In the 1850s, persecution of French missionaries gave France an excuse to expand their colonial empire into Vietnam. In 1859, French troops destroyed the citadel at Gia Dinh. Skirmishes continued ...

In 1954, the French were finally defeated by the Viet Minh at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. This defeat was formalised in the Geneva Agreement and temporarily separated Vietnam into two zones ...

The resulting media attention proved very embarrassing for the defeated French. The outcome of this defeat was formalised in the Geneva Agreement of July 1954 and temporarily separated Vietnam ...

After the Japanese surrender ends World War II, Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh forms a provisional government and declares his country's independence from all colonial powers. September 26 ...

War veterans, communist leaders and diplomats gathered in Vietnam’s Dien Bien Phu yesterday to mark the 60th anniversary of the country’s seminal victory over French colonial forces. The bloody 56-day ...