•Various names have been applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English. It has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. The Vietnam War , also known as the Second Indochina War, and also known in Vietnam as Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a Cold War-era proxy war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes. In the course of the war, the U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam, and over time the North Vietnamese airspace became the most heavily defended in the world. |
Background to 1949
•France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Hue formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the next seven decades. In 1940, during World War II, the French were defeated by the Germans. The French State (commonly known as Vichy France) was established as a client state of Nazi Germany. The French colonial authorities, in French Indochina, sided with the Vichy regime. In September 1940, Japan invaded Indochina. Following the cessation of fighting and the beginning of the Japanese occupation, the French colonial authorities collaborated with the Japanese. The French continued to run affairs in Indochina, but ultimate power resided in the hands of the Japanese. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu marked the end of French involvement in Indochina.
French soldiers fight off a Viet Minh ambush .
Opposition to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War: 1962–1973
•The war was the central issue of the 1972 U.S. presidential election. However, South Vietnamese president Thieu demanded massive changes to the peace accord. When North Vietnam went public with the agreement's details, the Nixon administration claimed that the North was attempting to embarrass the president. The negotiations became deadlocked. Hanoi demanded new changes. To show his support for South Vietnam and force Hanoi back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong 18–29 December 1972. The US military force started to send troops in Vietnam.
Anti-Vietnam war protesters.
War Crimes
•A large number of war crimes took place during the Vietnam War. War crimes were committed by both sides during the conflict and included rape, massacres of civilians, bombings of civilian targets, terrorism, the widespread use of torture and the murder of prisoners of war. Additional common crimes included theft, arson, and the destruction of property not warranted by military necessity.
Other countries' involvement.
Communist forces: North Vietnam China Viet Cong Khmer Rouge Pathet Lao Supported by: Soviet Union North Korea Cuba Czechoslovakia Bulgaria East Germany Polish People's Republic | •Anti-communist forces: South Vietnam United States South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand Khmer Republic Kingdom of Laos Supported by: Philippines Taiwan Canada West Germany United Kingdom Iran Spain |
Australian soldiers arriving in South Vietnam.
Impact on the U.S. military
•As the Vietnam War continued inconclusively and became more unpopular with the American public, morale declined and disciplinary problems grew among American enlisted men and junior, non-career officers. Drug use, racial tensions, and the growing incidence of fragging—attempting to kill unpopular officers and non-commissioned officers with grenades or other weapons—created severe problems for the U.S. military and impacted its capability of undertaking combat operations. The morale and discipline problems and resistance to conscription (the draft) were important factors leading to the creation of an all-volunteer military force by the United States and the termination of conscription.
•Direct U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973. The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of costs. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 800,000 to 3.1 million. Some 200,000–300,000 Cambodians, 20,000–200,000 Laotians; and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict, with a further 1,626 missing in action