The First Indochinese War

Democratic Republic of Vietnam

(DRV); one-party state (Communist); land redistribution;

National Liberation Front

(NLF) The Viet-Cong; A political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War (1959-1975), and emerged on the winning side. Had both guerrilla and regular army units, as well as a network of cadres who organized peasants in the territory it controlled.

Republic of Vietnam

(RVN); Ruled by Ngo Dinh Diem; Diem family at core of political structure; Alienated the conservative elite by attacking those who had worked with colonial administration in civil service and army; abolished local elections and reserved land redistribution; Communists faced repression;

Ngo Dinh Diem

A Nationalist Catholic, both anti-French and anti-Communist;

Cold War

A sustained state of political and military tension between the United States/NATO and the Soviet Union and its allies in Warsaw Pact; (1947-1991); No large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Marshall Plan

American initiative to aid Europe, in which the United States gave economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to prevent the spread of Soviet Communism; In operation for four years beginning in April 1948; The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-devastated regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, and make Europe prosperous again.

First Indochinese War

Began in French Indochina on 19 December 1946 and lasted until 1 August 1954; Fighting between French forces and their Viet Minh opponents in the South dates from September 1945; The French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps, led by France and supported by Emperor Bảo Đại's Vietnamese National Army against the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap; Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia.

Second Indochinese War

Cold War-era proxy war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from December 1956 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975; Was fought between North Vietnam—supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies—and the government of South Vietnam—supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies;

Geneva Accords

Divided Vietnam; agreements temporarily separated Vietnam into two zones, a northern zone to be governed by the Việt Minh, and a southern zone to be governed by the State of Vietnam, then headed by former emperor Bảo Đại; A "Conference Final Declaration", issued by the British chairman of the conference, provided that a "general election" be held by July 1956 to create a unified Vietnamese state; this document was not accepted by the delegates of either South Vietnam or the United States. In addition, three separate ceasefire accords, covering Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, were signed at the conference.

Ho Chi Minh

From a family of radical nationalists; Left Vietnam as a mess-by in 1912; Was in Paris during and immediately after WWI; Inspired by Woodrow Wilson; Sought unsuccessfully to present program for autonomy at Versailles; Founded the Indochinese Communist Party (1929); a Vietnamese communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister (1945-1955) and president (1945-1969) of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam); A key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Việt Cộng (NLF or VC) during the Vietnam War.