Discover how the United States worked with the communist Viet Minh against the Japanese in World War II
Discover how the United States worked with the communist Viet Minh against the Japanese in World War II
During World War II the communist Viet Minh were the only effective Vietnamese force resisting the Japanese occupation of French Indochina. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.During World War II the communist Viet Minh were the only effective Vietnamese force resisting the Japanese occupation of French Indochina. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.After South Vietnamese Premier Ngo Dinh Diem canceled reunification elections scheduled for 1956, the communist Viet Minh decided on war. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Have you heard about these three inventions from the Vietnam War?
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), though well-equipped and trained by U.S. advisers, was poorly motivated and poorly led in its fight against the Viet Cong. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.In the spring of 1975 the North Vietnamese army conquered all of South Vietnam, and the following year North and South were formally united in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.While conducting negotiations with North Vietnam, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon began a program of “de-escalation,” or reduction of U.S. combat forces, and of “Vietnamization,” or development of South Vietnam's ability to wage war on its own. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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© Behind the News (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn about American college students' protests against U.S. attacks on Vietnamese communist sanctuaries in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.From 1946 to 1954, the communist Viet Minh battled the French in what is often called the First Indochina War. From Vietnam Perspective (1985), a documentary by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
Transcript
NARRATOR: The United States became involved in Vietnam, both militarily and politically, during World War II. At the start of World War II, the Japanese, seeking to exploit the vast resources of Southeast Asia, occupied French Indochina. Between 1941 and 1945, the only effective resistance to the Japanese in French Indochina was that of the Vietnamese Communists, known as the Viet Minh. To help the Viet Minh, and their leader Ho Chi Minh, fight the Japanese, the United States supplied the Viet Minh with arms and ammunition. In return, the Viet Minh supplied the United States with military intelligence concerning the Japanese and helped rescue downed American pilots.
By 1945, the Viet Minh had won control over a large part of Vietnam's northern Tonkin Province and had seized the capital city of Hanoi. On September 2, 1945, the same day that the Japanese formally surrendered to the Allies, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam's independence from France.
By 1945, the Viet Minh had won control over a large part of Vietnam's northern Tonkin Province and had seized the capital city of Hanoi. On September 2, 1945, the same day that the Japanese formally surrendered to the Allies, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam's independence from France.