Ho Chi Minh, 1945-1954: Revolution & Independence

The man for all seasons Never a political leader had been so front and center in the fight for a cause célèbre, in this case, the independence of his nation. As has been known, during his years fighting the French with his men well sheltered in deep trenches in the northern part of Tonkin, near the Chinese border, Ho was using the alias Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen the Patriot) among other coded name pseudonyms. With the historic declaration of independence on September 2 in Hanoi, he switched his appellation to Ho Chi Minh (Ho who enlightens), the hallmark name that everybody became acquainted to. The biography of Ho is voluminous and well researched. He so personified the struggle of the VN people against French colonialism that one cannot grasp the complexity of the Vietnam war without knowing the personality of Ho, his life, his work, his character and his motive. He epitomized the harsh reality of Vietnam in its fight for recognition in the community of nations. This chapter devote...

In January 1941 while staying and hiding in China, close to the VN border, Ho established the Vietnam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (VN Independence League), or Viet Minh the most recognized label to represent his group resisting the French. Very adept at setting up new entities, he already founded the Vietnam Thanh Nien Cach Mang Dong Chi Hoi (VN Revolutionary Youth Association) in Dec,1924. Then in May 1929, the Indochinese Communist Party (IPC)...While in France he already produced the Socialist Front and the French Communist Party was also of his making, the main motive was to reinforce his trademark and persuade public opinion about his importance and prestige. Ho Chi Minh was keenly aware that his forces alone, still in its infancy would not be enough to succeed in the monumental and ambitious task of defeating the French and liberating the whole country while under Japanese occupation. He then devised a coalition of all political groups, with mostly anti-communist parties the Vietna...

On the French Indochina War and its political context, I felt overwhelmed writing about it, for it seems that we are dealing with a period historians didn't treat in a comprehensive and effective manner. One could not understand the US Vietnam War (1963-1972) without talking about the preceding Ngo Dinh Diem era. His stay in power (1954-1963) should be seen only as an intermission between the first Indochina War (1945-1954) and the American led war fought until the Paris Peace Accord was reached in 1972 ending US military involvement. 'Embers of War, The Fall of an Empire' the book written by Fredrik Logevall was a real eye opener. The author filled a big void with this monumental and meticulous work, answering many questions I've asked through the years about the underlying causes of the Indochina conflict. And to my mind the main question was: what makes Ho Chi Minh obtain Vietnamese independence and defeat the French colonial power when all the others have failed...