Oppression is perhaps the worst crime man could ever inflict upon himself. Despite the will of a tyrant, the fighting spirit of the oppressed never fades. Oppression has the power to transform an average commoner into a force to be reckoned with. If you take away his freedom, he has nothing to lose, which makes him extremely dangerous. From 248 AD, this oppression plagued Southeast Asia by the French, Chinese, and others. At the end of World War II, in August 1945, the French sought to re-establish control over their Indochinese colonies. This moment of weakness would be seized by Vietnam to free itself from French rule and declare its independence. Vietnam has a long history of other countries dominating it, starting around 2,700 years ago. Successive China-based dynasties ruled Vietnam from 111 BC until 938, when Vietnam briefly regained independence. Vietnam remained a tributary state of China for much of its history and consistently repelled invasions from both the Chinese and the Mongols. The “independent” era ended towards the end of the 19th century when it was colonized by the French. France gained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French War (1884–1885). French Indochina was formed in October 1887 from Annam, Tonkin, and Cochinchina, which together form modern Vietnam. In the spring and summer of 1954, French and Viet Minh forces fought fiercely over who would have control of Vietnam. Things were beginning to look very bleak for French forces trying to quell Vietminh uprisings in their colonial possession of Indochina. An uprising of Vietnamese soldiers took place on February 10, 1930, in the Yen Bai garrison of the French colonial army, a small t...... half of paper ......eva The agreements divided the country in two, with the promise of reunification and free democratic elections. Unfortunately, rather than peaceful reunification, partition led to the Vietnam War, where the former neighbors were at war with each other. Meanwhile, the Geneva conference resumed in April. Vietnamese General Giap decided to begin his attack on Dien Bien Phu while the conference was in progress. The previous September the United States had agreed to give the French a $385 million grant to initiate the "Navarre Plan", a plan to destroy the Viet Minh forces by 1955. By then the French desperately needed the aid . Ultimately the Vietnamese achieved their goal of independence, they had to fight hard and remain determined to win. The Indochina War cost the lives of many Vietnamese, but united a country of mostly peasants under Ho Chi Minh against their oppressors.