<P> These were the first of the officers who would replace the French officials that had worked under Vichy rule . High officers, such as Admiral Decoux, would be sent back to France and sometimes tried for collaboration, but Cedile and Sainteny generally kept the French lower - level staff . </P> <P> Earlier in 1945, Pham Ngoc Thach, deputy minister in Ho's personal Office of the President, had met, in Saigon, with U.S. OSS Lieutenant - Colonel A. Peter Dewey, along with Pham Van Bach, to try to negotiate with the French . Both the Vietnamese and French sides were factionalized . Adding to the confusion was the British Gurkha force under Major - General Douglas Gracey, who refused to let Dewey fly a U.S. flag on his car . Dewey was killed at a Viet Minh roadblock in September . </P> <P> After August Revolution took place throughout Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh declared independence in September . In a dramatic speech, he began with </P> <P> All men are created equal . The Creator has given us certain inalienable rights: the right to Life, the right to be Free, and the right to achieve Happiness...These immortal words are taken from the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776 . In a larger sense, this means that: all the peoples of the world are equal; all the people have the right to live, to be happy, to be free . turning to the Declaration of the French Revolution in 1791, "It also states Men are born, must be free, and have equal rights . These are undeniable truths . </P>

How did ww2 affect french colonial power in vietnam