Ho Chi Minh led Vietnam to declare independence from France in 1945. The French were eventually defeated in 1954, but the US became involved to contain the spread of communism according to the Domino Theory. The Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. Elections were planned to reunify the country in 1956 but did not occur due to South Vietnam blocking them for fear that Ho Chi Minh would win. The US supported the anti-communist South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem and began training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh built up North Vietnam's army and Viet Cong guerrilla fighters in the South. In 1964, alleged attacks by North Vietnam