The First Indochina War ( generally known as the Indochina War in France , and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam ) began in French Indochina on 19 December 1946 and lasted until 1 August 1954 . French Indochina ( previously spelled as French Indo-China ) ( Indochine française សហភ ពឥណ ឌ ច ន Đông Dương thuộc Pháp , [ ɗə̄wŋm jɨ̄əŋ tʰûək fǎp ] , frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp ; ຝຣັ່ງແຫຼັມອິນດູຈີນ Cantonese : ) , officially known as the Indochinese Union ( Union indochinoise ) after 1887 and the Indochinese Federation ( Fédération indochinoise ) after 1947 , was a grouping of French colonial territories in Southeast Asia .
French Indochina was officially known as the Indochinese Federation in England after 1947.