ABSTRACT
In the late 1940s and early 1950s the US and the Soviet Union were embroiled in the Cold War. This conflict inevitably superimposed itself upon the process of US foreign policy formulation in respect to many areas of the world. Control over military operations in the Indochina region became contentious as the war drew to a close. The 1954 Geneva Conference was a watershed in the history of Vietnam. It brought the First Indochina War to a close and inaugurated a period in which the US steadily augmented its commitment to the non-communist regime in the South. The Geneva Conference opened against the background of fierce fighting at Dien Bien Phu and the battle overshadowed the entire proceedings. Despite US largesse, by 1953 the French military position was very weak and, while they held on to control of the cities, much of the countryside was in Viet Minh hands.
