Operation Passage to Freedom the French were surrounded and defeated in a mountainous northern fortress at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. France's withdrawal from Indochina was finalised in the Geneva Accords of July 1954, after two months of negotiations between Ho's DRV, France, the PRC and the Soviet Union. Under the terms of the agreement, Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel north pending elections in 1956 to choose a national government that would administer a reunified country. The communist Viet Minh were left in control of North Vietnam, while the State of Vietnam controlled the south. French Union forces would gradually
1954 NCAA Cross Country Championships 1954 NCAA Cross Country Championships The 1954 NCAA Cross Country Championships were the 16th annual cross country meet to determine the team and individual national champions of men's collegiate cross country running in the United States. Held on November 22, 1954, the meet was hosted by Michigan State College at the Forest Akers East Golf Course in East Lansing, Michigan. The distance for the race was 4 miles (6.4 kilometers). Since the current multi-division format for NCAA championship did not begin until 1973, all NCAA members were eligible. In total, 14 teams and 113 individual runners contested this championship. The