Vietnam looked toward the French for assistance in fighting the Communists. Ho Chi Men was successful in establishing a regime in northern Vietnam before the French could return and reestablish her forces in 1945. France was able to reestablish forces in South Vietnam but negotiations between Vietnam and France lead to "considerable opposition for France...to give in to the Vietnamese independence movement" (Noble 1165). While it was Ho Chi Min's desire to be free from the French, he wanted to associate with the Chinese even less. He is reported to have said, "I prefer to smell French dung for the next five years than smell Chinese dung for the rest of my life" (Davidson 1195). The French did enter but in 1946, France "deliberately provoked" (1165) an incident that destabilizes negotiations and began hostilities. For the next eight years, the two were engaged in a difficult conflict, which drained the French economy. While the United States did not want to become involved with the war, she had to consider the fact that this conflict was a smaller battle in the larger war with communism.
             A critical event occurred when the French surrendered at Dien Bien Phu and assembled a peace conference at Geneva. The Geneva Accords succeeded in dividing Vietnam into a North and a South and, as a result, the sides reached a truce. A few months later, South Vietnam claimed its sovereignty. In 1955, South Vietnam was granted the establishment of a republic and the anti-communist, Ngo Dinh Diem, served as president. The newly established republic was recognized worldwide as a legal government. This did not mean that all was well, however. The economy was in terrible shape. Diem canceled the 1956 elections that included a vote to reunify Vietnam. After this, South Vietnam faced rising opposition from the North. The Viet Cong proved to be a formidable force and while South Vietnam received aid from America, it was not enough. The guerrillas grew st...