Strengths and weaknesses of the French Military Forces and the Vietminh Military Forces Between 1946 and 1954

Strengths and weaknesses of the French Military Forces and the Vietminh Military Forces Between 1946 and 1954

            During the time of the first French Indochina War between the years of 1946 and 1954 the conflicting forces (the French and the Vietminh) displayed both strengths and weaknesses. In this essay I will discuss some of those strengths and weaknesses and how they eventually led to the Wars conclusion.

            The French had control over Vietnam for almost seventy years before conflicts started in the early 1940’s. After the Japanese surrendered in WWII they were forced to leave Indochina and France once again saw an opportunity to take back what they thought was rightfully theirs. After peace talks fell through multiple times because France would settle for no less than total control over the area, the first French Indochina war began. In the early months of the war on November 23^rd 1946 the French gave Vietnamese citizens only two hours to evacuate the area of Haiphong before they leveled the city. In the aftermath of the attack 6,000 citizens were dead and over 25,000 were wounded.¹ France would stop at nothing to reclaim this territory for their own. Unfortunately, this ambition was one of their greatest weaknesses. The French dream of taking back Vietnam cost 89,000 French lives; and for what? In the end they lost not only Vietnam but the rest of their French colonies would begin to fall like dominoes. At the beginning of the war before Vietnam acquired powerful allies, France was superior in numbers and equipment. The Vietminh could field about 150,000 troops when the war began; the numbers consisted of a few trained military men but was mostly filled out by peasants and youth. At the same time, France could field over 150,000 trained soldiers.² The Vietminh didn’t fight out in the open with direct attacks against the French, they used guerrilla warfare tactics. This meant that all of the French army equipped with the best weapons they could get was of little consequence to the “duck and roll” tactics employed by the Vietminh.

            The Vietminh were the underdogs for a large portion of the war until the early 1950’s when China and the Soviet Union came to their aid. The important strengths to note about the Vietminh were their determination, patience, and resourcefulness. Without these three qualities, they wouldn’t have lasted long enough for aid to get to them in the 1950’s. Their use of guerrilla warfare tactics provided a hit and run war where the French couldn’t really get a good look at their enemy. Once China and the Soviet Union had provided military assistance, in my opinion, the war was already over. The victory for the Vietnam at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu was considered the decisive battle of the war.³ This time the tables were turned; the Vietminh had over 250,000 troops, workers, technicians, mechanics, advisers, etc. against a French force of 12,000 men.⁴ Another important thing to note about the Vietminh forces is that they were willing to sacrifice as many men as they needed too. An estimated 500,000 Vietminh were killed as opposed to an estimated 89,000 French Union Forces.⁵ The country had nothing to lose and everything to gain from this war. Their independence was the goal, and through the three qualities I mentioned before, plus a little help from neighboring countries they were able to obtain that goal.

            Both countries displayed both strengths and weaknesses during the first French Indochina War. Unfortunately for France, their impossible goal never seems quite in reach. The determination to achieve independence was the Vietminh’s most important strength as it carried them through the early years of the war. Overall, the Vietminh wanted victory more than the French were willing to fight for theirs.