In this episode we discuss the history of Vietnam from the early 1800's up to the Geneva Conference of 1954. We look at the Vietnamese's everlasting struggle for independence; especially from the early days of French colonial rule until the end of the French and Indochina War. We consider the motivations of the leader Ho Chi Minh and his Viet Minh movement. We try and place the Vietnam war in the context of the Cold War.