Vietnam War: Difference between revisions

Line 2:

{{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.

There are several competing views on the conflict. Some on the North Vietnamese and [[Viet Cong]] side view the struggle against the 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. an 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 was motivated to fight to defend their homes and families. The US. the 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.

The primary military organizations involved in the war were as follows: One side consisted of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the United States armed forces, while the other side consisted of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (more commonly called the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, in English-language sources) and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF, more commonly known as the Viet Cong in English language sources), a South Vietnamese communist guerrilla force.

Daniel Ellsberg contends that U.S. participation in Vietnam had begun in 1945 when it gave support to a French effort to reconquer its colony in Vietnam, a nation ~~which~~ had just declared independence in August 1945.

Daniel Ellsberg contends that U.S. participation in Vietnam had begun in 1945 when it gave support to a French effort to reconquer its colony in Vietnam, a nation that had just declared independence in August 1945.

==Background==

Indochina was a French colony during the 19th century. When [[Imperial Japan]] invaded during World War II, the Viet Minh opposed them with support from the US, the Soviet Union and China. They received some Japanese arms when Japan surrendered. The Viet Minh, a Communist-led common front under the leadership of [[Hồ Chí Minh]], then initiated an insurgency against French rule. Hostilities escalated into the First Indochina War (beginning in December 1946). By the 1950s, the conflict had become entwined with the Cold War. In January 1950, China and the Soviet Union recognized the Viet Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam, based in Hanoi, as the legitimate government of Vietnam. The following month the United States and Great Britain recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon, led by former Emperor [[Bảo Đại]] (and later by [[Ngô Đình Diệm]]), as the legitimate Vietnamese government. The outbreak of the [[Korean War]] in June 1950 convinced many Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was an example of communist expansionism directed by the Soviet Union, with North Korean premier [[Kim Il-sung]] providing support to his communist allies in North Vietnam, while the anti-communist South Korean regimes of [[Syngman Rhee]] and his successor [[Park Chung Hee]] backed South Vietnam.

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{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.
+There are several competing views on the conflict. Some on the North Vietnamese and [[Viet Cong]] side view the struggle against the 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. an 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 was motivated to fight to defend their homes and families. The US. the 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.
 The primary military organizations involved in the war were as follows: One side consisted of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the United States armed forces, while the other side consisted of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (more commonly called the North Vietnamese Army, or NVA, in English-language sources) and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF, more commonly known as the Viet Cong in English language sources), a South Vietnamese communist guerrilla force.
-Daniel Ellsberg contends that U.S. participation in Vietnam had begun in 1945 when it gave support to a French effort to reconquer its colony in Vietnam, a nation which had just declared independence in August 1945.
+Daniel Ellsberg contends that U.S. participation in Vietnam had begun in 1945 when it gave support to a French effort to reconquer its colony in Vietnam, a nation that had just declared independence in August 1945.
 ==Background==
 Indochina was a French colony during the 19th century. When [[Imperial Japan]] invaded during World War II, the Viet Minh opposed them with support from the US, the Soviet Union and China. They received some Japanese arms when Japan surrendered. The Viet Minh, a Communist-led common front under the leadership of [[Hồ Chí Minh]], then initiated an insurgency against French rule. Hostilities escalated into the First Indochina War (beginning in December 1946). By the 1950s, the conflict had become entwined with the Cold War. In January 1950, China and the Soviet Union recognized the Viet Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam, based in Hanoi, as the legitimate government of Vietnam. The following month the United States and Great Britain recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon, led by former Emperor [[Bảo Đại]] (and later by [[Ngô Đình Diệm]]), as the legitimate Vietnamese government. The outbreak of the [[Korean War]] in June 1950 convinced many Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was an example of communist expansionism directed by the Soviet Union, with North Korean premier [[Kim Il-sung]] providing support to his communist allies in North Vietnam, while the anti-communist South Korean regimes of [[Syngman Rhee]] and his successor [[Park Chung Hee]] backed South Vietnam.