Road to Independence: The First Indochina War

   In March 1946, negotiations started between the French and the Viet Minh (headed by Ho Chi Minh) for Vietnamese political leeway. France was to recognize the Viet Minh government, give Vietnam “the status of a free state within the French Union,” and have French troops slowly fade out of Vietnam over the period of five years. While the French cooperated in the beginning, the plans fell out because it was difficult to please both sides of the agreement. France wanted to reestablish colonial rule while the Vietnamese wanted complete independence. [C]

The French public had strongly been against the war [E]:

1.       Resulted in loss of French soldier lives

2.       France was trying to rebuild her economy after World War II

3.       There was no justification for France in Vietnam in the first place

Timeline [C]:

Time	Event
1945	Ho Chi Minh declared national independence
November 1946	the French navy bombarded Haiphong, killing around 6,000 civilians, marking the beginning of the First Indochina War.
December 1946	the French demanded Vietnamese to hand over power and authority [F]
	The Vietnamese responded by attacking French installations around Hanoi [F]
May 1954	The final battle of Dien Bien Phu ended in Vietnamese victory