Different Points of View of Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Different Points of View of Vietnam - Essay Example Different documents on Vietnam from 1945 when it gained independence from the French through the early 1970s shows different points of view regarding decolonization, national, liberation, and global cold war standoffs. It is imperative to note that â€Å"as decolonization coincided with the Cold War, the two global phenomena had a close and interrelated history, with each influencing the context and character of the other† Nelson and Ellenberger, 427). â€Å"In September 1945, the same month that World War II officially ended, Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) declared both Vietnamese independence and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam† (Nelson and Ellenberger, 447). Vietnam gained its independence in 1945. However, the French did not recognize that they had lost Vietnam as one of the colonies. This was not until 1954 when the French fully withdrew from Vietnam. In the early 1940s, Japanese were gaining more superiority in Vietnam than the French (Lawrence). When the people of Vietnam gained independence in 1945, this was confusing since it was not clear whether they had gained independence from the Japanese or the French. This is what eventually made the French not to accept that their rule in Vietnam had been withdrawn until in 1954 when they fully withdrew (Heiss, 25). The people of Vietnam were highly mobilized in 1945 when the declaration of independence was passed. This motivated them to engage in postwar aimed at driving the French home. Guerilla warfare was the only tactic that could work because the French had comparatively stronger military troops together with superior weapons. By 1954, there were many people who had been killed including French and Vietnamese. Decolonization shifted the war from the French to South Vietnam. The dreams of the people had not yet been achieved.