First Indochina War
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Was a war between France and the Viet Minh coalition whose goal was the independence of Vietnam from Indochina. At the end of the war the French left French Indochina, which was dissolved and succeeded by the State of Vietnam, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos and the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Chronology
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September 1945: During the August Revolution following World War II, Vietnamese communist revolutionary Hồ Chí Minh, leader of the Việt Minh, declared independence from French Indochina on 2 September 1945, announcing the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
October 1945: In the ensuing power vacuum of neither French or Japanese control, the dismissed Prince Phetsarath and other Lao nationalists formed the Lao Issara (Free Laos) which took control of the government and reaffirmed the country's independence on 12 October 1945.
March 1946: Agreement between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and France where the latter recognized Vietnam as a sovereign state.
December 1946: In December, hostilities between the Việt Minh and the French broke out in Hanoi, and Hồ Chí Minh was forced to evacuate the capital in favor of remote forested and mountainous areas. Guerrilla warfare ensued, with the French controlling most of the country except far-flung areas.
July 1949: In 1949, France officially recognized the nominal "independence" of the State of Vietnam as an associated state within the French Union under Bảo Đại. However, France still controlled all foreign relations and every defense issue.
March 1950: In February, Giap seized the vulnerable 150-strong French garrison at Lai Khê in Tonkin.
September 1950: Đông Khê fell to the Viet Minh on September 18.
November 1950: By the time the remains of the garrisons reached the safety of the Red River Delta, 4,800 French troops had been killed, captured or missing in action.
February 1951: Battle of Vĩnh Yên.
May 1951: Battle of the Day River: Viet Mingh conquer Ninh Bình, Nam Định, Phủ Lý and Phat Diem.
June 1951: Battle of the Day River: Viet Mingh conquer Ninh Bình, Nam Định, Phủ Lý and Phat Diem.
May 1953: Battle of Muong Khoua.
November 1953: The Vietnamese took Phú Thọ on November 5.
June 1954: Battle of Mang Yang Pass.
January 1952: In early 1952, the territory of Muong Khoua was under the control of the Viet Minh, a communist-led organization fighting for Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule. This shift in power occurred in 1951, marking a significant development in the First Indochina War.
September 1953: France was looking for a political solution to get out of Indochina and Nà Sản was abandoned in August 1953.
September 1945: The Franco-British troops took control of Saigon.
November 1953: Phú Yên conquered by france.
November 1953: Operation Mouette.
January 1951: Battle of Vĩnh Yên.
November 1953: Phu Doan conquered by france.
November 1953: Operation Pollux.
November 1945: As agreed to at the Potsdam Conference, the Chinese 1st Army occupied Indochina as far south as the 16th parallel. They had been sent by Chiang Kai-shek under General Lu Han to accept the surrender of Japanese forces occupying that area, then to supervise the disarming and repatriation of the Japanese Army. This effectively ended Hồ Chí Minh's nominal government in Hanoi.
October 1950: Lạng Sơn, a French base to the south, was abandoned to the Viet Minh.
January 1952: In early 1952, the situation in Muong Khoua, a town in northern Laos, was tense as it had recently been transferred from French control to Vietnam. The area was experiencing political upheaval, with various factions vying for power, including the Viet Minh and anti-communist forces led by General Vang Pao.
May 1954: Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
The Geneva Accords, that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 26 to July 20, 1954, dealt with the dismantling of French Indochina. The dissolution of the French Empire in Southeast Asia created the states of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the State of Vietnam (the future Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam), the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Kingdom of Laos.
July 1954: The Geneva Conference involved several nations and It was intended to settle outstanding issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War. The part of the conference that dealt with the dismantling of French Indochina proved to have long-lasting repercussions. The crumbling of the French Empire in Southeast Asia would create the eventual states of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the State of Vietnam (the future Republic of Vietnam, South Vietnam), the Kingdom of Cambodia, and the Kingdom of Laos.
Selected Sources
Flemming, Thomas / Steinhage, Axel / Strunk, Peter (1995): Chronik 1946: Tag für Tag in Wort und Bild, Chronik-Verlag/Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag,p. 38
Indochina - Midway in the Geneva Conference: Address by the Secretary of State, May 7,1954 (1). Yale Law School. Retrieved on 6 April 2024 on https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/inch022.asp
