A Brief Summary of the Vietnam War

One of the bloodiest wars experienced in Vietnam history was the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War is also known as the American War in Vietnam, the Vietnam Conflict and the Second Indochina War. The war spanned over 15 years, from 1959 until the 30th of April, 1975. In this war, more than 1.4 million military personnel were killed, around 6% of this number being soldiers from the United States armed forces. Civilian fatalities reached the alarming level of 2 to 5.1 million fatalities.

The Vietnam War was fought on the borders of Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam, while North Vietnam experienced horrific bombings during this war. On one side of the war was a unification of different forces: the Republic of Vietnam, the United States, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. While on the other side was another coalition of forces: the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in North Vietnam and the communist-led South Vietnam guerrilla forces, the National Liberation Front. The USSR during this point did not formally join the war, but supplied military aid to the NLF and the North Vietnamese armies.

The United States and their numerous allies sent out large numbers of military troops to South Vietnam between the years of 1954 and 1973. The U.S. military first became part of this conflict when they sent out their troops in 1950 to assist the French Colonial forces. By 1956, the military advisers began formally overseeing the training of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. President John F. Kennedy sent out more troops to Vietnam, increasing the number from 500 to 16,000.

President Lyndon Johnson, on the other hand, sent out a huge number of troops starting 1965. During the different stages of this conflict, amphibious operations, clashes between the small units in the jungles and the mountains, guerilla attacks on the cities and small villages, and huge battles constituted the war. There were some U.S. aircrafts which also brought massive destructions through aerial bombings which targeted the industries and logistical networks of North Vietnam’s cities. Chemical defoliants were also sprayed from the air to help bring out the “enemies.”

Peace negotiations gave way to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States troops in Vietnam. It began on January 15,1973, when President Nixon placed an order that all offensive action in North Vietnam was to stop. The troops were pulled back after this presidential order. January 27, 1973 saw the signing of the Paris Peace Accords which formally ended the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War.

The peace agreements that were part of the Paris Peace Accords did not last for long. By early 1975, the North had already invaded the South. The Vietnam War ended when the city of Saigon fell on the 30th of April, 1975. North Vietnam joined the North and South of Vietnam on the 2nd of July, 1976. This joining formed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Hundreds of people who supported the South Vietnamese government were executed. Thousands more were imprisoned. The city of Saigon was promptly renamed “Ho Chi Minh City” after the war.