 By September , Diệm and Nhu knew that a group of generals were planning a coup . Nhu ordered Tung and Tôn Thất Đính — a loyalist general who commanded the ARVN III Corps which encompassed the Saigon region — to plan a fake coup against the government . One objective was to trick anti @-@ government dissidents into joining the false uprising so that they could be identified and eliminated . Another aim was to provide a public relations stunt that would give a false impression of the strength of the regime . 
