First Indochina War
December 19, 1946 – August 1, 1954
Result Viet Minh victory
Fought 19 December 1946 to 11 August 1954 in French Indochina between the French Union and the Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh. After French forces restored authority in Saigon in September 1945, full-scale war broke out in December 1946; with Chinese and Soviet aid, the Viet Minh defeated France decisively at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. The Geneva Conference gave the Viet Minh control of North Vietnam, divided the country at the 17th parallel, and ended French rule in Indochina, setting the stage for the Vietnam War.
Battles and events 18
December 19, 1946 – February 18, 1947
Battle of Hanoi (1946)
Hanoi
October 1947 – September 4, 1949
Battle of Cao Bằng (1949)
Việt Minh victory
October 7 – November 8, 1947
March 8, 1949
Élysée Accords
Élysée Palace
September 16 – October 18, 1950
January 13–17, 1951
March 23–28, 1951
June 18, 1951
October 3–10, 1951
November 10, 1951 – February 25, 1952
October 29 – November 8, 1952
November 23 – December 2, 1952
April 1953
July 28 – August 10, 1953
November 20–22, 1953
Operation Castor
Successful establishment of the Dien Bien Phu outpost by the French Union
Điện Biên Phủ
Võ Nguyên Giáp, Henri Navarre
January 20, 1954 – March 1954
March 13 – May 7, 1954
June 24 – July 17, 1954
Key commanders
Viet Minh 9
France 9
Henri Navarre
belligerent leader
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
belligerent leader
Raoul Salan
military commander
Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu
military commander
Jean-Étienne Valluy
military commander
Christian de Castries
military commander
Jules Gaucher
military commander
Marcel Carpentier
military commander
Marcel Maurice Bigeard
military commander