Vietnam War: Difference between revisions

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{{Quote|I got a letter from LBJ. It said, This is your lucky day. It's time to put your khaki trousers on. Though it may seem very queer, we've got no jobs to give you here, so we are sending you to Vietnam. Lyndon Johnson told the nation, Have no fear of escalation. I am trying everyone to please. Though it isn't really war, we're sending fifty thousand more to help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.|Tom Paxton, "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation"}}

The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', and in Vietnam as the '''Resistance War Against America''' or simply the '''American War''', was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1 1955 to the [[Fall of Saigon]] on April 30 1975. It was the second of the [[Indochina Wars]] and was a [[Civil War|civil war]] officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other [[communist]] allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a [[Cold War]]-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The war would last approximately 19 years and would also form the [[Laotian Civil War]] as well as the [[Cambodian Civil War]], which resulted in all 3 countries becoming communist states in 1975.

The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', and in Vietnam as the '''Resistance War Against America''' or simply the '''American War''', was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1 1955 to the [[Fall of Saigon]] on April 30 1975. It was the second of the [[Indochina Wars]] and was a [[Civil War|civil war]] officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a [[Cold War]]-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The war would last approximately 19 years and would also form the [[Laotian Civil War]] as well as the [[Cambodian Civil War]], which resulted in all 3 countries becoming communist states in 1975.

There are several competing views on the conflict. Some on the North Vietnamese and [[Viet Cong]] side view the struggle against US. forces as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States, especially in light of the failed 1954 Geneva Conference calls for elections. Other interpretations of the North Vietnamese side include viewing it as a civil war, especially in the early and later phases following the US. interlude between 1965 and 1970 as well as a war of liberation. In the perspective of some, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the successor to the Vietnamese community, was motivated in part by significant social changes in the aftermath of [[World War II]] Vietnam, and had initially seen it as a revolutionary war supported by Hanoi. The pro-government side in South Vietnam viewed it as a civil war, a defensive war against communism, or were motivated to fight to defend their homes and families. The US. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. This was part of the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism.

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Military advisors from the [[Communist Party of China]], under orders from [[Mao Zedong]], began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the United States created a Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the United States had spent US$1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80 percent of the cost of the war.

During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, U.S. carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the U.S. conducted reconnaissance flights. There were also talks between the French and Americans in which the possible use of three tactical nuclear weapons was considered, though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom are vague and contradictory. According to U.S. vice president [[Richard Nixon]], the plan involved the Joint Chiefs of Staff drawing up plans to use three small tactical nuclear weapons in support of the French. Nixon, a so-called "hawk" on Vietnam, suggested that the United States might have to "put American boys in".

U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but the British were opposed. Eisenhower decided against U.S. military intervention, being wary of getting the United States involved in a land war in Asia. Throughout the conflict, U.S. intelligence estimates remained skeptical of French chances of success. U.S. involvement escalated in 1960 under President John F. Kennedy, with troop levels gradually surging under the Military Assistance Advisory Group program from just under a thousand in 1959 to 16,000 in 1963.

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 {{Quote|I got a letter from LBJ.<br>It said, This is your lucky day.<br>It's time to put your khaki trousers on.<br>Though it may seem very queer,<br>we've got no jobs to give you here,<br>so we are sending you to Vietnam.<br>Lyndon Johnson told the nation,<br>Have no fear of escalation.<br>I am trying everyone to please.<br>Though it isn't really war,<br>we're sending fifty thousand more<br>to help save Vietnam from the Vietnamese.|Tom Paxton, "Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation"}}
-The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', and in Vietnam as the '''Resistance War Against America''' or simply the '''American War''', was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1 1955 to the [[Fall of Saigon]] on April 30 1975. It was the second of the [[Indochina Wars]] and was a [[Civil War|civil war]] officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other [[communist]] allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a [[Cold War]]-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The war would last approximately 19 years and would also form the [[Laotian Civil War]] as well as the [[Cambodian Civil War]], which resulted in all 3 countries becoming communist states in 1975.
+The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', and in Vietnam as the '''Resistance War Against America''' or simply the '''American War''', was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1 1955 to the [[Fall of Saigon]] on April 30 1975. It was the second of the [[Indochina Wars]] and was a [[Civil War|civil war]] officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. The war is considered a [[Cold War]]-era proxy war by some US perspectives. The war would last approximately 19 years and would also form the [[Laotian Civil War]] as well as the [[Cambodian Civil War]], which resulted in all 3 countries becoming communist states in 1975.
 There are several competing views on the conflict. Some on the North Vietnamese and [[Viet Cong]] side view the struggle against US. forces as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States, especially in light of the failed 1954 Geneva Conference calls for elections. Other interpretations of the North Vietnamese side include viewing it as a civil war, especially in the early and later phases following the US. interlude between 1965 and 1970 as well as a war of liberation. In the perspective of some, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the successor to the Vietnamese community, was motivated in part by significant social changes in the aftermath of [[World War II]] Vietnam, and had initially seen it as a revolutionary war supported by Hanoi. The pro-government side in South Vietnam viewed it as a civil war, a defensive war against communism, or were motivated to fight to defend their homes and families. The US. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. This was part of the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism.
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 Military advisors from the [[Communist Party of China]], under orders from [[Mao Zedong]], began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the United States created a Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the United States had spent US$1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80 percent of the cost of the war.
 During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, U.S. carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the U.S. conducted reconnaissance flights. There were also talks between the French and Americans in which the possible use of three tactical nuclear weapons was considered, though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom are vague and contradictory. According to U.S. vice president [[Richard Nixon]], the plan involved the Joint Chiefs of Staff drawing up plans to use three small tactical nuclear weapons in support of the French. Nixon, a so-called "hawk" on Vietnam, suggested that the United States might have to "put American boys in".
 U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but the British were opposed. Eisenhower decided against U.S. military intervention, being wary of getting the United States involved in a land war in Asia. Throughout the conflict, U.S. intelligence estimates remained skeptical of French chances of success. U.S. involvement escalated in 1960 under President John F. Kennedy, with troop levels gradually surging under the Military Assistance Advisory Group program from just under a thousand in 1959 to 16,000 in 1963.