3. Why did the French fail to defeat the Vietminh?

Unit Outline

STATEMENT OF INQUIRY

The causes of military defeat can be analysed and applied across time and space, but if ignored can set the seeds for future conflict

GLOBAL CONTEXT

Orientation in Time and Space (Epochs, eras, turning points and “big history”) - Students will explore personal histories; homes and journeys; turning points in humankind; discoveries; explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between, and the interconnectedness of, individuals and civilizations, from personal, local and global perspectives.

KEY HISTORY CONCEPT

Causation - Effective historical thinkers recognize that many claims made about the past seek to more thoroughly explain and understand how a certain set of circumstances originated. Deep historical understanding is demonstrated where students recognize that most historical events are caused by an interplay of diverse and multiple causes that require students to make evidence-based judgments about which causes were more important or significant, or which causes were within the scope of individuals to direct and which were not.

RELATED HISTORY CONCEPT(S)

Conflict - Conflict can develop from inequalities in distribution of power and may manifest itself in many forms: protracted disagreements or arguments; prolonged armed struggles; clashes of opposing feelings or needs; serious incompatibilities between two or more opinions, principles, or interests. Historians study conflict between individuals and societies over time and across place and space, and they also examine how conflicts can be sources of continuity and catalysts for change.

1. What caused the French Indochina War?

Traditional Western perspectives of the Indochina War locate the conflict as part of the wider Cold War, blaming the conflict on the actions of the communist-led Vietminh. But does this view hide the fact that opposition to French colonialism was widespread across Indochina?

2. How did the Indochina War evolve?

The war began with French forces confident of victory. Yet in 1949 the tide turned as CPC victory in China gave the Viet Minh a key ally. Utilising Mao Zedong's tactics on protracted warfare, by 1951 the French had lost the initiative. But what were the key turning points?

3. How was the war in Indochina resolved?

Viewpoints on why the French lost the Indochina War invariably clash on the precise causation yet most agree that the French made a series of mistakes during the conflict. Yet focusing on the role of the French masks many of the clear strengths and victories of the Viet Minh.

4. What was the impact of the Indochina War?

Whilst the French were defeated, the Viet Minh didn't reunify Vietnam. The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with the effect that the political problems of the conflict remained largely unsolved. This would have a huge impact on the region.

5. Assessment: What accounts for the French defeat?

Compared to Malaya, the French had to contend with a much larger scale of resistance to their rule in Indochina, as well as deal more directly with the key change in the region - the rise of communism in China. Could history have been different? What could France have done?