PEOPLE'S WAR AND URBAN RESISTANCE IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM (1954 - 1975)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v22.n4.3667Keywords:
Urban Resistance, Revolutionary Warfare, Commando Networks, Anti-American StruggleAbstract
Once a colonial outpost under French administration, the urban center later known as Southern Vietnam’s political nucleus experienced a radical shift during the anti-American resistance war. From 1954 to 1975, this city evolved into a vibrant hub of revolutionary activity, where covert operations, ideological clashes, and mass mobilizations unfolded in the heart of enemy territory. Guided by the strategic leadership of the T4 City Party Committee, a complex web of student activists, underground cells, and urban commandos launched coordinated campaigns that destabilized the ruling regime and laid the groundwork for pivotal uprisings. Far from being a passive setting, the city’s urban fabric was actively repurposed as a tool of resistance, symbolizing a battlefield embedded within the adversary’s stronghold. This study investigates the city’s tactical significance in the broader revolutionary struggle and considers its lasting influence on modern understandings of urban insurgency and political resistance.
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