Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 13, 2014

An attempted coup took place in South Vietnam before dawn on September 13, 1964. Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức sent dissident units into the capital Saigon to overthrow the ruling military junta led by General Nguyễn Khánh. They captured key points and announced the overthrow of the regime on national radio. In the previous month, Khánh's leadership had become increasingly troubled. He had tried to augment his powers by declaring a state of emergency; this provoked large-scale protests calling for an end to military rule. Fearful of losing power, Khánh began making concessions and promised democracy in the near future. He also removed military officials linked to the discriminatory Catholic rule of the former President Ngô Đình Diệm, including Phát (Interior Minister) and Đức (IV Corps commander), who responded with a coup. With American help, Khánh rallied support and the coup collapsed the next morning without casualties. Despite Khánh's survival, the historian George McTurnan Kahin has described the coup as the start of Khánh's ultimate political decline. His relations with America became increasingly strained and he was deposed in February 1965 with US connivance.

Recently featured: Problem of religious language – Verbascum thapsus – Hurricane Esther