Wait Just a Ho Chi Minh-Ute Trivia Quiz

Answer: 100 strokes of a cane for an infraction of the law

It isn't recorded as to what that infraction was, but the punishment was considered an abuse of power, and the dishonoured magistrate was promptly demoted. As a child, Ho Chi Minh was given the name Nguyen Sinh Cung. He studied Chinese writing in addition to his own country's language skills.

This was a requirement for the Confucian studies he had to undertake. When he was ten, and in accordance with Confucian tradition, his name was changed to Nguyen Tat Thanh (Nguyen the Accomplished). As a child, his hobbies included kite flying and fishing.

In short, there was nothing in his youth to indicate the path his life would later follow.

Answer: USA

Ho Chi Minh worked in various low paying menial employment while in the States. He was there, at different times, from 1912 to 1919, and centred his time in Harlem, Boston and Brooklyn. He would later claim that he worked for wealthy families and as a manager for General Motors during this time.

While he was in America, his first interest in politics began to stir. It is thought he was greatly influenced in this by Korean Nationalists and their blossoming interest in maintaining their own country's identity and history.

Answer: The Patriot

It was during his time in France that Ho Chi Minh began to mingle with socialists. From this time the ideals of communism for Vietnam began to grow in his mind. He commenced his life's work by petitioning the Versailles Peace Talks for civil rights for his homeland's people.

He was ignored by France in this, but that didn't deter him. It only hardened his resolve. He switched to petitioning the US for their help in removing the French from his country so that his people could set up its own national government.

Answer: French Indochina

The French had set up a large colonial empire in southeast Asia from the 17th century onwards. It hadn't been a meek takeover by any means. The various nations this involved often fought many battles with the French in an attempt to reclaim their lands. By 1887 however, following the Sino-French war of 1884-85, France was in full control of the area that became known as French Indochina. It included the boundaries we recognise as today's Vietnam, plus Cambodia and Laos. This lasted until 1954, with various leaders of these lands acting as figureheads for their French overlords. In the meantime, the struggles for nationalism continued in one form or another.

It all began to fall apart for the French when the First World War eventuated and heralded in a life and death struggle with Germany and her allies. Between the wars, the opposition to French control in southeast Asia grew even stronger. It would be after the disastrous Second World War that the looming struggle between France - and the uneasy alliance between Vietnam nationalists and communists, headed by Ho Chi Minh - began to really shape up.

Answer: China

While he was in France, Ho Chi Minh helped form the French Communist Party - and also spent a lot of time visiting Moscow to undergo training. He quickly made his way up through the ranks in Paris and became known as their Asian hand and their leading authority on colonial warfare. On moving to Moscow in 1923, he studied at the Communist university there.

Then, moving to China, he married a Chinese woman named Tang Tuyet Minh to "teach me the language and keep house". Nothing like a dash of romance. By now he was being hailed as a national hero back in Indochina by the Vietnamese people.

Answer: The anti-communist revolt by the Chinese nationalists

He took off for the lick of his life in fact. The battle between the two opposing forces of the nationalists and the communists in China led to a long civil war. This culminated in 1949 with the Chiang Kai-Shek nationalist forces being defeated and their subsequent retreat to Taiwan where they set up government there.

Ho Chi Minh in the meantime never stayed in any one place too long. In fact, he buzzed around all over the place like a blue-bottomed fly. He moved back to Russia briefly, where he developed tuberculosis, then back to France and a healthier climate, spent some time in Brussels, Berlin, Switzerland and Italy and finally took off for Thailand where he stayed until 1929, busily working behind the scenes there. That didn't last long though, and from Thailand, he moved to India, back to Shanghai and then to Hong Kong in 1931 - where he was arrested.

Answer: 1940

This new name translates as "He Who Enlightens". On this last move back to China, and his taking on of his new name, Ho Chi Minh acted as an advisor to the communist authorities there in their struggle again the Chiang Kai-Chek nationalist forces. At the same time, he was also working on developing his support groups back in Indochina in their long struggle to break the yoke of French occupation.

Answer: USA

Japan occupied Indochina during the Second World War, along with the Vichy French. Japan was an ally of the Germans, and France, which had been taken by the Germans, was forced for the most part to now collaborate with Germany or face the consequences. This was known as the Vichy government of France. The face of the enemy had changed, but the occupation hadn't. The Vichy French in Indochina had no choice but to allow the Japanese to set up government there as well. It's a confusing minefield for historians, believe me. I'll let you look up the Vichy French for yourself. However, because the Japanese were German allies, and because of the attack on Pearl Harbour by the Japanese in 1941, the US was now involved in the Second World War as well. With a vengeance. They also secretly supported the Viet Minh against the French government forces when they attempted to re-occupy the country after the war. Oh, my head.

In the interim, Ho Chi Minh was tossed in the clanger again, this time by the Chiang Kai-Chek nationalist forces who were still fighting the communists in China. He had to be rescued from there in 1943 by the Chinese communist forces. He contacted malaria and dysentery into the bargain as well during this time.

So to try to make this a bit clearer for you: Two armies were at war in China. These were the communists and the nationlists. Ho Chi Minh, meanwhile, and with the help of China, had set up the Viet Minh movement in Indochina. Indochina at that stage was still occupied nominally by the French who had to collaborate with Germany. They did this in exchange for the German promise not to divide France up between the Axis powers. Indochina was also invaded by the Japanese (allies of Germany), and allowed to do so by the (Vichy) French there because they had no choice in the matter. Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh forces were trying to get everyone out of their country. To do so, an unlikely partnership of Vietnamese nationalists and the communists had combined under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, who, I might add, was doing a wonderful balancing act between the two traditional enemies. And now the USA was involved as well. Oh dear. Are you still with me?

Answer: The Japanese had imprisoned them

The Japanese in fact did nothing to halt the Viet Minh from setting up a fledgling government. They sat back and calmly watched it happen. As an afterthought though, they kept the French officials, whom they had defeated earlier that same year, imprisoned. The Japanese did this to cause more problems for the Allies. A kind of parting gift, you could say. By August 19, 1945 then, the Viet Minh forces, led by Ho Chi Minh, captured the city of Hanoi. This city, once the capital city of French Indochina, subsequently become the capital of North Vietnam until 1976, when Vietnam became a unified country once more.

On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh announced the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The entire event became known as the August Revolution.

Answer: Great Britain

The Chinese nationalists used the excuse of rounding up the Japanese to take over the northern part of the country. The Japanese and the Chinese had fought on opposing sides in the lead up to the Second World War, with an appalling loss of life of the Chinese by the Japanese. Both occupying forces of the Chinese and the British had been accorded under the terms of the Potsdam Agreement at the close of WWII. Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh made no attempt to interfere in this process. However, within a few weeks, they began talks with the French to try to come to terms which suited both parties regarding the future of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese distrusted the nationalist Chinese forces and they distrusted the French. At this stage however, they were prepared to come to an amicable agreement. It was not to be. In 1946, the French returned with the wrong attitude to North Vietnam. They wanted things as they were prior to the outbreak of the war. Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh wanted a brighter future than that for their country. The first Indochina War began between the French and the Viet Minh. It lasted from 1946-1954. Then the Chinese communist forces, which by now were victorious in China, having vanquished the Chinese nationalists to Taiwan, stepped in. The French Government forces were in the south, supported by the US - and the Chinese communists were in the north, supported by the Russians and the Viet Minh under the Presidency of Ho Chi Minh.

The long journey to the Vietnam War had begun.