When the French returned to Indo-China in 1945 they were at first only slightly disturbed to discover that Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh were in control of the country. under the noses of the occupying Japanese, guerillas under General Giap had infiltrated the whole country. When the full weight of the French was brought to bear in 1946, Ho Chi Minh's government was driven back into the remote hinterland. Thereafter began a long, systematic struggle to build up military power and political influence on lines close enough to those laid down in Mao Tse-tung's handbook Guerilla Warfare for it to seem a classic vindication of its principles. Here is a stage-by-stage narrative of the campaign to the ideal progression suggested by Mao, and in terms of it analyses the successes and failures of the opposing forces. The French were unable to prevent him recovering lost ground, and in Giap's final offensive - of which the best-known event is the fall of Dien Bien Phu - they were only saved from annihilation by the armistice agreements which partitioned the country. -- From the publisher.

The sea -- The fish -- The French return -- Back to guerilla warfare -- Viet Minh victories of 1950 -- Viet Minh defeats of 1951 -- Back to Guerilla warfare again -- Mobile warfare -- Preparing for the kill -- The siege of Dien Bien Phu -- The war dies down -- Thoughts on anti-guerilla warfare.