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See main article: History of Vietnam.
During the First Indochina War, the French had sought to re-establish colonial rule in Indochina, but despite American aid, they were defeated 1954 by forces under the leadership of communist guerrilla Ho Chi Minh, notably in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
On 21 July, the Conference produced a declaration which suported the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Indochina which gained independence, the cessation of hostilities and foreign involvement (or troops) in internal affairs. Vietnam was partitioned into northern and southern zones pending unification on the basis of internationally supervised free electionSee also Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne For the Theological concept of election, see Predestination An election is a process in which a vote is held to elect candidates to an office. It is the mechanism by which a democracy fills to be held in June 1955 (Article 3).
The agreement was between CambodiaThe Kingdom of Cambodia (Kampuchea, Khmer ) is a country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered in the south by the Gulf of Thailand, in the west by Thailand, Laos in the north, and Vietnam in the east. The majority of Cambodians are the Khmer people. Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, France, LaosThe Lao People's Democratic Republic is a landlocked country in southeast Asia, bordered by Myanmar (commonly known in the west as Burma) and the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the, the People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China PRC comprises most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as China. Since its founding in 1949, it has been led by the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is the world's most populous country, with a population, the State of Viet-Nam, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly and the United States of America. However, only France and Ho Chi Minh's DRV signed the document.
The partition forced about two million North Vietnamese to migrate to the south as the communist north began impose severe rules to implement radical land reforms.
Backed by the United States, the southern government headed by Ngo Dinh Diem refused to open consultation with the North Vietnamese concerning general elections, which were never honoured.
The result was the Second Indochina War which is also known as the Vietnam War