Ho Chi Minh, according to many Vietnamese during the time and still to this day, was considered one of the greatest leaders the Vietnamese ever had. Some would even label him as the "George Washington" of Vietnam. While living in France, Ho developed an interest in politics and joined a group of Vietnamese nationalist in Paris. During the Versailles peace talks, Ho heard word of Woodrow Wilson's stance against imperialism, and attempted to meet with the President to discuss the oppressive French colonial rule in Vietnam. However, Wilson had little interest in removing the French colonial rule in Vietnam and turned Ho away. Although Ho Chi Minh was ignored, he still diligently worked towards a new generation of Vietnamese Nationalism, while many westerners criticized his movement as aligning more towards one with communist motives. .
Following the Ho's founding of the Indochinese Communist Party, which held both nationalist and communist motives, Ho Chi Minh was often criticized by the ICP for not being radical enough for the movement. Ho Chi Minh, however, believed that the nationalist movement should be peasant-led, which was an idea held by the ICP as well, but he really did not care which class participated as long as they held mutual hatred towards the French rule. Ho worked closely with both the Chinese and Soviets for a period of time after the establishment of the ICP, but returned to Vietnam in 1941 following Japanese occupation. Ho then re-established contact with the ICP leaders, and later helped found the Viet Minh group which was based both on nationalist and communist principles. The Viet Minh engaged in guerilla warfare as opposed to conventional warfare. Ho Chi Minh encouraged nationwide patriotism and rebellion. The August Revolution shortly came about in which the Viet Minh fought the Japanese, and the Japanese surrendered. Ho Chi Minh then declared independence for Vietnam, and acted as the country's leader.