The Vietnam War also known as the second Indochina War was fought in Vietnam. It began in 1959 and ended on the 30 of April, 1975. The North Vietnamese, the communists were fighting against the South Vietnamese. The north wanted Vietnam to be a communist country while the South were fighting for a democratic country. Both countries were both backed heavily by other countries. As The United States of America were combating communism and offering help to any one who wanted to combat communism, they with Thailand, South Korea New Zealand and Australia supported the South Vietnamese and their cause. While the North Vietnamese were supported by China and the Soviet Union. Because the cold war was taking place at the time of the Vietnam war, The Vietnam war is acknowledged as part of the Cold war.

But before I can move on we need to have a bit more background history. Before The II World war France had colonized Vietnam and had controlled the Vietnam region. But after the II world war Vietnam wanted independence, but France did not want let go of their colony. This sparked the first Indochina war, which France lost. France and Vietnam both signed a peace treaty and Vietnam was split into two countries, the North and the south this was in 1954. The Northern Vietnamese wanted to get rid of the Southern Vietnamese government and turn the whole country communist. The United States of America were mildly speaking rather displeased with this and decided to send Military advisors to the Southern Vietnamese army to train and ready their soldiers for a battle against North Vietnam.

In 1964 US navel ships were reported being attacked by the North Vietnamese, evidence later showed that this never actually occurred. After that the US started bombing the North Vietnamese, and in 1965 the first US troops landed in Vietnam. The war in Vietnam was a hard war to fight for both sides. The North Vietnamese relied on guerrilla war-fare while the South Vietnamese and the US troops used American weapons like napalm- a sticky petrol chemical which burned fiercely and Agent Orange a chemical herbicide which destroyed crops and forestry. The North Vietnamese also known as the Viet Cong, or “Charlie” knew the landscape of Vietnam well and were brutal and supreme fighters. They dug tunnels into the ground and hid in them, they used any weapons they could get their hands on and were very cold blooded. Whilst the US troops and Southern Vietnamese army relied on tanks, foot soldiers, helicopters, planes and river boat to battle the Viet Cong.

The Vietnam war ended in 1975 as it was becoming a dead cause for the Americans. After countless peace demonstrations in the west the Americans gave up, this was the first US military defeat in modern history.

The losses in the war were colossal:

And a war memorial has been erected in Washington DC, it is called “the wall” and is there for us to honour the fallen soldiers of Vietnam, and hopefully make us remember it and not start a war like that again.  

After the war many people and agriculture still suffer from the aftermath of the chemical agents used in the war. Even children born today are born with defects because of the chemicals used in the war. Vietnam has even considered claiming 5 $ US per. Child with a defect. And that amount can add up quickly. 11% of Vietnamrops are damaged because of Agent Orange.