The French and Dien bien phu
On September 2, 1945, only hours after the Japanese signed their surrender in World War 2, Vietnamese communist leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He did this hoping to prevent the French from reclaiming their former possession of land from their colonial treaties. In 1946, Ho Chi Minh hesitantly accepted a French proposal allowing that Vietnam exist as an autonomous state within the French Union, meaning that Vietnam existed as a state within the French Union being uncontrolled by any outside forces or acting as its own independent state. The fighting began when the French tried to reestablish their colonial rule. In 1949 when The Viet Minh fought an effective guerilla war against France with military and economic help from Communist China, France was receiving military aid from the United States.
In 1953, the French took over Dien Bien Phu, which was a small mountain city on the Vietnamese border next to Laos. Even though the Vietnamese cut off all of the roads to the fort, the French felt confident that they could make it through. Because the fort of Dien Bien Phu was also out in the open, the French believed their artillery would keep their position safe.
In 1954, the Viet Minh army who was under the control of General Vo Nguyen Giap, moved against Dien Bien Phu and in March of 1954, attacked it with 40,000 communist troops and heavy artillery.
The first Viet Minh assault against 13,000 French troops was on March 12, 1954. Although they had massive air support, the French troops only held for two square miles and on May 7, after 57 days of siege, the French positions collapsed. Although the defeat brought the end of the French colonial efforts in Indochina, the United States stepped up in the forces to fill in the French, increasing military aids to South Vietnam and sending out the first U.S. military advisers into the country of Vietnam in 1959, soon after the declaration of the Vietnam War.
In 1953, the French took over Dien Bien Phu, which was a small mountain city on the Vietnamese border next to Laos. Even though the Vietnamese cut off all of the roads to the fort, the French felt confident that they could make it through. Because the fort of Dien Bien Phu was also out in the open, the French believed their artillery would keep their position safe.
In 1954, the Viet Minh army who was under the control of General Vo Nguyen Giap, moved against Dien Bien Phu and in March of 1954, attacked it with 40,000 communist troops and heavy artillery.
The first Viet Minh assault against 13,000 French troops was on March 12, 1954. Although they had massive air support, the French troops only held for two square miles and on May 7, after 57 days of siege, the French positions collapsed. Although the defeat brought the end of the French colonial efforts in Indochina, the United States stepped up in the forces to fill in the French, increasing military aids to South Vietnam and sending out the first U.S. military advisers into the country of Vietnam in 1959, soon after the declaration of the Vietnam War.