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Vietnam had a long history of resisting foreign domination, including French colonial rule and Japanese occupation during World War II. After the war, Ho Chi Minh’s communistic Viet Minh coalition declared independence, but France sought to reassert control, leading to the First Indochina War (1946–54), which ended with the Geneva Accords. The accords temporarily divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with elections planned for 1956 to unify the country. However, these elections never occurred, as President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, backed by the United States, refused, fearing a likely Communist victory.