Indochina War

The French colonization of Indochina, consisting of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia was over, when Laos became a French protectorate in 1893. The Second World War opened new avenues for anti-colonial movements in Southeast Asia. On the wake of the Japanese occupation of Indochina, the Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) set up Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (League for the Independence of Vietnam) or Viet Minh. He gave the call in August 1945 to liberate Vietnam and Hanoi was occupied. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) or North Vietnam was established on September 2, 1945 after the formal Japanese surrender on the same day. Laos and Cambodia did likewise. But the French were in no mood to give up Indochina and the French re-conquest of Indochina began. The Viet Minh was ordered by the French to lay down arms, but the former attacked the French troops in Hanoi on December 19, 1946. Thus the First Indochina War began. The Khmer Issarack or the
Free Khmers of Son Ngoc Thanh (1907-1976) were aligned with the Viet Minh. In Laos, the Pathet Lao under Souphanouvong (1901–1995) also fought against the French. The three communist factions formally formed the Viet-Khmer-Lao alliance on 11 March 1951. In the cold war period, the United States was following the containment strategy and helped
France by giving military aid. It was supporting the French Indochinese budget to the extent of 85 percent and it assisted up to 40 per cent of military budget of France in the First Indochina War by 1952. The French had consolidated their position in south of Vietnam. In March 1949, southern part of Vietnam became an Associate State within the French Union along with Laos and Cambodia. By 1950, South Vietnam had been recognized by the United States and Great Britain. The establishment of People’ Republic of China was very favorable to DRV. China recognized the Government of Hanoi and supplied military material as per the agreement of April 1, 1950.Soviet

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