The 1960s, Episode 4: The First Indochina War

This episode and the next episode will cover the war in Vietnam, which is easily the most defining event of the 1960s. The trauma of the war in Vietnam will extend into and affect every other topic we will cover this semester. But in this first episode, we are covering the history of the war before the 1960s. First, we quickly survey Vietnamese history going back into ancient history. Then we follow the career of Ho Chi Minh as he and the Vietnamese people get ready to fight the Japanese conquerors (in World War II) and for their independence from their French colonizers. This leads eventually to the epic victory of the Viet Minh over the French at the "fortress" of Dien Bien Phu. In the next episode, we will discuss the war as the United States takes over the struggle against communism in Vietnam.