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History
Escalation in Vietnam
The end of the French colonial rule
…
History
Escalation in Vietnam
The end of the French colonial rule
Conflict and tension in Asia 1950-1975 REVISION
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Geneva Agreement 1954
The Geneva Agreement spelled the end of French control in Vietnam and the beginning of a major dilemma for American political and military leaders.
Under the Geneva Accords which granted Vietnam independence from France, there was to be an election in 1956 to decide whether the country would be reunified (restoring the political unity) or remain divided into North and South. They were divided at the 17th parallel.
GENEVA AGREEMENT: 1) Withdrawal of French troops 2) Ceasefire 3) Laos and Cambodia were formed as independent countries 4) North and South Vietnam was formed as a cooling off period divided with a demilitarized zone called the 17th parallel 5) An election was to be held the next year in 1956 to decide the fate of Vietnam.
Opposition to Diem
The USA supported the anti-communist South Vietnamese dictator, Ngo Dinh Diem, who refused to hold elections to unify the country.
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Ngo Dinh Diem’s government was unpopular with ordinary people in South Vietnam, and so it was no surprise when they began to give their support to an opposition organisation - the National Liberation Front, also known as the Vietcong.
After the Geneva Agreement, a non communist government was set up in south Vietnam under President Diem
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The Vietcong
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The Vietcong’s message of independence from foreign control and ending the concentration of land ownership among rich landlords made it popular with Vietnamese peasant farmers.
By 1963, they had 100,000 troops controlling large parts of South Vietnam
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The Ho Chi Minh trail was created in 1959 to carry supplies from the North the South trough Laos and Cambodia to avoid airstrikes.
Booby traps were made from pointed bamboo sticks, mines, grenades and artillery shells. The Vietcong wore no uniform and could not be found in any particular location. Tunnels existed for them to escape into the jungle. The cells they worked in were very small so that if captured, they could not be tortured for information about others.
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The North Vietnamese government, led by Ho Chi Minh, declared the country to be a socialist state in 1954. Ho Chi Minh’s government attempted to remain neutral and socialist but ended up allying itself with communist China. To the USA this was proof that North Vietnam was communist.