This page is referenced by:

• 1 2020-07-28T09:42:06-04:00 Hanoi and Thai Nguyen 13 Background Information for the Red River Delta plain 2020-08-11T18:26:19-04:00 Michitake Aso Thăng Long, later named Hà Nội, has played a central role in the life of the delta. As Thảo notes, "the geographical space of the Red River delta is not therefore simply a natural geographic region. The very presence of Thăng Long Hanoi with its prevailing zone of influence ... [has] brought about the unity of the Red River delta throughout history." (Thảo, Vietnam: The Country and Its Geographical Regions, 325).
  
  The following map is from the Đồng Khánh địa dư chí, or the Dong Khanh Geography, a set of maps of Vietnam started during the reign of Đồng Khánh (1886-1888) [double check.] 
  
  
  Include information on and maps of Thái Nguyên.
  
  
  
  The following image is a recent bird's eye view of greater metropolitan Hanoi and its surroundings from Google Maps.
  
  
• 1 2020-07-26T09:41:08-04:00 Geographies and Cartographies of the Red River Delta 11 Background information for Red River Delta plain 2020-07-28T09:23:44-04:00 Red River Delta 1900-2020 The Red River Delta is considered the cradle of Vietnamese civilization. Lê Bá Thảo, formerly one of the leading geographers of Vietnam, wrote in the 1990s of "the history of the conquest of the Red River delta" that created the "Red River civilization." Thảo continues that the delta is the result "of both the Red River and the Thái Bình river systems, but for reason of convenience and habit, the delta is named after the principal river system (the Red River)." (Thảo, Vietnam: The Country and Its Geographical Regions, 317-18).
  
  Geography of the Red River from Le, Nguyen dynasty sources. Short and swift river, frequently floods. Dike network that helps irrigate, controls floods.
  
  
  Viewed within a Vietnamese national space, the Red River Delta is one of two baskets (the other being the Mekong Delta) sitting at the end of a long pole. An early representation of this space is this 1838 map (from Jesuits?): 
  
  
  Yet, before the Mekong Delta was incorporated in Vietnamese national space, the Red River Delta was more often viewed as the southern frontier of Chinese civilization. This view was common among Chinese intellectuals, of course, but also oriented the views of Vietnamese intellectuals and elite. An example of this space is 
  
  
  
  Thăng Long, later named Hà Nội, has played a central role in the life of the delta. As Thảo notes, "the geographical space of the Red River delta is not therefore simply a natural geographic region. The very presence of Thăng Long Hanoi with its prevailing zone of influence ... [has] brought about the unity of the Red River delta throughout history." (Thảo, Vietnam: The Country and Its Geographical Regions, 325).
  
  
  Include Li Tana material.
  
  French colonial maps.
  
  Setting scene for battles/potential biological warfare during 1st Indochina War.
  
  Show Viet Bac, Viet Minh hospital.
  
  Quotes from Hữu Ngọc's Sketches for a Portrait of Vietnamese Culture - literary views.
  
  .
  
  Contemporary views of Red River Delta.
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• 1 2019-11-18T15:48:28-05:00 Hunger in the Countryside 10 Page 2 of Path C plain 2020-08-03T15:31:52-04:00 Michitake Aso

  One of the main concerns of the Việt Minh was the threat of hunger. In 1944-1945, a famine had resulted in the deaths of most likely over one million Vietnamese in the Red River Delta. The French and Japanese were blamed for this famine and the Việt Minh were able to harness popular discontent to gain valuable support in the countryside (Gunn).

  Memories of the famine were still raw in the early 1950s, and the Việt Minh knew that they would lose valuable support and be held at least partially responsible if famines were to strike again (Lentz). Thus they were very concerned when they learned about charges that the United State's military was releasing crop-destroying insects as the French might similarly attack rice and vegetable crops in areas under Việt Minh control. Such actions would weaken their partisans and might encourage them to move to French controlled territory.

  Below you can see a bird's eye view of part of Northern Vietnam showing the flat Red River Delta and surrounding hills. This map focuses on Bắc Ninh province, one of those reporting potential biological attacks between April 1952 and March 1953 as marked in a Google map showing the reported use of biological weapons. Hanoi and Thai Nguyen are also visible in this image.

  Việt Minh reports note that farmers were initially quite concerned about biological weapons but that after initial exposures that did not result in crop damage or human illness, farmers grew less concerned about these weapons. Thus, Bắc Ninh only lists one reported incident. Other factors that seem to have played a role in number of reported incidents includes degree of French control of the region, with higher control resulting in fewer incidents, as well as strategic importance and accessibility, which resulted in more airplane flights.