Background
Vietnam had been under French colonial control since the 19th century, and during World War II, it was invaded by Japanese occupiers. In order to fight off Japanese and French occupiers, in 1941, the political leader Ho Chi Minh, who dedicated communist, formed the League for the Independence of Vietnam, which was also called Viet Minh.
See the video below for more detail.
After the defeat in the WWII in 1945, Japan withdrew its forces from Vietnam, leaving the Emperor Bao Dai in control of the nation. Eager to seize control as well, Ho’s Viet Minh forces rose up, taking over the northern city of Hanoi and declaring a Democratic Republic of Vietnam there, with Ho as the president. Attempting to regain control of the region, Emperor Bao, backed by France, set up the state of Vietnam in July 1949 with Saigon as the capital city.
