, his Secretary of State, Eisenhower had allowed the CIA to make connections with Hungarian groups within the country in order to create an extensive network on liberating the Hungarian people in 1954. There were no major opposition parties or rebellion groups within the country but with the re-establishment of the MEFESZ, which was bent on removing the communist regime and establishing a free Hungary, the Eisenhower Administration found an ally that was willing to work with the United States to bring down the Hungarian communist party. Ike didn't send any weapons or military equipment into Hungary but provided funding and agents to spread discontent against the Hungarian communist party and spread the idea of a free government and revolution to towns outside of the capital city. Radio Free Europe broke through Soviet jamming to spread anti-communist propaganda and pamphlets were handed in secret by the MEFESZ to begin gathering supporters and protesters to fight against the communist party. The propaganda mainly emphasized on the brutal crackdowns the communist party carried out to any members of the opposition, as in Poland and East Germany, and the economic devastation caused by the corruption and inept abilities of the Hungarian communist party. The message would resonate with the public, who were tired and angry at the Hungarian Working People's Party, which would result in the massive country-wide chaos that would ensue once the revolution began.

On the second day of the revolution, protesters took down the Stalin statue that stood tall in front of a church in Budapest. Angered at the lack of response from the Erno Gero's lack of response to the people's demands and the attempt to use force upon the protesters resulted in more and more discontent against the communist party. Around noon of the same day, protesters would swarm the Radio Budapest building, guarded by the State Protection of Hungary (AVH). It was at this place where the first shots of the revolution were fired, as the panicked guards of the AVH began to ruthlessly fire on the protesters, killing nearly 30 and wounding dozens of more civilians. Soldiers and police officers that were sent to save the AVH ripped off their communist red stars from their caps and fired upon the AVH, allowing the protesters to capture the AVH guards that killed the civilians and capturing the station. Using the station, the members of the Free Hungarian Party would broadcast anti-communist messages throughout the entire country, declaring that the Republic of Hungary would guarantee freedoms and new economic opportunities that the communist party had never offered. Historians would argue that this broadcast would be just as effective, if not more effective, than the CIA operations in Hungary. After the broadcast, the entire country erupted in revolt against the communists and even the military and police began to side with the rebels. This would carry on for two more days before the Hungarian Working People's Party Secretary Erno Gero requested Soviet assistance in putting down the rebellion, as he had effectively lost all control of the Hungarian military and police.

Malenkov was hesitant of crushing the Hungarian rebels because the entire country was in revolt and if he authorized the use of force, it would cause even more backlash against progressive communists, other communist nations in the Warsaw Pact, and the West. However, the Politburo urged him to make a decisive action and Malenkov allowed Soviet troops to march into Hungary to "put down the radicals that have taken up arms against our comrades" on May 11th of 1957. Despite this move, the action was far too little and far too late. Erno Gero had already fled the nation after the Parliament Building was stormed by the protesters and Imre Nagy was placed in the leadership of the Hungarian People's Republic. Nagy called for an end to the violence that was spreading throughout the country and promised for reforms, but the Free Hungarian Party responded by declaring that "There will only be freedom or death." After Nagy's brief speech, Soviet troops entered Budapest and surrounding areas to put down the rebels but faced a motivated and a well-entrenched populace. Soviet troops were struck by guerilla fighters, as Hungarian rebels employed hit and run tactics on Soviet columns and destroyed tanks by halting the tanks with a variety of obstacles, such as trenches, wires, and even furniture to slow down the tanks and hitting them with Molotov Cocktails. These tactics were mainly thanks to several American agents that were deployed into Hungary to assist the Hungarians in their resistance against the expected Soviet invasion. During this time, as the rebels and Soviets clashed, several units of the Soviet invasion forces defected, such as Pal Meleter's armored division, and strengthened the rebellion. In the countryside, the Soviets had no luck in putting down the dissent as rebels would strike the Soviets and retreat into the vast countryside.

It was during this time where Eisenhower played a crucial role in negotiating with the USSR to pull Hungary away from the Soviet sphere. The hotline between the United States and the Soviet Union was in constant use as Ike and Malenkov communicated via phone calls and faxes. For two weeks, the two leaders of the world's most foremost superpowers negotiated and even argued over the situation in Hungary. The United States made it very clear that further bloodshed in Hungary would not be tolerated by the United States and the United States would respond economically and diplomatically. Military action was never discussed by Ike, but he placed the option on the table as the situation in Hungary deteriorated. However, Malenkov agreed to negotiate with the Eisenhower Administration and a show of willing to negotiate, withdrew all Soviet troops from Hungary and placed them on the border of the nation for the time being. Negotiations began on May 18th of 1957 in Stockholm as Acheson and Molotov negotiated the solution to the Hungarian Revolution. Molotov, a hardline conservative that loathed the United States, refused the creation of a neutral Hungary that was separate from the Soviet bloc, despite Malenkov's wishes for peace, even if it meant that Hungary went independent. Motolov believed that the fall of Hungary would lead to a ripple effect and cause communist governments throughout the Warsaw Pact to be toppled. As a result, negotiations were stalled for several days and the talks made no progress, as Acheson (carrying out Eisenhower's terms) demanded that UN observers were allowed into Hungary and a free election to be carried out throughout the country. After hearing of Molotov's refusal to negotiate, Malenkov withdrew the Soviet foreign minister and presided over the negotiations himself, which he accepted the offer from the United States almost right away. The United States guarantee that Hungary would remain neutral, even if it went democratic, placed the Soviet leader at relative ease and UN observers entered the country (the UN had already held an emergency session in favor of elections in Hungary by this time) three days later. After two months, the elections were conducted and the Free Hungarian Party (Would be made into the Democratic Socialist Party of Hungary) won the elections in a landslide. Imre Nagy, who had sided with the insurgents in the latter days of the revolution, was established as the president and a new government was formed.

These series of events would lead to the Politburo going fully against Malenkov, believing that he had betrayed the wishes of his successor and that he was a "traitor to the Socialist Republics." After Hungary declared a new republic Malenkov was arrested by NKVD agents on August 11th of 1957 and would be placed on trial the following day. He would be found guilty of treason, anti-communist activities, and accepting bribes from the West to weaken the position of the USSR. The Politburo would install Molotov, the foreign minister who stood against the United States, in power. The new leader of the Soviet Union would begin a purge of anyone that sided with Malenkov and shift the Soviet Union sharply away from progressivism. Demonstrations occurred throughout the Warsaw Pact after the Hungarian Revolution, but Molotov would brutally crush the uprisings with no qualms and would ignore the protests from the West. He would also cut the hot ine between the White House and the Kremlin, simply telling the American president that negotiations were over.

This would only be the beginning of a fundamental change in the Warsaw Pact and a new problem would arise as another part of the world exploded in September...

 

[okmangeez]

Chapter 5:

On September 22nd of 1957 at approximately 7 am, the quiet town of Dong Ha descended into chaos as members of the Viet Cong began to attack the town to "liberate" it from the Republic of Vietnam. Troops of the Republic of Vietnam would instantly respond and fight against the Viet Cong fighters, resisting furiously but falling back due to the unexpected attack and the lack of heavy equipment to retake the town. Shortly afterward, soldiers of the People's Army of Vietnam would cross the 17th Parallel and occupy Dong Ha. Within hours, President Nguyen Giac Ngo of South Vietnam would mobilize the military and inform the members of PATO that North Vietnam has crossed the proposed cease-fire border. President Nguyen, a rather moderate president who had been one of the leaders of the Hoa Hao movement in Vietnam, was a cool-headed, ex-military general that saw the invasion of North Vietnam as a chance to receive more aid from the United States and to reunite the divided nation. The president had been elected due to his rather moderate stance on religious freedom and his strong support for a peaceful reunification of Vietnam. Historians often credit President Nguyen as the man that prevented a full-scale American intervention in Indochina, mainly because he sought to prevent the North Vietnamese government from claiming that South Vietnam was just a Western puppet. On September 24th, an emergency summit was hosted at Saigon, with representatives from the United States, France, Britain, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand (Japan was excluded due to Article 9) arriving at the capital of South Vietnam to deal with the situation. By the time the summit began, the People's Army of Vietnam was well south of the proposed cease-fire line.

President Eisenhower himself personally attended the summit to support his ally in Saigon and immediately began to discuss with his PATO allies to push back the North Vietnamese attack. Even though he personally believed that the United States should intervene in Vietnam as they did in Korea, Ike agreed with President Nguyen's assessment of the situation. If the United States attacked North Vietnam with its own soldiers, the Soviet Union would not sit still and it risked a backlash from the Vietnamese people. It was agreed that America would provide air support and non-combat personnel, such as medics and engineers, but avoid sending combat troops into the jungles. Instead, America would support the Republic of Vietnam Army with equipment and supplies, with the two other major Western powers following the United States. Meanwhile, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand all agreed to send volunteers to help defend the Republic of Vietnam and train the soldiers of the South Vietnam Army. The summit also discussed the status of Laos and Cambodia, both still under French administration. It was agreed that both countries would be crucial to the victory over communism in Vietnam and both nations were brought into PATO as observers, with independence guaranteed after the war was over. These two nations would see military support by all of the allied nations and would become strategic allies during the Indochina War and beyond.

Meanwhile, the situation in Moscow was tense as Molotov sought to make sure that the United States would advance against communist countries no longer. He negotiated with China to open up a supply route directly into North Vietnam to support the People's Army of Vietnam in their struggle against South Vietnam and her allies. Mao Ze Dong, seeing that the Americans were now crawling towards China's southern border, agreed to send Soviet weapons into Vietnam and to also send important supplies, such as food and medicine, to assist the communists in Vietnam. This secret agreement was reached just days after it became clear that the cease-fire had been broken by North Vietnam. This deal would thaw the cool relations between Moscow and Beijing, as both countries came to a realization that the United States would completely surround and lay a siege on the two major communists countries in Europe and Asia. The first shipments would leave Russia and head towards Vietnam on September 30th of 1957, with the Chinese adding in food and supplies (while also taking some Soviet equipment to inspect and reverse engineer). In addition to this, Molotov made it very clear to the United States that any counter invasion into North Vietnam would be replied in force. China supported the USSR's position and began to move Chinese soldiers to the southern border, as Mao had not forgotten what had happened in Korea.

The United States would take these threats seriously, with Eisenhower claiming that North Vietnam had broken the peace and struck first. The USS Philippines Sea and the USS Essex would both enter the South China Sea near Vietnam as a show of force and to deter any potential intervention by the Chinese or Russians. The South China Sea would be a major point of contention as the Soviet Navy, aided by elements of the small People's Liberation Army Navy, would tail US ships in the area and constantly roam the waters to agitate the Americans. Despite this, there were never an actual direct confrontation between US vessels and Soviet/Chinese vessels throughout the Indochina War except occasional accidents. In Vietnam itself, the Soviets and Chinese did not directly enter, but there were many "advisors" sent into North Vietnam to assist the development of the PAV.

The first official battle between PATO and the PAV would be fought at the town of Da Nang on October 12th of 1957. Elements of the Republic of Vietnam Army, the Philippine Army, the Republic of Korea Army, and the Royal Thai Army engaged the forces of the Viet Cong and PAV in the small port town. Nearly 12,000 PAV soldiers and Viet Cong fighters faced off against 7,000 PATO soldiers. The PATO soldiers were disorganized and disjointed but managed to push back the offensive into the town. The key to the victory was American and French air support from various air bases and the carriers off the coast of Vietnam. With friendly air support, the defenders were able to cut down enemy advances and defend critical points to prevent the town from falling to the communists. After this battle, Ho Chi Minh and the government of North Vietnam would realize that they had to stay away from the coasts and open fields and utilize the jungles and forests of Vietnam, beginning a brutal and bloody period of the Cold War...