Vietnam achieved independence from France by waging a revolution against them. In 1946, France was still rebuilding while trying to control the colonial holdings it temporarily lost during WWII. In Vietnam, and around the world, many people recognized the moment as being ripe for independence.

During the First Indochina War (1946–1954), various Vietnamese resistance factions largely unified behind the Viet Minh. With the aid of the Chinese, the unified revolutionary forces of Vietnam were able to wage a bitter conflict for independence that lasted nearly a decade.

French public opinion over involvement in Vietnam was already low when French forces were decisively defeated at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. With the Geneva Conference the day after the French surrender, Vietnamese interests had an advantage. The conference resulted in the eventual total withdrawal of French forces from Vietnam in 1956, bringing colonial rule there to an end.

However, the Geneva Conference left some important issues unsettled. It left Vietnam temporarily divided into North and South. The elections that were meant to reunite the country never took place. With the communist faction controlling the north indicating its intentions to take control of all of Vietnam, the stage was set for the war with the United States.