Ho+Chi+Minh

Ho Chi Ming formed the new Vietnam Communist Party in 1929. He's spent time in France, China and the USSR; he had always been a committed nationalist, but after his travels abroad, he became a committed communist as well. His dream was a united Vietnam under communist rule. With the communist movement almost wiped out in the south, Ho chi ming moved to the north an organized the communist and nationalists resistance movement, the League for the Independence of Vietnam, known as 'Vietminh'. In the summer of 46, with the japanese defeat imminent, Ho Chi Ming prepared to seize the initiative before the French returned. Vietnaming forces and supporter too over Hanoi, Saigon and most of the large towns, and in September 45 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed with Ho Chi Minh as President. At first the French seemed prepared to compromise. They controlled the South but recognized the independence of the Vietnamese Republic in the north, provided it remained within the French Union. However, during the summer of 46, it became increasingly clear that the french had no intention of alloying the North genuine independence. Ho therefore demanded complete independence for the whole of Vietnam. The french rejected this. and hostilities began when hey shelled the northern port of Haiphong, killing thousands of Vietnamese civilians. After 8 years of bitter struggles, the French were finally defeated at Dien Bien Phu (1954).

Ho Chi Ming was born in 1890 and died in 1969. He was a Vietnamese Marxist- Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister during 45 to 55 and president 45 to 69 of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam AKA North Vietnam. He was the key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of VIetnam in 45 as well as the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong (NLF) during the Vietnam War until his death in 69. He led the Viet Ming independence movement from 41 onwars, establishing the communist-governed Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 45 and defeating the FRench Union in 54 at Dien Bien Phu. He officially stepped down from power in 55 due to health problems, but remained a highly visible figurehead and inspiration fro Vietnamese fighting for his cause --- a units, independent Vietnam until his death. Saigon, the capital of Republic of Vietnam, after the war, was renamed Ho Chi Ming City in his honor.