originally the Americans were on the side of the Viet Minh. during world war two the Americans supplied the viet minh with aid and money to support their war effort against the french and the Japanese, because they wanted the Japanese defeated and did not like the idea of the old colonial powers having empire again. the American's did not care that at the heart of it Ho Chi Minh was a communist.
however after world war two finished this all changed. the Americans were in the midst of the cold war with communist russia and they did not want any more countries of the world to become communist, as most of eastern Europe was already. the American president, Truman, did not want Another Country to become communist, and so created the Truman doctrine with the policy of containment. The Americans swapped sides and started aiding the french, claiming that they were fighting for a democratic country, because they did not want to see the communists in power.
this ended in the battle of Dien Bien Phu when the french lost dramatically and the Geneva convention agreed that Vietnam shoudl be split into two, the north as communist and the south as demoscratic.
so really the general answer summed up is: because the Americans were afraid of the spread of communism and wanted to stop Vietnam becoming communist at all costs.
It was all about democracy and the fear that if one country fell to communism, then all the neighboring countries would also fall. This is called the Domino Theory.
The Viet Minh were the communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh against the French during the 1st Indochina War (French Indochina War-1946 to 1954).
General Vo Nguyen Giap
Ho Chi Minh fought the Japanese during WWII with insurgency operations, in line with the French underground category of insurgency, that took place in France when occupied by Nazi Germany. During WWI Ho Chi Minh was considered an ally (anyone fighting against the Axis, including the Soviet Union, were considered allies during WWII). During the French Indo-China war 1946-1954, Ho Chi Minh openly engaged in war against France. During WWII, Ho Chi Minh was aided by the allies. During the French Indo-China war, he was aided by the communists.
Japan occupied Vietnam at the time, and the Viet Minh fought against them. The Americans backed and funded them since they were fighting against the Japanese. So technically I guess that means they were fighting with the Allies.
The French surrendered to the Viet Minh May 7 , 1954 .
Ho Chi Minh
I believe it was Ho Chi Minh.
By forcefullygiving the Viet Minh aids
Why did the US back the French in their fight against Ho Chi Minh
You've got the right elements, they're just not in the correct order. Ho Chi Minh led the Viet Minh in waging war against the French from 1946-1954.
The Viet Minh were the communist forces led by Ho Chi Minh against the French during the 1st Indochina War (French Indochina War-1946 to 1954).
The leader of the People's Republic of Vietnam during their wars of independence was Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh saw through leadership of the resistance against the Japanese, French and ultimately the Americans.
The U.S. wanted to ensure French support in the cold war.
For the younger generation back then, Ho Chi Minh had been a founder of the communist party in North Vietnam & a "Hero" & victor against the French.
President Truman refused Ho Chi Minh's request for help against the French because Truman viewed France as a vital ally in the struggle against the spread of communism in postwar Europe. He also was unwilling to back the Vietminh because of Ho's Communist Party connections.
Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the communist revolution against French colonialism in Vietnam. He was also the first President of North Vietnam.