While in France, many of these Indochinese students imbibed philosophies and writings that led them to question French imperialism. Among these was a young Vietnamese student who would later adopt the nom-de-guerre of Ho Chi Minh , who read the work of Karl Marx and joined the Communist Party. Ho later traveled the Soviet Union as well as the United States. In 1941, Ho returned to Indichina from exile in Hong Kong and formed an underground organization, the Viet Minh, dedicated to Vietnamese independence.
In 1939, France declared war on Germany following the latter's invasion of Poland. In April 1940, Hitler invaded the Low Countries on his way to Paris, and in June of 1940, France surrendered to the Nazis. Hitler occupied the northern and western parts of France, leaving the governance of southern France as well as French colonies in the hands of the colloborationist Vichy French government headed by Phillipe Petain.
Sensing an opportunity, the imperialist forces of Japan invaded French Indochina in July 1940. They hoped to use the air bases there to
bomb supply lines supporting
their Chinese opponents in the Sino-Japanese War. The Viet Minh
fought the Japanese, and in this effort they received arms and supplies
from the United States via the Office of Strategic Services (OSS),
precursor to the CIA. Meanwhile, Allied promises of
self-determination for minorities issues in the Atlantic Charter gave
hope to nationalists
like the Viet Minh that the United States would support their bid for
independence after the war.At war's end, however, the Allies--which now included France, following liberation in 1944, as well as Great Britain, one of the largest imperial powers on the globe--reoccupied those colonies lost to enemies during the war. France returned to Indochina, and the small U. S. forces that had earlier helped the Viet Minh now helped the French. On September 2, 1945, the date of the official surrender ceremony aboard the U. S. S. Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent nation of Vietnam. Initially, the French attempted to subvert this independence movement by coopting the Viet Minh into plans for limited Vietnamese autonomy. By 1946, though, talks with the French fell through and the Viet Minh embarked upon a war of liberation.
In the ensuing Indochinese War (1946-1954), the Soviet Union supplied arms and support to the Viet Minh, and thus the United States and other Western powers viewed the civil war in Indochina as simply another facet of the global struggle against Communist aggression. Gradually, Viet Minh tactics undermined French rule, forcing the French to barricade themselves in fortified towns and cities, from which they would only venture out by day, leaving the night to the guerilla forces of the Viet Minh.
One of these fortresses lay in the far north, near the Chinese border, along the Red River. This was the fortress of Dien Bien Phu . It lay
isolated in the jungle, 50 miles from the nearest roads and surrounded
by mountains. A single road supplied the base. Geography thus
lent the French a certain sense of security, for they could easily
defend themselves against guerillas armed only with small arms.
What the French did not know was that the Viet Minh forces under
the brilliant General
Vo Nguyen Giap were secretly building a road through the jungle.
On this road they could move heavy weapons into the mountains
surrounding Dien Bien Phu, and thereby trap the isolated French
fortress. In April 1954, the Viet Minh began their seige of Dien
Bien Phu. The French could get not
get supplies in by road, and air forces attempted to deliver supplies
via
air drops, but due to heavy fire, most of these drops fell off target
and
into Viet Minh hands. After months of heavy casualties, the
French commander at last surrendered to the Viet Minh.The loss of Dien Bien Phu signalled the beginning of the end of French rule in Indochina. The French agreed to meet the Viet Minh and other Vietnamese representatives in Geneva. Other "interested parties" were also present: the United States (which had supported France), the Soviet Union (which had supported the Viet Minh), and the Communist Chinese (who shared a border with Indochina). Ho Chi Minh, as leader of the victorious Viet Minh, expected full independence for Vietnam, knowing that in any democratic election to follow, he would have enough votes to establish a Communist government. The French and their favored minority groups--ethnic groups from southern Vietnam, French educated and Catholic--feared just such an outcome. Therefore, they proposed a temporary partition of Vietnam, leaving the northern part of the country--then dominated by Ho Chi Minh and northern ethnic groups--under the jurisdiction of the Communists, with the southern half governed nominally by the French-backed monarch, Emperor Bao Dai , and the southern ethnic groups. Ho Chi Minh reluctantly agreed to the partition of Vietnam along the 17th parallel, but neither the Bao Dai government nor the U. S. accepted the Geneva Accords . The division would be temporary, until free elections the following year could determine a permanent outcome.
The following year, Ngo Dinh Diem --a Catholic educated in French schools--engineered a victory over Bao Dai in the south by rigging the election. He then proclaimed South Vietnam an independent country called the Republic of Vietnam. Both Diem and Ho ignored the date for the proposed nationwide elections. The United States recognized the Republic of South Vietnam and pledged to support it against further Communist aggression from the North. Ho Chi Minh proclaimed a new country of his own, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Soviet Union continued to support the Communists in the north.
Sources:
Interactive Vietnam Maps
Vietnam Who's Who
Vietnam Timeline
Vietnam Online
U. S. Policies in the Vietnam War