The Viet Cong and Northern VietnamHo Chi Minh gained more political power and stamped out all other non-Communist forces in Northen Vietnam. His hopes were to be elected in the 1956 elections and peacefully reunite Northern and Southern Vietnam under his revolutionary government.
The Viet Cong, or Vietnamese Communists, were trained by Communists but many were not actually Communist party members. |
The FrenchHo Chi Minh
Fench missionaries oringinally were the only French influence on the region. However, after many of their missionaries were killed, the French set forth to gain a foothold in the region and avenge those deaths, and through ten years of treaties, French gained several protectorates and colonies in the region. France forced areas of Indochina to recognize their control through treaties.
When World War II started, things changed dramatically. When France surrendered to Germany, Japan took advantage of the situation and moved their forces into Indochina. They allowed the French to believe they still had power, but eventually they confined all French military personnel. During this period, Japan convinced Vietnam to declare its independence from France, along with other areas under French rule. Upon Japan's defeat at the end of World War II, the French tried to regain power in the Vietnam/Indochina region. The French established several self-governing regions around Vietnam that became part of the French Union, and managed to disarm Japanese troops in Southern Vietnam. However, an independent government had sprung up in Vietnam called "the Democratic Republic of Vietnam", who was led by Ho Chi Minh, a communist-trained nationalist who was head of the Revolutionary League for the Independence of Vietnam (Vietminh). France and the Vietminh forces went to war in 1946 after unsuccessfully trying to settle their differences. France maintained control of Vietnamese cities but were never able to regain the countryside, and by 1953 they were near defeat. In 1954, after France had lost one of their important Vietnamese footholds, Vietminh and French officials held meetings with representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and the Soviet Union in Geneva, Switzerland. These meetings resulted in a cease-fire ending the war, and the temporary division of Vietnam into Northern and Southern halves. Northern and Southern Vietnam also became divided politically, which paved the way for the Vietnam War. The United States and Southern VietnamNgo Dinh Diem, a man who refused to conform to Ho's Communist rule, became president of Southern Vietnam.
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World Encyclopedia
Viet Cong http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar751657&st=french+indochina
French Indochina http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar275440&st=french+indochina
French Indochina- pic http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/media?id=lr004398&st=french+indochina
Viet Cong http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar751657&st=french+indochina
French Indochina http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar275440&st=french+indochina
French Indochina- pic http://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/media?id=lr004398&st=french+indochina
BRITANNICA
Viet Cong soldier http://www.school.eb.com/all/eb/art-116736?articleTypeId=1
France and Vietnam http://www.school.eb.com/all/elementary/article?articleId=345817&query=french%20vietnam&ct=null
Flags: Vietnam- http://www.school.eb.com/all/elementary/art-66657/Flag-of-Vietnam?&articleTypeId=38
France- http://www.school.eb.com/all/art-61201
United States- http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/art-66640/Flag-of-the-United-States-of-America?&articleTypeId=38
Viet Cong article http://www.school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9075311?query=viet%20cong&ct=null
Viet Cong soldier http://www.school.eb.com/all/eb/art-116736?articleTypeId=1
France and Vietnam http://www.school.eb.com/all/elementary/article?articleId=345817&query=french%20vietnam&ct=null
Flags: Vietnam- http://www.school.eb.com/all/elementary/art-66657/Flag-of-Vietnam?&articleTypeId=38
France- http://www.school.eb.com/all/art-61201
United States- http://www.school.eb.com/elementary/art-66640/Flag-of-the-United-States-of-America?&articleTypeId=38
Viet Cong article http://www.school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9075311?query=viet%20cong&ct=null