The Vietnam War
I/ the Origins
Since the 1880s, Indochina was a French colony. In World War II, French Indochina, with Vietnam, was occupied by Japan. With the capitulation of the Japanese in August 1945, the "League for the Independence of Vietnam" or "Vietminh", led by the revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh, was determined to put an end to nearly a decade with colonial rule. With the Japanese surrender, Vietminh guerrillas occupied the capital, Hanoi, and forced the Emperor, Bao Dai, to resign. Following the resignation, the Vietminh declared Vietnam independent. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam, or North Vietnam, was created with its new president, Ho Chi Minh. France officially recognised the new state, but the unsuccessful attempt to reach political and economic agreements led to armed conflict in late 1946.
The former Emperor, Bao Dai, rose on 1 July 1949 as the new leader of the Republic of Vietnam, or South Vietnam. Having both the French and the American support, he established a new capital, Saigon. The President of the United States, Harry S. Truman, officially recognised the new government. In order to assist it, President Truman ordered the establishment of a military advisory group. Its task was to train South Vietnamese soldiers in the use of U.S. weapons.
In the spring of 1954 the Vietminh attacked the French fortress of Dien Bien Phu, in northern Vietnam. On 8 May 1954, France surrendered Indochina. On the same day, delegates from both North and South Vietnam met with delegates from France, Great Britain, the USSR, the United States, China, Laos and Cambodia in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting concerned the future of Indo-china. France and North Vietnam agreed on a cease-fire on certain terms. Vietnam was temporarily divided in to two parts along the 17th parallel. The communists was given control of North Vietnam, placing South Vietnam under a western rule, with the Dai government in charge. The Geneva-agreement proclaimed that there was to