American prestige in Vietnam had risen dramatically since U.S. forces began the reconquest of the Philippines some months before and affirmed that Filipinos would soon achieve their independence. Many Vietnamese believed that the sounds of gunfire and explosions on March 9 meant that the Americans had arrived. The reality was otherwise, but a key point remained: In the hour of extreme danger, the French had shown themselves wholly outclassed by an adversary that was itself perilously close to defeat in the larger world war.
