History of Vietnam in the 20th Century Quiz

Answer: Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Ming (1890-1969) was the son of an official who resigned to protest against French domination of his country. In 1911, he worked as a cook on a French steamship liner, and then in London and Paris. After WWI, he started to engage in radical activities and became one of the founding members of the French Communist party.

He was summoned to Moscow for training and, in 1924, he was sent to Canton (present-day Guangzhou) China, where he organized a revolutionary movement among Vietnamese exiles. In 1930, he was forced to leave China as the local authorities cracked down on the Communist activities. He returned to Vietnam in the same year to establish the ICP.

Together Ho Chi Minh, Truong Chinh, Phạm Van Dong, and Vo Nguyen Giap would provide a unified leadership over the next four decades.

Answer: Hanoi

On May 19, 1941, Ho Chi Minh established Vietminh at Pac Bo. Vietminh was created by the ICP as a national front achieve independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). The Vietminh was the only organized anti-French and anti-Japanese resistance group in Vietnam. It was initially formed to seek independence of Vietnam from France.

In August 1945 after the Japanese surrender, the Vietminh seized power and proclaimed the independence of DRV in Hanoi. The French, however, were unwilling to grant independence to their colonial subjects.

Answer: Dien Bien Phu

In November 1946, French forces attacked the Vietminh in Haiphong. For the next eight years, Vietminh guerrillas fought the French troops in the mountains and rice paddies of Vietnam, finally defeating them in the decisive battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Peace talks with the French government were held in Geneva, and Vietnam was split into North and South at the Geneva Conference.

Answer: Ngo Dinh Diem

Ngo Dinh Diem (1901-1963) became the first South Vietnamese president from 1955 to 1963. Diem, who was a Catholic, showed his preference for fellow Roman Catholics, which made him unacceptable to Buddhists, who formed the majority in South Vietnam. Although his governments were aided by the U.S in military and economic, he never fulfilled his promise of land reform during his rule. The communist-led National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) began to increase their influence and appeal among the southerners. They carried out guerilla attacks against his government.

Diem's military tactics against the insurgency were heavy-handed and ineffective, which deepened his government's unpopularity and isolation. He started a campaign against political dissidents by imprisonment and killed those who expressed opposition to his regime.

In 1963, matters with the Buddhists worsened when the government forces killed several people who were celebrating the Buddha's birthday. Buddhists began staging large protest rallies, and three monks and a nun immolated themselves. Those actions finally persuaded the U.S. to withdraw its support from Diem, and his generals killed him in a US-backed military coup.

Answer: Gulf of Tonkin

On August 2, 1964, the U.S. was carrying out operations near the territorial waters of the North Vietnamese. One aircraft carrier and two destroyers from the U.S were involved in the skirmishes against three torpedo boats from North Vietnam.

One American destroyer and the aircraft carrier were slightly damaged. Four North Vietnamese sailors were killed, with six more wounded, with no American casualty. All three North Vietnamese torpedo boats were damaged.

The U.S. Congress approved the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and authorized military action. In 1965, 200,000 American combat troops arrived in South Vietnam. By 1966, the troops were increased to 500,000.

Answer: Tet

In late January 1968, during the Lunar New Year (Tet in Vietnamese), 85,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attacked five major South Vietnamese cities. The U.S. and South Vietnamese suffered heavy losses before they finally repelled the communist assault. The Tet Offensive weakened the U.S public support of the Vietnam War.

Answer: Paris

President Nixon's security advisor, Henry Kissinger, and Le Du Tho for the Hanoi government started talks in Paris. In 1973, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Paris and the U.S. troop pull-out was completed by March. In 1973, Kissinger and Le Du Tho were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts on the cease fire agreement.

Answer: April

In 1975, North Vietnamese troops invaded South Vietnam and took control of the whole country. On April 30, 1975, the war ended after the fall of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, when South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh formally surrendered.

In 1976, reconstruction began when Socialist Republic of Vietnam was declared. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Hundreds of thousands fled abroad with many people fleeing by boats, commonly known as the boat people.

Answer: Cambodia and China

Vietnam began a full scale invasion of Cambodia on December 23, 1978. Cambodia was controlled by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. They occupied Cambodia in two weeks and removed the Communist Party of Kampuchea from power. In doing so, they stopped the Cambodian genocide which killed between 1.2 and 2.8 million people.

China launched an offensive against Vietnam on Feb 17, 1979, in response to Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia. The war ended on March 16, 1979, after the Vietnamese drove back the Chinese troops.

Vietnam occupied Cambodia until 1989. A peace accord was signed in Paris in 1991, which ended the war in October 23.

Answer: 1994

On February 3, 1994, US President Clinton declared the lifting of the trade embargo against Vietnam. On June 26 in the same year, both countries agreed to exchange liaison offices to mark the establishment of official diplomatic relations between the two countries. On the same year in July, "normalization of relations" was announced by Clinton.

In 1995, the U.S. opened a consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam opened a consulate in San Francisco. In 1997, the Vietnamese government paid $140 million debts to South Vietnamese government to allow trade with the U.S, which helped to increase the trade boom between the two countries. In 1997, U.S Congressman Douglas Peterson was appointed as the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam.