Amir, Samtani, Meadows 1

Sergie Althaf Amir, Nilay Deepak Samtani, Tony Maurice Meadows 10B
Mr. John Gomez
Design Year 5
2 March 2023

Ho Chi Minh Research Packet

Personal Life

● Ho Chi Minh was born in May 19 1890

● After reaching adulthood, Ho Chi Minh travelled to multiple countries finding work.
● Ho Chi Minh was raised in a Confucian scholar’s family, but eventually became an atheist.
Throughout his life, Ho never officially followed any religious belief.

Ho Chi Minh was born on May 19 1890 in an area called Hoang Tru. (J. Lacouture 1) Ho was
born during the time Vietnam was still known as French Indochina, as it was a French colonial
possession. He was raised in the family of a Confucian scholar, and managed to attend a good
grammar school in Hue despite initially having a less than ideal childhood. (2) After graduation from
this school, Ho went abroad. He moved to the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. In
France, Ho found affinity to communism and eventually joined the communist party. He then moved
to Moscow and started to break with the French Communist Party, believing they were not doing
enough to fight colonialism. During this period, Ho’s revolutionary communist views would truly be
developed.

Early Political Journey

● Ho Chi Minh started to gather like minded Vietnamese communist-nationalists after moving
to China
● Eventually, Ho Chi Minh left China for French Indochina, which would later on become
Vietnam after independence was gained from France
● With the support of his Vietnamese allies who made the journey to French Indochina with
him, Ho Chi Minh established the Indochinese Communist Party
● Ho Chi Minh gained full support of the Communist International of Moscow.
● However, due to the establishment of the party coinciding with an outbreak of anti-colonial
revolution in Indochina, the party was restricted and Ho Chi Minh was sentenced to death by
the French colonial authorities in absentia
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After breaking with the French Communist Party, Ho Chi Minh moved to China and
eventually formed a pro-Vietnamese independence support group which would be known as the
Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth Association. (J. Lacouture 2) After briefly organising in China, the
Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth Association was repressed by the government of Chiang Kai Shek,
forcing them to make the journey to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, members of the Revolutionary Youth
Association would establish the Indochinese Communist Party, with Ho Chi Minh eventually being
elected as its leader. (3) This party would operate in the major cities of French Indochina, with the
ultimate intention of establishing an independent communist government to replace the colonial
regime which the people of Vietnam saw as oppressive. Unfortunately, the establishment of this party
coincided with a series of revolutions against French rule, causing Ho Chi Minh and other members of
the party to be condemned to death by the colonial authorities. Due to this, Ho Chi Minh and other
members of the party moved to China once more, staying within the territories of the Chinese Soviet
Republic under Mao Zedong. (4)

Struggle against Japanese occupation

● After the fall of France during the Second World War, the Japanese Empire invaded French
Indochina and seized control of the territories from the collaborationist Vichy French
government.
● Japan occupied Vietnam with collaboration from former French authorities, allowing them to
remain in charge while extracting crucial strategic positions and resources.
● Japan eventually took full control over the collaboration government after the Allies start
consolidating gains over the Pacific, empowering local resistance
● Ho Chi Minh, with the organisation of the Viet Minh, declared the Japanese occupation as the
number one enemy and started to resist it

During the Second World War, France’s mainland fell and Indochina came under the control
of the collaborationist government of Vichy France. (J. Llewellyn et al. 2) This made the rump
government an easy target for the Japanese Empire, who launched an invasion of French Indochina
and took control of the region fairly quickly. After the Japanese Empire managed to militarily defeat
the French, Japanese authorities allowed the French colonial elites to continue governing the area as
collaborators to Japanese occupation, making a situation where the colonial elite were in turn being
controlled by a foreign power. (3) However, the people were under no illusions about this new regime.
Some viewed it as a continuation, or an even worse form of imperialism once brought about by the
French. (4) Eventually, as the Pacific War went on, the Japanese Empire started to be defeated by the
forces of the Allies. (6) Being desperate, the Japanese authorities stripped the French colonial elite off
of power and started to directly administer Vietnam. In the end however, this would serve to
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embolden resistance. Particularly, Ho Chi Minh used this as an opportunity to mobilise the Viet Minh,
declaring that the Japanese Empire and military occupation was the biggest enemy of the people and
the communist party of Vietnam. (7) In doing this, Ho Chi Minh managed to create a Viet Minh
stronghold in the region, spreading all throughout Vietnam and transforming the Viet Minh into a
force to be reckoned with after the Japanese withdrew from Vietnam shortly after the former’s
surrender in the Second World War.

Struggle against French attempts to recolonise Vietnam

● After the Japanese withdrawal from Vietnam and Indochina as a whole, France attempted to
reassert control of the country.
● This attempt was opposed by Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh, starting a conflict between
French colonial forces and the communist nationalist militias headed by Ho Chi Minh
● French forces suffered a decisive defeat at Dien Bien Phu, giving the Viet Minh momentum to
continue advancing to secure Vietnamese independence from colonial authorities
● After being completely pushed out of the North of Vietnam, French colonial authorities
established a government aligning with their interests in the South.

After the end of the Second World War, French forces attempted to retake their former colony of
French Indochina. (H. Editors 1) However, at the point of the Japanese withdrawal, Ho Chi Minh
already established the Viet Minh as a powerful pro-independence force in the region, sparking
conflict between the French and the Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh. Under Ho Chi Minh’s leadership,
the Viet Minh would use guerrilla tactics to counter the French incursions, outnumbering the French
colonial forces and proving themselves a force to be reckoned with. (2) After constantly being
underestimated by the French, the Viet Minh began shelling the French lines, overtaking French
defences and overwhelming their military. (3) Eventually, the French presence in the city of Dien Bien
Phu would be completely defeated, securing a massive symbolic and tactical victory for the Viet Minh
with the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. However, after the massive casualties, death, and suffering, the
war for independence caused, the French would establish a government with aligned interests with the
French and Americans in the South of Vietnam after their defeat in the North. (4) Ho Chi Minh would
not accept continued division of the country however, and with his encouragement pro-communist
guerrillas started operating in South Vietnam.

Struggle against the United States

● The divide between North and South continued for decades

● Guerrillas began securing gains in the South
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● The United States started a military intervention against the guerrillas

● The US Military proved ineffective against the guerrilla tactics of the pro-communist militias.
● Vietnam eventually secured unification under the ideals of Ho Chi Minh

After the division of the country, guerrillas supporting the ideals of the North began to launch
operations with the intention of reunifying the country under the ideals of Ho Chi Minh. (R. Specter
1) The United States thought this was a threat, and sent a military force to intervene on behalf of the
government in the South to repel the guerrillas. However, these attempts would fail as the guerrillas
caused too many casualties to the American intervention forces. Eventually, the United States would
withdraw and the Southern government collapsed after the American withdrawal. Vietnam became a
unified state, and Ho Chi Minh’s ideals began to be implemented throughout the country.

Death

After a long and eventful life of struggle for his ideals, Ho Chi Minh would pass away of a heart
attack in Hanoi during the 2nd of September 1969. (H. Editors 1)

Works Cited Page:

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Lacoutre, Jean. “Ho Chi Minh.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 6
Jan. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ho-Chi-Minh.

Llewellyn, Southey, et al. “Japanese Occupation of Vietnam.” Vietnam War, 28 Mar. 2022,
https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/japanese-occupation-of-vietnam/.

Spector, Ronald. “Vietnam War.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13

Feb. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War.

Editors, History.com. “Vietnamese President and Communist Icon Ho Chi Minh Dies.”
HISTORY, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ho-chi-minh-dies.