The first Indochina war (1946–1954) and the Geneva agreement (1954)

Abstract

After World War II, the situation in Indochina had complicated changes. Japan surrendered to the allies and the situation was favorable for the French army to return to Indochina to continue its colonial rule as before 1945. That sparked a war, mainly between Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and the French colonialists. The war took place across the entire Indochina peninsula and was one of the hot spots of the cold war. Since 1950, Vietnam received support from the Soviet Union and China. The war with greater advantages gradually tilted towards Vietnam. In 1954, despite receiving great support from the United States, the French army still failed at Dien Bien Phu. This led to a military and political settlement at the Geneva conference. During this conference, the plans and plots of major countries fully reflected the complexity that the Cold War brought. The fate of small and weak countries was not taken seriously, which resulted in persistent conflicts, sparking the next large-scale war in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsula from 1961 to 1975.

Keywords

• Vietnam
• France
• Indochina war
• colonialism
• Geneva agreement
• Cold War