tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post116559144460945759..comments2023-08-16T12:07:22.995+00:00Comments on The Daily (Maybe): The Constant Fight Against AccuracyJim Jeppshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-85171948309367722722007-11-05T14:34:00.000+00:002007-11-05T14:34:00.000+00:00Thanks for this Chris - your father's diaries soun...Thanks for this Chris - your father's diaries sound like a really thrilling read... how extensive are they?Jim Jeppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-23961772023890683132007-11-05T12:39:00.000+00:002007-11-05T12:39:00.000+00:00My father was in Operation Masterdom and was in th...My father was in Operation Masterdom and was in the small party that flew into Saigon. The rest went by sea. I have tracked down his war diaries and even visited the two buildings in which he set up his headquarters. He was a British Intelligence Officer and had flown into Saigin from Burma, where he had been fighting against the Japanese. Must have been very odd to end up having Japenese soldiers under his command. One of his sergeants was killed - apparentlky because he was just too god at his job. At this time he was commanding officer of 604 Field Security and was attached to HQ 20 (Indian Division). <BR/><BR/>On my website there are some pictures of his 604 FS in Saigon - sitting in a jeep. The jeep has the word MASTERDOM stencilled on the front bumper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-74580199972200317972006-12-12T19:42:00.000+00:002006-12-12T19:42:00.000+00:00Thanks for this Graeme.
I think your over all poi...Thanks for this Graeme.<br /><br />I think your over all point was absolutely right and, although I think the general point I was making was unaffected, it's very very useful to be accurate and therefore useful to be pulled up on things (even if, on other occasions, it can be irritating)<br /><br />Otherwise how am I to learn?Jim Jeppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-34746427232256112922006-12-12T17:31:00.000+00:002006-12-12T17:31:00.000+00:00I was originally writing from memory, but looking ...I was originally writing from memory, but looking in "The Wars of French Decolonisation" by Anthony Clayton (and checking via Google on the internet) the French re-entered Southern Vietnam by force. In the North there were 150,000 Chinese Kuomintang soldiers - as agreed by the Allies at Potsdam. The French commander negotiated a peaceful return to the North with Ho Chi Minh, who (1) wanted the looting and pillaging Chinese out and (2) thought he could negotiate a peaceful independence for Vietnam within the French Union.<br />The overall point I should have made was look at the historical facts in each case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-1165718894550848092006-12-10T02:48:00.000+00:002006-12-10T02:48:00.000+00:00Dave: Is accept the right word? After all it didn'...Dave: Is accept the right word? After all it didn't take long for the country to be in the grip of a bloody conflict.<BR/><BR/>I certainly accept all you say about the terrible plight of the Vietnamese people, which put them in a very difficult position in terms of trying to turf people out of their country - but I still think it was not for the want of trying.<BR/><BR/>After all many of them were killed attempting to do just that, even as early as 1945.<BR/><BR/>RE: Absolutely - I think if the story of Vietnam demonstrated who great the allied forces were it would be in every school text book. But it doesn't - so it isn't.Jim Jeppshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17410387006098326671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-1165629126450549492006-12-09T01:52:00.000+00:002006-12-09T01:52:00.000+00:00Very interesting post, about something seemingly f...Very interesting post, about something seemingly forgotten.Frank Partisanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03536211653082893030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30598467.post-1165625065643676182006-12-09T00:44:00.000+00:002006-12-09T00:44:00.000+00:00That seems a better retelling -- BUT the key quest...That seems a better retelling -- BUT the key question is why did the VCP accept the occupation of the Brits and the consequences with the re-admission to Vietnam of the French (with the jingoistic support of the French CP)?<BR/><BR/>This is where it gets really complicated as forging the Viet Minh was already part of VCP strategic intentions. But the Spring Revolution was carefully used by the VCP leadership as an indicator of the massive potential the Vietnamese had to rule themselves and is always celebrated as a blooming of independence(as you know Ho read out the Viet version of the US declaration of independence). So tactics was the main consideration given the conjuncture at that time.<BR/><BR/>With a massive famine in the north(over a million had died) the VCP was in no position to engineer a major advance towards independence that involved a full on assault either against the Brits or the remaining Japanese forces (who the Brits put to good use to police Vietnam given the very limited Brit troop strength in Indochina at the time).The Jap forces were not incarcerated, by the way and that was the key aspect of the British presence -- it was in partnership with the Japanaese army --Dave Rileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05319742357589026156noreply@blogger.com