Editing Viet Minh (section)

== First Indochina War ==
{{Main|War in Vietnam (1945–46)|First Indochina War}}[[File:Ba Dinh Square September 2nd, 1945.jpg|thumb|Ho Chi Minh declaring independence at Ba Dinh Square on 2 September 1945]]
Within days, the Chinese [[Kuomintang]] (Nationalist) Army arrived in Vietnam to supervise the repatriation of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam therefore existed only in theory and effectively controlled no territory. A few months later, the Chinese, Vietnamese and French came to a three-way understanding. The French gave up certain rights in China, the Việt Minh agreed to the return of the French in exchange for promises of independence within the [[French Union]], and the Chinese agreed to leave. Negotiations between the French and Việt Minh broke down quickly. What followed was nearly ten years of war against France. This was known as the [[First Indochina War]] or, to the Vietnamese; "the French War".

The Việt Minh, who were short on modern military knowledge, created a military school in [[Quảng Ngãi province]] in June 1946. More than 400 Vietnamese were trained by Japanese defectors in this school. These soldiers were considered to be students of the Japanese. Later, some of them fought as generals against the United States in the Vietnam War or, to the Vietnamese; "the American War". Young insurgents of the Việt Minh also received training in the use of modern firearms by some foreign volunteers, such as [[Stefan Kubiak]].<ref name="dantri">{{cite web|url=https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/chuyen-ve-nguoi-linh-le-duong-mang-ho-bac-ho-1399178601.htm|title=Chuyện về người lính lê dương mang họ Bác Hồ|author=Hoàng Lam|date=2014-04-29|website=dantri.com.vn|publisher=Dân trí|access-date=2024-10-05}}</ref><ref name="naszahistoria">{{cite web|url=https://naszahistoria.pl/ho-chi-toan-jak-polski-dezerter-zostal-bohaterem-ludowego-wietnamu/ar/11916979|title=Ho Chi Toan. Jak polski dezerter został bohaterem ludowego Wietnamu|last=Rodak|first=Wojciech|date=2017-03-24|website=naszahistoria.pl|access-date=2024-10-05}}</ref>

French General [[Jean Étienne Valluy]] quickly pushed the Việt Minh out of [[Hanoi]]. His French infantry with armored units went through Hanoi, fighting small battles against isolated Việt Minh groups. The French encircled the Việt Minh base, [[Việt Bắc]], in 1947, but failed to defeat the Việt Minh forces, and had to retreat soon after. The campaign is now widely considered a Việt Minh victory over the well-equipped French force.

The Việt Minh continued fighting against the French until 1949, when the border of China and Vietnam was linked together as a result of the campaign called ''Chiến dịch Biên giới'' ("Borderland Campaign"). The newly communist [[People's Republic of China]] gave the Việt Minh both sheltered bases and heavy weapons with which to fight the French. With the additional weapons, the Việt Minh were able to take control over many rural areas of the country. Soon after that, they began to advance towards the French-occupied areas.