Vietnam was under French occupation after the Second World War. Ho Chi Minh led a revolution against the French colonial power in his country. Once France had been expelled in 1954, Vietnam became divided into North and South Vietnam, with Ho controlling the North. Ho was not pleased that two countries would be created instead of just one "Vietnam." Consequently, the solution was simple: Reunification.
After that, nation after nation might fall to Communism. Communism is a political and economic system that the United States strongly opposed. Vietnam had been split in half in 1954, after fighting a war to gain independence from France. When French forces withdrew the US felt they needed to take matters into their own hands but the Vietnamese Communists gained control of North Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of the North Vietnamese Communists.
Before we begin our review and analysis of Exactly where the Domino Fell, it's important first to take into account the developments ahead of the war, during the war, and after the war. Within the early 20th century, Vietnam, in addition to Laos and Cambodia had been under French control. In the Second World War, the Japanese took control of Vietnam until it surrendered in 1945. The same year, the Alliance for your Independence of Vietnam (a communist-controlled alliance) obtained control of North Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In spite if the colossal military assist provided by america military for the French forces, France was eventually beaten by the Vietminh in 1954.
But United States leaders had other concerns. No sooner had World War II ended, then a "Cold War," between the forces of democracy and communism began (Schomp The Vietnam War 5). Long years of fighting had devastated the democratic nations of Western Europe, which left the communist Soviet Union as the dominant power in Europe and Asia (Schomp The Vietnam War 5). The Soviet Union had already over run most of Eastern Europe; now they seemed determined to spread communism all around the globe (Schomp The Vietnam War 5). To help counter that threat Truman started secretly sending money as well as supplies to help back the French forces against Ho Chi Minh's forces (Schomp The Vietnam War 5).
To work toward peace, new peace talks began in Paris on January 25, 1969. When the U.S. had withdrawn most of its troops from Vietnam, the North Vietnamese staged another massive assault, called the Easter Offensive (also called the Spring Offensive), on March 30, 1972. North Vietnamese troops crossed over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel and invaded South Vietnam. The remaining U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army fought back. The Paris Peace Accords On January 27, 1973, the peace talks in Paris finally succeeded in producing a cease-fire agreement.
The war can be separated into different periods based upon the United States involvement. From 1957 to 1965, the war was mainly a struggle between the South Vietnamese army and Communist-trained South Vietnamese rebels known as the Viet Cong. Between 1945 and 1954, the Vietnamese waged an anti-colonial war against France and received 2.6 billion dollars in financial support from the United States. The battle started between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese government. The U.S provided military advisors and support and the first U.S troops entered Vietnam in March 1965.
Diem traveled to France to find Bao Dai to request for help and lead South Vietnam to oppose the spread of North Vietnam’s communism towards South Vietnam. “He was appointed minister of the interior by Bao Dai” (“Ngo” 1). Ngo Dinh Diem became the leader of South Vietnam with 98.2 percent of the votes (“Ngo” 1). Dinh wanted to create a strong democracy for South Vietnam, yet what he wanted for South Vietnam did not go smoothly (“Ngo” 2). South Vietnamese communist to consolidate opposition to the Diem regime by forming a broad-based coalition of groups called the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) (“Ngo” 2).
Before the Vietnam War, President Eisenhower and Kennedy committed the United States to the war against communism in Vietnam. Another primary source is the Tonkin Gulf attack on the United States ships in august 1964. This source gave the United States legitimacy to engage the north, given the ships were attacked while in international waters. The America policy towards South Vietnam is another source of the Vietnam War. President Lyndon B. Johnson noted that since 1954 the United States had helped build South Vietnam (Public Broadcasting Service).
How the Vietnam War started The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular war in the American history. It was also the only war that the U.S. lost. The whole war for Vietnam was for independence, but for the U.S. it was about stopping communism, and so the war itself started due to the two rival governments, the French occupation, and the interruption of foreign powers. A conflict was sparked by the two rival governments that were present in Vietnam. One government was led by a communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, who wanted to unite the country and help spread communism.
Vietnam War When was the Vietnam War fought? The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict, and, in Vietnam, the American War, was fought from 1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975 (19 years and 180 days). Who was the war fought between? The country was split into two parts ,northern and southern. In the Vietnam War, The Democratic Republic of North Vietnam and its allies, the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China, fought against South Vietnam, whose allies would include the United States, Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand.