spanish civil war

Question 1

What was the timeline of France’s imperial control over Vietnam?

Answer 1

France asserted imperial control over Vietnam over a 30-year period.

Question 2

When did Vietnam come under centralized French control?

Answer 2

By 1885 what is now Vietnam had come under centralized French contro

Question 3

how did vietnamese nationalists react to french control

Answer 3

• Throughout this period and after, various Vietnamese nationalist groups staged armed resistance to French control.

Question 4

4. What was the French authorities’ response to their control over Vietnam?

Answer 4

• The French authorities introduced a programme of westernization.

Question 5

5. How did the Vietnamese nationalists react to the emphasis on western education and the Roman Catholic Church?

Answer 5

• The emphasis on western education and the Roman Catholic Church provided an affront to traditional Vietnamese culture, further aggravating Vietnamese nationalists.

Question 6

6. What was the impact of the French bureaucracy on their rule over Vietnam?

Answer 6

• An overly complex bureaucracy designed to further this assimilation made for inefficient rule.

Question 7

7. What was the impact of Vietnamese resources on France?

Answer 7

• Meanwhile Vietnamese resources were used to enrich metropolitan France at the expense of the colony.

Question 8

8. Were there any uprisings against French rule in the 19th century?

Answer 8

• Although there were a number of significant uprisings against French rule in the 19th century.

Question 9

9. Why did these uprisings against french rule in the 19thc fail?

Answer 9

• they failed for lack of widespread organization.

Question 10

10. How can Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh be seen in relation to the nationalist tradition in Vietnam?

Answer 10

• Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh can be seen as a continuation of this nationalist tradition.

Question 11

11. When did the 30-year conflict in Vietnam begin?

Answer 11

• The first act of the 30-year conflict in what is now Vietnam developed amid a dynamic and confusing international situation emerging from the end of the Second World War.

Question 12

12. What made the international situation confusing?

Answer 12

• The complex relationship between the victorious superpowers was deteriorating, adding the amorphous element of ideology to traditional power politics in a way unseen before. Defeated colonizers and pre-war empires were adrift in administrative chaos.

Question 13

13. What was happening in Southeast Asia during this time?

Answer 13

• In Southeast Asia, the confusion was compounded by the fact that the Japanese had not been defeated in the field, but rather as a result of the cataclysmic explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This strange situation left hundreds of thousands of armed Japanese troops still in charge of vast amounts of territory throughout Asia and the Pacific with no real plan for the transfer of power, let alone an idea of to whom that power would be transferred.

Question 14

14. Who was Ho Chi Minh and what was the Viet Minh?

Answer 14

• Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the Viet Minh, a Vietnamese nationalist party with communist leadership. From 1941 he had led a small guerrilla force against the Vichy French (who administered the colony for the Japanese) and against the Japanese directly, for which they received American support.

Question 15

15. When did Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh proclaim independence for Vietnam?

Answer 15

• Ho and the Viet Minh entered Hanoi and proclaimed independence on 2 September 1945, issuing a Declaration of Independence deliberately modelled on the American document of 1776.

Question 16

16. How did Ho Chi Minh negotiate with the Chinese Nationalist troops and the French occupying the south?

Answer 16

• In the months that followed, Ho juggled the competing interests of his own Viet Minh Party, those of the Chinese Nationalist troops occupying the north of the country and the French occupying the south. Choosing between what he believed the lesser of two evils, Ho agreed to the re-occupation of the north by French troops in exchange for recognition of an independent Vietnam “within the French Union”.

Question 17

17. Did the French government ratify the agreement with Ho Chi Minh?

Answer 17

• No, the French government never ratified the agreement and further negotiations yielded no results.

Question 18

18. What was the result of the deteriorating negotiations between Ho Chi Minh and the French?

Answer 18

• As Ho’s frustration rose, so did levels of violence between French and Viet Minh troops in and around Haiphong and Hanoi.

Question 19

19. When did open warfare erupt between the French and the Viet Minh?

Answer 19

• Open warfare erupted in December, after the deteriorating negotiations, with the Viet Minh retreating to their Viet Bac stronghold from which they would conduct the rest of the nine-year struggle against the French.

Question 20

20. How long did the French-Viet Minh War last?

Answer 20

• The French-Viet Minh War lasted for nine years.

Question 21

What was the average strength of a Vietminh division during the majority of the war?

Answer 21

around 10,000 men

Question 22

When were larger units, such as divisions, formed in the Vietminh?

Answer 22

In the period after 1949, when equipment and expertise began pouring south from Mao’s recently conquered China.

Question 23

What was the command structure of the Vietminh?

Answer 23

It was centered on a commander in chief, with all military organizations grouped into territories through a system called the Interzone system.

Question 24

What did the Interzone system manage?

Answer 24

All aspects of the conflict, including elections, assassinations, taxation, recruiting, propaganda, and supply.

Question 25

How did the total strength of the Vietminh change over time?

Answer 25

In 1947, Giap, the Vietminh commander, had about 50,000 Regular Force troops and about 40,000 popular and regional troops. By 1951, this strength had swelled to 110,000 regular force and about 225,000 regional and popular forces. As the war reached its crescendo in 1953, Giap commanded 125,000 regulars, 75,000 regional troops, and 250,000 popular force troops.

Question 26

What kind of weapons did the Vietminh use during the war?

Answer 26

The Vietminh used a variety of small arms including French, Japanese, Czech, and American rifles, mortars, grenades, and a few artillery pieces. They also used Chinese castoffs and US materials captured during the Korean War.

Question 27

How did the Vietminh acquire new weapons during the war?

Answer 27

After the victory over the French, the Vietminh received new weapons. Each month, larger shipments of weapons were sent from China. By the time of Dien Bien Phu, the shipment had risen to 4000 tonnes per month.

Question 28

Did the Chinese provide only weapons to the Vietminh?

Answer 28

No, the Chinese also provided military assistance. After the People’s Liberation Army gained practical military experience, they sent officers to help the Vietminh with planning and logistics. Additionally, Vietminh officers and soldiers were trained in China, with 10,000 officers and 40,000 soldiers trained from 1952 to 1953.

Question 29

What were some of the issues faced by the French forces in Indochina during the war?

Answer 29

The French forces faced political and structural issues such as retribution for collaborators, ideological divisions, economic weakness, and dependence on Marshall Aid.

Question 30

How many coalition governments did the Fourth Republic have during the war in Indochina?

Answer 30

The Fourth Republic had 19 weak coalition governments during the war.

Question 31

Why did the French forces suffer from a chronic shortage of manpower?

Answer 31

Yalta tied a sizable portion of France’s post-war army to the French zone of occupation in Germany, and conscripts were legally forbidden from serving in overseas theatres of war.

Question 32

Where did most of the troops in the French Far East Expeditionary corps come from?

Answer 32

Only about 42% of the French forces in the war were born in metropolitan France, and the rest came from North African army and colonial regiments from Africa and Asia.

Question 33

Who were the French-led auxiliaries in the war, and how were they trained?

Answer 33

The French attempted to augment their units with locally recruited, French-led auxiliaries, who were generally local tribesmen. They were trained in secret camps by covert Western operatives.

Question 34

what was the vietnamese national army (vna)

Answer 34

The VNA was a new army created at the request of the Americans to see the war “Vietnamized,” but it was generally poorly led and equipped, adding little to the French war effort

Question 35

How many soldiers did the French have at the beginning of the conflict, and how many did they have at the end?

Answer 35

The French had a total of 115,000 soldiers at the beginning of the conflict, and this grew to 175,000 by the end. This included French, African, Asian, and Foreign Legion soldiers, as well as 55,000 locals and 150,000 VNA troops.

Question 36

What were the limitations of the French forces’ mobility in Indochina?

Answer 36

The French forces’ mobility was limited by a road system that was often crude at best, making it difficult for armored cars and gun carriers to move around. The topography of the country also severely hampered the effectiveness of tanks and other armored vehicles. Helicopters were severely limited in number and capability, and paratroop drops only partially solved the mobility issue, as troops could not be extracted in the same way that helicopters can.

Question 37

What was the material situation of the French army like during the war?

Answer 37

The French army had a modern army on paper, but in reality, its material situation suffered in much the same way as its personnel situation did. In the first years of the war, material was gathered and scavenged from diverse sources, and it was not uncommon for French units to be armed with a variety of small arms using non-regulation ammunition. As the United States began to bankroll more and more of the French effort after 1950, weapons and equipment became more plentiful and standardized.

Question 38

describe the vna

Answer 38

poorly led, poorly equipped and added little to the French war effort. It was the unenviable lot of these soldiers to be caught between the increasingly popular Vietnam, with their system of brutal retaliation for collaborators, and the official and often equally brutal, oppressive force of the French overlords enforcing conscription.

Question 39

describe french artillery

Answer 39

The French had about 275 artillery pieces that remained in place and about 250 pieces of mobile artillery. After 1950 they had a steady supply of armored personnel carriers and some tanks, the effectiveness of which was severely hampered by the topography of the country.

Question 40

describe the french amphibious units

Answer 40

amphibious units were active in the South and used M29C armed amphibious vehicles brackets, weasels brackets made in the United States.

Question 41

in the years 1949-54, the only other option open to the french in terms of air travel that wasn’t helicopters was

Answer 41

paratroopers

Question 42

did dropping paratroopers work well

Answer 42

Dropping from planes such as a sea 47 worked well for inserting troops into a combat situation, but aeroplanes could not be used to extract these same troops when needed in the way that helicopters can. This hard fact condemned paratroopers to grueling and dangerous marches out of remote areas that further limited their effectiveness. The lesson would be learned before Francis next war helicopters would be used to give the French troops in Algeria mobility unknown to those who have fought in Indochina.

Question 43

What was one of the phenomenal advantages the French had over their enemy in the Indochina War?

Answer 43

The French had a phenomenal advantage in air power over their enemy.

Question 44

Was this air power always sufficient to the task?

Answer 44

No, this air power was seldom of sufficient to the task.

Question 45

What were some of the aircraft used by the French for bombing and strafing?

Answer 45

The French used fast bear, cat and Hellcat fighter bombs for strafing and dropping under wing mounted bombs.

Question 46

How accurate were the bombing runs without any bomb sites?

Answer 46

Without any bomb sites, the accuracy of the bombing runs was dubious.

Question 47

What were the small Moraine aircraft used for?

Answer 47

The small Moraine aircraft were used for artillery spotting.

Question 48

When did parachute technology first emerge and how was it initially viewed in military operations?

Answer 48

Parachute technology emerged during the First World War, but it was initially viewed as debatable for military operations because there were not enough aircraft that could carry significant numbers of soldiers.

Question 49

What were some advantages of paratroop operations for military planners?

Answer 49

Paratroop operations had several advantages for military planners, including the ability to surprise the enemy by dropping troops in unexpected locations, the ability to transport troops over difficult terrain, and the ability to force the enemy to defend in multiple directions.

Question 50

What were some of the drawbacks of paratroop operations?

Answer 50

Some of the drawbacks of paratroop operations included the vulnerability of paratroopers to enemy fire during the brief period between exiting the aircraft and gathering into operational units on the ground, the limited supplies that paratroopers could carry with them, the difficulty of extracting them from a combat zone, and the fact that the number of aircraft required to transport large numbers of troops often eliminated some of the element of surprise.

Question 51

What is napalm and how was it used in the Vietnam War?

Answer 51

Napalm is a jellied form of petroleum that was developed in 1942 and was used in the Second World War before becoming a standard element of all modern military arsenals. In the Vietnam War, it was generally used in close support of ground troops and produced a terrifying and deadly spectacle when dropped from aircraft, incinerating large areas of jungle and causing many civilian casualties.

Question 52

What was the French strategy during the early years of the Vietnam War?

Answer 52

Despite inconsistent supply, the French forces enjoyed a strategic advantage in material during the early years of the war. French strategic planning sought to bring about one big engagement in which they would defeat the bulk of the Ming forces, thus forcing an end to the war.

Question 53

What was the French strategy in Indo-China?

Answer 53

The French strategy in Indo-China was to build blockhouses and observation posts throughout the country, manned by locally recruited troops, to indicate French control of the country. However, these poorly armed detachments were easy targets and played right into the hands of the Viet Ming, creating the type of war they wanted.

Question 54

How did the French control the areas they did not militarily control?

Answer 54

The French built blockhouses and observation posts throughout the country and manned them with locally recruited troops, creating the appearance of French control of the country. However, these poorly armed detachments were easy targets and played right into the hands of the Viet Ming.

Question 55

What was the outcome of the Battle of Route Colonial 4 (RC4)?

Answer 55

In 1950, the Battle of Route Colonial 4 (RC4) resulted in the first large scale Viet Ming victory, taking place at the site of three large French outposts that figured prominently in French military strategy in Indochina, interrupting supply routes from China to the Vietminh.

Question 56

Why did the French need to bring the war in Indochina to a resolution quickly?

Answer 56

The French needed to bring the war in Indochina to a resolution quickly because their domestic political, economic, and social situation could not and would not sustain a protracted war in the far-flung corner of an empire in decline.

Question 57

How did General Alessandri try to deprive the Vietminh of local support?

Answer 57

General Alessandri, the French commander in the Tonkin Region, sought to deprive the Vietminh of local support by using French troops to push Vietminh forces out of small areas, and then using local French recruits to destroy Vietminh infrastructure and support, denying them of essentials.