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L ecture 4

L ecture 4. China & Geneva Conference. Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969). Early Contact between CCP & Vietnamese Communists. Ho Chi Minh ’ s activities in China: in the 1920s, Ho. often visited China;

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L ecture 4

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  1. Lecture 4 China & Geneva Conference

  2. Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969)

  3. Early Contact between CCP & Vietnamese Communists • Ho Chi Minh’s activities in China: in the 1920s, Ho. often visited China; 1924, dispatched by the Comintern to China to assist Mikhail Borodin, the Soviet agent working for Sun Yatsen & the Guomindang government in Guangzhou; Late 1930 & early 1940, a member of CCP-led Eighth Route Army & stayed in Yan’an for several weeks.

  4. Ho.’s activities in Vietnam • Aug. 1945, Ho. led national uprising & established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV); • 1951, the founding of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party (VWP); • When the French returned to reestablish their control, Ho. moved to the mountainous areas to fight for independence.

  5. CCP’s Support for Viet Minh Revolution • Sending Vietnamese members back to promote their motherland revolution; • Chinese communist guerrilla forces in Sino-Vietnamese border areas assisting the Viet Minh’s military operation; • Intermittent financial support from CCP’s Hong Kong Bureau Branch.

  6. Reasons for CCP Offering Support to the Viet Minh • Promoting the PRC’s international reputation; • Enhancing China’s southern border security; • Shouldering the responsibility of promoting East Asian revolution.

  7. Ho.’s Beijing & Moscow Trip • 17-day-walk to China Guangxi border on Jan. 20, 1950 & arrived in Beijing on Jan. 30; • Feb. 3, Left Beijing for Moscow & arrived in Moscow one week later; • March 3, Returned to Beijing with Mao & Zhou.

  8. Establishment of Chinese Military Advisory Group (CMAG) • April, 1950, Ho. Requested China’s support, including: dispatching military advisors, training Viet Minh troops and delivering ammunition & military equipment; • Early August, CMAP composed of 79 experienced PLA officers arrived in Vietnam.

  9. Chen Geng & the Border Campaign • Strategy: “concentrate forces & destroy the enemy troops by separating them”; “not to begin the campaign by directly attacking target town, but by attacking some of the enemy’s small strongholds & then eliminating the enemy’s reinforcements.” • By 13 Oct. 1950, about 3,000 French men were defeated, and the French were forced to give up the blockade line along the Vietnamese-Chinese border.

  10. Setback in 1951 • Late Dec. 1950 to June 1951, Viet Minh troops initiated 3 major offensive campaigns, but suffered heavy casualties without making any significant strategic gains; • CMAG’s strategy: attacking French troops with medium- or small- scale mobile wars; leading the war into the enemy’s rear by breaking up the weak line in the enemy’s defensive system.

  11. The Northwest Campaign • Under the instruction of CMAG’s tactics, the Northwest campaign began on 14 Oct. 1952. the Viet Minh’s troops annihilated 3 battalions & 11 companies, enhancing the Communists’ military position in the northwest.

  12. International Background of Dien Bien Phu Campaign • Viet Minh: superior position on the battlefield; • China: the end of the Korean War, more attention to the southern security; • France: General Henri Navarre as commander in May 1953; • US: increasing military & financial support.

  13. Navarre’s 3-year strategy Dividing Indochina into northern & southern theatres along the 18th parallel & planned to eliminate Viet Minh guerrillas in southern & south central Vietnam by spring 1954, and then, by spring 1955, to concentrate the main formation of French forces to fight a decisive battle with the Communist forces in the Red River delta.

  14. CMC’s strategy • Avoiding making equal assaults of equal strength from all directions; rather, adopting the strategy of separating & encircling the enemy, and annihilate them bit by bit; • Cutting off the enemy’s front by attacking in the middle; destroy the enemy’s underground defenses one section at a time by using concentrated artillery fire; consolidating your position immediately after seizing even a small portion of ground, thus continuously tightening the encirclement of the enemy; using snipers widely to restrict the enemy’s activities; using political propaganda against the enemy. • Guarding against the possibility of a French paratrooper landing at the rear of the Vietnamese.

  15. Significance of Dien Bien Phu Victory Greatly enhancing the Communist position at the forthcoming Geneva conference.

  16. Conflicts between CMAG & Vietnamese Communists • CMAG: Poor quality of Viet Minh troops to realize some of strategic designs; VC lacked “Bolshevik-style self-criticism” & unhappy with the Chinese criticism of their “shortcomings”; • VC: not satisfied with some of the CMAG’s suggestions, esp. land reforms & political indoctrination (nationalists)

  17. Disagreement on Final Settlement of Indochina Issue: • VC: a solution leaving clear Communist domination not only in Vietnam but in Laos & Cambodia; • China: (supported by Soviet) a compromise by temporarily dividing Vietnam into two zones.

  18. Beijing’s preparation for Geneva Conference • Guideline: “active diplomacy” to break US policy of political isolation an economic embargo against China; • Huang Hua practised press release & question-and-answer in accordance with international standards; • Zhou’s Moscow visit; • Priceless antiques & furnishing shipped to Geneva; • Articulation of the “Five principles of peaceful coexistence”

  19. Korean issue & Indochina issue • Reasons for the dissolution of the Korean issue; • Zhou’s positive move on Indochina issue: • May 28, pressured Hanoi to release 858 French soldiers captured at Dienbienphu; • Frequent meetings with Soviet & North Vietnamese representatives (5,12,15,29 & 30 May & 2 June); • Private meetings with British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden (14, 20 and 27 May) & French Minister George Bidault (7 June).

  20. Zhou’s active diplomacy • Mendes-France government’s condition: temporary partition of Vietnam and self-determination and neutralization of Laos and Cambodia under the supervision of an international control commission; • Zhou’s 3-day meeting with Ho Chi Minh at Liuzhou, Guangxi, 3—5 July; • Zhou’s Moscow trip 10 July;

  21. Experience from Geneva Conference • Good will facilitates settlement/resolution of complicated issue; • Private contacts provided more opportunities for participants to have further understanding, instead of formal speeches; • Seeking common ground and shelving disagreement for the time being to seek effective solutions; • When dealing with small & weak nations, more attention to their face, never hurting their national pride.

  22. Experience from Geneva Conference • “united front” policy proved effective even in an “international struggle”: uniting the other countries and isolating USA; • International tension can be relaxed through non-military means; • “Open the door wider” would serve China’s interests better than political isolation.

  23. Significance of Geneva Conference • Promoting China’s southern security (buffer zone); • Breaking China’s isolating status in the world; • Crucial role China played at the conference.

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