The Vietnam War Essay

The Vietnam War was a contention amongst North and South Vietnam, however it had worldwide repercussions. The North was driven by a Communist and patriot administration that had battled against the Japanese in World War II and against French frontier run in the late 1940s. In 1954, it won control of North Vietnam when the French consented to a segment in the Geneva Accords. The South was driven by a non-Communist administration; after 1956, it was going by Ngo Dinh Diem. A Catholic, Diem was not able solidify his administer with a transcendently Buddhist populace. He administered with the support of a military provided and prepared by the United States and with generous U.S. monetary help. By the late 1950s, a Communist guerrilla constrain

Secretary of State John Kerry once said “I saw courage both in the Vietnam War and in the struggle to stop it. I learned that patriotism includes protest, not just military service.” The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1956-1975 which the United States participated in along with the South Vietnamese who fought against the Communist North Vietnamese. Many Americans strongly disapproved of the war which caused many protests and riots. The war lasted 25 years killing many people and eventually the North Vietnamese won. The Vietnam War was important to Americans back home because it tested the citizen’s right to free speech, effected future foreign policy, and created many issues for returning veterans.

April 27th, 1975, North Vietnamese soldiers had finally reached the outskirt of the southern capital, Saigon. The war in Viet Nam that lasted 20 years is about to come to an end with communism taking over. It was all over, Saigon was surrounded by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. Presiden Nguyen Van Thieu resigned as president and gave his farewell speech and denounced the United States for failing in aiding the South before the North would later come into the city.

From the 1880s until World War II, France governed Vietnam as part of French Indochina, which also included Cambodia and Laos. The country was under the formal control of an emperor, Bao Dai. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese struggled for their independence from France during the first Indochina War. At the end of this war, the country was temporarily divided into North and South Vietnam. North Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnamese Communists who had opposed France and aimed for a unified Vietnam under Communist rule. Vietnamese who had collaborated with the French controlled the South.

During 1954 the Vietnamese government was struggling. The country needed a new leader so Ngo Dinh Diem filled that spot for them becoming the Prime Minister of South Vietnam. During his struggle to fight off communism he had to battle warlords and eventually the Vietcong. By 1956 The United States had stepped in to back Diem’s rule.

The Vietnam War was fought from November 1955 to April 1975. The French, who had regained control of the Southeast Asian country from Japan after World War II, faced a guerrilla-style fight in the form of the North Vietnamese faction known as the Viet Cong, known by the acronym VC in the latter part of the war. The Viet Cong viewed themselves as freedom fighters who wanted to be free from foreign influences. However, in order to achieve economic and political freedom for their country, they received assistance from Chinese and Russian Communist military and economic advisors. This group was led by Ho Chi Minh, a Communist-trained leader who led subversive campaigns into South Vietnam, which was ruled by a leader named Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho Chi Minh operated from his capital city of Hanoi, while Ngo Dinh Diem's base of operation was Saigon. With the country divided, yet liberated from the French, both sides became embroiled in a proxy war between the Soviet Union, who supported Ho Chi Minh's government, and eventually, the United States, who saw the expansion of Communism into Southeast Asia as a threat to the international security of the citizens of the affected countries.

Vietnam was under the control of the French(under IndoChina) until the 1940s which saw the end of the French power in the region. Germany had triumphed over France in World War 2 which eventually allowed the Japanese(Germany’s allies) to take over the region. The Japanese then had access to Vietnam’s main resources which are roads,railways,coal and rice. The emergence of Ho Chi Minh brought strong anti-Japanese resistance movement, Ho Chi Minh had an idea for a communist government. He started to influence the uprising of Vietnamese people as they seek for an independent Vietnam. As World War 2 ended, the northern part of Vietnam were conquered by the Viet Minh and they were prepared to conquer the nation as a whole. Eventually the Viet Minh

In 1847, France began its involvement in Vietnam by its military power to control Vietnam. After 1880, the people rebelled against the France’s power. During WW2, communist groups were established under the leadership of Vo Nguyen Giap to fight for independence of Vietnam. In 1954, France defeat took place at Bien Dien Phu and later on negotiated the Geneva Agreements. The agreement gave Vietnam and its neighbors their independence. Conflicts between Vietnam divided the nation into two nations using the 17th Parallel Line. While North Vietnam with its communist government led by Ho Chi Minh and the South with its new republic government led by Ngo Dinh Diem. Election took place in 1956; however, Diem refused to attend. Therefore, more conflict

From the year 1955 when the United States vowed to help support the South Vietnamese fight off the Northern communist, a total of about 60,000 soldiers dead and 300,000 wounded. The soldiers who offered

During the 1960s and 70s Americans were fighting a horrific battle in Vietnam resulting in countless deaths and hundreds of violent protests. On November 1, 1955 America joined a war against the Viet Cong; the war didn’t end until April 30, 1975. Lasting 20 years, the Vietnam War caused the deaths of almost 60,000 Americans and over 150,000 injuries. The 60s and 70s were home to much chaos including the Vietnam War, violent protests against war, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

The conquest of Vietnam began in 1858 and ended in 1884. Vietnam was part of Indochina in 1887 but gained their independence after World War II. France continued to rule it until 1954 when it was defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. From that point forward under the Geneva Accords, they were divided into the communist north, and the anti-communist south. US aid grew in the south in the 1960’s to try and boost the government, but they were pulled out following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later the North Vietnamese forces took over, reuniting the country under communist rule (CIA, 2014).

In the north Ho Chi Minh, introduced a Communist regime while in the south, Ngo Dinh Diem became ruler. However in the early 1960 South Vietnam was rocked by demonstrations and in 1963 Diem was ousted in a coup. The Americans then bombed the north and Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution allowing the president to take all necessary measures to prevent 'further aggression'. As a result by December 1965 there were 183,000 US soldiers in Vietnam and by the end of 1967 there were nearly half a million. However the Vietcong continued their guerrilla war. In January 1968 the Vietcong launched the Tet offensive in towns and cities across South Vietnam. They suffered heavy losses but afterwards the Americans gradually withdrew from Vietnam. In January 1973 they signed a ceasefire and the remaining American troops withdrew.

George Herring 's article " The legacy of Vietnam" talks about the military clash between the communist North Vietnam, backed by its allies and the government of South Vietnam, backed by the United States and other countries that are anti-communist that happened in Vietnam during Richard Nixon 's presidency. The Vietnam War was a terrible war, especially for Vietnamese because a millions of them died during the war. The author not just describes the war itself; he also analyzes the killing and the attack that occurred during the war. In general the Vietnam War was the most costly war contrast to other wars and it was the most shocking eras in American history. The Vietnam War had an impact in American history. It brought fear from the war

During World War II, France had fallen to Germany’s forces. Because of Germany’s alliance to Japan, this allowed Japan to occupy Vietnam. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh had returned to Vietnam to force the Viet Minh or the League for the Independence of Vietnam as it was also called. The Viet Minh had seen many conflicts with Japanese forces. In 1945, Japan withdrew from Vietnam and left France to take control of the now independent Vietnam. France’s re-arrival was not taken lightly as the Viet Minh immediately seized control of the city of Hanoi. The Viet Minh forces quickly rose to power as Ho Chi Minh formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in what was now considered North Vietnam. France had been left seeking to regain

Before WWII Vietnam had been part of the French empire, however during WWII the country was occupied by the Japanese. (Hickman, The Vietnam War: Origins, 2013) Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh (which is a resistance group), were inspired by Chinese and Soviet communism (Spector, 2016) and this led them to resist the Japanese oppressors and increase their power throughout Vietnam. The increased power of the resistance movement led to the surrendering of the Japanese. (Editors, 2005. ) The Viet Minh took the opportunity to establish their own government led by Ho Chi Minh.