IV.

Peace Talks

The humiliating defeat at Dien Bien Phu disheartened France, and after intense discussions French negotiators agreed to withdraw their troops from Vietnam. The resulting agreement, known as the Geneva Accords, temporarily divided Vietnam into two separate cease-fire zones, roughly representing the positions of the two sides in the war. The supporters of the DRV were to assemble in the north, and non-Communist elements were to unite under Bao Dai in the south. The country was to be unified after national elections, scheduled for 1956. The accords also established independent non-Communist governments in neighboring Laos and Cambodia. Some of Ho Chi Minh’s colleagues were reluctant to accept a compromise peace, but the DRV was under intense pressure from its allies in China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to reach an agreement. These governments feared, as did Ho, that prolonging the war would provoke the United States to become directly involved in the conflict.