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- France ruled Vietnam after 1850s.
- In 1940, Nazi Germany defeated France and overtook its colonies including Vietnam.
- In March 1945, Japan invaded Vietnam in World War II.
- But Japan had to surrender to US & Allies in August 1945, after Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings.
- So, the control of Vietnam came back from Japan to a provisional French government.
- People in Vietnam were fed up of being ruled by France, Germany, Japan and then provisional French government.
- A political leader – Ho Chi Minh – who had emerged from the unrest in Vietnam in 1941 wanted independence.
- Ho and his army fought the French and won in 1954.
- The winners of World War II were seen as world powers and they wanted to intervene and Geneva Peace Accord (GPA) was signed.
- As per GPA, Vietnam was to be divided in two-parts (North & South) till elections that were to happen in 2 years.
- Ho Chi Minh was made in-charge of North, while the French representative was to manage South Vietnam.
- Ho Chi Minh found GPA to be unfair as he had won the battle but agreed to sign because the arrangement was temporary.
- US also knew that in two years, Ho, a communist, will come into power and communism (and therefore Soviet Union’s influence) will expand.
- US feared this expansion and began providing military and financial assistance to South Vietnam.
- South was badly losing, so US entered the war against North, who had the backing of USSR & China.
- North won the war that lasted for close to 20 years (1955-1975) and 3 million people died, including 60,000 Americans.
Image courtesy of Pixabay
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