Origins of the VietNam War

Geneva Confernce

The origins of the Vietnam war was the French conquest of Indo-China between 1859-1865. In 1862 the southern third of the country became a french colony as part of Cochinchina. In 1884 the rest of the country became a French colony. In 1941 after the fall of France to Germany the Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh began to fight for independence from France. The French tried to maintain control and sent forces to fight the Viet Minh who were communist. The United States provided support to the French. The war did not go well for the French and after they lost the battle of Dien Bien Phu the French agreed to negotiate to grant Vietnam independence.

In 1954 the sides met at Geneva and agreed to a French withdrawal and the creation of an independent state of Vietnam. As part of the agreement the country was to be divided into two administrative districts the North and the South and after 300 days there would be elections to determine the future of the country. During the period people could freely move between North and South. The only two signatures on the agreement were the French who agreed to withdraw and the Vietnamese government led by Ho who agreed to move his troops from the South. The United States said it would respect the agreement, while the leaders of the South said it would lead to more war. One million Vietnamese Catholics moved during this period from the North fearing persecution under the communist. When it came time for elections the South Vietmanse under the leadership of Ngo Dinh Diem declared their independence and refused to hold elections.

A pro north group the Viet Song began in 1957 a campaign to overthrow the Diem government. The US under Eisenhower sent advisors to the South two of whom were killed on July 8th 1959 when the Viet Cong attacked their quarters at Bien Hoa.