Vietnam: A Television History

Episode 1

Roots of a War

Tue, Oct 4, 198360 mins

This first episode in the series deals with the history of Vietnam up to 1954. By 1885 the French were in control of Indochina and over 20 years or so pacified the population. Central to the 20th century history of Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh. Ho moved to Paris in 1917 and joined the Communist Party in 1920. He began formal training in 1923. Japan landed forces in Vietnam after France capitulated to the Germans in June 1940 and he founded the Viet Minh in 1941 which was both anti-French and anti-Japanese. The US actually trained the Viet Minh for the war against the Japanese but with their sudden defeat in 1945, Ho declared independence. The French returned in March 1946 for a limited period but the country is soon divided into North and South. The war begins leading to a Vietnamese victory at the epic 55 day battle at Dien Bien Phu in early 1854. The subsequent Geneva Accords of July 1954 called for a reunification elections in two years.