The French rule was frequently rebelled against. However, there was a lack of unit amongst the rebel leaders which helped the French to maintain control. From the late nineteenth century various groups arose seeking goals such as the reinstatement of Vietnamese culture and the establishment of a democratic republic in Vietnam. Rebellion was crushed but a sense of nationalism developed. It was this age old sense of identity which Ho Chi Minh 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 as a storehouse of vital supplies. However, the Japanese allowed French officials to continue to run the country. Ho Chi Minh, who had become famous in Vietnam after representing Vietnam's case for independence at the 1919 Peace Conference in Paris formed the Viet Minh in 1941 pledging himself to total struggle against the French and the Japanese. Its purpose outlined by Ho was to: "unite all patriots, without distinction of wealth, age, sex, religion or political outlook, so that they may work together for the liberation of our people and the salvation of our nation". The Viet Minh in 1941 was essentially a Marxist organisation emphasising national liberation rather than the establishment of a communist state. The ultimate strength of the Viet Minh lay in its contact with many adverse elements in Vietnam, both rural and urban. However its base was the peasantry who were attracted by its land reform proposals - an end to landlords and a fair distribution of land. Late in 1943 Viet Minh members, led by Vo Nguyen Giap and financed by the Chinese, infiltrated Vietnam and launched guerrilla raids against the Japanese occupiers. They were able to gain large areas in northern Vietnam and the Viet Minh guerrillas became the Vietnam Liberation Army.