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As 1954 began, the French had been fighting the insurgent communist-dominated Viet Minh for more than seven years attempting to retain control of their colony of Vietnam. Domestic support for the war by the population of France had declined. The United States was concerned that a French military defeat in Vietnam would result in the spread of communism to all the countries of Southeast Asia—the Domino Theory—and was looking for means of aiding the French without committing American troops to the war. In a last ditch effort to defeat the Viet Minh, the French had fortified a remote outpost in northwestern Vietnam named Dien Bien Phu with the objective of inducing the Viet Minh to attack and then utilizing superior French firepower to destroy the attackers.〔Mann, Robert ''A Grand Delusion: America's Descent into Vietnam'' New York: Basic Books, 2001, pp. 120, 128-129〕 Viet Minh General Vo Nguyen Giap described the French positions in a river valley as being at the bottom of a rice bowl with the Viet Minh holding the high ground surrounding the French. In May, French military forces surrendered to the Viet Minh concluding the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. In July, a cease fire agreement was reached by the Geneva Accords dividing Vietnam into two provisional states at the 17th parallel of latitude. Ngo Dinh Diem became Prime Minister of South Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh became President of North Vietnam. Diem overcame an early challenge to his rule from army leaders and the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai religious sects. The United States pledged its support to the Diem government and began to replace France as the principal foreign power involved in South Vietnam. China and the Soviet Union began to provide economic assistance to North Vietnam. ==January== ;12 January Emperor and Chief of State Bao Dai appointed Buu Loc as Prime Minister of Vietnam. ;29 January United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced that 26 B-26 bombers and 200 U.S. Air Force mechanics would be provided the French to aid them in their war against the Viet Minh.〔Mann, p. 133; "Indochina War Timeline: 1954" ''VietnamGear.com'' http://www.vietnamgear.com/Indochina1954.aspx, accessed 19 Jul 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1954 in the Vietnam War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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