Abstract
The Potsdam Conference charged Britain with ALF duties in Southern French Indo-China. It would be a mistake to blame the British ALF Commander, Major-General Gracey, for the complex nature of the events that unfolded during these duties in Saigon. Britain did not unilaterally restore the French in Indo-China. The ALF inherited not just the anarchic birth pangs of Vietnamese nationalism in Saigon, but also the responsibility in Indo-China south of the 16th parallel for the release of Allied prisoners of war, the surrender and evacuation of Japanese forces, the security of French nationals, law and order, a Cambodian-Siamese border dispute, and a potential famine. The US was also responsible along with Britain for the transportation and equipping of French forces for their return to Indo-China.
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Notes
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© 2007 T.O. Smith
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Smith, T.O. (2007). Liberation, July 1945–March 1946. In: Britain and the Origins of the Vietnam War. Global Conflict and Security since 1945. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230591660_3
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