The Economy of the Liberated Zone in Southern Vietnam during the Anti-American Resistance War (1960-1975): Local Resources and Rear-base Strategy

Abstract

This article examines a subject of particular significance in understanding the mobilization and organization of resistance resources in the liberated zone of Southern Vietnam during the anti-American resistance war (1960–1975). Drawing on an interdisciplinary historical–economic analytical framework, the study employs Party documents, historical records, eyewitness memoirs, and selected doctoral dissertations to reconstruct the formation, development, and operation of the local rear-base economic model in the liberated zone. The findings demonstrate that the liberated zone of Southern Vietnam functioned as a crucial strategic rear, playing a decisive role in sustaining both the material and spiritual strength of the resistance movement. This process encompassed four key dimensions: (1) the establishment of flexible base areas capable of adapting to guerrilla warfare; (2) the organization of large-scale local production based on a prosperous agricultural foundation and popular mobilization; (3) the development of a multi-layered resource mobilization and distribution mechanism that combined local capacity, North–South support, and international aid; and (4) the creation of a centralized yet flexible leadership and organizational model that ensured long-term logistical resilience. This article contributes an economic and organizational perspective to the historiography of the anti-American resistance in Vietnam.