3. The French were in Vietnam for nearly two hundred years
A forgotten item of history is the long presence of the French in Vietnam, which began in the late 18th century during the American Revolution. France supported allies in the internal struggle between Vietnamese leaders beginning in 1777, and their presence in what became French Indochina continued until the 1950s, though it was interrupted by the Japanese occupation during the Second World War. Temporarily evicted on several occasions, the French were always wont to return until they were finally defeated militarily by Viet Minh forces at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, forcing their withdrawal from Southeast Asia.
