Because of Gracey 's close relationship with his men , afforded by his long service as commander , the 20th Division had a reputation as a happy and confident unit . Field Marshal Slim said of them : In September 1945 , Gracey led 20,000 troops of the 20th Indian Division to occupy Saigon . During the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 , the Allies had agreed on Britain taking control of Vietnam south of the 16th parallel ( then part of French Indochina ) from the Japanese occupiers . Ho Chi Minh , the leader of the communist Viet Minh , proclaimed Vietnamese independence from French rule and big pro-independence and anti-French demonstrations and strikes were held in Saigon . The French , anxious to retain their colony , persuaded Gracey 's Commander in Chief , Lord Mountbatten , to authorise Gracey to declare martial law . Fearing a communist takeover of Vietnam , Gracey decided to rearm French citizens who had remained in Saigon and allowed them to seize control of public buildings from the Viet Minh . In October 1945 , as fighting spread throughout the city , Gracey issued guns to the Japanese troops who had surrendered and used them to occupy the city . According to some socialist and communist commentaries , this controversial decision furthered Ho Ch Minh 's cause of liberating Vietnam from foreign rule and precipitated the First Indochina War . French General Leclerc arrived in Saigon in October 1945 to assume authority but it was not until well into the first half of 1946 that enough French troops had arrived to allow Gracey to return with his troops to India where 20th Indian Division was disbanded
Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
Douglas Gracey