IN VIETNAM
On November 11, 1960, a failed coup attempt against President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam was led by officers of the Airborne Division of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The rebels launched the coup in response to Diệm's autocratic rule and the negative political influence of his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and his sister-in-law Madame Nhu.
The coup caught the Ngô family completely off-guard, but was also chaotically executed. The plotters neglected to seal the roads leading into the capital Saigon to seal off loyalist reinforcements, and they hesitated after gaining the initiative. The operation was scheduled to launch on November 11 at 05:00. However, the airborne soldiers were not aware of what their officers had in store. They were told that they were heading into the countryside to attack the VC.[14] Once they were on their way, the officers claimed that the Presidential Guard, who were meant to guard the presidential palace, had mutinied against Diệm.
The coup failed when the 5th and 7th Divisions of the ARVN entered Saigon and defeated the rebels. More than four hundred people—many of whom were civilian spectators—were killed in the ensuing battle. These included a group of anti-Diệm civilians who charged across the palace walls at Thi's urging and were cut down by loyalist gunfire.