The Vietnam War
How was a small country like Vietnam able to win a war against the USA superpower?
Background
In 1802, with the help of the French, the people of Vietnam were finally freed from a long
period of Chinese domination.
Vietnam then expelled the French.
In 1858 the French sent an army to Vietnam and occupied the south of the country.
By 1887, the rest of the country had been taken over too.
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were incorporated into French Indochina and the Vietnamese
struggle for independence began once more.
At the Paris Peace Conference at the end of WW1 (1919) a young Vietnamese stood up and
demanded his country’s freedom but was ignored.
This young man was to become known as Ho Chi Minh (‘He Who Enlightens’)
In 1930, together with his former school friend, Vo Guyen Giap, he founded the Vietnamese
Communist Party.
During WW2, in September 1940, it was Japan’s turn to invade Vietnam.
In 1941 Ho founded the Vietminh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam.
He was to be its political leader and Giap its military leader.
Giap formed guerilla bands to resist the Japanese, which would later become the basis of the
North Vietnamese Army.
Vietnam after WW2
During WW2, the Japanese invaded Vietnam.
When the Japanese were defeated in WW2 (1945), Giap led his troops into the capital, Hanoi,
in the north.
, On 2 September 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to be
independent.
The British, who had occupied the south of Vietnam, now decided to hand it over to the former
colonial power, France.
This would allow Britain to re-occupy its own former colonies in Asia.
The French returned and tried to re-establish their authority.
In the north, the Nationalist Chinese occupied Hanoi and began killing political opponents
such as communists.
The Chinese agreed to hand the north back to the French, who tried to re-establish their
control over this part of Vietnam. However, fighting soon developed between the French and
the Vietminh.
This became known as the First Indochina War (1946-1954).
The USA, fearful of the spread of communism in Asia, now backed the French.
In May 1954, the Vietminh managed to secure a crushing victory over the French at the
fortified town of Dien Bien Phu. More than 10 000 French soldiers were captured.
This was a clear and humiliating defeat for France.
The Geneva Conference between Britain, France, the USA, the USSR and China met shortly
afterwards and reached an agreement called the Geneva Accords.
In terms of this agreement, Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17 degrees North
(17°N) parallel (line of latitude), with the Vietminh to the north and the French to the south.
A 5 mile-wide demilitarised zone would separate the two sides.
North of the 17th parallel, Ho Chi Minh took control of North Vietnam from Hanoi.
South of the 17th parallel, the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was created as a
capitalist, anti-communist state led by Ngo Dinh Diem from Saigon.
The French agreed to withdraw their troops from Vietnam, and the USA moved in to support
South Vietnam.
From the Vietnamese point of view, the Americans had replaced the French as an effective
colonial force.
How was a small country like Vietnam able to win a war against the USA superpower?
Background
In 1802, with the help of the French, the people of Vietnam were finally freed from a long
period of Chinese domination.
Vietnam then expelled the French.
In 1858 the French sent an army to Vietnam and occupied the south of the country.
By 1887, the rest of the country had been taken over too.
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were incorporated into French Indochina and the Vietnamese
struggle for independence began once more.
At the Paris Peace Conference at the end of WW1 (1919) a young Vietnamese stood up and
demanded his country’s freedom but was ignored.
This young man was to become known as Ho Chi Minh (‘He Who Enlightens’)
In 1930, together with his former school friend, Vo Guyen Giap, he founded the Vietnamese
Communist Party.
During WW2, in September 1940, it was Japan’s turn to invade Vietnam.
In 1941 Ho founded the Vietminh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam.
He was to be its political leader and Giap its military leader.
Giap formed guerilla bands to resist the Japanese, which would later become the basis of the
North Vietnamese Army.
Vietnam after WW2
During WW2, the Japanese invaded Vietnam.
When the Japanese were defeated in WW2 (1945), Giap led his troops into the capital, Hanoi,
in the north.
, On 2 September 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to be
independent.
The British, who had occupied the south of Vietnam, now decided to hand it over to the former
colonial power, France.
This would allow Britain to re-occupy its own former colonies in Asia.
The French returned and tried to re-establish their authority.
In the north, the Nationalist Chinese occupied Hanoi and began killing political opponents
such as communists.
The Chinese agreed to hand the north back to the French, who tried to re-establish their
control over this part of Vietnam. However, fighting soon developed between the French and
the Vietminh.
This became known as the First Indochina War (1946-1954).
The USA, fearful of the spread of communism in Asia, now backed the French.
In May 1954, the Vietminh managed to secure a crushing victory over the French at the
fortified town of Dien Bien Phu. More than 10 000 French soldiers were captured.
This was a clear and humiliating defeat for France.
The Geneva Conference between Britain, France, the USA, the USSR and China met shortly
afterwards and reached an agreement called the Geneva Accords.
In terms of this agreement, Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17 degrees North
(17°N) parallel (line of latitude), with the Vietminh to the north and the French to the south.
A 5 mile-wide demilitarised zone would separate the two sides.
North of the 17th parallel, Ho Chi Minh took control of North Vietnam from Hanoi.
South of the 17th parallel, the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was created as a
capitalist, anti-communist state led by Ngo Dinh Diem from Saigon.
The French agreed to withdraw their troops from Vietnam, and the USA moved in to support
South Vietnam.
From the Vietnamese point of view, the Americans had replaced the French as an effective
colonial force.
