Everything about Geneva Conference 1954 totally explained
» For other similar events, see Geneva ConferenceThe Geneva Conference (May 8 – July 21, 1954) was a conference between many countries that agreed to end hostilities and restore peace in French Indochina and Vietnam. It produced a set of treaties known as the Geneva Accords, signed on behalf of France by Pierre Mendès-France and of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam by Pham Van Dong.
Background
After the defeat of the
Japanese Empire in 1945, the
Provisional Government of the French Republic restored
colonial rule in
French Indochina. Nationalist and communist popular movements in Vietnam led to the
First Indochina War in 1946. This
colonial war between the
French Union's
Expeditionary Corps and Ho Chi Minh's
Viet Minh guerrillas turned into a
Cold War crisis in January 1950. The communist Viet Minh received support from the newly proclaimed
People's Republic of China and the
Soviet Union, while France and the newly created
Vietnamese National Army received support from the
United States.
The
Battle of Dien Bien Phu started in March 13 and pursued during the conference. Its issue became a strategic turnover as both sides wanted to emerge as the victor in order to benefit of a favorable position during the planned negotiations about "the Indochinese problem". After fighting for 57 days the besieged French garrison was ordered to ceasefire on May 7th at 5:00 PM by the
Hanoi-based French Chief of Staff.
This war was significant in that it demonstrated that a western colonial power could be defeated by an indigenous revolutionary force; the French previously
pacified a similar uprising in the
Madagascar colony in March, 1947. A few months after the fall of Dien Bien Phu, troops were deployed in
Algeria and a second
guerrilla-warfare-based war of independence started in November 1954. Growing distrust and defiance among the army's Chief of Staff toward the
Fourth French Republic after the contested defeats of the First Indochina War and the
Suez Crisis led to two military
coup d'état in March 1958 and April 1961. Most of the rebel Generals were Indochina veterans including their leader,
Raoul Salan.
The Geneva Accords
On April 27, 1954, the Conference produced a declaration which supported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of
Indochina thereby granting it
independence from France. In addition, the Conference declaration agreed upon the cessation of hostilities and foreign involvement (or troops) in internal Indochina affairs. Northern and southern zones were drawn into which opposing troops were to withdraw, to facilitate the cessation of hostilities between the Vietnamese forces and those that had supported the French. The Viet Minh, having advanced to the far south while fighting the French, retreated from these positions to north of the ceasfire line, awaiting
unification on the basis of internationally supervised free
elections to be held in July 1956. Most of the French Union forces evacuated Vietnam, although much of the regional governmental infrastructure in the South was the same as it had been under the French administration.
An
International Control Commission was set up to oversee the implementation of the Geneva Accords, but it was basically powerless to ensure compliance. It was to consist of
India,
Canada, and
Poland.
The agreement was between
Cambodia, the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam,
France,
Laos, the
People's Republic of China, the
State of Vietnam, the
Soviet Union, and the
United Kingdom. The
United States refused to participate in the conference or recognize the accords.
Post declaration events
Communist forces had been instrumental in the defeat of the French; the ideology of communism and nationalism were closely linked. Many viewed the South Vietnamese leadership as a French colonial, and later, an American puppet regime. Ho Chi Minh's
Democratic Republic of Vietnam looked forward fairly comfortably to being elected in the forthcoming elections.
After the cessation of hostilities, a large migration took place. 450,000, mostly Catholics, moved to south of the Accords-mandated ceasefire line during
Operation Passage to Freedom. The CIA attempted to further influence Catholic Vietnamese with slogans such as 'the Virgin Mary is moving South'. 52,000 went north. Communist supporters were urged to remain in the south to vote in the coming elections.
The U.S. replaced the French as a political backup for
Ngo Dinh Diem, then President of the
State of Vietnam, and he asserted his power in the south. A referendum rigged by his brother
Ngo Dinh Nhu saw Diem gain 98% of the vote, with 133% in Saigon. American advisors had suggested that he win by a lesser margin since it was felt that he'd be able to win any fair poll against Emperor
Bao Dai. Diem refused to hold the national elections, noting that the State of Vietnam never signed the Geneva Accords and went about attempting to crush all remnant of communist opposition. The prospect of democratic elections dwindling away led South Vietnamese who opposed Diem to form the Communist
National Liberation Front, better known as the
Vietcong, which eventually launched guerrilla attacks against the RVN government and desired the reunification of Vietnam under Communist rule. The Việt Cộng were supported by the
Vietnam People's Army (VPA) of the North.
Both sides violated multiple provisions of the Accords, with both communists and anti-communists engaging in military buildups contrary to the accords.
Guerrilla activity in the South escalated, while U.S. military advisors continued to support the
Army of the Republic of Vietnam, which was created as a replacement for the
Vietnamese National Army. The result was the Second Indochina War, more commonly known as the
Vietnam War.
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