9. Vietnam and the Cold War Until 1954

Question 1

How did the Cold War effect decolonisation in Asia?

Answer 1

• Begins to merge with Cold War rivalry
• Soviet support for nationalist or communist insurgencies against colonial or western countries
• Little consideration for democracy
• Countries can’t be nationalist without being viewed as communist

Question 2

Looking at Vietnamese history between 939 and 1880 what precedent was there for the eventual partition of Vietnam and their war with the U.S.?

Answer 2

• Pre-939 = Vietnam part of the Chinese empire
• Independence granted though the country is modelled after China = Kingdom of Vietnam
• 1280s, resist Mongol invasions = early origins of guerrilla warfare
• Between 14th and 15th century external threats lead to internal peace
• Weakening of central authority
• In the 16th/17th century power resides with two families with one based in the North and the other in the South, split around the 17th Parallel (historical precedence, not just the Cold War) – united by the Tay Son Rebellion (1770-1802)

Question 3

Describe western contact with Vietnam, particularly by France, between 1535 and 1847.

Answer 3

• 1535, Portuguese trade, France sells Vietnam weapons
• French missionaries – initial success in Hanoi but the court expels them in 1630
• 1664 Society of Foreign Missions = trade and missionaries, opposed by the court
• Alliance with France in 1787, the agreement made by King Louis 16th, unfortunately timed, French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars
• Vietnam starts persecuting foreigners = 1847 France bombards ports on the pretence of rescuing missionaries
• Vietnam limits persecution, know that France is looking for a pretext to invade
• Dilemma for indigenous leaders – need to modernise to fight the west nut modernising risks their traditional culture

Question 4

How did France annex Vietnam?

Answer 4

• Franco-Spanish Invasion (1858) – Napoleon III
• Piecemeal Occupation (1860-80s) – Naval officers keep annexing territory without consulting their home government
• Hanoi captured
• Sino-French War (1884-1885) = French victory
• Indochine, French Indochina
• Involves Cambodia and eventually Laos
• Uprisings are suppressed by France

Question 5

What happened to Vietnam during WW2 while France was occupied by Germany?

Answer 5

• The fall of France to Germany = ambiguity about what happens to its colonies
• Vichy French Indochina 1940-1945
• Indochina now an ally to Japan? Have to give resources to Japan
• Coup by the Japanese to take over Vietnam as France becomes liberated
• Vietminh (socialists/communists) oppose the Japanese and are aided by the U.S.

Question 6

How does France approach Vietnamese independence post-WW2?

Answer 6

• France propose a form of independence but they would still control most aspects of Vietnam’s government = State of Vietnam
• Nationalist opposition in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
• 1946, failed attempts at negotiation

Question 7

What happened during the First Indochina War (1946-1954)?

Answer 7

• Vietminh and French troops fire on each other – war breaks out
• Vietminh are pushed to Tonkin – depend on guerrilla tactics, more people joining
• The war is out of the public gaze in France, people from French colonies are fighting
• 1949, Vietnam declares independence and are supported by China
• French garrisons start to be overrun
• American aid especially under Truman
• 1954, Battle of Dien Bien Phu, French defeated

Question 8

Describe American involvement in the First Indochina War.

Answer 8

• Roosevelt originally opposed involvement, didn’t want to support colonialism
• Held a neutral position but they did supply France with WW2 weapons, government insisted the ‘made in America’ labels be removed before sale
• Truman held a different opinion from Roosevelt especially with the Second Red Scare in America
• 1946, $160 million in aid to French military operations in Vietnam
• U.S. more stringent with the Dutch in Indonesia than the French in Indochina – France had a big say over imports in the UN

Question 9

How does the war in Vietnam evolve from a colonial war to a Cold War conflict?

Answer 9

• General Tassigny goes to US and says France is fighting communism not nationalists
• Vietnam did have communist parties but the Vietminh were nationalist
• Military trade agreement between Vietnam and China for training and supplies
• 1950-54, $2.6 billion aid to France, U.S. paying 78% of the war
• France wants US air support at Dien Bien Phu, US refuse

Question 10

What did the Geneva Accords in 1954 stipulate and how was this influenced by other countries?

Answer 10

• ½ million Vietnamese killed (estimate)
• Pressure on Ho Chi Minh to compromise from USSR and China
• US worried that Chinese troops previously involved in Korea may now enter Vietnam
• Geneva Accord = ceasefire, temporary partition along the 17th Parallel, nationwide elections in 1956
• US supports these accords but is already worried about having another Korea

Question 11

How did the Vietminh react to Ho Chi Minh’s compromises at the Geneva Accord?

Answer 11

• President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
• Attacked by his party for compromising
• “They see only the French, not the Americans”
• He didn’t want America to become involved in Vietnam

Question 12

What were the legacies of the First Indochina War?

Answer 12

• Domino Theory
• SEATO 1954 = replica of NATO in Asia
• Mutual Defence Treaty 1951
• ANZUS 1951
• Treaty with Japan 1951
• Treaty with South Korea 1953
• Treaty with Taiwan 1954
• Tougher stance on perceived communist aggression
• Vietnam now part of the Cold War