Viet Minh
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Viet minh flag.gif The Vietminh (abbreviated from Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội, "League for the Independence of Vietnam") was formed by Hồ Chí Minh in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France as well as to oppose the Japanese presence. Some people may confuse it with Viet Nam Cach Mang Dong minh Hoi (abbr. Viet Cach) which was founded by Nguyen Hai Than and Ho Ngoc Lam and later, it joined Vietnamese National Coaliton in 1946. During World War II, Japan occupied French-held regions in Asia (commonly called French Indochina). As well as fighting the French, the Viet Minh started a campaign against the Japanese. Due to their opposition to the Japanese, the Viet Minh received funding from the Americans and the Chinese. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, the Viet Minh, now led by Hồ Chí Minh, took control of the country and declared independence from France. With the support of his American sponsors, Hồ established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945. However, with the Japanese vanquished, American support declined and the French returned troops to Vietnam within a couple months to reestablish their colonial rule. The declaration of independence was followed by nearly ten years of war against France, with France's effort largely funded and politically supported by the United States. This was commonly known as the French Indochina War.
French General Jean-Etienne Valluy attempted to wipe out the Viet Minh in one stroke, but failed. His French infantry with armored units went through Hanoi, fighting house to house against Viet Minh squads. Days passed before the French finally routed the last Vietminh snipers. The Viet Minh claimed more than twenty thousand kills.
The French encircled the Viet Minh base, Viet Bac in 1947. They almost captured Hồ Chí Minh, who slipped into a camouflaged hole. General Valluy with a total of fifteen thousand men was trying to defeat sixty thousand enemy troops. He was unsuccessful.
The French surrendered in 1954 following the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, giving the Democratic Republic of Vietnam additional advantage at the subsequent peace negotiations. Shortly thereafter, as a result of peace accords worked out at the Geneva Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam at the 17th Parallel as a temporary measure until unifying elections would take place in 1956. Transfer of civil administration of North Vietnam to the Viet Minh was given on October 11, 1954. Hồ Chí Minh was appointed Prime Minister of North Vietnam, which would be run as a communist state. Ngô Đình Diệm, who was previously appointed Prime Minister of South Vietnam by Emperor Bảo Đại, eventually assumed control of South Vietnam. In the words of U.S. President Eisenhower, "It was generally conceded that had an election been held, Hồ Chí Minh would have been elected Premier. Unhappily, the situation was exacerbated by the almost total lack of leadership displayed by the Vietnamese Chief of State, Bảo Đại, who, while nominally the head of that nation, chose to spend the bulk of his time in the spas of Europe rather than in his own land leading his armies against those of Communism."
South Vietnam and its chief supporter, the United States, were not signatories to the 1954 agreement and refused to hold unifying elections, realizing that Hồ Chí Minh's popularity would assure his victory.
See also
External links
- Collection of Official Documents on Vietnam History
- Vietnamese Declaration of Independenceca:Viet Minh
de:Việt Minh es:Viet Minh eu:Viet Minh fr:Viet Minh ko:비엣민 it:Viet Minh hu:Viet Minh nl:Vietminh ja:ベトミン no:Viet Minh pl:Viet Minh fi:Viet Minh sv:Vietminh vi:Việt Minh zh:越南獨立同盟會