In September 1940, as part of their plan for territorial expansion, the Japanese invaded Vietnam. The French surrendered and Ho Chi Minh saw the opportunity he had been waiting for. He returned to Vietnam in February 1941 and formed an army called the Vietminh. Led by General Giap, (shown right), they began a guerrilla war in the jungle against the Japanese, using weapons supplied by the Soviet Union and by the United States, who declared war on Japan in December 1941. In August 1945, following the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan by the USA, the Japanese surrendered and Ho thought that Vietnam was now free. After all, the French had gone, and the Japanese had been defeated, albeit with American, French, British or Russian help. Surely the independence of the Vietnamese would be recognised.
In September 1945, Ho Chi Minh announced the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. After the war ended until 1946, Vietnam was occupied by China and Britain. Ho Chi Minh believed that it was only a matter of time before they handed over power to him and was angry when, in 1946, Vietnam was returned to the French, who refused to accept the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho and the Vietminh now found themselves fighting yet another war, this time against the French. After early set backs, the Vietminh began to win important victories, particularly after 1949, when the Chinese communists helped them. In 1953, the French still controlled the South, supporting Bao Dai, the former emperor, as head of state. Ho Chi Minh realised, that the longer the war lasted, the greater were the chances of a Vietnamese victory. He also knew that the French were tired of the fighting. Ninety thousand French troops had already been wounded or killed in a war lasting 7 years. There was no sign of victory and the cost of the war was a great burden on French taxpayers. With declining support the French desperately needed to end the war with a victory. Their commander in Vietnam, General Navarre, hoped to achieve this in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu
To stop the Vietminh forces returning to their bases in Laos, Navarre set up a defensive system at Dien Bien Phu. He knew that to reopen the route into Laos, the Vietminh would have to attack it. Instead, led by General Giap, they surrounded it with thousands of troops and a vast system of well-constructed trenches and manintained this siege for 56 days, during which they were subject to a constant bombardment from siege guns placed in the hills over the French camp. On May 7th 1954, the siege came to an end. Around 2,000 French troops had been killed and over 10,000 had surrendered. Vietnamese losses were between 8,000 and 10,000 and bodies of soldiers from both sides remain buried in the defensive system, even today. The suffered a humiliating defeat which meant the end of their control of Vietnam and Indo-China. For Ho Chi Minh and for General Giap and the Vietminh, Dien Bien Phu was a great victory which would now surely lead to a united, free and communist Vietnam - or this was at least what Ho Chi Minh and his followers believed was about to happen.