Battle of Saigon (1955)
The Battle of Saigon was a week-long battle between the Vietnamese National Army of the State of Vietnam and the private army of the Bình Xuyên organised crime syndicate. At the time, the Bình Xuyên was licensed with controlling the national police by Emperor Bảo Đại and Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm issued an ultimatum for them to surrender and come under state control. The battle started on April 28, 1955, and the VNA had largely crushed the Bình Xuyên within a week. Fighting was mostly concentrated in the inner city Chinese business district of Chợ Lớn. The densely crowded area saw some 500 to 1000 deaths and up to 20,000 civilians made homeless in the cross-fire. In the end, the Bình Xuyên were decisively defeated, their army disbanded and their vice operations collapsed.
Battle of Saigon | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Territory controlled by the Bình Xuyên in 1955 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
State of Vietnam
| Bình Xuyên | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
500–1,000 deaths |
History of Ho Chi Minh City |
---|
Metro • Names (district names) • Organised crime |
Vietnam portal |