During World War II, the Japanese invade the French colony of Vietnam. Supported by the American Office of Strategic Services, now the CIA, Ho Chi Minh leads a band of resistance fighters known as the Viet Minh. Ho makes a deal with OSS Agent Archimedes Patti to provide intelligence on the Japanese in exchange for a line of communication with the allies. On August 22, 1945, Japanese forces in Vietnam surrender and turn over their posts to the Viet Minh, beginning the August Revolution. Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam's independence from France in a document that Agent Patti says is a near copy of the American Declaration of Independence. The U.S. and Britain fail to recognize the new nation because of their ties to France, so Ho Chi Minh turns to the Soviet Union and China. Soon, Vietnam will demand the attention of the world.