The Tangled Web: America, France and Indochina 1947-50

Sami Abouzahr untangles US policy towards France at the time of the Marshall Plan and the war in Indochina.

A French Foreign Legionnaire goes to war along the dry rib of a rice paddy, between Haiphong and Hanoi. Behind the Legionnaire is a U.S. gifted tank. Ca. 1954.American involvement in Vietnam is well-charted territory.  The emotional impact of the war on a generation of Americans and Europeans, its continued impact  on American politics and the office of the President, and the lessons it yields to contemporary American policy have made it an attractive subject for historians. The interpretation of the causes of US involvement in the war is one of the fault lines that separates orthodox and post-revisionist Cold War observers from revisionist or radical ones. To many, the Vietnam War defines their view of the nature of US international policy.

To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive.

Buy Online Access  Buy Print & Archive Subscription

If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.

Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.