Anyone alive during America's involvement with the Vietnam War will be familiar with many of the names and locations that were made noteworthy during it's duration, but not many know of the prior, hundred year involvement with France that set the stage for this bloody and controversial conflict. This first episode in the Ken Burns series, "The Vietnam War", provides a nice time capsule recap of those years, beginning with the French conquest of Indochina, and the attack on the ancient Vietnamese city of Danang in 1858.
The documentary then takes a quick fast forward to 1941, when Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam after thirty years in exile, living in America, London and Paris, where he joined the French Socialist party. But after reading Lenin's anti-colonialist writings, he became a member of the Communist Party, even though he was more of a nationalist regarding the fate of his home country. Back home, he founded the Vietnam Independence League, better known as the Viet Minh.
On the military side, a leader emerged by the name of Vo Nguyen Giap, who developed a style of guerilla warfare that was difficult to defend against. What's ironic about America's position at this time, is that President Truman and the Office of Strategic Services provided backing for Ho Chi Minh in the way of arms and training. On September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independence from France, citing Thomas Jefferson as a role model for the Vietnamese people. Ho hoped America would side with him, but with France threatening to turn to Russia if we intervened, Truman demurred. With that, General Giap consolidated military power and eliminated opposition to the Communists.
The Viet Minh war against France began in December,1946, right as the Soviets acquired an atomic weapon and while Mao Zedong (it was Mao Tse Tung in those days) gained control in China with the Communists. Mao began providing support to Ho, thereby prompting President Truman to throw his support to France. By 1950, America was involved in another Asian hotbed of turmoil, namely Korea, and involvement in Vietnam amounted to a mere thirty five military advisers.
When the Korean War ended, France wanted to find a way to stop hostilities in Vietnam, but even though plans were made for both sides to negotiate, General Giap engineered a massive assault on French forces in March of 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. With French surrender, almost a million citizens of the North fled Communism and traveled South, where Ngo Dinh Diem became the new leader of a divided country. He hated both the French AND the Communists, and declaring himself President, he formed the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
In North Vietnam, military leader Le Duan took a more aggressive approach than Ho Chi Minh to regain South Vietnam. His Viet Minh army moved south, with hostilities eventually claiming American lives. Giap's followers formed the National Liberation Front (NLF), with the Viet Minh dedicated to overthrowing Diem. America tagged the Viet Minh with a different name, these Communist traitors to the Vietnam nation came to be known as The Viet Cong.
The documentary then takes a quick fast forward to 1941, when Ho Chi Minh returned to Vietnam after thirty years in exile, living in America, London and Paris, where he joined the French Socialist party. But after reading Lenin's anti-colonialist writings, he became a member of the Communist Party, even though he was more of a nationalist regarding the fate of his home country. Back home, he founded the Vietnam Independence League, better known as the Viet Minh.
On the military side, a leader emerged by the name of Vo Nguyen Giap, who developed a style of guerilla warfare that was difficult to defend against. What's ironic about America's position at this time, is that President Truman and the Office of Strategic Services provided backing for Ho Chi Minh in the way of arms and training. On September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independence from France, citing Thomas Jefferson as a role model for the Vietnamese people. Ho hoped America would side with him, but with France threatening to turn to Russia if we intervened, Truman demurred. With that, General Giap consolidated military power and eliminated opposition to the Communists.
The Viet Minh war against France began in December,1946, right as the Soviets acquired an atomic weapon and while Mao Zedong (it was Mao Tse Tung in those days) gained control in China with the Communists. Mao began providing support to Ho, thereby prompting President Truman to throw his support to France. By 1950, America was involved in another Asian hotbed of turmoil, namely Korea, and involvement in Vietnam amounted to a mere thirty five military advisers.
When the Korean War ended, France wanted to find a way to stop hostilities in Vietnam, but even though plans were made for both sides to negotiate, General Giap engineered a massive assault on French forces in March of 1954 at Dien Bien Phu. With French surrender, almost a million citizens of the North fled Communism and traveled South, where Ngo Dinh Diem became the new leader of a divided country. He hated both the French AND the Communists, and declaring himself President, he formed the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
In North Vietnam, military leader Le Duan took a more aggressive approach than Ho Chi Minh to regain South Vietnam. His Viet Minh army moved south, with hostilities eventually claiming American lives. Giap's followers formed the National Liberation Front (NLF), with the Viet Minh dedicated to overthrowing Diem. America tagged the Viet Minh with a different name, these Communist traitors to the Vietnam nation came to be known as The Viet Cong.