Origins of Vietnam War

• Origins of Vietnam War (Before WW2)

  Vietnam was a French colony known

  as French Indochina after a series of

  conquests in the late 19th century.

  ▪ French rule was exploitative, with the French demanding high taxes and controlling the trade of salt, opium, rice and alcohol.

  ▪ Many Vietnamese resented the French & tried to overthrow them, but none succeeded.
• Origins of Vietnam War (During WW2)


  
  

  ▪ During WWII, France surrendered to Germany and a puppet government aligned to the Nazis was set up.

  ▪ In 1940, Japan invaded Indochina from the north to claim its rich resources.

  ▪ New Vichy France government allowed the Japanese to station troops in Indochina. Japanese rule in French Indochina was harsh and exploitative.

  ▪ Japanese and French forcibly seized rice from local farmers for their own war effort.

  ▪ Mismanagement of the economy made situation worse.

  ▪ Famine caused 1-2 million deaths in Vietnam in 1944-45.
• Rise of the viet minh


  ▪ Groups emerged to resist French and Japanese rule.

  ▪ Ho Chi Minh was an anti-colonial activist and communist. The Viet Minh was a nationalist movement that aimed to achieve independence. It was led by Ho Chi Minh. It consisted of two main groups:

  ▪ Communists: Wanted to establish an independent communist

  state in Vietnam

  ▪ Non-Communists: Favoured independence under a

  democratic government.

  ▪ During WWII, the USA, USSR and China’s Kuomintang (KMT) sent

  money and supplies to the Viet Minh to help them resist the

  common enemy: Japan.