The End of French Colonial Rule Flashcards
When did USA give transport planes to the French?
30th June 1950
How many transport planes did the USA give the French on 30th June 1950?
8
What arrived from the USA to the French later in 1950?
A ship crammed with military goods arrived in Saigon
What was the USA aiding the French with?
10,000 tons of equipment per month
$500 million per year for the French
What % of the French war with the Viet Minh did the USA cover?
75-80%
When was communist victory in China?
1949
What did Ho Chi Minh receive from communist China after 1949?
Help due to him starting to become more communist
What did Ho Chi Minh want for Vietnam? What were the Americans concerned at?
Independence
Americans concerned at this spread of communism
Where did the French and Viet Minh generally control?
French generally controlled the towns
Viet Minh dominated the countryside
What did the Viet Minh’s domination of the countryside allow them to do?
Use guerrilla tactics
The French found them impossible to beat
How many French soldiers were tied up by the Viet Minh’s hit and run raids?
190,000
How many French casualties did the Viet Minh’s hit and run raids cause?
The raids caused over 90,000 French casualties
How many French troops died?
73,000
When was the Battle of Dien Bien Phu?
1954
Who were comprehensively defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu?
A large well armed force of French paratroopers
How many French died at Dien Bien Phu?
1600
How many French were wounded at Dien Bien Phu?
5000
How many Viet Minh died at Dien Bien Phu?
7,900
How many Viet Minh were wounded?
15,000
How many French were captured by the Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu? What happened to them?
8000
Marched them off on foot on a 500 mile trek to prison camps
Fewer than half survived
What was devastated after Dien Bien Phu?
The French war effort
Who was the Viet Minh Commander?
Vo Nguyen Giap
What did Vo Nguyen Giap say in a speech after Dien Bien Phu in 1954?
A poor feudal nation had beaten a great colonial power
It meant a lot, not just to us, but to people all over the world
What allowed a small Asian state to defeat a rich European power?
A combination of effective leadership, guerrilla tactics and sheer determination (peasants carried the Viet Minh’s supplies by hand)
What did China and the USSR help to provide the Viet Minh with?
Modern weapons
What did the modern weapons from China and the USSR allow the Viet Minh to do?
Confront and defeat the French in open battle
What did the French do in retaliation to the Viet Minh’s guerrilla tactics?
Attempted to control the countryside
How did the French attempt to invade the countryside of Vietnam? What was the result of this?
Raiding peasant villages
Increased popular support for the Viet Minh
