Historical Background (1955-1975)
The Vietnam war is also called the second indochina war. It started in 1957. The war took place in Vietnam, and also in parts of Laos and Cambodia. It was fought between North-Vietnam and South-Vietnam.
The country was split in two parts during the first indochina war, so that Ho Chi Minh, the communist dictator of Vietnam, couldn’t get too much power over entire Vietnam. America tried to help France getting their colonial properties back during the first Vietnam war. That’s why they end up fighting against the communist part of Vietnam.
Vietnam was going reunite to one big country after the national elections, so America tried to stop the elections. America didn’t want the two parts of the country to reunite, because they were afraid the whole country would become communist.
During the second indochina war, The northside of the country was supported by the communists (e.g. China and the Soviet Union) and the southern part of the country was supported by the anti-communists, such as the United States.
The United States wanted to help Ngo Dinh Diem, the dictator of (South-)Vietnam, create a capitalistic country. South-Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines also offered their help to fight against the communism in North-Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem didn’t really take care of the people in his country, he was only creating a dictatorship. This gave Vietcong, the army of North-Vietnamese soldiers, the opportunity to get more people in South-Vietnam to support them. The United States wanted to get rid of Ngo, and considered throwing a coup d’état. Ngo Dinh Diem was trying to escape the country, but he was murdered on his way.
The Vietcong started to raise, and president Johnson wanted to use weapons against the front. He got permission to do so when he reported the American ships were attacked by Vietcong twice in 1964. These reports might have been made up by Johnson. America decided to attack the North-Vietnamese front.
John F. Kennedy, former president of the United States, already sent soldiers to North-Vietnam in 1960, but he didn’t have official permission to do so, so he pretended it were just advisors.
America sent many soldiers and weapons to North-Vietnam, and led by president Johnson, they started an air offensive against North-Vietnam. He started an operation called Rolling Thunder, to get the communist leaders to give up, but they didn’t. That’s why the operation took from 1965 to 1968.
The Tet offensive in 1968 was a turning point in the Vietnam war. North-Vietnam attacked South-Vietnam in several places, and America could barely stand up against the attacks. America started to doubt the situation. American citizens were protesting against war, and refused to fight in Vietnam. Moreover, operation Rolling Thunder didn’t succeed.
President Nixon, who became president in 1969, decided to slowly call back his American troops. He wanted South-Vietnam to fight their own war. But Nixon also decided to bomb the Vietcong in Nort-Vietnam and Cambodia. Many protests by american citizens caused Nixon to want the war to stop in 1972. In 1973 America made a peace agreement, and agreed to stop fighting in Vietnam. The war ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975. The North-Vietnamese Vietcong took over South-Vietnam, and the citizens and Americans tried to escape out of capital Saigon. This is when South-Vietnam surrendered to North-Vietnam, and the country reunited itself. Hier klikken om te bewerken.
The country was split in two parts during the first indochina war, so that Ho Chi Minh, the communist dictator of Vietnam, couldn’t get too much power over entire Vietnam. America tried to help France getting their colonial properties back during the first Vietnam war. That’s why they end up fighting against the communist part of Vietnam.
Vietnam was going reunite to one big country after the national elections, so America tried to stop the elections. America didn’t want the two parts of the country to reunite, because they were afraid the whole country would become communist.
During the second indochina war, The northside of the country was supported by the communists (e.g. China and the Soviet Union) and the southern part of the country was supported by the anti-communists, such as the United States.
The United States wanted to help Ngo Dinh Diem, the dictator of (South-)Vietnam, create a capitalistic country. South-Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines also offered their help to fight against the communism in North-Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem didn’t really take care of the people in his country, he was only creating a dictatorship. This gave Vietcong, the army of North-Vietnamese soldiers, the opportunity to get more people in South-Vietnam to support them. The United States wanted to get rid of Ngo, and considered throwing a coup d’état. Ngo Dinh Diem was trying to escape the country, but he was murdered on his way.
The Vietcong started to raise, and president Johnson wanted to use weapons against the front. He got permission to do so when he reported the American ships were attacked by Vietcong twice in 1964. These reports might have been made up by Johnson. America decided to attack the North-Vietnamese front.
John F. Kennedy, former president of the United States, already sent soldiers to North-Vietnam in 1960, but he didn’t have official permission to do so, so he pretended it were just advisors.
America sent many soldiers and weapons to North-Vietnam, and led by president Johnson, they started an air offensive against North-Vietnam. He started an operation called Rolling Thunder, to get the communist leaders to give up, but they didn’t. That’s why the operation took from 1965 to 1968.
The Tet offensive in 1968 was a turning point in the Vietnam war. North-Vietnam attacked South-Vietnam in several places, and America could barely stand up against the attacks. America started to doubt the situation. American citizens were protesting against war, and refused to fight in Vietnam. Moreover, operation Rolling Thunder didn’t succeed.
President Nixon, who became president in 1969, decided to slowly call back his American troops. He wanted South-Vietnam to fight their own war. But Nixon also decided to bomb the Vietcong in Nort-Vietnam and Cambodia. Many protests by american citizens caused Nixon to want the war to stop in 1972. In 1973 America made a peace agreement, and agreed to stop fighting in Vietnam. The war ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975. The North-Vietnamese Vietcong took over South-Vietnam, and the citizens and Americans tried to escape out of capital Saigon. This is when South-Vietnam surrendered to North-Vietnam, and the country reunited itself. Hier klikken om te bewerken.