WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The decision to invade Vietnam was made by Napoleon III in July 1857. It was the result not only of missionary propaganda but also, after 1850, of the upsurge of French capitalism, which generated the need for overseas markets and the desire for a larger French share of the Asian territories conquered by the West.

Detailed explanation-2: -The French annexed the three southwestern provinces in 1867 to form Cochinchina. Having consolidated their power in Cochinchina, the French conquered the rest of Vietnam through a series of battles in Tonkin, between 1873 and 1886.

Detailed explanation-3: -The central fact of French involvement in Vietnam was the persistent seven-year effort to re-establish French colonial rule. French forces were pitted against a Communist-led revolution for national independence; at no point did France offer Vietnam the alternative of non-Communist independence.

Detailed explanation-4: -Despite financial assistance from the United States, nationalist uprisings against French colonial rule began to take their toll. On May 7, 1954, the French-held garrison at Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam fell after a four month siege led by Vietnamese nationalist Ho Chi Minh.

Detailed explanation-5: -War breaks out (1946) On November 23, 1946, the French fleet bombarded the Vietnamese sections of the city killing 6, 000 Vietnamese civilians in one afternoon. The Việt Minh quickly agreed to a cease-fire and left the cities.