9781422285992

The Vietnam War

14

Vietnam, Bao Dai, to abdicate the throne and allow the Vietminh to rule the country. On September 2, the day on which Japan formally surrendered in Tokyo Bay, Ho appeared before a mass gathering in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square. He proclaimed the independence of Vietnam and the establish- ment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In his speech, he quoted from the U.S. Declaration of Independence, as well as the French Declaration of the Rights of Man. Ho also said, “We are convinced that the Allied nations, which at Tehran and San Francisco have acknowledged the principles of self-determination and equality of nations, will not refuse to acknowledge the independence of Vietnam.” The French Return In return for supporting the interests of the Allied Powers (the United States, Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China) against the Japanese during World War II, Ho Chi Minh expected the Allies to sup- port Vietnamese independence. He especially looked to the United States for affirmation. However, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam lasted only a few days. At the Potsdam Conference in July–August 1945, the Allies had decided that China and Great Britain would jointly occupy Vietnam to supervise the disarmament and repatriation of Japanese forces. For the foreseeable future, Ho Chi Minh’s government effectively ceased to exist. The Allied powers, particularly Great Britain, did not want to see colo- nial empires broken up after World War II, as they had been after the First World War. Britain had a worldwide network of colonies, and would be weakened significantly if they gained independence. France too was determined to reassert its influence and maintain its colonial interests in Indochina. The United States, meanwhile, was experiencing a rift between its for- mer ally, the Soviet Union. The Soviets were threatening to expand their communist ideology throughout Europe. U.S. policymakers recognized that they needed France’s help to contain the spread of communism. Thus they were willing to support the French effort to regain control of its Indochina colony. Faced with the loss of outside support, Ho Chi Minh and his followers were forced to reconsider their approach.