Known as the Christmas Bombings, the raids drew international condemnation. [24], In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam on 23 October 1955, Dim rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ng nh Nhu and was credited with 98.2 percent of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. [139] General Paul Harkins, the commander of U.S. forces in South Vietnam, confidently predicted victory by Christmas 1963. On 15 October 1969, the Vietnam Moratorium attracted millions of Americans. As resistance in Hu collapsed, PAVN rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. The DRV ruled as the only civil government in all of Vietnam for 20 days, after the abdication of Emperor Bo i, who had governed under Japanese supervision. As such, the Vietnam War can be interpreted as a Cold War proxy war. Kennedy advisors Maxwell Taylor and Walt Rostow recommended that U.S. troops be sent to South Vietnam disguised as flood relief workers. Vietnam War - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [237] The fatal shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 led to nationwide university protests. On 21 August 1963, the ARVN Special Forces of Colonel L Quang Tung, loyal to Dim's younger brother Ng nh Nhu, raided pagodas across Vietnam, causing widespread damage and destruction and leaving a death toll estimated to range into the hundreds. The Viet Cong was now tasked with destroying the ARVN and capturing and holding areas; however, the Viet Cong was not yet strong enough to assault major towns and cities. Corrections? With his approval ratings dropping in an election year, Johnson called a halt to bombing in much of North Vietnam (though bombings continued in the south) and promised to dedicate the rest of his term to seeking peace rather than reelection. Why did it happen? By 1962, the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam had reached some 9,000 troops, compared with fewer than 800 during the 1950s. Official figures from the Vietnamese government estimate 1.1 million dead and 300,000 missing from 1945 to 1979, with approximately 849,000 dead and 232,000 missing from 1960 to 1975. Regardless of political policies, U.S. commanders were institutionally and psychologically unsuited to a defensive mission. US ground forces also had access to B-52 and F-4 Phantom II and other aircraft to launch napalm, white phosphorus, tear gas, chemical weapons, precision-guided munition and cluster bombs. [40]:227, The National Security Council recommended a three-stage escalation of the bombing of North Vietnam. However, "their methodology was reviewed and criticized as invalid by authors. [279] 8,040 Vietnamese women came to the United States as war brides between 1964 and 1975. The inept performance of the ARVN was exemplified by failed actions such as the Battle of p Bc on 2 January 1963, in which a small band of Viet Cong won a battle against a much larger and better-equipped South Vietnamese force, many of whose officers seemed reluctant even to engage in combat. Despite the later inclusion of the South Vietnamese and the NLF, the dialogue soon reached an impasse, and after a bitter 1968 election season marred by violence, Republican Richard M. Nixon won the presidency. United States Vietnam Relations, 19451967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, vol. When did the 'Vietnam Era' officially start, end for the U.S.? ARVN general Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kon Tum and retreated toward the coast, in what became known as the "column of tears". 5, pp. Some historians marked the beginning of the conflict in 1954 when North and South Vietnam were officially divided at the Geneva Accords. In March 1970, Prince Sihanouk was deposed by his pro-American prime minister Lon Nol, who demanded that North Vietnamese troops leave Cambodia or face military action. [208]:357. [63] Some 275,000310,000 Cambodians,[64][65][66] 20,00062,000 Laotians,[63] and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict. The costs of the war loom large in American popular consciousness; a 1990 poll showed that the public incorrectly believed that more Americans died in Vietnam than in World War II. Encounter Books, December 2022. On August 2, 1964, the U.S.S. As the first U.S. troops were withdrawn, those who remained became increasingly angry and frustrated, exacerbating problems with morale and leadership. [342][343] Official US military records have listed figures including the destruction of 20% of the jungles of South Vietnam and 20-36% (with other figures reporting 20-50%) of the mangrove forests. [208]:357 William Westmoreland, no longer in command but tasked with investigation of the failure, cited a clear dereliction of duty, lax defensive postures and lack of officers in charge as its cause. Her diaries were later published in Vietnam as ng Thy Trm's Diary (Last Night I Dreamed of Peace), where it became a best-seller and was later made into a film Don't Burn (ng t). "[105]:326 Kennedy had not anticipated Dim's murder. [93]:353354 Westmoreland and McNamara furthermore touted the body count system for gauging victory, a metric that would later prove to be flawed. Thieu was also accused of murdering Ky loyalists through contrived military accidents. Minh's regime was overthrown in January 1964 by General Nguyn Khnh. As many as 500 unarmed villagers are killed by U.S. Army troops in the hamlet of My Lai. The later years of the war saw increased physical and psychological deterioration among American soldiersboth volunteers and drafteesincluding drug use, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mutinies and attacks by soldiers against officers and noncommissioned officers. United States 3-0 Vietnam (Jul 21, 2023) Game Analysis - ESPN Vietnam, a nation in Southeast Asia on the eastern edge of the Indochinese peninsula, had been under French colonial rule since the 19th century. The Viet Cong With the Cold War intensifying worldwide, the United States hardened its policies against any allies of the Soviet Union, and by 1955 President Dwight D. Eisenhower had pledged his. Some have argued that the policy of North Vietnam was not to topple other non-communist governments in South East Asia. [169] Up to the war's end, the Viet Cong and PAVN would initiate 90% of large firefights, of which 80% were clear and well-planned operations, and thus the PAVN/Viet Cong would retain strategic initiative despite overwhelming US force and fire-power deployment. 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. Neither the United States government nor Ng nh Dim's State of Vietnam signed anything at the 1954 Geneva Conference. [232]:85 The statement was on air at 2:30pm. [46]:275 Other estimates point to higher figures of 313,000 casualties. [334] The average age of the U.S. troops killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. Early opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam drew its inspiration from the Geneva Conference of 1954. [203] ROTC enrollment decreased from 191,749 in 1966 to 72,459 by 1971,[204] and reached an all-time low of 33,220 in 1974,[205] depriving U.S. forces of much-needed military leadership. Group 559 was tasked with expanding the Ho Chi Minh trail, in light of the near constant bombardment by US warplanes. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed that "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in the long run, adverse military consequences. His successor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, put forth the Domino Theory that a communist victory in Vietnam would create a domino effect in Southeast Asia and therefore must be prevented at all costs. The bombing campaign was meant to disrupt the flow of supplies across the Ho Chi Minh trail into Vietnam and to prevent the rise of the Pathet Lao, or Lao communist forces. Add a comment. Those who argue that the United States opponents won the war cite the United States overall objectives and outcomes. [168]:153156 Despite the continual conductance of major operations, which the Viet Cong and PAVN would typically evade, the war was characterised by smaller-unit contacts or engagements. [105]:706, The Johnson administration employed a "policy of minimum candor"[105]:18 in its dealings with the media. When the French rejected his plan, the Viet Minh resorted to guerilla warfare to fight for an independent Vietnam. Though the NLF claimed to be autonomous and that most of its members were not communists, many in Washington assumed it was a puppet of Hanoi. By nearly every metric, the Vietnam War was, in the common sense of the word, a war. The Maddox fired what it described as warning shots and was met by torpedo and machine gun fire. [37][38] The Vietnamese government released its estimate of war deaths for the more lengthy period of 1955 to 1975. [277][278] American bases were ringed by bars and brothels. The coup was followed by a chaotic succession of 12 different governments in South Vietnam between 1963 and 1965. The Vietnam War | A Visual Guide to the Cold War By the end of June 1972, however, after a failed offensive into South Vietnam, Hanoi was finally willing to compromise. [295], The AC-130 "Spectre" Gunship and the UH-1 "Huey" gunship were used frequently by the U.S. during the war. actions. Vietnam War - Wikipedia [40]:104 The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956. While its issues were not as severe as they were in the M14 or M16, the M60 still could fail to fire at crucial times spent casings could get stuck inside of the chamber, meaning the barrel would have to be replaced before it could fire again. Vietnam Democide: Estimates, Sources, and Calculations", "2021 NAME ADDITIONS AND STATUS CHANGES ON THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL", "Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics: HOSTILE OR NON-HOSTILE DEATH INDICATOR. Get HISTORYs most fascinating stories delivered to your inbox three times a week. In 1998, after a high level review by the. [173]:9094 He reasoned that this could be achieved through sparking a general uprising within the towns and cities,[173]:148 along with mass defections among ARVN units, who were on holiday leave during the truce period. [96][40]:75 According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use small tactical nuclear weapons to support the French. On 23 July 1962, fourteen nations, including China, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, North Vietnam and the United States, signed an agreement promising to respect the neutrality of Laos. [238] Anti-war protests declined after the signing of the Paris Peace Accords and the end of the draft in January 1973, and the withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam in the months following. The ostensibly neutral Laos had become the scene of a civil war, pitting the Laotian government backed by the US against the Pathet Lao and its North Vietnamese allies. [335] According to Dale Kueter, "Of those killed in combat, 86.3 percent were white, 12.5 percent were black and the remainder from other races. The nation spent more than $120 billion on the conflict in Vietnam from 1965-73; this massive spending led to widespread inflation, exacerbated by a worldwide oil crisis in 1973 and skyrocketing fuel prices. [40]:515[190], U.S. president Richard Nixon began troop withdrawals in 1969. [105]:327 Kennedy wrote Lodge a letter congratulating him for "a fine job". The anti-war movement was gaining strength in the United States. [140], Paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Division trained and led Hmong tribesmen in Laos and into Vietnam. The human costs of the long conflict were harsh for all involved. France and the United States also discussed the use of three tactical nuclear weapons, although reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom are vague and contradictory. PAVN/VC leaders expected the ceasefire terms would favor their side, but Saigon, bolstered by a surge of U.S. aid received just before the ceasefire went into effect, began to roll back the Viet Cong. [136] The Kennedy administration sought to refocus U.S. efforts on pacification which in this case was defined as countering the growing threat of insurgency[137][138] and "winning over the hearts and minds" of the population. 1973. [93]:349351 The U.S. military had long been schooled in offensive warfare. Operation Frequent Wind had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of U.S. But revelations of the 1968 My Lai Massacre,[40]:518521 in which a U.S. Army unit raped and killed civilians, and the 1969 "Green Beret Affair", where eight Special Forces soldiers, including the 5th Special Forces Group Commander, were arrested for the murder[198] of a suspected double agent,[199] provoked national and international outrage. [106]:143[107][108]:569[109] However, declassified documents from the Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate that the number of executions was much lower than reported at the time, although likely greater than 13,500. Journalism in the ensuing years has documented other overlooked and uninvestigated war crimes involving every army division that was active in Vietnam,[248] including the atrocities committed by Tiger Force. [240], The Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with medical supplies, arms, tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery, anti-aircraft missiles and other military equipment. In 1940 Vietnam was invaded and occupied by Japanese troops. [321] Of all the countries of Indochina, Laos experienced the largest refugee flight in proportional terms, as 300,000 people out of a total population of 3million crossed the border into Thailand. Johnson raised the number of South Vietnam deployments to 23,000 U.S. soldiers by the end of his first year in office. Heavy bombing by B-52 aircraft or shelling made these zones uninhabitable, as refugees poured into camps in designated safe areas near Saigon and other cities. The Gulf of Tonkin incident (Vietnamese: S kin Vnh Bc B) was an international confrontation that led to the United States engaging more directly in the Vietnam War.It consisted of a confrontation on August 2, 1964, when United States forces were carrying out covert operations close to North Vietnamese territorial waters and North Vietnamese forces responded. Warfare had demolished the countrys infrastructure and economy, and reconstruction proceeded slowly. communism). [116]:1416, In May 1957, Dim undertook a ten-day state visit to the United States. [299], On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After Hos communist forces took power in the north, armed conflict between northern and southern armies continued until the northern Viet Minhs decisive victory in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in May 1954. Working under the domino theory, which held that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, many other countries would follow, Kennedy increased U.S. aid, though he stopped short of committing to a large-scale military intervention. May 7, 1954: 812. Points he makes on the latter topic include: the higher proportion of combat casualties in Vietnam among African American servicemen than among American soldiers of other races, the shift toward and different attitudes of black military volunteers and black conscripts, the discrimination encountered by black servicemen "on the battlefield in decorations, promotion and duty assignments" as well as their having to endure "the racial insults, cross-burnings and Confederate flags of their white comrades"and the experiences faced by black soldiers stateside, during the war and after America's withdrawal. [223][40]:683 Gerald Ford took over as U.S. president on 9 August 1974 after the resignation of President Nixon, and Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1billion a year to $700million. As the PAVN/VC recovered from their 1968 losses and generally avoided contact, Creighton Abrams conducted operations aimed at disrupting logistics, with better use of firepower and more cooperation with the ARVN. ", American War and Military Operations: Casualties: Lists and Statistics, "Australian casualties in the Vietnam War, 196272", "America Wasn't the Only Foreign Power in the Vietnam War", "Vietnam Reds Said to Hold 17 From Taiwan as Spies", "20 Years After Victory, Vietnamese Communists Ponder How to Celebrate", "Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme", "Vietnam, The Necessary War: A Reinterpretation of America's Most Disastrous Military Conflict", "Vietnam War | Facts, Summary, Years, Timeline, Casualties, Combatants, & Facts", "It's Called the Vietnam Syndrome, and It's Back", Chemical Politics and the Hazards of Modern Warfare: Agent Orange, "Environmental Warfare and Ecocide Facts, Appraisal, and Proposals", "Ecocide: From the Vietnam War to International Criminal Jurisdiction? [96] Nixon, a so-called "hawk" on Vietnam, suggested that the United States might have to "put American boys in". July 21, 1954 The Geneva Accords effectively divide Vietnam in two at the 17th parallel. Thiu had halted the general advance, leaving armoured divisions able to surround them. Among the internal refugees were many young women who became the ubiquitous "bar girls" of wartime South Vietnam, "hawking her waresbe that cigarettes, liquor, or herself" to American and allied soldiers. [181] The U.S. claimed 17,000 of the PAVN and Viet Cong had been killed and 15,000 wounded. The indigenous forces numbered in the tens of thousands and they conducted direct action missions, led by paramilitary officers, against the Communist Pathet Lao forces and their North Vietnamese supporters. ", "Taking on a Superpower: A Salute to the Women of Vietnam", "Opinion | The Women Who Fought for Hanoi", "Opinion | As the Earth Shook, They Stood Firm", "Mme. Defoliation was also used to clear sensitive areas, including base perimeters and possible ambush sites along roads and canals. [168]:407411 Drug usage increased rapidly among U.S. forces during this period, as 30% of U.S. troops regularly used marijuana,[168]:407 while a House subcommittee found 1015% of U.S. troops in Vietnam regularly used high-grade heroin. However, by November 1963 the program had waned, and it officially ended in 1964. Opponents of the war argued that civilians, not enemy combatants, were the primary victims and that the United States was supporting a corrupt dictatorship in Saigon. Another notable work was the diary of ng Thy Trm, a North Vietnamese doctor who enlisted in the Southern battlefield, and was killed at the age of 27 by U.S. forces near Qung Ngi. "[333] Conscription in the United States had been controlled by the president since World War II, but ended in 1973. His American advisors had recommended a more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." [224] The fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of an American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralized. Over the following years, additions to the list have brought the total past 58,200. [363] 20,00062,000 Laotians also died,[63] and 58,281 U.S. military personnel were killed,[48] of which 1,584 are still listed as missing as of March 2021.[364]. The Pathet Lao overthrew the monarchy of Laos in December 1975, establishing the Lao People's Democratic Republic under the leadership of a member of the royal family, Souphanouvong. Later that year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kissinger and Th, but the North Vietnamese negotiator declined it saying that true peace did not yet exist. After the election of Richard Nixon in 1969, a policy of "Vietnamization" began, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while U.S. forces withdrew in the face of increasing domestic opposition. In that respect, it failed: the two Vietnams were united under a communist banner in July 1976. In Vietnam, the diary has often been compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, and both are used in literary education. When Kennedy was informed, Maxwell Taylor remembered that he "rushed from the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face. Hanoi wished to avoid the coming monsoon and prevent any redeployment of ARVN forces defending the capital. On 13 December 1974, North Vietnamese forces attacked Phc Long. "[294] The issue was solved in early 1968 with the issuance of the M16A1, featuring a chrome-plated bore, which reduced fouling, and the introduction of a cleaner-burning powder. Troops As They Deploy, Planned VC/PAVN Attack Against US Defensive Perimeter, VC/PAVN Ambushes or Encircles A Moving US Unit. Riots broke out at the 1968 Democratic National Convention during protests against the war. [209] By 1970, Viet Cong forces were no longer southern-majority, as nearly 70% of units were northerners. High-profile opposition to the Vietnam War increasingly turned to mass protests in an effort to shift U.S. public opinion. "[105]:264 In April 1961, Kennedy approved the Bay of Pigs Invasion, which ended in failure. [92] The French colonial empire gradually retook control of Indochina. By November 1967, the number of American troops in Vietnam was approaching 500,000, and U.S. casualties had reached 15,058 killed and 109,527 wounded. [168]:508513 This officially ended direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, created a ceasefire between North Vietnam/PRG and South Vietnam, guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam under the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for elections or a political settlement between the PRG and South Vietnam, allowed 200,000 communist troops to remain in the south, and agreed to a POW exchange. Map of a partitioned Vietnam, 1964. [351] They appealed, but the dismissal was cemented in February 2008 by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Elias Sorich April 27, 2023 PhotoQuest // Getty Images Publish this story A timeline of the Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a conflict with profound international implications that changed the landscape of American international policy for decades to comea phenomenon called Vietnam syndrome. Maddox incident, marked the formal entry of the United States into the Vietnam War. The group was ultimately defeated in April following a battle in Saigon. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North. The South Vietnamese then led their own invasion of Laos, which was pushed back by North Vietnam.

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