France's Brutal War to keep South East Asia - First Indochina War Documentary

[@historigraph]

Thanks to World of Tanks for sponsoring this video! Download the game here: tanks.ly/3EbeWET and use code COMBAT to get your special in-game rewards

[@brokenbridge6316]

Glad your talking about this war. It's often overlooked.

[@MrSTUPIDBRICK]

Just stumbled across your channel. Epic stuff. Keep up the excellent work!

[@Ribs351]

As a Vietnamese, I'm glad that more people are talking about this. The first Indochina war is always overshadowed by the 2nd one and it's always nice to see someone else talks about it. Cảm ơn bạn nhiều nhé!

[@hjones3056]

Do you live in Vietnam?

[@Ribs351]

​@@hjones3056Yes sir

[@jejepangetsu3133]

the war for independence from imperialism after ww2 itself was mostly overlooked. cheers from former dutch east indies

[@taotao98103]

What I don't understand is that at that time, from the film, China and Vietnam are both Communism and China did help Vietnam. It seemed like China and Vietnam were close friends. At what point did Vietnam started to hate the Communist China eventually got into war.

[@paolosciarpuccio]

I discovered about the french-vietnamese war with a belgian-french comic and I was pretty shocked, cause we didn't learb about that at school

[@Korporaal1]

This is THE best comprehensive recap of the French war in Indochina from '46 to '54 I have seen -or read- so far. Very, very well done!

[@vfbrs2382]

Could you make a review of the Algerian war 54/62 please? Your work on the Indochinese war really helped me to better understand this conflict my great grandpa fought in after spending most of ww2 fighting with the FFF.

[@macleandancy8029]

I have no idea how accurate these graphics are but they are incredibly helpful.the books I read don't do justice to this video and that is incredible. Well done on the details and movements of both sides. The results of battles is a great appreciation onto my understanding

[@itsme-yw1el]

great video dude, i found your channel through the "battle of Hanoi 1946" video, not many channel cover the the 1st Indochina war to great extend with quality animation like this. Keep up the good work, ya earn a subscribe from me.

[@markgarrett3647]

Bravo for your videos very detailed map of the conflict and the deficiency in bias that's been missing from the other KZbinrs covering this conflict.👏

[@SidlingNine]

Just found your channel recently but I’m disappointed I didn’t find it earlier! Great content!👍

[@tupperlake100]

My brother fought in the Pacific and Korea. He said that during WW2 Asian colonials were told that if they fought Japanese occupation, they would be given self government when the war ended. But as soon as WW2 ended, western colonial powers assumed their previous role in the countries.

[@bradleywoods1999]

I'd love a series on other seiges of WW2, the videos in the Budapest series were some of the best you've made and were fantastic to watch. You could do Stalingrad, Leningrad or Berlin there's so many options.

[@autr3553]

Thank you for uploading again! Perfect timing for me

[@DaveSCameron]

It’s a cracking channel isn’t it.🥪👍

[@florianlipp5452]

I recently did some research on General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. Here is one detail: His only son Bernard served under him in Vietnam. Bernard was killed in action, obeying the order of his commander (his father!) to hold a position at Ninh Binh to the last man. The de Lattre de Tassigny were old French nobility. Their line died with Bernard and Jean. Imagine giving such an order. And having your only son, who followed this order dutifully, being killed. It has a Denethor-Faramir vibe. And like Denethor, General de Lattre's mental and physical health deteriorated fast after this event. He died a few months later. His last words on his bed death were "Where is Bernard?"

[@Healermain15]

I would feel bad if he wasn't murdering thousands of people at the time.

[@Admiral_Jesus]

lmao true@@Healermain15

[@MyH3ntaiGirl]

​@@Healermain15hehe, even the name just sound unlike able Frogs

[@parodyclip36]

​​@@Healermain15De Lattre was a French hero of WW2 responsible for the death of countless nazis. I understand your views but De Lattre, as well as Leclerc, was for granting Indochina the independence that was initially agreed upon instead of reckless war. Despite this and his health decreasing he obeyed order against a *brutal* Viet Minh. People forget that the Viet Minh weren't here to liberate Vietnam they were here to ensure that communism was established and they had no remorse killing other vietnamese. It isn't all black and white for any side Edit : To further put this into perspective, he was a soldier, not a politician. At his funerals there were very important people who knew him such as De Gaulle (duh), Montgomery, Eisenhower. He was a French Maréchal which is one of the highest honor and which went to people everyone can agree are some of the toughest and most respectable men (except for Petain obviously). He was Leclerc's rival and their story is very emotional. One must imagine De lattre at Leclerc's funeral, wondering why his rival left him alone while the sickness is slowly taking him away as France is bound to spiral into an other war in which he will lose everything. He was a hero of both WW's and of course Indochina. He may have been an enemy for some of you but he was always courageous and respectable for his men and his enemies alike. No need to spit on the man and his family when he did for his country was what few of you would do for your family

[@elouenmyas580]

@@Healermain15 When they took power the Vietminh carried race riots against the french, they weren't any better.

[@eamonnprunty]

Brilliant video as always sir. I just want to say I appreciate the subtitles as well!

[@atakorkut5110]

I’m so glad that you are doing the Vietnam conflict

[@LawIV]

"Im like, having a Bien Bien bad feeling about digging in underneath all these mountains, Scooby " - some French soldier probably

[@hisdadjames4876]

Loving it, Josh, all the more so since you exposed the ‘man behind the channel’ in the recent Q&A.

[@richardmcgowan1651]

France forgot that after WW2 nothing would be the same again. Even though it wanted everything to be like it was before WW2. But in time it did learn.

[@collinsx62]

Great videos as always!

[@coyote4237]

Thank you. Great content.

[@reiayanami713]

Glad to see new video!

[@josif409]

German equipment and german involvement in the french foriegn legion are one of the most interesting unspoken parts of this war

[@Streetsam]

Waitng for more!

[@bigsarge2085]

Incredible documentary.

[@arthurfisher1857]

Can't wait for part 3!!! You do an amazing job, mate

[@zachjordan7608]

Very very good video

[@tylernguyen7988]

Thank you for making this! I was wondering if you had plans addressing this war in the southern front, in the vicinity of saigon?

[@historigraph]

Had them for sure, but with the performance of this video (so far) and the first one in the series, I'm not sure if it is going to be viable to continue the series. There just doesnt seem to be the interest from viewers

[@MrNicoJac]

@@historigraph Ah, that's too bad :/ (but I know I can only watch it once, and not millions of times to compensate)

[@criminy_]

That's such a shame to hear. I've been looking forward to these videos. I haven't seen much about the (First) Indochina War, so it's been great to see you do your breakdown of the engagements. @@historigraph

[@yeast7485]

@@historigraph well the Real Time History channel did videos on this exact same subject on the exact same time so that might have affected it

[@arthurfisher1857]

​@@historigraph Noooo! I'm loving it. I hope it picks up steam. You're very talented and I appreciate your work!

[@Flying_Snakes]

Love this channel

[@TrickiVicBB71]

Great video, The first Indo-China war is not talked about much

[@dawiem6310]

Excellent analysis and narrative - one of the best military history channels. please consider videos on the Middle East Wars, Vietnam re USA, the eastern Front, and counter insurgency wars, eg the Rhodesian Bush war

[@jerryferko8309]

Terrific Documentary .....Thanks

[@Orthas1]

good one

[@philipryan25]

Thank you, very interesting period in history and little reported on.

[@nhienleminhhue6605]

actually, the situation General Giáp had to face was the constant fear of General De Tassigny's concentration of soldiers that could counter-attack and drive back Việt Minh forces out of the newly liberated area in the north of the country that bordered China. That's why he attacked the French on many fronts such as in Upper Laos and Northwest region, Central highland, and the Central Provinces to Spread out the French Grouping.

[@JDBlack3347]

I know what happens, but still want the next part of the story!

[@arctic4299]

Hm posted literally as I sit down for break....cool

[@Jameskn1]

Big props for learning to pronounce all these names

[@jamesscalzo3033]

Loved the video @Historigraph! Can't wait for the next video man! Okay, so we've gotten to Dien Bien Phu already, That'll be Interesting to see M24 Chaffee Light Tanks from the United States of America being used as Pillboxes and Effectively Squandered by the French. They were given the Best Tanks that they could Afford and they Wasted them by using them the Same way Germany Used even their Panther Tanks when the Soviets came pouring in to Berlin by Digging them in. Let me know what you think about this and I'll catch you in your next video man! Hopefully we'll get to hear about the Arromanche in the Gulf of Tonkin as well at some point.

[@imking1630]

Marcel Carpentier the commander of French FART east expeditionary corps😮

[@Gusararr]

Do you plan to cover the whole Vietnam war?

[@historigraph]

yep, all the way to 1975

[@tunguska2370]

​@historigraph what about the third war

[@tunguska2370]

​@@historigraph I mean 1979 to around 1990

[@Ribs351]

You should totally cover the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia and the Sino-Vietnamese war if you haven't already.

[@Roytulin]

6:01 'C-inC, Fart East Expeditionary Corps' 😆

[@NEObot4life]

The problem with the French is they cant afford to lose, while VietMinh can lose, recover, learn and adapt. Every loss on French side is irreplaceable in a way or another, loss of war material leads to further dependent to America, a political blow that couldn't settle with French citizen; loss of manpower means elite and well-trained corps of Legionaire and Paratrooper have to be replaced with Vietnamese colonial troops and ethic mecenaries who will likely abandon the battle when the tide turns; loss of controlled territories means that land is no longer retrivable and another blow to the morale of troops and government. This lead to a rather reactive and defensive approach, meant to hold the assets, while bleed the VietMinh out, but such attrition war cant be won in VietNam, a lesson that the USA ignored.

[@MN-vz8qm]

The main problem is that the war was unpopular from the start in France. It was called the "sale guerre" (dirty war) from the start. In such ciscumstances, the political will is limited.

[@MN-vz8qm]

Looking at history, there is a major lesson for Ukraine: As long as the idea of independence exists among the population, whether for religious, nationalist, or ethnic reasons, locals will always outlast the invader in the long term. Currently, I can broadly think of two types of conflicts: through standing armies and through asymmetric warfare, and two reasons for an occupier to leave: war fatigue and external geopolitical events. France left Vietnam after 8 years of war (1946-1954): Here, French political will had dwindled, and there was never any popular support for the war on the other side of the world, especially as France had just been liberated. This is a clear case of invader fatigue, with the French simply giving up. After the French withdrew from Vietnam in 1954, according to the Geneva Accords, Vietnam was temporarily divided into North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh and supported by the Soviet Union and China, and capitalist South Vietnam, continuing the structure the French had initially put in place, but this time with support from the United States instead of France. The intention of the peace treaty France signed with North and South Vietnam was for the country to be reunified through national elections in 1956. However, these elections were never held, as the leaders of South Vietnam and their American allies feared that the communists would win. The US left Vietnam after 8 years of war (1965-1973): After the US withdrew from Vietnam in 1973, according to the Paris Accords, which echoed the Geneva Accords. But, with South Vietnam lacking an ally this time (contrary to North Vietnam, which was supported by China and the USSR), the North resumed the offensive and Saigon fell two years later, leading to Vietnam's unification under communist rule. Interestingly, this can remind us of the French invasion of Mexico (1862-1867): The French invaded the nation but withdrew before completing their invasion; in the case of Mexico, because of two events: the end of the US Civil War and the rise of Prussia/Germany at their borders. The local government France had put in place there would, without external support, only last for a couple of years. In this case, we do not see an invader who fatigues but rather one where geopolitical events force the abandonment of the invasion. But standing armies are not the only way occupied populations can push back against a force perceived as an occupier: The Russians left Afghanistan after 10 years (1979-1989), signing the Geneva Accords (they really should go with more original names...), and later the US left Afghanistan after 20 years (2001-2021): In both cases, the fight was not, contrary to Vietnam, one of standing armies, but an asymmetric war of guerrilla warfare over a long period, up to the point that lawmakers concluded the war would never be won. Focusing on French history, another such event that comes to mind is: The Algerian War (1954-1962), which started just as France had signed the Geneva Accords. While militarily speaking, the French had defeated the FLN as an armed force the same way the Russians or the Americans had defeated the Afghan governments, the constant guerrilla warfare, and counter-actions by the French army only solidified the idea of independence in the local population and demoralized the French, up to the point where they concluded peace would never be achieved, leading France to part from Algeria. It is crucial to recognize that historically, the only instances where an invader has managed to secure ad vitam control over a region, against the wishes of its inhabitants, have involved the egregious practices of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Such actions are unequivocally condemned by the international community, as they contravene fundamental human rights. These strategies are not acceptable in modern times. This understanding should dissuade any potential conqueror from pursuing their ambitions, reinforcing the importance of adhering to principles of humanity and international law.

[@MN-vz8qm]

I would add a few important points rarely discussed: France received $2.4 billion from the US for post-World War II reconstruction through the Marshall Plan, accounting for 18% of the total $13.3 billion allocated to Europe. By contrast, the US provided France with approximately $2.6 billion in material aid for the Indochina War, covering about 80% of the war's total cost. This support was crucial, as the Indochina War started in 1947, a time when France was still grappling with the devastation of World War II. The French population would continue living on food stamps throughout the entirety of the Indochina war, highlighting the prolonged economic struggle within the country during this period. The conflict in Indochina was deeply unpopular in France, often referred to as "la sale guerre" (the dirty war), which limited the French government's political maneuverability. To minimize domestic backlash, nearly all soldiers were recruited from France's other colonies. Furthermore, a mutual fear of communism's global spread united French and American leadership. This shared apprehension significantly motivated the US’s financial and military support for France during the Indochina conflict, reflecting the strategic interests behind the decisions on foreign aid and military support during this era.

[@Ryuko-T72]

@1:14 is this soldier using a japanese lunge mine? I've heard the viet mihn used them during early battles. I didn't think there was any footage of them in use tho

[@SaltyMartian]

Yes, he did. After the Japanese withdrew Việt Minh captured much of IJA arsenal among that were 93 lunge mines. During the battle of Hà Nội, they formed 10 suicide squads out of desperation to combat the French armours (They only had one 60mm Bazooka at the time). Of 93 mines, 47 was used, 35 sacrificed their life. Not so fun fact, there at least one confirmed account that VM soldier survived after using lunge mines to disable French tank and even attended a second attack. Sadly most was killed by French infantry before they could detonate the mines.

[@fishblowarakane-vc8px]

Just streamed in history and from my history classes and notes, I concluded that colonial empires are just ruthless and nefarious. They think the world revolves around them so they wanted to westernise everyone. One thing these colonies/ vulnerable countries have that can’t be taken away from them is their culture and traditions. Sadly, we are witnessing westernisation before our own eyes in this era and we call it “civilisation”. What every non-western countries should have in this era is a strong 💪 and good leadership👩🏽‍⚖️ in order to prevent the erosion of their native culture and tradition, their true identity. I am from 🇵🇬Papua New Guinea and I see the erosion of my culture and tradition everyday. For example, because English is the global medium of communication, it has become our main use of language and our very own native languages (we have 800+ languages) are dying out due to the banning of languages in schools and non-useage of our very own mother tongue, Pidgin, in corporate environments as well.

[@michimatsch5862]

The fact that multiple channels are covering this at the same tine is very confusing.

[@MN-vz8qm]

That's internet for you. Channels copying each others is a logical move. Someone who got recently hooked by a video will likely watch another one on the subject. The most impressive case is the one of "movie reaction" videos. They all spawn by wave.

[@Kabutoes]

Finally a video that isn’t dien bien phu

[@me67galaxylife]

ohhhhhh i can smell the french bashing from the title alone

[@tassiehandyman3090]

6:01 - might I suggest an edit to Gen. Carpentier's title..🤔 I mean, I'm an Englishman too, but casually insulting a Frenchman with a fart joke just seems a bit unnecessary here, eh? 😂👍🇦🇺🇨🇵🇬🇧

[@pablosalazarsojo3877]

I love the Vietnam videos

[@gogrape9716]

The French were on both sides of WW2.

[@treborif]

Anti Communism - Anti Colonialism - thankyou.

[@DarkPsychoMessiah]

What's with every channel suddenly talking about Vietnam?

[@nandinhocunha440]

Can you do Portugal colonial war next?

[@lfteri]

Αhahaha yeah, the village raids and guerrilla warfare never collapsed the line of civilian and combatant, I am sure they even had distinctive uniforms while they stole food from their own fucking compatriots. Instead it was strategic bombing that blurred the line, like in Germany, but that was a just and "holy" cause

[@markgarrett3647]

Going after Hoa Binh province instead of Thanh Hoa province was a strategic mistake of first magnitude since Hoa Binh was sparsely populated with an aboriginal northern Vietnamese people called the Muong and has a rugged terrain that was an asset for the Vietminh while Thanh Hoa was not only densely populated by the Vietnamese and rice-rich but a logistical trouble for the Vietminh.

[@doanhvu9593]

Thanh Hoa is a big province ,This means that the French army will need more forces in Hoa Binh, while 70% of the French army must defend the occupied areas against Viet Minh guerrillas.A large population also means a lot of ambushes. Mountains and hills account for 3/4 of the province's area. Attack Hoa Binh,where there are mainly Muong people, there will be fewer ambushes and it is also closer to Hanoi

[@markgarrett3647]

​​@@doanhvu9593You fail to take into account how the Vietminh losses in their failed efforts to break the De Lattre line had temporarily weakened it's military capabilities and besides Thanh Hoa isn't a place that the Vietminh can ignore in favour of harassing targets behind the De Lattre line since a lot of it's party cadres were from Thanh Hoa and politically liberating even just portions of it would show Vietminh weakness.

[@markgarrett3647]

@@doanhvu9593 Exactly. The French should have attacked and liberated Thanh Hoa since the rugged terrain of Hoa Binh is a great asset for the Vietminh while a great hindrance to the French defence and logistics and strategically the Vietminh still have enough terrain to skirt Hoa Binh altogether. Meanwhile Thanh Hoa's terrain at least in its coastal areas are agriculturally rich and relatively open and easily accessible through the Gulf of Tonkin for resupply and reinforcements while harder for the Vietminh access as the Battle of Day river showed.

[@vinhlong7347]

@@markgarrett3647 Thanh Hoa is separated from Ninh Binh by the Tam Điệp (literately Three Big Layers) mountain. Not only it's much further from Hanoi, French have to cross the steep mountain areas before accessing the plain in the province of Thanh Hoa

[@markgarrett3647]

@@vinhlong7347 Did you look at the map and noticed a body of water called the Gulf of Tonkin and how close it is to the agriculturally rich plain area of Thanh Hoa?

[@tsampa13]

Napalms were used for the first time at the final stages of the Greek civil war (1944-49).

[@tsampa13]

Thank you, I did not know. @user-uk9tr2ir4q

[@pyc1757]

Is there a part 3?

[@anin871]

Now could you make Indonesian wor of Independence or change the title to Dutch Defeat in Indonesia, thank you for the great content 😊❤

[@guntherultraboltnovacrunch5248]

Is this the first indo china war documentary or is it a documentary on the first indochina war? 😛

[@johnforrester9120]

One word fucken BRILLIANT thank you

[@DaveSCameron]

Xmas in February- Lou Reed. “…that’s the price you pay when you invade…”. 🥁🇺🇸📚

[@sirdudleynightshade8747]

The first Vietnam War was the British campaign against the Vietminh wasn't it?

[@jacksprat9172]

It was. The British were struggling for man power during the conflict so captured Japanese troops were re-armed. They fought alongside the British in a very successful campaign against the Vietminh. It was after this that the French troops took over and brutalised the local population, thus ensuring a massive upsurge in Vietminh recruits, this led to the French getting hammered and the US involvement which is common knowledge. A video on the first Vietnam War would have been extremely interesting.

[@spresc2180]

At 24 seconds in the vid that guy on the left looks like a much younger US President Richard Nixon.

[@historigraph]

It is him

[@gmtom19]

Its kind of crazy how overlooks the atrocities the French committed in this war are. So many thousands of civilians killed in an effort to starve the rest. And we havnt even gotten to the Americans yet, my god.

[@parodyclip36]

Maybe you forgot the part where the Viet Minh themselves were trying to get the rice for themselves. The losers here were civilians, form both the hands of the French and the Viet Minh. During WW2 it's the Japanese who starved the indochinese. War in Asia always revolve around food and the one to lose are the civilians

[@bewawolf19]

Southeast Asia conflicts are filled with atrocities during that time. The Viet Minh themselves were big on outright civilian murder as well whenever a village wasn't cooperative all the way up past the second Vietnam war as well as their many interventions in Cambodia. In the fighting there, neither side allowed people to be a non-participant. The French justified it with them viewing themselves as the best people to lead and guide Indochina, and ironically the Vietnamese thought the same thing with their own colonial approach of Laos and Cambodia.

[@markgarrett3647]

What a dishonest statement.

[@ucnguyenanh9414]

Like they haven't done that before, seriously what you think what colonialism all about?

[@markgarrett3647]

​@@ucnguyenanh9414What happened to the Cham Kingdom?

[@azymondiasdragon1510]

Looking forward to Dien Bien Phu

[@historigraph]

I think it’s going to be postponed due to lack of interest. This video and the first Vietnam one have performed very poorly

[@tommy-er6hh]

Pretty good, only question: I have heard that the Viet Minh were a mixed bunch of rebels, with the majority being communist, but a big minority of non-communist. Yet you label everyone as communist. Is this correct, have i been misinformed?

[@jdotoz]

Maybe, but when you're following a communist you really need to know what's going to happen if you win.

[@vinhlong7347]

Vietnam Worker's Party founded in 1952, the video did make it too early to call the Viet Minh as communist. Meanwhile in official Vietnam's document the Viet Minh was dissolved in 1951 and another front called Liên Việt founded in the same year.

[@doanhvu9593]

at first ,they are just non-communist and nationalism .After a time ,they become communist and nationalism

[@jaidengabriel1675]

6:00 the fart east commander😂

[@fabovondestory]

Did I just see a Ju52 bomber?

[@barbadolid5170]

Kudos to you for your pronunciation. It is as if you were not British

[@historigraph]

I try to make an effort with it

[@mauriceouellette7514]

Bonjour a tous du Canada With my bad english ,i try too give you my opinion ,It's 1946 and France occupied Viet Nam ,but recently France are occupied by Germany ,France must understand ,it's not funny when it's a others country ,drive your own country , the french résistance battling against German occupation . Two years after France do exactly the same thing at the Vietnamese . Crazy world.

[@nemosgaze]

So what exactly were the Laotians and Cambodians doing during this time?

[@RaymondCore]

The US gave more money to the French to fight its Indochina war than it gave France to rebuild after WW2 with the Marshall Plan.

[@chrisjackson1215]

Source?

[@MN-vz8qm]

@@chrisjackson1215 France reveived 2.4 billions form the US to rebuild (Marshal Plan), which was 18% of the total 13.3 billions the US gave Europe. Meanwhile, the US gave France about 2.6 billions in material aid in the war in Indochina (about 80% of the total cost of the war). One has to understand the context, the war started in 47 as France has just been liberated and was in ruins. The french population lived under food stamps during the entirety of the war. That particular war was highly unpopular in France ("la sale guerre", the dirty war), which limited the political freedom of the french government in this war. Nearly all troops were recruited from other colonies in order to avoid making the situation eve more unpopular at home.

[@hungtrinh-b9m]

will you make a vid about dien bien phu ?

[@SidlingNine]

This video still doesn’t answer my question, Who was in Paris?

[@historigraph]

the french government

[@Dr.Chase123]

@@historigraph LMAO

[@cacksm0ker]

I think Jay Z and Kanye will be able to answer this question.

[@SidlingNine]

No more further questions. @@historigraph

[@johnwotek3816]

Since 1946, the french governement was the IVth Republic. That shit was an absolute clusterfuck that changed governement every six month.

[@robertanderson809]

DAMN colonialism!!

[@benghaziwarrior3687]

Glory to the Vietnamese freedom fighters, who fought hard to free their nation from the imperialist west!

[@markgarrett3647]

Armed Communist hordes are not armies of liberation.

[@ash_11117]

“Free” now they’re poor and have no allies besides maybe Laos (which is equally corrupt and not free). They don’t have freedom of speech, religion or press, and are under a dictatorship. Vietnam is not well off.

[@torenico]

​@@ash_11117cope

[@tovarishsus]

@@ash_11117 Are you live in Vietnam?

[@imao4933]

@@ash_11117 dont tell me your source is Radio Free Asia

[@AlexanderVasilyevichKolchak]

It's sad that they lost that war

[@DerrickSeaborne-d2j]

No it's not

[@buiphamthaianh]

from 1945 to 1954 is 9 years

[@xenotypos]

Good video. Though you can't really call a war in which they sent just 190 000 troups a "total war" (compared with the 8 millions sent for WW1). It was a mid intensity war, as many other colonial wars were. Same for USA later, the US only sent a fraction of their forces, because at some point there's no point.

[@jdotoz]

Total war has more to do with the rules of engagement than with the scale of the effort.

[@xenotypos]

@@jdotoz The wikipedia article about total war suggests it has as much to do (even maybe more to do) with the scale of the commitment: all the resources of the state geared toward war. That's why the first total wars to come to mind are generally the WWs, at most maybe a 19th century conflict. While actually, the sheer cruelty of most ancient conflicts, often without limits, would make most wars in antiquity and in the middle ages fit your definition of a total war. Which is kind of weird to me. In general, most definitions agree that it needs both, to a certain extent.

[@angkhoanguyen6114]

@@xenotypos In the end, the French lost badly.

[@Boatswain_Tam]

Excellent videos! Please tell me that you'll keep telling the story all the way including the Chinese invasion of Vietnam & the Khmer Rouge?

[@mr.bluesky4130]

Fucking finally someone tries to pronounce Vietnamese names properly in one of these videos. I love Operations Room but hearing them say “Nuh-goi-Yen” in their old Vietnam videos hurt my brain.

[@looinrims]

The most mispronounced battle in human history Dien Bien Phu, or something

[@ucnguyenanh9414]

I mean all non Vietnamese would mispronounce everything Vietnamese.

[@vinhlong7347]

Closest pronunciation probably "Dian Bian Fu" 😂

[@inwedavid6919]

Sadly, US was happy to have the French leaving the area, dreaming to replace them, but when they see that Vietmin where "red" they change mind after 5 years, too late, like in 1939, they came after the battle.

[@Fnidner]

Good riddance, montjoie saint-denis!

[@jeffreyerwin3665]

we in the USA like to make up excuses for why the USA didn't really loose in Vietnam. Of course the USA lost! Forced to withdraw after spending many billions of dollars on a unjust and lost cause. Sometimes the obscene "body count" is cited while never understanding that the Viet strategy was to accept a 10 to 1 lose ratio and keep on resisting, knowing that the colonial enemy would tire of their boys being killed in an unjust cause. I was on a platoon night patrol in 1965 and it ran headlong into a NLF patrol. The lead marine did his job and took out the lead elements in the NLF patrol, but, in so doing, he made himself a target with the muzzle flashes of his M-14 and was killed. I took me a long time to understand that the NLF had won that engagement. They killed a US marine, and that is what counted regardless of their 10 KIAs.

[@LeslieQuilantang]

pa dust nko nam sabay na Tayo mga Wala girlfriend

[@zetectic7968]

This disaster brought about by flawed French foreign policy that believed it could revive its empire & regain some status after the collapse of the French army in 1939-40. Without the rabid anti-communist support of the USA they would have lost sooner. 30 years of pointless war that achieved nothing except misery, death & destruction. The ultimate irony (sick joke?) is that now, in recent years, the US has used VietNam as a manufacture of cheap clothing.

[@angkhoanguyen6114]

Cheap clothing? Vietnam had long pass the time of low-priced producta.

[@torenico]

We in the global south admire Vietnam and their heroic struggle against western inperialism and barbarism.

[@ethanmagnuson2988]

Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh! Ho Chi Minh is gonna win!

[@markgarrett3647]

The Vietnamese Stalin.

[@dobridjordje]

​@@markgarrett3647Ya don't know shit lol

[@markgarrett3647]

@@dobridjordje You just pretend to know sh*t.

[@markgarrett3647]

@@dobridjordje And your just scared that the truth will somehow topple your precious Lao Dong party.

[@dobridjordje]

@@markgarrett3647 Buddy South Vietnam was way bloody worse in every way compared to North. People hated living there and supported NLF and unification for a damn good reason. When you have a charlatan like Diem or Ky or Thieu who torture,imprison and kill their own people, no wonder that the Saigon government and army will topple when people had enough. People MAY have lived well in Saigon or Hue or Ban me Thuot but in the countryside where it mattered, it was utter shit. Constant rapes, murders, atrocities, stealings, incarcerations, and then you condemn people who had enough of it, grab AK 47s join the NLF and kill those did all those vial acts on them? Think about it for a moment, South Vietnam was a corrupt shit hole, North Vietnam although not ideal was a way better place for people's lives and ideals to thrive.

[@CGBP02]

Is it necessary to use brutal in front of war? 🤣

[@historigraph]

Eh, some wars are more brutal than others

[@CGBP02]

@@historigraph War is brutal for the most part of course there is varying degrees of brutal but come on man! Wet rainy day the word wet isn't really needed wat think? Great channel by the way! 🥇

[@Jabarri74]

@@CGBP02 He's doing what the algorithm likes so people see it. You could hardly call this click bait

[@squiglemcsquigle8414]

​@@CGBP02and yet wet rainy day is common usage. It's almost as if language can be colourful and used to emphasize certain stuff

[@CGBP02]

@@squiglemcsquigle8414 Ha! I know. People are silly! 🙄 Wet rainy day. 🤣🥈

[@inwedavid6919]

All of this was done while France was out of money and soldiers, the main country was totally destroyed and weapon factories not rebuilt yet. Also the area was far bigger than the one that US was holding.

[@pickleman40]

French strategy in this conflict is outrageously bad.

[@MN-vz8qm]

Difficult ot say, one potential issue is how much the french were aware of the chinese involvement, in material term. You don't have the same strategy depending on how much forces you expect in front of you.

[@ballbender9thousand944]

The first "fuck around and found out" war for World Superpower and it wont the last one

[@parodyclip36]

Ethiopia ? Afghanistan ? Russo-Japanese war ?

[@cjthebeesknees]

Vietnamese, kicking ass and taking names, the jungle said bite the pillow I’m going in dry and clapping colonial cheeks.

[@jdotoz]

Eh, the numbers don't bear that out. They suffered a lot for what was ultimately a diplomatic victory. They won the war by not quitting, not by dominating the battlefield. That's a perfectly legitimate way to win a war if the conditions allow it, but let's not pretend that it was anything other than a bloodbath for the DRV.

[@vinhlong7347]

@@jdotozIn the First Indochina War the Viet Minh did really dominate the battlefield, they continuously capturing many towns and cities during the end of the war

[@jdotoz]

@@vinhlong7347 If you lost more than twice as many people as your enemy, you might have won the war, but I don't think you can call that "domination."

[@grandcanyon-d4d]

​@@jdotozvictory requires sacrifices, same goes for the 13 colonies against the British Empire.

[@jdotoz]

@@grandcanyon-d4d I never denied it. Obviously the VM won, and they paid a large price for that victory. The point is that "dominance" implies a cheap victory.

[@MarkzOng]

One is fighting for its independence the other colonism.

[@malikkimanimaasai3703]

Vietminh, exceptional infantry soldiers 👏🏾...

[@lukepapapetrou1234]

I understand you want to remain impartial in your videos, but comparing Viet Minh 'brutality' with savage French colonialism is just a bit too much in my opinion. One is fighting for liberating their homeland and the other to maintain their colonial holdings. The excuse that the West was trying to contain communism is a laughable moral justification, regardless of one's opinion on Chinese communism, Stalinist communism or communism in general.

[@cvetomirgeorgiev9106]

And he goes on to describe Viet Minh brutality as road ambushes and kidnappings, while the French ones as actions that today would constitute a genocide. Still a great video, he's just trying to be impartial. I think I can hear his disgust at French actions at a few points in the video.

[@davidrenton]

the first indochina war was in 45, when the Brit's controlled Vietnam for a period and won against the commies, something the French and US could not do.

[@Dr.Chase123]

First

[@guntherultraboltnovacrunch5248]

Your parents must be proud. Aim for the stars!