The Sovereign of Discord expansion for Fire in the Lake allows players to explore an earlier period of the Vietnam War rarely covered in wargaming, the closing years of Ngo Dinh Diem regime (1961-1963). Although there are a few tactical games and scenarios on the battle of Ap Bac in 1963, I struggled to find a single game at the strategic level that covers the years prior to major intervention by the United States and North Vietnam in 1964-1965. Sovereign of Discord allows wargamers to add this crucial period of the war to their collections. This article is the first in a series of InsideGMT articles highlighting different aspects of the new content in Sovereign of Discord. Today we will focus on Ngo Dinh Diem and the unique strengths and weaknesses of his regime.

The Ngo Dinh Diem Regime

Diem came to power shortly after the 1954 Geneva Accords that temporarily separated French Indochina into North and South Vietnam. Diem solidified his rule over South Vietnam and his alliance with the United States by pushing aside former emperor Bao Dai, defeating several independent armed groups in the South such as the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, and Binh Xuyen, and refusing to hold elections to reunite North and South Vietnam as specified in the Geneva Accords. The United States, impressed by his staunch anti-communist stance, increased their aid to his regime despite his tendency for authoritarian rule and reluctance to implement recommended reforms. Diem rule relied closely on members of his family such as his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu, who served as Diem’s main advisor, and Nhu’s highly publicized wife, Tran Le Xuan, more commonly known as “Madame Nhu.” Diem’s reliance on his family would contribute to serious frictions with his ally and patron the United States in the early 1960s.

In the period 1954-1960, sometimes referred to as the “six years of peace”, Diem implemented a series of efforts to modernize South Vietnam and launched a ruthless campaign of repression against suspected communists. His “Denounce the Communist” campaign indiscriminately targeted former Viet Minh and those suspected of sympathizing with Communist cadres, often regardless of their current level of involvement. Resentment towards the Diem regime built up during these years, as many of his new policies proved to be unpopular with peasants, and many individuals felt forced into organizing resistance due to the intense repression. Communist cadres in the South sent repeated calls to the Politburo in North Vietnam to allow them to resume armed struggle, given Diem’s refusal to hold the reunification elections mandated by the Geneva Accords. In 1959, Hanoi implemented Resolution 15, under the guidance of Le Duan, that allowed forces remaining in the South to resume armed struggle and began sending limited assistance to aid their efforts.

In Sovereign of Discord, players of the ARVN faction are assuming the role of Diem himself, rather than the revolving door of generals represented by ARVN in the base game. Therefore, the Ngo Dinh Diem card serves as the ARVN leader throughout the whole period covered by the main Sovereign of Discord scenarios (1961-1963). This leader card’s effects represent both the strengths and weaknesses of Diem’s leadership. Diem’s policies and family rule generated significant resentment that the National Liberation Front, commonly referred to as the Viet Cong, could exploit. On the other hand, Diem had the strongest nationalist credentials of any of South Vietnam’s leaders and, at least until the final days of his regime, had a more stable hold on power than many of the subsequent generals who would subsequently lead the country until 1975.

Threats to the Diem Regime

Given that Diem is the ARVN leader through the whole 1961-1963 period, the Coup! Cards work a little differently in Sovereign of Discord than in Fire in the Lake. In Sovereign of Discord, there are three Coup! Cards –for the main scenario, with each representing different threats to the Diem regime. The expansion comes with period decks for 1961, 1962, and 1963. Each period deck’s Coup! Card represents a different threat to Diem’s rule. The 1961 Coup! Card “The NLF Spreads” represents the rapid spread of the National Liberation Front, as the newly formed insurgent organization unifies the more spontaneous uprisings that occurred in 1960-1961.

The 1962 Coup! Card begins the famous “Buddhist Crisis” and lowers the Regime Stability Track. The Regime Stability Track represents the growing instability and chaos in the final years of the Diem regime (it is inspired mechanically by the US Aid Track in Cuba Libre). Events, including the Buddhist Crisis Coup! Card, may raise or lower Regime Stability, affecting the cost of ARVN Operations and the amount of US Aid to the South. When the regime is stable, usually in 1961-1962, the ARVN faction is able to use its resources more effectively than in Fire in the Lake, representing the strength of Diem’s centralized rule. However, as crises break out and the track slips down to Chaotic, the ARVN player’s Operations become even more costly than in the base game, as Diem becomes more worried about dealing with a military coup than fighting the Viet Cong.

Speaking of worrying about coups, as those familiar with the period will know, the Diem regime eventually fell to a coup launched by the South Vietnamese military in November 1963, led by Duong Van Minh (the leader ‘card’ printed on your Fire in the Lake boards) with the tacit approval of the United States. The 1963 “Officer Coup” Coup! Card that triggers the end of the game will check whether or not the historical coup is launched, depending on the state of Regime Stability. If Diem survives, then the ARVN get a big boost to Patronage, as Diem again outsmarts his opponents. If Diem falls, as he did historically, then both the Viet Cong and the United States will likely get a boost to their scores. A United States player will often have to decide whether it is better to enable or prevent the coup, depending on the relative strength of Diem and the Communist factions, and what they stand to gain in Support by removing Diem. In Sovereign of Discord scenarios, as with the first expansion Fall of Saigon, each player selects one event card to draft into each period deck at the start of the game. One major tradeoff that players face in this expansion is whether they should draft cards that will help them win the war in the countryside or shape the crises affecting Regime Stability.

One small note for those interested in the extended campaign game: if Diem survives the “Officer Coup” Coup! Card, he will continue as the ARVN leader into Fire in the Lake until he his replaced by another ARVN leader card, allowing some of the new mechanics such as the Strategic Hamlets to carry on into the base game.

For those looking to learn more about the Diem regime and the period of 1954-1963, I would recommend Edward Miller’s Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam. In our next InsideGMT article, we will focus on the war in the countryside between the Viet Cong and ARVN, and the new wooden piece in the expansion, Strategic Hamlets.

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