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Indochina part 2 and French defeat - Coggle Diagram
Indochina part 2 and French defeat
Reason for Victory 2a: Poor military planning and leadership
● A major weakness of the French forces was poor military planning and leadership.
● The French forces were not trained in guerrilla warfare, and were unable to develop effective counter-insurgency tactics against the guerrilla tactics of the Viet Minh.
●This was an important factor that led to the defeat of the French because the Viet Minh's guerrilla attacks resulted in massive casualties for the French forces.
● In addition, the French military commanders made fundamental errors such as the decision to engage in a battle against the Viet Minh forces in Dien Bien Phu, a remote area far away from the French headquarters in Hanoi.
● The remote location of the battle meant that the French were unable to sustain the fighting, as it took a longer time to send reinforcements when they suffered heavy casualties in the battle.
● As the fighting turned more violent, it became increasingly difficult for the French to send further reinforcements to the area.
● This error led to a significant military defeat for the French, which would ultimately signal the end of the First Indochina War.
Reason for Victory 2b: Unpopular political ally
●Apart from the military effort in fighting against the Viet Minh, the French also attempted to establish an alternative government for the State of Vietnam.
●The French hoped that this would rally the anti-communist political groups and strengthen French position in Vietnam.
● The French approached Bao Dai to be the Head of State for the State of Vietnam.
● They also helped to establish a military force known as the Vietnamese National Army (VNA) to support Bao Dai's government.
● However, Bao Dai was not a very charismatic leader and his reputation and political standing amongst the Vietnamese were undermined by years of collaboration with the French.
● Bao Dai's government was also made up of people with dubious reputations. Some of them were known to be involved in corruption and other crimes.
● The French thus failed to set up a strong government with adequate support from the Vietnamese that could challenge the communist government led by Ho Chi Minh
French Defeat at Dien Bien Phu
● The French forces and the Viet Minh launched several attacks and military campaigns against each other in the early 1950s.
● However, none of the battles marked a turning point in the war as decisively as the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.
● The French established a military base with a major force in Dien Bien Phu, a town in Northwest Vietnam, near the Vietnam-Laos border.
● The French had hoped to cut the Viet Minh's supply lines and establish a foothold with a large French force in the heart of the Viet Minh-controlled region.
● However, Dien Bien Phu was located at the bottom of a valley and the surrounding jungles were controlled by Giap's forces.
● The Viet Minh's artillery based in the jungles was thus invisible to the French forces in the valley below, allowing the Vietnamese to easily fire on the French forces without warning.
● When the Viet Minh decided to launch a surprise attack on the French forces, the French struggled to hold their position.
● The rainy season worsened the situation for the French as it made it difficult for them to obtain supplies and reinforcements by parachute.
● The monsoon rains also flooded the trenches and caused the bunkers to collapse. The fighting at Dien Bien Phu escalated as the Vietnamese repeatedly bombarded the French forces with heavy artillery.
● After two months of intensive fighting and heavy losses, the French were finally forced to surrender.