Vietnam During World War II

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Vietnam During World War II Between 1939-1945 The Vietnamese guerrillas (Viet Minh) had been

fighting the French and the Japanese. Before the Second World War the

French ruled Vietnam, then the Japanese took over, when this happened

the communist leader Ho Chi Minh who set up the Vietminh in 1945

fought the Japanese and defeated them. When the Japanese were defeated

the French tried to rule Vietnam again, Ho Chi Minh fought them also,

however the Americans supported the French because they did not want

Vietnam to become communist under Ho Chi Minh. However Ho Chi Minh

also overcame the French. The VietMinh was set up in Vietnam by Ho Chi

Minh in 1941. The Vietminh got their inspiration mainly from Ho Chi

Minh who was known as a patriot and a Marxist-Leninist and was a

devout communist.

In the Years between 1946-1954 the North Vietnamese defeated the

French army after the French returned to Indochina, where negotiations

between France and the Vietminh on the status of Vietnam broke down,

and in December 1946 war broke out. The Vietminh had popular support

in the countryside while the French strength lay in urban areas. This

war ended on May 8th 1954 when, with the help of the Chinese

Communists, the Vietminh was able to defeat the French army at the

Battle of Äiên Biên Phu.

The colonial rulers, France, had fought hard since the end of World

War II and 1954 to regain their former territories but with a poorly

organised and demoralised army their efforts collapsed. Following

their defeat at Dien Bien Phu on 8th May 1954 the French decided to

start discussion...

... middle of paper ...

...ition, aid, food etc. This meant that they had a strong hold on

South Vietnam.

On the Gulf of Ton kin in 1964 a reported attack by North Vietnamese

gunboats on United States naval craft stationed in the gulf led to

increased US military involvement in Vietnam.

Vietnamisation was a policy set up by President Nixon in 1969 by which

means building up South Vietnam army and withdrawing American combat

troops.

In March 1970, General Lon Nol, seized power, declared Cambodia a

republic, and sent his army to fight the Vietcong in the border areas.

This drew the North Vietnamese into Cambodia, followed by US and South

Vietnamese troops. For the next two years Cambodia was a battleground

of the Vietnam War.

While in 1971 South Vietnamese forces invaded Laos to cut the

communist supply route, but were beaten back.

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