Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone
The
Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established as a dividing line between North and South
Vietnam as a result of the
First Indochina War.
During the Second Indochina War (popularly known as the
Vietnam War) It became important as a battleground between
North Vietnamese forces on the one hand and
United States and
South Vietnamese forces on the other.
The DMZ ran east-west near the center of present-day Vietnam (spanning more than hundred kilometres) and was a couple of kilometres wide. It reached across into a beach on the east. An island nearby was controlled by North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War.
It was around a hundred kilometres north of the city of
Huế.
Main article First Indochina WarThe First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in
Southeast Asia from
1946 through
1954 between the nation of
France and the resistance movement led by
H" Chí Minh, called the
Viet Minh.
The Viet Minh, seasoned by combat against occupying
Japanese soldiers during the
Second World War, launched a rebellion against the French authority governing the colony of
Indochina. After seven years of bloody conflict, the French made their last stand at
Điện Biên Phủ, where they were engaged by the forces of General
Võ Nguyên Giáp. But contemporary military tactics were unable to defeat successive human wave attacks and the subsequent siege of the base; the French were defeated with devastating losses. The war in Indochina was not very popular with the French public, but the political stagnation of the
Fourth Republic (following
WWII German occupation) resulted in ongoing prosecution of the war. The
United States supported France in the war politically and financially.
The
Geneva Conference on
July 21, 1954 recognized the 17
th parallel as a "provisional military demarcation line" temporarily dividing the country into two states,
Communist North Vietnam and pro-
Western South Vietnam.
The Geneva Accords promised elections in
1956 to determine a national government for a united Vietnam. However only France and the North Vietnamese government (DRV) signed the document. The U.S. and the government in Saigon refused to abide by the agreement, believing that the election would result in an easy victory for H" Chí Minh.
Emperor Bảo Đại from his home in France appointed
Ngô Đình Diệm as
Prime Minister of South Vietnam. With American support, in
1955 Diệm used a referendum to remove the former Emperor and declare himself as
president of the Republic of Vietnam.
Thus the competition for the whole of Vietnam began; Diệm's military was unable to prevail in the
civil war which escalated, as a result of international intervention, into the
Vietnam War, which is also referred to as the ''Second Indochina War.
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First Indochina War*
Vietnam War*
Demilitarized zone*
Travel Guide to DMZ with good photos
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More Photos*
Washington Post map of the DMZ
