Preview

Causes and Consequences of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Causes and Consequences of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Causes and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu

Examine the causes and consequences and consequences of the battle of Dien Bien Phu, 1954, which affected the lives of the Vietnamese until the 1960's.

Dien Bien Phu, 1954, was the final battle of the first Indo-China war. Lasting 55 days, the battle had French troops attempt to hold an armed camp against the Viet Minh, who greatly out-numbered them. Dien Bien Phu was situated in a valley in Northern Vietnam, surrounded by mountains. The French believed this strategic setting would give them an advantage, but the Viet Minh were clever. They tunnelled their way into the the French camp and after seven weeks of brutal, intense fighting the French commander; Henri Navarre, ordered a ceasefire. The causes of this event are; the division of Vietnam, 1946 and the first Indo-China war, 1946-54. The battle of Dien Bien Phu also had important consequences that affected the lives of the Vietnamese. These are; the Geneva conference, 1954 and the appointing of Ngo Dinh Diem as Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam.

The first cause of the battle of Dien Bien Phu was the division of Vietnam in 1946. After thousands of years of occupation, Vietnam and it's people had developed a strong sense of nationalism. During World War II, it was once again occupied, this time by the Japanese. When Japan surrendered in 1945, Vietnam was free for the first time. Ho Chi Minh and his fighting force; The Viet Minh, took control of the country. On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, their happy independence did not last long. The Allies of WWII agreed that Indo-China should be occupied by the Chinese nationalists, who were fighting the communists at the time, with the South being controlled by the British. When the British arrived, their general, Gracey, began to organise the return of the French. With the Chinese nationalists busy fighting a civil war at home in China, Ho Chi

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    <br>Herring begins his account with a summary of the First Indochina War. He reports that the Vietnamese resisted French imperialism as persistently as they had Chinese. French colonial policies had transformed the Vietnamese economic and social systems, giving rise to an urban middle class, however; the exploitation of the country and its people stimulated more radical revolutionary activity. Herring states that the revolution of 1945 was almost entirely the personal creation of the charismatic leader Ho Chi Minh. Minh is described as a frail and gentle man who radiated warmth and serenity, however; beneath this mild exterior existed a determined revolutionary who was willing to employ the most cold- blooded methods in the cause to which he dedicated his life. With the guidance of Minh, the Vietminh launched as a response to the favorable circumstances of World War II. By the spring of 1945, Minh mobilized a base of great support. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the Vietminh filled the vacuum. France and the Vietminh attempted to negotiate an agreement, but their goals were irreconcilable.…

    • 1881 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Apush Chapter 1 Outline

    • 2834 Words
    • 12 Pages

    a. Negotiations broke down between Ho Chi Minh’s government and the returning French, war broke out in December 1946…

    • 2834 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In 1945, France controlled Vietnam. However, the communists in Vietnam wanted control, so they fought the French. In 1954, the Geneva agreement ended the fighting and declared Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam independent countries. The agreement also split Vietnam into two countries; communists governed North Vietnam and South Vietnam became a democratic country. North Vietnam reneged and the communists tried to take over South Vietnam, so the American military fought the communists in a battle that became known as the Vietnam War (Barr, 2005). The Hmong in Laos experienced tragic, long-term consequences for their wartime allegiance with the United States by secretly fighting in the Vietnam War.…

    • 1915 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Vietnam conflict began in the late 19th Century. France forcefully took ownership of the islands and made the Vietnamese islands a protectorate of France. The Viet Minh, or the League Of Independence was formed sometime around 1940. They were a group of people seeking independence from France. The French Government opposed this action and decided to try and stop the Viet Minh from advancing their political ideals into the rest of Vietnam. In the city of Dien Bien Phu, the Viet Minh surrounded the French Expeditionary Force, and after a fifty-five day siege, the French surrendered (1). After the French pulled out of Vietnam, there was a conference held in Geneva to decide the fate of the small nation. Vietnam was divided into two parts along…

    • 3267 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    For over 6 decades the French had colonial control of Indochina . In 1954, the French suffered a critical defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the French having no options had to pull out of Vietnam. At the Geneva Conference of 1954, an agreement was met called the Geneva Accords, it stated the French would draw all military forces out of Vietnam and temporarily divide Vietnam along the 17th parallel; which spilt the country into communist North Vietnam which was supported by Russia and China and non-communist South Vietnam supported by the United States. The communist government in North Vietnam was led by Ho Chi Minh; he sought to unite Vietnam under communist rule. The United States feared the spread of communism would prove the "domino theory" which stated that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to communism then surrounding countries would also soon fall.…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War was the U.S’ longest and most exhausting war- the only war the U.S had ever lost, had far-reaching consequences and impact on most American life from the economy, culture to domestic politics and foreign policy- some of which continue to do so today. The American military had entered Vietnam as a world superpower from World War 2 but left Vietnam with a humiliating defeat, shockingly high casualties, the American public sharply divided and its leaders uncertain of who to trust with its foreign policy. The Vietnam War was from 1955 to 1975 and fell under 5 different presidents filled with scandals and conspiracy theories. After World War 2, North Vietnam declared itself as an independent nation with Communist Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh gaining control over the nation. The Geneva Accords called for a…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    April 27th, 1975, North Vietnamese soldiers had finally reached the outskirt of the southern capital, Saigon. The war in Viet Nam that lasted 20 years is about to come to an end with communism taking over. It was all over, Saigon was surrounded by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. Presiden Nguyen Van Thieu resigned as president and gave his farewell speech and denounced the United States for failing in aiding the South before the North would later come into the city.…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French forces were defeated by Viet Minh nationalists.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dien Bien Phu- When this fell to Vietnamese forces in 1959, the french began to leave Vietnam…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The French started to integrate more Western ideals, education, and religion including, for the first time introducing Christianity. The Modern Vietnam that we know today, was created from the French colonialism . Around 1883 France gained control of all Vietnam. After WWII, Vietnam gained independence but France still ruled the country Until Ho Chil Mihn took over in 1954. In 1959, North Vietnam began and forced a policy to reunify the country, which led to the outbreak of the American War in Vietnam.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Term Paper final

    • 3208 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Before the United States entered Vietnam, the Chinese ruled North Vietnam and the French ruled the South. However, when the French announced, in 1946, to take over North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh knew that he had to fight for it. (2000-2013, War in Vietnam, 3) after the French retreated from North Vietnam Hồ Chí Minh became the leader of the North Vietnamese and wanted to continue the spread of communism. (2 May 2013, News, before it, 3)…

    • 3208 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Warsaw Pact

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The goal of this group was to encourage them to unite together against Japan and France and by 1945 communism dominated in the Viet Minh movement. In August 1945, Japan was defeated by the French and gave them back Vietnam. The Viet Minh reacted by marching into the city of Hanoi and taking power. The French “puppet” ruler Bao Dai abdicated and then invited Ho Chi Minh to form a government. In 1946, the French recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a Free State, but full independence was not given to Vietnam. The Viet Minh were ready to fight until the end but the French, on the other hand, wanted a quick resolution. The next year the First Indo-China War broke out with Viet Minh choosing guerrilla warfare as the tactic of choice. While war went on in the hillsides, the French decided to establish an alternative Vietnamese government with Bao Dai as head of state. Bao Dai’s new administration, the Republic of Vietnam, was set up in direct response to the fall of China to communism in 1949. Communist China and the Soviet Union both recognized the communist regime of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. The United States was initially against the efforts of France to re-colonize Indo-China, for their own economic reasons because they wanted to open the area up to free trade. The creation of the People's Republic of China and the Korean War gave America no choice but to…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Vietnam War was a war over communism that started in 1950, when Ho Chi Minh, the national leader of Vietnam, introduced a communist government into North Vietnam. In 1954 it was decided to split the country at the 17th parallel, and was ruled under opposing governments, Bao Dai leading the south and Ho Chi Mihn the north. North Vietnam went to war with South Vietnam with the north being supported by Russia and China, as they were also Communist countries, and the south being supported by Britain and the USA.…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conflict In Indochina

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Assess the impact of the conflict in Indochina for the citizens of Vietnam and Cambodia…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Brigham, Robert K. "Battlefield Vietnam: A Breif History." http://www.pbs.org. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/history/index.html>.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays