The
First Indochina War Began:
December 19, 1946
The
First Indochina War Ended:
August 1, 1954
The
First Indochina War Was Fought
Between: French
forces vs. Viet Minh, Pathet Lao, and Khmer Issarak
Communist Rebels
The
First Indochina War Also Involved:
The United States
and Great Britain supporting the French side, while the
Soviet Union and China supported the rebels with
equipment and training. After the Communist victory in
China in 1949, the Vietnamese rebels were allowed the use
of southern China as a staging point for attacks into
northern Vietnam.
The
First Indochina War Resulted In:
Vietnamese Communist victory, division of Vietnam into
the Communist North and non-Communist South, independence
of Laos and Cambodia. Within three years, the Second
Indochina War (The
Vietnam War),
would begin.
First
Indochina War Casualties:
French forces:
75,581 dead, 64,127 wounded, 40,000 captured
Communist Viet Minh,
Pathet Lao, and Khmer Issarak forces: 300,000+ dead,
500,000+ wounded, 100,000+ captured
Civilians: Over
150,000 civilians killed
Summary of the First
Indochina War:
The First Indochina War (also known as the French
Indochina War), was a major conflict in the Asian region
known as Indochina, which is made up of the modern
nations of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The war was
fought by France, the long-time colonial ruler in the
Indochina, and Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian
Communist rebel forces. The First Indochina War ended in
French defeat following the surrender of a French army to
the Viet Minh rebels in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in
1954.
France began its conquest of Indochina in 1859, and by
1885, controlled most of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Vietnamese resistance to
French rule continued on and off in the decades
between the French conquest and the start of World War
Two. In 1940, Japan invaded Indochina and defeated the
French. A Vietnamese resistance movement fought the
Japanese occupation, and after Japan's defeat in 1945,
the Vietnamese resisitance hoped to gain independence
from the returning French.
Sources and
Links:
Britain's’
“overlooked” Vietnam War....
