11 MAY 1985, Page 21

Vietnam

Sir: As one of Mr West's academic histor- ians I suggest there is really no mystery ('The war that never ended', 27 April) why we 'handed back' Vietnam to the French. In August 1945 there was no alternative. Together with the Free French, and with the Dutch, to whom we 'handed back' part of Indonesia, we were allies. Perhaps we Shouldn't have gone back to Malaya either: but in all three cases that presumably would argue for very advanced and largely unacceptabie ideas of international trus- teeship.

Incidentally, on the matter of 'why Napoleon's army was so much better than Wellington's': I thought we — and our allies — had done rather well at Waterloo. Wellington's match in Spain seemed to have got a result, too. But perhaps that was because of French difficulties with the Spanish supporters.

Anthony Short

Warden, Dunbar Hall, University of Aberdeen