Other names for the war are the French Indochina War , Anti-French War , Franco-Vietnamese War , Franco-Vietminh War , Indochina War , Dirty War in France , and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam . The war was fought between the French Union 's French Far East Expeditionary Corps , led by France and supported by Emperor Bá # o Ä á i 's Vietnamese National Army on one side , and the Viá '' t Minh , led by Há '' `` ChÃ Minh and VÃ NguyÃ n GiÃ p on the other . The First Indochina War ( also known as the French Indochina War , Anti-French War , Franco-Vietnamese War , Franco-Vietminh War , Indochina War , Dirty War in France , and Anti-French Resistance War in contemporary Vietnam ) was fought in French Indochina from December 19 , 1946 , until August 1 , 1954 , between the French Union 's French Far East Expeditionary Corps , led by France and supported by Emperor Bá # o Ä á i 's Vietnamese National Army against the Viá '' t Minh , led by Há '' `` ChÃ Minh and VÃ NguyÃ n GiÃ p. Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam , although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Laos and Cambodia .