Vietnam Background
1940 – 1954
Vietnam was under French control – known as Indochina
- Had good resources such as coal, rice, rubber, roads and railways
- But Germany defeated France in WW2 and handed over control to Japan
The people of Vietnam resisted Japanese control
- Formed a resistance movement (Viet Minh)
- The leader was the communist-sympathetic Ho Chi Minh
When WW2 ended and Japan surrendered the Viet Minh marched to Hanoi and declared
Vietnamese Independence
- France was unhappy and wanted to regain control of Vietnam so went to war (1946)
- The USA supported Viet Minh as they were against colonialism
- But in 1949 China became communist and helped the Viet Minh who were also communist
- The USA immediately began to support the French (Policy of Containment) and helped set
up a non-communist government in South Vietnam
- French were defeated by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu in1954
The Geneva Conference was held where it was decided to split Vietnam along the 17 th Parallel
- North (The Democratic Republic of Vietnam) was communist, led by Ho Chi Minh
- South (The Republic of Vietnam) were non-communist, led by dictator Ngo Dinh Diem
Diem was initially supported by the US because he was anti-communist
- He was dictator from 1955 until he was killed in a US sanctioned coup in 1963
- He had an oppressive government that was corrupt
- He did little to help peasants, which angered the people of South Vietnam
- He followed Christianity (minority) and persecuted Buddhists (majority)
Viet Minh – North Vietnamese Army (Communist – Anti-American)
NLF – National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (AKA: Viet Cong – Anti-American)
ARVN – Army for the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army – Pro-American)
1940 – 1954
Vietnam was under French control – known as Indochina
- Had good resources such as coal, rice, rubber, roads and railways
- But Germany defeated France in WW2 and handed over control to Japan
The people of Vietnam resisted Japanese control
- Formed a resistance movement (Viet Minh)
- The leader was the communist-sympathetic Ho Chi Minh
When WW2 ended and Japan surrendered the Viet Minh marched to Hanoi and declared
Vietnamese Independence
- France was unhappy and wanted to regain control of Vietnam so went to war (1946)
- The USA supported Viet Minh as they were against colonialism
- But in 1949 China became communist and helped the Viet Minh who were also communist
- The USA immediately began to support the French (Policy of Containment) and helped set
up a non-communist government in South Vietnam
- French were defeated by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu in1954
The Geneva Conference was held where it was decided to split Vietnam along the 17 th Parallel
- North (The Democratic Republic of Vietnam) was communist, led by Ho Chi Minh
- South (The Republic of Vietnam) were non-communist, led by dictator Ngo Dinh Diem
Diem was initially supported by the US because he was anti-communist
- He was dictator from 1955 until he was killed in a US sanctioned coup in 1963
- He had an oppressive government that was corrupt
- He did little to help peasants, which angered the people of South Vietnam
- He followed Christianity (minority) and persecuted Buddhists (majority)
Viet Minh – North Vietnamese Army (Communist – Anti-American)
NLF – National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (AKA: Viet Cong – Anti-American)
ARVN – Army for the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnamese Army – Pro-American)
