Britain in Vietnam: Prelude to Disaster, 1945-6

ISBN-13: 9780415358484 / Angielski / Twarda / 2007 / 238 str.

Peter Neville

Opis

Britain's Involvement in Vietnam examines the British army's role in restoring French colonial rule to the south of the country, casting new light on post-war relations.

On 12 September 1945, a batallion of British Gurkhas arrived in Saigon, the first element of a force under General Douglas Gracey,  tasked by the Potsdam agreement to disarm the defeated Japanese military. North of the 16th parallel, the task of occupation fell to the Kuomintang forces of Chiang Kai-shek. South of it, Britain was to be the occupying power. Drawing on a wealth of previously unseen papers and archives, this new study explores the British imperialistic thinking that informed the subsequent slide back to colonialism. This new book skilfully presents this episode in great detail, and places it against the background of Britain's development after the Second World War and its relationships with America and Asia.   

This book will be ofgreat interest to all students of post-war relations and diplomacy, the aftermath of World War II, the Vietnam War and of international relations and strategic studies in general.  

 

Recenzje

'This book fills a gap in the coverage of the war in Indochina in that it throws the spot light on British involvement in the 1940s.'
Paul Le Long, Asian Affairs

Spis treści

Introduction.  Prologue  1. A Jewel in France’s Crown  2. Japan, Britain and French Indochina  3. The Anglo–American Alliance and Indochina  4. The Japanese Coup of March 9 1945 and its Consequences  5. The August Revolution  6. The Coming of the British  7. The Death of an OSS Man  8. War with the Vietminh  9. The Last Phase  10. Gracey’s Farewell  11. The Slide to Disaster  12. A Rubicon Crossed  13. Conclusion

O autorze

Peter Neville