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| 1947, April |
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| The Viêt Minh, having been forced out of all urban areas, became a guerrilla army. The French, far better equipped for conventional warfare, were unable to root them out of the countryside. Over the course of time, the Viêt Minh became stronger, but not strong enough to force the French out of the cities. | 1 |
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| 1949, March 8 |
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| On the eve of the Communist victory in China, the French made an agreement with non-Communist nationalist forces under Bao Dai (b. 1914), the former emperor of Annam, by which they recognized the independence of Vietnam (including Cochin China) within the French Union. A government was established in Huê and Saigon, with Bao Dai as head of state. France retained the right to keep military bases in the country. This move only strengthened the determination of the Viêt Minh, who drew added encouragement and support when the Chinese Communists were victorious in their revolution. By 1950, the conflict had taken on the appearance of a regular war. | 2 |
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| 1950, Jan.–Feb |
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| Communist China and the Soviet Union both recognized the Communist regime of Hô Chi Minh in Vietnam. On the other hand, the U.S. and Great Britain recognized Vietnam, along with Cambodia and Laos, as associated states within the French Union. Bao Dai's former chief lieutenant, the anti-Communist Catholic Ngô Dinh Diem (1901–63), refused to join his French-backed regime. Although initially cool to French efforts to rebuild their prewar empire, the U.S. was influenced by cold war anti-Communist political trends—the victory of the Communists in China and the commencement of the Korean War—toward recognition of the Bao Dai regime. | 3 |
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| 1951, Jan.–Feb |
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| The French general Jean De Lattre de Tassigny (1889–1952) repulsed Communist attacks on Hanoi, and the Communists for the time being reverted to guerrilla tactics. | 4 |
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| Feb |
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| The disbanded Indochinese Communist Party reemerged as the Vietnamese Workers' Party. | 5 |
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