58 VIETNAM
AFP/GETTYIMAGESFRENCH STRATEGY I N
1940 s SETS COURSE
FOR THE U.S. LATER
In the Year of the
Tiger: The War
for Cochinchina,
1945-1951
William M. Waddell III
University of Oklahoma
Press, 2018In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, as
Japan relinquished its hold on Indochina,
French forces seeking to reestablish con-
trol over their colony confronted a rising
independence movement led by the Viet
Minh, a coalition of nationalist groups
under the command of communist lead-
ers. Strongest in northern Vietnam (then
known as Tonkin), where Ho Chi Minh
had established the Democratic Republic
of Vietnam in September 1945, the Viet
Minh attacked French positions through-
out the north in December 1946, initiating
the First Indochina War.
The French command in Indochina,
governed by the principle that “every
blow to the opponent in the north weak-
ens him in the south,” believed that war in
the southernmost region of Vietnam (Co-
chinchina)—the “centerpiece” of France’s
position in Southeast Asia—would be won
by destroying Viet Minh main force units
in northern Vietnam. Despite the often-superb performance of French arms, a di-
sastrous defeat at Dien Bien Phu in Tonkin
on May 7, 1954, meant not only the loss
of the north but also the end of France’s
entire colonial empire in Indochina.
In Cochinchina, however, the First Indo-
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commanders, lacking the resources to pur-
sue a high-intensity main force war, largely
eschewed chasing Viet Minh units and
instead pursued a limited, “resource con-
strained” approach designed to conserve
resources and secure vital economic areas
and government centers. That strategy,
argues William Waddell in his book In the
Year of the Tiger, allowed France to defeat
Viet Minh main force units in Cochinchina
and preserve the nascent Franco-Vietnam-
ese state in the south.
“Conventional operations in Tonkin
were, on the main, intended as a way to
beat the Viet Minh, to force a peace,” Wad-
dell writes. “By contrast, in CochinchinaCommunist-led Vietnamese fighting
for independence from France raise
their flag after defeating the French at
Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam on
May 7, 1954. French forces, however,
remained in control of southern
Vietnam—temporarily.