Chinese intervention in the first Indochina war

Say Korean War doesn’t happen

Could China launch a military invasion in support of Viet Minh

How successful would an invasion be

Would this lead to Vietnam being inside China’s sphere of influence
 

Philip

Donor
Do the Viet Minh want this? Might they fear that they are replacing one colonial master with another?
 
Do the Viet Minh want this? Might they fear that they are replacing one colonial master with another?

Spot on. Remember Ho's quote in 1945 when negotiating to allow the French to return and force the Nationalists Chinese out of Indochina:
“You fools! Don't you realize what it means if the Chinese remain? Don't you remember your history? The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years. The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying. The white man is finished in Asia. But if the Chinese stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff French shit for five years than to eat Chinese shit for the rest of my life.”

Ho and the Viet-Minh actually had lots of issues with accepting Chinese aid and troops during the 1st Indochina War; while they did finally accept them, it was grudgingly. Vietnamese official sources and documents minimized the role of Chinese support (logistics and advisers) in the 1st Indochina War. It was a war of national liberation and allowing the Chinese Communist to become involved on the battlefield would change that picture to one of the Viet-Minh being Communist puppets.

If the Chinese were openly allowed to fight in Indochina, the US would make the case to intervene just as it did in Korea to stop Communist aggression.
 
realize what it means if the Chinese remain? Don't you remember your history? The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years. The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying. The white man is finished in Asia. But if the Chinese stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff French shit for five years than to eat Chinese shit for the rest of my life.”
He never said that

Chinese Communist to become involved on the battlefield would change that picture to one of the Viet-Minh being Communist puppets.
Would that even matter given there enemy is French puppets or are French

Ho and the Viet-Minh actually had lots of issues with accepting Chinese aid and troops during the 1st Indochina War;
If they invaded unilaterally would the Viet-Minh accept it as a fait accompli
 
He never said that

He is quoted as saying it in:
Vietnam: A History (1983) by Stanley Karnow, p. 153;
Ho Chi Minh: A Political Biography (1963) by Jean Lacoutre
A Phoenix Reborn: Travels in New Vietnam (2008) by Andrew Forbes

Now, translating from Vietnamese into English isn't always an exact science, but the gist is pretty much the same.

If the Communist Chinese unilaterally invaded Vietnam, I would expect Ho would turn the Viet-Minh on them and find some sort of accommodation with the French.
 
Top