We review the preliminaries of the conflict between North Vietnam and South Vietnam that later led to the Vietnam War, one of the most important military confrontations that occurred during the so-called Cold War.
Vietnam under foreign rule
Vietnam is a nation located in the eastern part of the indochinese peninsulain the southeast of Asia. Its territories had been under French colonial administration since the end of the 19th century. During the Second World War, Japan invaded and occupied Vietnam, displacing the French forces. The country continued under foreign domination.
Resistance soon broke out against the new regime. Inspired by the communism chinese and soviet hochiminh formed the Viet Minhwave League for the Independence of Vietnam. His goal was to fight Japan and the French colonial administration. A long period of confrontation began that is currently known as the indochina war
When their defeats began in the World War II, Japan decided to withdraw its forces from Vietnam. It was so that in 1945, the ruler of the country was the emperor Bao Dai (of French education) in the control of the independent state of Vietnam. But this situation turned very quickly.
the division of vietnam
ho -creator of the movement Viet Minh– He got up immediately. He seized power from the northern city of Hanoi and declared the conformation a Democratic Republic of Vietnama socialist state that had ho as president.
Trying to regain control of the region, France decided to back the emperor Beam. It was then established state of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in July 1949, with Saigon as capital. The country was then de facto divided into two states: the South Vietnam under the government of Bao Dai vs him North Vietnam under the command of hochiminh.
The rival states embarked on an armed conflict that came to a head in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954. It saw the defeat of the coalition of South Vietnamese and French forces by the forces of the Viet Minh north vietnamese
Subsequent negotiations formally established the vietnam division along the 17th parallel (with ho in control in the North Y Beam In the south). In turn, the treaty signed between both sides provided for the calling of elections for national reunification that should be held in 1956.
But before arriving at that date in South Vietnam there was a conspiracy against Beamperpetrated by the deeply anti-communist Ngo Dinh Diem. So in 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem became president of the Republic of Vietnam (V. of the S.).
In our next article we will tell you about how the american interventionand led to the outbreak of Vietnam War.
To read more about the Cold War we recommend the following items:
- The Cold War
- The first round of the Cold War
- The Division of Germany, the prelude to the Wall of berlin
- Korean war
- The People’s Republic of China
- Cuban Revolution
Font:
history.com
Images:
1. Battle of Dien Bien Phu, on news.bbc.co.uk
2. Division of North Vietnam and South Vietnam at vietnamsegunpavel.blogspot.es
3. Portrait of Ho Chi Minh at unc.edu