The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was formed under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. The new republic faced a number of problems.
(i) The French tried to regain their control taking help of the emperor, Bao Dai, their puppet. They became successful in forcing Vietminh to retreat to the hills.
(ii) The Supreme French Commander of the French armies, General Henry Navarre had declared confidently in 1953 that they would soon be victorious. But this did not happen.
(iii) On 7 May 1954, the Vietminh destroyed and captured more than 16,000 soldiers of the French Expeditionary Corps.
(iv) The entire commanding staff, including a general, 16 colonels and 1,749 officers were made prisoners.
(v) The Vietnamese were persuaded to accept the division of the country. North and South were split. Ho Chi Minh and the Communists took power in the north while Bao Dai’s regime was put in power in the south.
(vi) This division set in motion a series of events that turned Vietnam into a battlefield bringing death and destruction to its people and the environment.
(vii) The Bao Dai regime was soon overthrown by a coup led by Ngo Diah Diem. Diem built a repressive and authoritarian government. Anyone who opposed him was called a communist and was failed and killed.
(viii) Diem’s dictatorial regime came to be opposed by a broad opposition united under the banner of the National Liberation Front (NLF).
(ix) With the help of the Ho Chi Minh government in the north the NLF fought for the unification of the country. The US watched this alliance with fear. Worried about communists gaining power, it decided to intervene decisively, sending in troops and arms.
