What this lesson teaches
I can weigh up how fear of communism during the Cold War shaped the path to independence in Southeast Asia.
Syllabus K330, Decolonisation and establishment of newly independent nations in Southeast Asia, Learning Outcomes. Assess how the Cold War politics affected the struggle for independence in Southeast Asia.
Make a guess
From 1950 the war in Vietnam drew in outside powers. Who do you think helped each side?
- China and the USSR helped the Viet Minh; the USA helped France.
- The USA helped the Viet Minh against French colonial rule.
- Outside powers stayed neutral and left the two sides to fight it out.
Show the answer
China and the USSR helped the Viet Minh; the USA helped France.
After Mao's victory in 1949, China could send aid. The USA, fearing communism's spread, paid a growing share of France's costs.
Local organisation kept the Viet Minh fighting, and from 1950 China and the USSR helped them while the USA helped France.
Viet Minh forces first used guerrilla tactics: small, mobile attacks that avoided direct battles with stronger French units. Later, they built the ability to fight large conventional battles, with big concentrated forces and heavy weapons. Commander Vo Nguyen Giap helped build this army. Logistics, moving food, ammunition and equipment to where they were needed, made long campaigns possible.
Civilian workers and local networks carried supplies and supported the campaigns. Some backed the goal of ending French rule or hoped for a better life. But mobilisation also used pressure and coercion: people could be forced to help. So a long campaign does not prove that every Vietnamese person willingly supported the Viet Minh.
In 1949, Mao Zedong's communists won power in mainland China. From 1950, this new government recognised and aided the DRV, and the USSR helped too. This was a different Chinese government from the Nationalists whose troops entered Vietnam in 1945. The USA increasingly aided France and the State of Vietnam, as part of containment: stopping communism from spreading.
Outside help gave both sides more resources. But local leaders, fighters and supply networks still had to turn that help into effective action. So the war was about independence and the Cold War at the same time.
- Vo Nguyen Giap
- Viet Minh commander who built its army.
- Logistics
- Moving food, weapons and ammunition to fighters.
- From 1950
- China and USSR aid the DRV; USA aids France.
Worked example: Getting aid to where it is needed
A shipment of weapons reaches the China-Vietnam border.
- The weapons help, but they are not yet at the battlefield.
- Porters, routes and trained fighters are needed to use them.
- So foreign aid and local organisation work together.
Watch out for this
The war was only about the Cold War, with no nationalist aims.
Many Vietnamese fought to end French rule. Cold War aid came on top of that aim.
Check your understanding
Which Chinese government aided the DRV from 1950?
- The Chinese Nationalist government.
- The USA, which saw Ho Chi Minh as an anti-colonial ally.
- Mao Zedong's communist government.
Show the answer
Mao Zedong's communist government.
Yes. It was a different government from the Nationalists of 1945.