Origins of the Vietnam War

Question	Answer
Vietnam - Pre WW2	France ruled Indochina (Vietnam)
Vietnam - 1942 to 1945	1942 - Japan invaded and occupied French Indochina. They treated the Vietnamese brutally. Ho Chi Minh led a strong Communist resistance - by 1945, Japan was defeated.
Vietnam - The First Indochina War	French returned and reoccupied Vietnam. However, Ho Chi Minh and his supporters continued to fight for independence. French defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Signed a peace treaty - French removed and Vietnam divided along the 17th parallel.
Why did USA send troops to Vietnam?	Eisenhower was worried of Communism - domino theory. He thought that Ho Chi Minh would win the national election so helped Ngo Dinh Diem (anti-Communist) set up Republic of South Vietnam.
Diem's Reign	Diem's Government was corrupt - he put relatives in power and refused to hold elections. Treated Vietnamese peasants badly - the peasants then began to support the Vietcong (National Liberation Front for South Vietnam). The Vietcong began a guerrilla war against the South Vietnamese government.

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	Created by sagar.joban over 11 years ago