The Vietnam War

Paper Summary:

This paper traces the history of Vietnam from the end of the Second World War. It contends that the Vietnam War was not the result of a deliberate policy decision by militant party strategists in North Vietnam but was the consequence of Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem's own repressive measures in the south, measures which forced desperate peasants and Vietminh supporters to take up arms and defend themselves.

From the Paper:

"In January 1951, 15,000 Vietminh troops attacked French posts at Vinh Yen, but the French were able to put up a strong front and defend the town only thirty miles northwest of Hanoi with the use of U.S. imported napalm bombs. Another setback for Ho Chi Minh was "the growing desire for statehood among educated groups in Laos and Cambodia." The Vietminh would not be discouraged. Recognizing that occupation of the French and the threat it posed to their supply route in Hoa Binh, they launched a "bitter battle" and lost approximately fifty-five percent of their 40,000 troops. This battle was successful with the French withdrawing. Ho Chi Minh resisted negotiations and was quoted as saying that "peace could only come about through victory.""

More papers on The Vietnam War:

• Book Review # 142157 : "The Vietnam War On Trial": Book Review"
• Comparison Essay # 42331 : "The Vietnam War"
• Cause and Effect Essay # 112589 : "Student Unrest and the Vietnam War"
• Book Review # 57859 : "Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War"

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