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3.  While both Japan and China were allied with the
Entente powers during the course of the First
World War, the Western victory contrasted in its
effects in each of the Asian countries. As the
Japanese used the war as an excuse to gain
control of German concessionary areas in China,
control of these parts by the Japanese
government was solidified in the Treaty of
Versailles. This angered many of the Chinese
nationalist politicians and sparked a series of
protests against the betrayal by Entente powers
{political}.
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4.  After Sun Yat-sen’s death, the position at the head of
the Nationalist Party was passed over to Chiang Kai-
shek, a former attendee of the Whampoa Military
Academy. Allied with dominating warlords
throughout the region, Chiang formed an army that
helped the Nationalists gain control of territory
throughout China, such as the Yangtze River valley
and Shanghai. This occupation of Shanghai also
corresponded with the ruthless tactics imposed on
the working class, murdering thousands of
communist supporters on the streets and setting the
stage for the civil war that was to take place between
the two political parties {political/social}.
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5.  Japan’s struggle to compete with the world’s
superpowers led to the decision to invade
neighboring Manchuria. As the invading power began
pushing towards the Chinese mainland, putting
pressure on the Nationalist Party of China, the
Nationalist preoccupation with suppressing the
communist party had to be put on hold in order to
focus on the more immediate threat. After a forced
signing of a treaty between the two parties, the
Communists opened the door to a new opportunity in
gaining an advantage over the Nationalists. This led
to the ultimate Communist victory in 1949 followed
by the establishment of the People’s Republic of
China {political}.
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6.  After the early establishment of a communist
headquarters in Hunan, Chiang launched a series
of attacks towards the area in order to rid the
opposing party of their rising influence in China.
In order to escape the dangerous raids, Mao and
his 90,000 followers made the Long March to the
Chinese city of Shaanxi, losing over half of the
initial travelers during the journey across
thousands of miles of difficult terrain. The party
was able to reestablish its capital which later
gave the communists advantage during the
Japanese invasion in terms of location, putting
their guerrilla forces in the direct path of
oncoming attacks {political}.
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7.  As the Communist Party slowly began gaining
control of the country, the government
leaders prioritized the need to reestablish
China’s influence in East Asia. This led to
Chinese intervention in the Korean conflict,
competing against the United States’ support
in the south and resulting in permanent
partition of the neighboring Korean nation
{political}.
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8.  By the 1950s, the alliance between China and
Soviet Russia began to dwindle as a rise in
border disputes and China’s refusal to remain
inferior to the northern superpower created
heavy tensions between the former
collaborators. Stalin’s death in 1953 and the
rise of Khrushchev to power worked to
further extend the failure of the relationship.
Mao Zedong was left to believe that he
himself was now “the chief theoretician and
leader of the communist world” {cultural}.
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9.  After initial French support of the rising Nguyen
dynasty, the reign of leaders such as Minh Mang
led to French distrust of the developing super-
Confucian society which contradicted the
European desire to push Catholicism into the
country. Using military defeats at home and
increased quarrels between Nguyen rulers as
motive, France launched an objective to gain
control of Vietnam and neighboring Laos and
Cambodia. The colonizers used their newly-
conquered areas as sources of financial revenue
which in turn worsened the already-difficult
economic status of the Vietnamese people
{political/economic}.
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10.  With the establishment of the Viet Minh forces
during World War II, the nationalist resistance
managed to gain influence in the war for
independence. Led by General Vo Nguyen Giap,
the Viet Minh used guerrilla tactics to offset the
French colonizers and gain support throughout
the rural north. After gaining control of the
northern city of Hanoi in 1945, the communist
leader Ho Chi Minh declared the independent
nation of Vietnam but still lacked the control of
southern regions desired by dominating
nationalist forces {political}.
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11.  To match the Viet Minh’s successes in the
north, as well as looking for ways to regain
strength as a result of Nazi domination, the
French reinforced their title as an imperialist
power by reoccupying Saigon with British
support. This was followed by France’s desire
to reassert control over the entire nation by
launching a war against the resisting forces in
the north, breaking a previous truce with the
Viet Minh {political}.
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12.  The critical battle at Dien Bien Phu arose as the
main conflict which allowed full decolonization
and withdrawal of French forces from Vietnam to
take place. The battle pitted the French against
the highly effective guerrilla tactics used by the
Viet Minh. After surrounding the enemy at their
base in Dien Bien Phu, the Vietnamese forces
used complex tunnel systems to transport
weapons and supplies, pushing the enemy
towards the center which eventually forced the
French to surrender {political/human-
environmental}.
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13.  After suffering heavy losses at Dien Bien Phu, the
French were forced to comply with the decisions
made during the Geneva Conference held in
Switzerland. The treaty declared Vietnam
independent from foreign powers and started the
withdrawal of French forces from the nation. In
settling political disputes, the agreement promised
national elections to take place in two years time
under which the communist-dominated north and the
politically-fragmented south would reunite under one
ruler. After the elections failed to take place, Ho Chi
Minh’s army named the Viet Cong launched an attack
on its southern counterparts in an attempt to unite
the nation under a single communist regime
{political}.
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14.  As the Cold War sparked U.S. competition against
the Russian superpower and promoted anti-
communist propaganda to rise among the
American population, the U.S. government sent
in its first troops to South Vietnam in the 1950s
to protect the nation from further communist
influence. Throughout decades of bombings and
herbicide usage which destroyed the local
environment, the U.S. style of fighting failed to
gain victory over the guerrilla-based Viet Cong,
leading to withdrawal of American forces after a
series of treaty organizations established
communist rule throughout {political/human-
environmental}.
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