The Southeast Asian nation of Vietnam was a French colony until the middle of the twentieth century
During World War II, Japan gained control of Vietnam
And after the defeat in August 1945, Japan had to withdraw from the region
The ousting of Japan created a power vacuum in the region
And France's influence in the region began to grow again
At the end of the war, the northern part of Vietnam was formally declared a separate state
This area of North Vietnam was united under the leadership of Communist Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh
and its capital was Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh was a local hero
and had fought against France and then Japan before
France that wanted control of whole Vietnam
had to face Guerilla resistance from Ho Chi Minh army
Indo-China war officially started in 1946
In this situation, France openly supported the former emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai
and played an important role in making him president of south Vietnam
Bao Dai was an anti-communist and pro-west person
Now that Bao Dai has become the head of South Vietnam, Vietnam has been divided into two parts
North Vietnam, backed by China and Soviet Union
and South Vietnam, backed by West Liberal powers
Thus, the two powerful blocs of the world had found an excellent platform for proxy war.
In 1950, China and the Soviet Union not only formally recognized North Vietnam, but also began providing them with economic and financial assistance.
With the help of China and the Soviet Union, North Vietnamese forces intensified their operations against France
The United States saw these anti-French communist actions as a threat to democracy
and, never wanted the Soviet and Chinese-backed communists to take control of the region
So, America started supporting France in the war
Geneva Accord
In 1954, France was defeated by North Vietnamese forces
And that defeat brought France to the negotiating table
During the 70-day talks in Geneva, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two separate administrative units.
A Demilitarized Zone was created around the temporary line.
Under the temporary border, both North and South Vietnam were required to withdraw their forces from the other side of the temporary line.
While ordinary people will be allowed to come across.
It was also decided that elections would be held throughout Vietnam before July 1956 for a period of 2 years.
And the resulting government will rule North and South, all over Vietnam.
Friends, after this agreement, the French colonial system was abolished from the Indo-China region
Post-agreement Situation
In October 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem became president of South Vietnam
and he was fully backed by America
America wanted to prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist state at all costs after the defeat of France.
Now it was time to unite the whole of Vietnam through elections
North Vietnam's Communist leader Ho Chi Minh seemed to have won the election
and establish government in whole Vietnam
In these circumstance, Ngo Dinh Diem refused to conduct elections
Thus, this temporary division was now becoming a matter of another controversy
Under these circumstances, even in South Vietnam, the North Vietnam-backed group "Viet Cong" has launched regular operations against the Diem government.
Growing resistance in South Vietnam has raised concerns in the United States.
Domino Theory was very popular in America at that time
According to which, if a single country conceded defeat against communism, it would engulf the entire region.
n view of all this, such voices were being raised in the United States
That the United States send troops to Vietnam to formally eradicate communism
Given the gravity of the situation, the US government has significantly increased military aid to South Vietnam
But, the then US president, was not in favor of sending troops to South Vietnam on a large scale
So not many troops were sent
The assassination of the President of South Vietnam in November 1963 created political instability in the country
Three weeks later, US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated
and Lyndon B. Johnson became president of USA.
and he increased military in South Vietnam
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
On 2 August 1964, US Navy warships on routine patrol in the Gulf of Tankin
and North Vietnamese war boats opened fire on them
in reply American also fired at opposition
a few troops were injured from both sides
On 4th of August, the news of same type of incident reached in America
So now the anger of the American government and the people has increased
Where voices were already being raised for a war in Vietnam
So, on 7th of August Corgess passed an resolution
and US President London B. Johns was authorized regular war in Vietnam.
A large number of American troops started landing in South Vietnam, after this resolution
and this number reached in lacs which was just a few thousands in 1950s
In March 1965, US forces launched a major offensive in North Vietnam
which was called operation "Rolling Thunder"
During the operation, the United States dropped thousands of bombs on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
The bombing was aimed at destroying supply routes
North Vietnamese troops also began attacking US bases as US attacks intensified.
In a short time, the US military seemed helpless in the face of these guerrillas.
Tet Offensive
At the end of 1967 US military in Vietnam reached about 5 lac
at that time it was compulsory for American citizen to register for military services
Meanwhile, when the famous American boxer Muhammad Ali Clay refused to join the U.S. Army, he was imprisoned
as punishment and his heavyweight title was taken away from him.
The people of Vietnam were outraged at the extent of US intervention in Vietnam
As the war progressed, so did the American forces
What is the outcome of this war? Why are we fighting?
Seeing the scenes, voices against the war began to rise from within the United States
In October 1967, about 35,000 protesters demonstrated outside the Pentagon against the war
By the end of 1967 North Vietnam were also not pleased with the progress in the war
Although they, were satisfied that he did not have to surrender to the powerful United States.
So, North Vietnamese forces decided to launch a decisive blow
and their target was to take control of Saigon in South Vietnam
and destroy American military
So, in January 1968 they launched a coordinated attack at a dozen of cities of South Vietnam
In this attack they severely damaged US military base in Saigon
North Vietnamese forces and Viet Cong took control of many cities of South Vietnam
This attack was a complete surprise for US military
However, they retreated and regained control of the occupied territories
Although the United States regained control of the area, its claims that it was winning the war were now disproved after the invasion
In March 1968, in a small village, US forces recorded a history of violence against oppressed civilians
and they killed hundreds of women, children, and the elderly
After all these actions, anti-war voices from the public and the opposition in the United States began to grow.
So, US President London B. Johnson announced that he would stop the attacks in North Vietnam
In 1969 Ho Chi Minh Died
And his successors continued to resist US forces
Richard Nixon took over the presidency of the United States in 1969
And he had a different view of the ongoing war in Vietnam.
Paris Peace Accord
Now that Richard Nixon has taken over the presidency, it is time for the United States to get rid of this war.
The two sides therefore began talks in Paris to resolve the issue
Although peace talks have been started but war was not finished yet
North Vietnam insisted upon complete and unconditional withdrawal of US forces
Dialogue continued for 4 years and an agreement was reached in 1973
The agreement included a number of points,
but the main point was that the United States would withdraw its forces from Vietnam.
The United States began withdrawing its forces from Vietnam shortly after the agreement was signed
But in the meantime, the war between North and South Vietnam continued
On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam.
At that time, the remaining Americans also had to flee Vietnam on an emergency basis.
On July 2 1976, North and South Vietnam were united and declared the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
And it was taken over by the military government.
About 2 million Vietnamese died in this was
and this war severely damaged economy and infrastructure of Vietnam
It took decades to restore
58000 americans also died
America spent more than 120 billion dollars at this war
which severely damaged US economy
Vietnam's dilapidated infrastructure and deteriorating economy after the war posed a major challenge to the new government
Therefore, the new government took steps on an emergency basis to address all these challenges
The effects of which were felt in the coming decades
and now Vietnam has somewhat recovered
The Communist Party has ruled Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War.
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