Essay on The First Indochina War Text

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During the first indochina war, the perspectives of the combatants, both french and vietminh, differed greatly. Each side faced different obstacles and had to overcome varied setbacks and problems. The vietminh faced serious issues, such as disease, while the french dealt with the unfriendly terrain of vietnam among other things.

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They also faced similar obstacles, and the way each side maneuvered around them differed, and their costs may very well have been absolute victory, or certain defeat. From the start of the war, the vietminh had several major problems staring them in the face. Probably the biggest problem the vietminh faced was the lack of weapons and equipment that they needed to fight off the french at the outset of the war. Help arrived from china, as chinese communists supplied the vietminh with more modern weapons, as well as advisors. The chinese communists also offered sanctuaries across the border for the vietminh, which provided them with safer areas to train and rest.

The vietminh, though lacking initially in physical strength, possessed the one element crucial to victory in indochina, nationalism. The fervor of the nationalistic people of vietnam was perhaps the single most important factor in the war. Though for the most part, the masses were not as ferverent as the vietminh, the vietminh's resistance to the french swayed the general population to their cause. Nationalism can motivate a nation in war, but it requires force to elevate it to victory. In the war below is an essay on first indochina war from anti essays, your source for research papers, essays, and term paper examples. The first indochina war 1946 1954 before the conflict in vietnam erupted into a war, vietnam had experienced many years of foreign control by france. The first indochina war was an eight year long battle in which the viet minh and the french were fighting for the control of vietnam.

The viet minh were a group of vietnamese nationalists who were against the french ‘civilising’ mission. The french had claimed that their civilizing mission was to be of benefit to the vietnamese. The viet minh believed that the french civilizing mission was a way of ridding vietnam of its traditions and national identity. As nationalists, the viet minh were absolutely outraged that the french forcing their traditions and cultures onto them. The french civilizing mission was a part of the french attempt to re establish the french empire. After wwii france was left with wounded pride and had lost their status as a major power. The french believed hat asians could not beath white people and so hugely underestimated their abilities.

During the guerilla war the french re used their tactics from wwii and did not take into account harry s truman 33 rd u.s. Recognition of the drv due to worries about ho rsquo s communist stance in the early twentieth century, vietnamese nationalism against the french surged. A vietnamese socialist activist living in france at the time, submitted eight demands to the french at the versailles peace conference that followed the end of world war i. The list included representation in the french parliament, freedom of speech, and release of political prisoners. When france ignored these demands, several nationalist and communist organizations sprang up in vietnam.

The french tried to counter the nationalist movements by appealing to traditional authority, propping up the vietnamese emperor, bao dai. Indeed, many of the new nationalist and communist movements in vietnam were urban based militant insurgencies, and none met with much success. However, the movements did create several enduring organizations, including the vietnamese nationalist party vnqdd . Ho saw the japanese invasion as a chance to build up a new nationalist force, one that appealed to all aspects of vietnamese society. Leaders to secretly supply the viet minh with weapons to fight their new japanese oppressors.

General vo nguyen giap fought successfully against the japanese after ho convinced him to adopt guerrilla tactics. Throughout the course of world war ii, the viet minh successfully expanded its power base in tonkin and annam. It helped peasants in the region during a wartime famine, which won the organization immense popularity. Near the end of the war and with japan rsquo s attention completely diverted, the viet minh conquered hanoi in what became known as the august revolution. Emperor bao dai abdicated his throne in late august, and just a week later, on september 2. Upon japan rsquo s defeat, ho chi minh declared vietnam to be independent, naming the country the democratic republic of vietnam drv .

French forces returned to vietnam and drove the viet minh into the north of the country but were unable to penetrate farther. After world war ii, conflict arose between the french and communist revolutionary leader ho chi minh and his established group the league for independence of vietnam viet minh. In august 1945, viet minh guerillas captured the capital city of hanoi in indochina. Bao dai, the emperor of indochina was renounced and that region of indochina changed into the independent nation of north vietnam led by president ho chi minh.

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Saying that his government would turn down to hold reunification elections was one of his first actions. The war developed as a sequel to the struggle between the french, who were the rulers of indochina before world war ii, and the communist led vietminh, founded and headed by the revolutionary leader ho chi minh. A couple months later, ho chi minh develops the vietnam declaration of independence.

Fighting would continue for another 3 years until finally the united states, south vietnam, and north vietnam signed the paris peace accord, ending american combat role in war. The end of world war ii opened the way for the return of french in ruling indochina. Despite ho chi minh showed his professed respect for democratic ideals, he was still unable to convince washington to recognize the illegally of his independence movement against the french. In my search paper, the history will be looked back and the vietnam war will be examined again to justify why the american lost and other conflicts in the vietnam war.america commitsin january 1961, soviet premier nikita khrushchev stated the vietnam war as wars of national liberation , it greatly supported on spiritu. Chinese nationalists, chinesecommunists, the united states, and great britain were all against japan, so they supported ho x27 s viet minh the vietnam warillustrated history 48.

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From the united states alone, ho managed to get agents, arms, and equipment the vietnam war the overview 8. And that is what the viet minh did the vietnam war the overview 9.when the first indochina war took place, the viet minh destroyed french military outposts. The war in vietnam started out as a struggle between france and communist leader, ho chi minh.