Assess the significance of Guerrilla Warfare in the Vietnamese Conflict with the French: 1946-1954 Guerrilla Warfare is the

method of fighting in partisan units disguised as civilians mingling with the people, there are specific tactics that are employed by guerrilla fighters. Such tactics created a substantial amount of significance in the Vietnamese conflict with the French in 1946-1954. Guerrilla warfare was used by the Viet Minh in the first Indochina war against the regular army of France. They chose to use guerrilla tactics because they could not confront Frances vastly superior army in a traditional battle and win. The method the Viet Minh used was successful and by 1954, France had withdrawn from Indochina completely. Ho Chi Minh played a very significant role in Vietnams conflict with the French as he first declared Vietnam independent in 1945, quoting Thomas Jefferson We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal! Ho Chi Minh was the founder of Vietnams Nationalist Party alongside the Indochinese Communist Party and through this, arose the Vietminh, a revolutionary movement. As the First Indochina war sparked, so did Guerrilla warfare. In 1945, Hos guerrilla forces of Ho Chi Minh were fighting to rid Vietnam of Imperialistic powers, namely France, he was determined to succeed It is better to sacrifice everything than to live in slavery. Ho Chi Minh introduced a set of strict rules that the Vietminh must conform to at all times in order to defeat the enemy. Also known as the 10 point plan, these rules furthermore, added to the importance and significance that Guerrilla Warfare had to the French. In 1946, Ho initiated a theory that was the way he saw the war developing. He used the analogy of the Elephant and Tiger. This metaphor describes how smaller military forces can defeat larger ones, if the proper strategy is employed If ever the tiger pauses, the elephant will impale him with his mighty tusks. But the tiger will not pause and the elephant will die of exhaustion and loss of blood. In essence, this method was namely, the depiction of Guerrilla Warfare. This theory was a success and impacted significantly on the Vietminh. In terms of having the most advantages, the Vietnams Peoples Army had numerous strengths which all combined, created a further significance to the French conflict. As the French used conventional warfare, Guerrilla Warfare was evidently a stronger and better force. Whilst the French army had a considerate amount of supplies and

equipment, the Vietminh Peoples army were highly perceptive in terms of clothing, food, equipment, communication, support, tactics, identification, time and money which all combined added further significance on this conflict. 8 years later, France had finally withdrawn completely from Indochina. The use of such Guerrilla tactics, the theories behind and the way in which the Vietminh went about the first Indochina War impacted immensely on the significance of this conflict between the French.