Book Review: The Struggle for Indo-China
| Author | Michael Brecher |
| Date | 01 June 1955 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205501000219 |
| Published date | 01 June 1955 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
146
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
THE
STRUGGLE
FOR
INDO-CHINA.
By
Ellen
J.
Hammer.
1954.
(Stanford:
Stanford
University
Press.
Published
under
the
auspices
of
the
Institute
of
Pacific
Relations.
xvii,
332pp.
$5.00)
With
the
achievement
of
a
cease-fire
at
Geneva
the
conflict
in
Indo-China
temporarily
receded
into
the
back-ground
of
the
world
political
stage.
The well-tried
technique
of
partition
has
triumphed
once
again
and an
uncertain
peace
has
been
restored
to
the
war-weary
peninsula.
Yet,
it
would
be
a
dangerous
illu-
sion
to
assume
that
the
fundamental issues
have
been
solved by
this
mechanical
device.
As
in
Germany
and
Austria,
Trieste and
Korea,
so
too
in
Indo-China
partition
creates
as
many
if
not more
problems
than
are
solved.
One
critical
fact
which
emerges
from Dr. Hammer's pain-
staking
research
is
the
persistent
quest
for
unity,
along
with
independence
by
the
Vietnamese
nationalist
movement.
That
partition
is
only
a
half-way
house,
necessary
to
terminate
the
strife
but totally
unacceptable
as
a
long-range
solution,
is mani-
fest
in
the
statements
of
Ho
Chi
Minh
and leaders
of
South
Viet
Nam
soon
after
the
cease fire
agreement
was
signed.
In
clarifying
the
complex
forces
which gave
rise
to
the
struggle
for
Indo-China,
Dr.
Hammer
has
performed
an
im-
portant
service.
Her
comprehensive
study
is
a
valuable
addition
to
our
woefully
inadequate
knowledge
of
that
far-off
strategic
peninsula.
With
deligence
and
precision
she
has
traced
the
tragic
sequence
of
events
culminating
in
the
near-calamitous
war
of
the
past
eight
years.
The bulk
of
this
book
is
devoted
to
a
microscopic
examination
of
the
events
since
1940
but
much
light
is
shed
on
the
piecemeal
French
conquest
from
1862
to
1884
and
the
dissatisfaction with
and
frequent
revolt
against
French
colonial
rule.
The
rise
and
role
of
the
Viet
Minh,
Ho
Chi
Minh's
place
in Vietnamese
politics,
the
impact
of
the
Japanese
occupation,
the
role
of
Nationalist
and Communist
China,
the
attitude
of
all
French
political
parties
throughout
the
war-these
and
other
significant
facets
of
the
story
are
illuminated
in
this
book.
The
interminable negotia-
tions
between
France
and
various
nationalist
groups
are
treated
exhaustively.
Of
particular merit
is
the
brief
but
incisive
appraisal
of
the
impact
of
French
rule.
Dr.
Hammer's sympathy
for
the
aspirations
of
the
nationalist
movement
are
evident
throughout
the
book.
The
principal
vil-
lain
is
clearly
French
unwillingness
to
part
with
power
but
the
war
"has persisted
because
of
the
blunders of
both
sides."
In
her
view
the
Viet
Minh
was a
genuinely
popular
movement
which
after
1950
came
increasingly under
the
control of
its
com-
munist
leadership.
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