1. The First Indochina War 1946 - 54
Natalie Yeung & Amanda Nardi

2. Who was involved? The Viet-minh The French
A nationalist-communist movement led by Ho Chih Minh.
The French
Which had control over Vietnam. But their control was weakened after WW2.

3. And later on…

4. America
To contain the spread of communism, America joined the war in They funded the French with 150 million dollars. After President Eisenhower was elected, they continued to fund the war and by the end of the war, a total of 2.5 billion had been spent on the Indochina War.

5. Open war erupted on 19 December, 1946

6. The first three years…
After a heavy battle, Ho Chih Minh and his army disappeared into the mountainous north, Viet Bac where he consolidated the support of the peasants.
It was there that he began grouping his army into tightly equipped units and started to use GUERILLA tactics.

7. But the first three years of battle was inconclusive, it seemed that the French, with their superior weapons, could not defeat the guerrillas, and vice versa.

8. The Elysee Agreement
Although Ho Chih Minh was willing to negotiate with the French, the French still looked for ways to control the country that did not involve communist Vietnam.
They turned to the exiled emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai.

9. In 1948, the French signed an agreement with Bao Dai which stated that Vietnam would be independent from France, but that France would retain control over their army.

10. There are now two governments claiming to represent the whole of Vietnam…
Ho Chih Minh’s Democratic Republic
Supported by…
Soviet Union
China
Bao Dai’s government
Supported by…
USA
Britain
France

11. Then…the tables are turned…

12. The French public starts to oppose French involvement in Vietnam due to the huge costs. It became known as… the DIRTY WAR.

13. Help From China
-the Viet Minh became more powerful with the help from China - Mao Zedong
They were able to struck down defences near the northern border near china
However China eventually became too involved with the Korean war and was not able to continue to help Vietnam

14. The French eventually did not have enough resources to continue the war and lost control of Vietnam gradually