Table of Contents
Was the French army powerful?
It has the largest armed forces in size in the European Union. According to Credit Suisse, the French Armed Forces are ranked as the world’s sixth-most powerful military.
How did Vietnam defeat the French?
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. After the fall of Dien Bien Phu, the French pulled out of the region. The United States would not pull out of Vietnam for another twenty years.
Why was the Vietnam war so difficult for American soldiers?
Explanation: Firstly most of the war was fought as a guerrilla war. This is a type of war which conventional forces such as the US army in Vietnam, find notoriously difficult to fight. The Americans, laden down with conventional weapons and uniform were not equipped to fight in the paddy fields and jungles.
Why did the French recruit conscripts for the Vietnam War?
The French did recruit conscripts in France for their war in Vietnam, in order to keep the war from becoming more unpopular at home than it was – a war being called the “dirty war” (la sale guerre) by France’s communists and leftist intellectuals, including Jean Paul Sartre.
What happened to Vietnam’s military bases after the war?
Some of them were vacated or lost during the war, while others were abandoned when peace-time rendered them unnecessary. Once great centers of military force, many of them now stand abandoned, left to ruin while the jungle slowly reclaims them. USAF Vietnam Tuy Hoa Air Base main gate – Author: manhhai – CC by 2.0
Why did the Viet Minh attack the French in Vietnam?
The French in Vietnam. The Viet Minh occupied the highlands around Dien Bien Phu and were able to shell the French with accuracy. The Viet Minh had arisen from guerrilla warfare to confronting the French in pitched battle. Sensing impending disaster, the French requested armed intervention from the U.S.
Why was the Vietnam War so controversial?
The Vietnam War was the costliest and most controversial military campaign in American history and was a war that defined a generation and branded a decade. This kind of operation required massive structures of war to be built on enemy soil.