... was able to draw on in the struggle against first the French and then the Americans in the twentieth century. As Nazi Germany invaded France in 1940, Japan readied itself to move into French Indochina. The Japanese saw Indochina as a stepping stone to the rest of South-East Asia as well ... guerrillas became the Vietnam Liberation Army. Japan surrendered in August 1945 and a series of factors enabled the Viet Minh to seize control of Vietnam: Japanese defeat left a power vacuum presenting the Viet Minh with an opportunity to assume control; shortages of rice had resulted in deaths by sta...

• Word Count: 2139
• Approx Pages: 9

... . Ho and his chief lieutenants were communists with long-standing connections to the Soviet Union. They were also ardent Vietnamese nationalists who fought first to rid their country of the Japanese and then, after 1945, to prevent France from reestablishing its former colonial mastery over Vietnam and the rest of Indochina. Harry S. Truman and other American leaders, having no ... for the defense of Europe through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. After China became a communist state in 1949, the stability of Japan became of paramount importance to Washington, and Japanese develo...

• Word Count: 1860
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... his country" (Harrison). FRANCE The French never tried to hide their intentions of holding their prewar control over Indochina. In the Second World War the Japanese invaded, and Vietnamese nationalists fought beside French troops to defeat the Japanese. After the victory over Japan, the Vietnamese expected to gain their independence - but the French remained as colonial masters. On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi ... fought and died to attain the same goal. Historian Buttinger stated that, "Ho Chi Minh over the years had succeeded in creating for his country as an anti-French, anti-Japanese, ...

• Word Count: 1357
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Minh started to gain power in the south, the country of Vietnam united. The United States focused on the apparent threat of Communism. The Americans fought a war without realizing the strength of the united Vietnameses" determination to succeed. Ho Chi Minh had all ready established guerrilla groups and ... underground organizations in some parts of northern Vietnam since the early 1940's. After the Japanese eliminated the French administration in March 1945, the Viet Minh were able to operate more freely, and it expanded very rapidly. By the ... August, the Viet Minh had strong organiza...

• Word Count: 1570
• Approx Pages: 6

... to begin with. During World War Two, the provinces of Vietnam had been colonized by the French who promised to protect Vietnam from the threat of a Japanese invasion. However; after World War Two had ended, Ho Chi Minh, (a pro-unification and independence leader of Vietnam), and his supporters the Viet Minh declared ... : the idea that once one land became communist, the surrounding areas would follow suit. The theory was cause for fear in Americans that, like a disease, communism would one day spread to the United States as well. These now known to be over-exaggerated fears led ... by U...

• Word Count: 2109
• Approx Pages: 8

... in Vietnam direct U.S. military participation in The Vietnam War, the nation's longest, cost fifty-eight thousand American lives. Only the Civil War and the two world wars were deadlier for Americans. During the decade of Vietnam beginning in 1964, the U.S Treasury spent over $140 billion on the war, enough money to fund urban renewal projects in every major American city. Despite ... . Ho and his chief lieutenants were communists with long-standing connections to the Soviet Union. They were also ardent Vietnamese nationalists who fought first to rid their country of the Japanese and the...

• Word Count: 1688
• Approx Pages: 7

... than imagined, led to the deployment of ground troops and the long years of war which followed. In The Second World War, as the only force of strength opposing the Japanese in Vietnam, the Vietminh received support from the American OSS (Office of Strategic Services), rescuing downed pilots and providing intelligence information in return. The Vietnamese fully expected American support even ... therefore be of great significance. This was known as the Domino Theory, and was mostly a result of the Secretary of State's policy. John Dulles was an anti-Communist, but many Americans shared h...

• Word Count: 1722
• Approx Pages: 7

... a twist of faith with the return of Ho Chi Minh after twenty long years of political education abroad. He chased out a weakened French army, and rid the country of the Japanese. Then for the first time in 1955, Vietnam could finally call itself an independent country; only for ten years later the country was under fire, and "the stink of ... aid to the poorest of the poor in Vietnam. Further, we can directly join this group and do hand o work along side students and volunteers that are both Vietnamese and Americans, as they help to build homes, teach the children, provide foods and purc...

• Word Count: 2102
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School