Oppression is perhaps the worst crime that man will ever inflict upon himself. Despite a tyrant's will, the fighting spirit of the oppressed never dies out. Oppression has the power to turn an average commoner into a force to be reckoned with. If you take a man's freedom from him he has nothing to lose, making him extremely dangerous. Since 248 A.D., this oppression plagued South East Asia by the French, the Chinese and others. At the end of World War II in August of 1945, the French were trying to re-establish control over their Indochinese colonies. This weak moment would be seized by Vietnam to free themselves from French rule and declare their independence.
Vietnam has a long history of other countries ruling over it, beginning around 2,700 years ago. Successive dynasties based in China ruled over Vietnam from 111BC until 938 when Vietnam re-gained independence briefly. Vietnam remained a tributary state to China for much of its history and constantly repelled invasions from both Chinese and Mongols. The “independent” era ended towards the end of the 19th century when it was colonized by the French. France obtained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French war (1884-1885). French Indochina was formed in October 1887 from Annam, Tonkin, and Cochinchina, which together form modern Vietnam.
In the spring and summer of 1954, French and Vietminh forces were battling fiercely over who would be in control of Vietnam. Things were beginning to look very bleak for the French forces trying to quell the uprisings of the Vietminh in their colonial possession of Indochina. An uprising by Vietnamese soldiers occurred on February 10, 1930, in the French colonial army's Yen Bai garrison, a small t...
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...eva Accords partitioned the country in two, with the promise of re-unification and democratic free elections. Unfortunately rather than peaceful re-unification, partition led to the Vietnam war, where former neighbors were at war with each other. Meanwhile the Geneva conference had begun again in April. Vietminh general Giap decided to commence his attack on Dien Bien Phu while the conference was under way. The September before the U.S had agreed to give the French a grant of $385 million to begin the ‘Navarre Plan’, a plan to destroy the Viet Minh forces by 1955. The French were in desperate need of the aid by that time.
While The Vietnamese eventually reached their goal of independence, had to fight hard and stay determined to win. The Indo-China war took many Vietnameese lives but united a country of mostly peasants under Ho Chi Minh against their oppressors.
The results of the success of communism being implemented into Vietnamese society led the Vietnamese people to successfully defeat the French colonialists in the First Indochina War and unify Vietnam in the Second Indochina War. These victories symbolize how the effects of communism were able to bring people together based on their similarities. The ideologies of communism were appealing to all of the Vietnamese people because they were all suffering economically and politically from the French. Because of these appealing communist ideologies, Ho Chi Minh was able to bring the Vietnamese together on nationalistic and patriotic terms. Overall, although there were ideologies that came into play simultaneously as communism, it was Ho Chi Minh who successfully ushered in his Marxist Leninist ideology that allowed for Vietnam to unite and free Vietnam.
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
The French eventually gained back some control over parts of Vietnam. In early 1946, the French began a series of dual negotiations with the Chinese and Viet Minh over the future of Vietnam. After failed negotiations with the French over the future of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh retreated into remote parts of the countryside to fight a small-scale insurgency against the French. (The History Place, Beginner’s Guide)
The Vietnam War was the longest war in America's history of involvement. Twenty years of hell, land mines, cross-fire, and death. Vietnam was divided by the Geneva Accord. The north being communist run by Ho Chi Minh. The south being anti-Communist run by Ngo Dinh Diem. Before Vietnam was separated, it was run by France. France had ruled most of Indochina since the late 1800s. The Vietnamese were unhappy with the way the French were controlling, therefore, many of them took refuge in China. When in China, they began to follow the lead of Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to model the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence as that of the U.S. version. In the 1940s, Japan had taken over Vietnam which upset Ho Chi Minh and his revolutionaries when they had returned a year later.
In this reading, Long discusses the history of Vietnamese resistance to colonial and oppressive forces. Long states that American historians and statesman claim that other factors contributed to the disastrous conclusion of the Vietnam war, but that the real truth is that the American’s were not prepared to meet such a formidable foe. The Vietnamese had been resisting the Chinese for over 1,000 years and had held on; when the French arrived the same policy of resistance was practiced. Ultimately, due to the oppressive nature of the French and WWII, the French were ousted and a new communist government under Ho Chi Minh was established. Having just been under an oppressive force, and being very knowledgeable about how to deal with oppression, the American’s were caught by surprise.
... the Viet Minh. However by April it was clear that the French forces were losing the battle, and it was now it was clear that the French were putting their last remaining efforts in to Dien Ben Phu. It was an all or nothing situation. The French high command had hoped that Giap would throw his army in to the will of the occupying French forces and in the end be forced to retreat and regroup with a battered down weak force. However this was not the case and by May 7th the remaining French forces at Dien ben Phu will surrender. Peace talks between the French and Viet Minh open up in May of 1954. The agreement at Geneva would once again split Vietnam in to two. The North would be a pro Communist government at Hanoi led by Ho Chi Minh, and the South a pro democratic government backed by the United States out of Saigon. By 1956 the last remaining French forces would leave Vietnam, and a new struggle would begin in the South. The beginning of the American War in Vietnam was just around the corner. The Viet Minh had defeated a major European power, however it would be another 20 years before the reunification was complete.
During World War II, Japan occupied Vietnam, a nation that had previously been under French administration. Influenced by Chinese and Soviet communism, Ho Chi Minh formed the Viet Minh to fight against the French colonial administration and seized the capital city of Hanoi after the Japanese withdrew, and declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (History.com). Desiring to get control of the region the French backed the Vietnamese emperor Bao Dai, and established the state of South Vietnam with Saigon as its capital. After years of armed conflict the Viet Minh ...
The end of World War II opened the way for the return of French rule to Indochina. Despite the ties he had forged within the American Intelligence community, and his professed respect for democratic ideals, Ho Chi Minh was unable to convince Washington to recognize the legitimacy of his independence movement against the French. French generals and their American advisors expected Ho's rag-tag Vietminh guerrillas to be defeated easily. But after eight years of fighting and $2.5 billion in U.S. aid, the French lost a crucial battle at Dienbienphu - and with it, their Asian empire.
In this essay I will be discussing how Ho Chi Minh sense of nationalism was the driving force in ending French rule in his country. By tracing Ho Chi Minh’s life it becomes rather obvious that his endeavors would result in a strong sense of nationalism for his country that had long been exploited by French rule. Following his travels throughout the world Minh found that the West had no interest in a free a Vietnam, so Minh was forced to turn to the Communist for help. By working with the communist, Minh was ultimately able to free the Vietnamese people from French rule. The paper argues that Ho Chi Minh’s strong sense of nationalism for his home country far outweighed his allegiance to the communist party.
The war in Vietnam began as a civil war which dated back long into Vietnamese history. Although it was a communist revolution, it was first and foremost a people’s war, in which the people of South Vietnam were revolting against the right-wing dictatorship of their government. The Vietnam War was the second of the two Indochina Wars, where the first was fought and lost by France. American intervention, because of the policy of containing communism, had already begun during the First Indochina War, under President Eisenhower. Although Eisenhower had refused to commit US troops to the war, he supplied military support to the French. And when they lost the war, he continued to supply aid to the anti-communist government in Saigon, the capital of the South Vietnam. The end of the First Indochina War resulted in the Geneva Conference of 1954 between France and the Viet Minh, who decided to split Vietnam in to the communist North and the pro-western South. This therefore recognised North Vietnam, known as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), as an independent state. However, an insurgency in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), led by the National Liberation Front (...
The Vietnam war was a defensive battle fought mostly in South Vietnam. The Contenders were the SVA(South Vietnamese Army) and the U.S. Military against the NVA(North Vietnamese Army) and the VC(Viet Cong), a guerrilla group in south Vietnam. The Communist side was supported by China, Russia, North Korea, and other communist countries, while the U.S. and South Vietnam were supported by South Korea, Britain, France, And other Anti-Communi...
Vietnam has a very rich and cultural diverse background dating all the way back to 1066 when William the Conqueror invaded and paved the way for English colonization. The French had been colonizing since the 19th century. The French role in Vietnams history is critical; they started out by bringing these simple peasants to the latest technology of farming and hunting (Yancey 37). The French helped these people out greatly in the beginning, but like all stories of occupation go they just got worse. They started forcing rules and laws on the people of Vietnam. Thus started the First Vietnam War, also known as the Indochina War between France and Vietnam. "The French possessed military superiority, but the Vietnamese had already the hearts and minds of the country. (38). Even from the beginning the Vietnamese had the odds to there favor. The French looked at the wars in numbers and how many lost on each side. They gathered from all the battles that they were winning because the Vietnamese casualties far outweighed the French; nonetheless they were wrong. To a certain point the French were fighting a game that they could not win at any cost. The French had the military superiority but the Vietnamese had the manpower and the Guerilla tactics. The Indochina War ended with French loosing terrible at Dienbienphu, where a whole French garrison was wiped out.
The French’s began to colonize Vietnam in 1874. The Vietnamese people gave the French a hard time during the “Pacification Period.” During this time the French tried to gain control of Vietnamese rebel groups and the Chinese, who also wanted to obtain Vietnam. The French divided Vietnam into three different parts. The southern part of Vietnam included two regions called Cochinchina and Annam. The northern part of Vietnam included a region called Tonking. Most of the rebellions took place in Tonking and Annam. The French were in Vietnam because of Economic reasons but, Catholic missionaries also wanted to convert all the people of Asia to Catholicism. Also the French wanted to spread their culture within Vietnam and teach the Vietnamese people about French literature, language, and history. After this period of time France focused on modernizing Vietnam and bringing in rail roads, bridges, and highways. They also forced labor and taxed the Vietnamese people.
The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.
War in Vietnam had no real beginning and was just escalation of fighting that was going on for centuries. In 1954 Vietnam became independent from the control of French Regime. The two parts of V...