Vietnam War
Introduction
The reason why I choused to write about the Vietnam War, was because I wanted to get more information about this ghastly and sustained war. I also wondered why USA got involved in this war, and how they got into it.
In my research I found a lot of facts about this war, I was really surprised that so many people died in this war. Through my research I discovered how painful and terrible this war was for the involved.
I also wondered what was the reason for the beginning the hole war.
Background of the War
From 1880 to the Second World War France dominated Vietnam. The leader of the country was an emperor named Bao Dai.
In 1940 the Japanese occupied the country. In December the same year a Vietnamese national military group was founded. The name of this group was Vietminh. The name of the leader was Ho Chi Minh. The Vietminh saw the conflict with the Japanese as a good opportunity to get the Frenchmen out of the country.
The American required that the Japanese should retreat out of Vietnam. Then Vietminh started a national warfare against the Japanese and with backup from America. The Vietminh took care of the American pilots that was shut down, helped the American prisoners to escape the country, and gave military information to the American news service OSS.
The Japanese surrendered the 2. September in 1945, and the leader of the Vietminh Ho Chi Minh pronounced that the Vietnam was an independent nation.
The Frenchmen denied excepting this, and they forced Vietminh to an area in the north part of the country.
Ho Chi Minh asked the American to recognize the Vietnam as an independent country. The American denied because they were afraid that the communism should be spreeded in Asia like it was in East Europe. Therefore they supported the Frenchmen.
bIn 1946 the American sent French soldiers to Vietnam with warships. The soldiers got soon the control over the biggest towns, but Wietminh still had the control over the village.
When Ho Chi Minh pronounced Vietnam as an own state, Vietminh only had 2000 soldiers in the army. Vietminh started to recruit many soldiers. In 1949 the Frenchmen made a new government which should fight for the leadership in the country.
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In May 1954 Vietminh started a big attach towards the French army, which had established in the town Dien Bien Phu. This town lies in the north of Vietnam. The battle in the Dien Bien Phu is the most humiliated which has happened in the French military history. The French people was tired of war, and they forced the French government decided to make a peace deal with the Vietminh. A deal was made an it said that the French army should retire back to the south part of Vietnam. There they should wait to be transported back to France. Vietminh planned to control the north part of the country. Now Vietnam was temporary in two parts.
The start of the Vietnam War
When Vietnam was divided in 1954, many of the members in Vietminh traveled back to their villages in South Vietnam. They waited on the election so should be hold in 1956, and the coming reunion of the country.
These guys from Vietminh made a opposition stir so should try to remove Diem from his power.
In the beginning of 1955 the Americans formed the South Vietnam Army. With guns and fire the soldiers took the land from the little farmers and gave it to the big farmers. The people in Vietminh were also members of a politic organization called Lao Dong. This was a party who would try to fight for a reunion of the two Vietnamese states. In the end of the 50`s the Vietminh soldiers started a big attack on Diems army.
The president of the USA John F. Kennedy wanted to work for the Vietnamese people and support the government in Saigon. The American special army Green Berets should cooperate with the South Vietnams government soldiers directly in the villages to try to stop the communist’s propaganda and try to win the South Vietnamese people on their side.
In January 1961 there were 800 American councilors in Vietnam. This increased till 16700 in November 1963. Americans air force supported the South Vietnams soldiers in their ground operations, but still the government soldier’s continued to lose ground. Diem was killed in November 1963 under a government attack, which Kennedy supported
John F. Kennedy was killed, and the new president Lyndon B. Johnson decided to go for a harder line in Vietnam, and he increased the councilors to 27000.
Johnson decides to terrify the government because he thought that the North Vietnamese government who supported Gerilja group NLF.
The Americans command soldiers started to destroy bridges, railways and harbors on North Vietnamese territory. The American warships patrolled the North Vietnam coast. The area in Laos was bombed in all secret of American plains, the Americans thought that this road was used to smuggle guns and provision into the NLF soldiers in South.
At this moment the government in the North Vietnam was ready prepared for war. The 2 august the North Vietnamese government gave the orders to shoot against American warship Maddox.
Johnson gave the orders to start bombing North Vietnamese land territory with aircraft, he also spoke to the American people thought TV to get their support, the congress gave their full power to the president so he could control the war himself. The president started to bomb more on North Vietnamese territory, Johnson thought that the North Vietnamese soldiers did a bad job to protect the American airfields. In 8 mars, 3500 marine soldiers was sent to protect the airfield , and in June the same year the numbers had increased to 74000 soldiers.
The escalation of the war
The first navy soldiers arrived Da Nang in mars 1965; their mission was to protect the American airbase in the city. Their mission was fasted extended and their new misson to protect the hole area around the base.
William Wesrmoreland was nominating General and he made a strategy based on to make a big army in Vietnam and so attack the enemy. In 1965, 84000 soldiers were in Vietnam and in 1969 there were 543,000 soldiers.
The North Vietnamese and the NLF appealed to the Vietnam people and the said that they had to get the Americans out of the country.
The strategy against the Americans was a result of a intense debate between Lao Dong in North and the NLF in South. Ho Chi Minh`s project was to allied the to states and ram against the Americans.
Communist sends the first soldiers from south over to fight together.
People from the earlier Vietminh traveled east and allied with the NLF.
They built bases in the mountains and the soldiers from South entered north true the Ho Chi minh road who was build.
The NLF and the North Vietnams had ease guns, and attack then Americans with fast and surprised attacks.
In June 1964 Maxwell Taylor was nominated USA new ambassador, and he worked for that the American army should control own territory so they should control. But the Nlf controlled the most of the territory and an oktober 1965 the
Americans soldier sustained on forces in LA Drang Dalen.
The North Vietnam people lost, and the NLF and the North Vietnamese changed tactics. The new tactic was to to attack and run to escape American fire.
After the victory in La Drang the Americans was trying to find the NLF`s military base, but the Americans failed.
In 1967 Johnson decide to fight more in the air, some experts said that the Americans would get the result they wanted. But the they tried to not bomb sivilian people., but many sivilians died. USA started to bomb less, because they thougt Kina and Soviet would fight with the South Vietnams.
In 1967 the NLF and the North Vietnam lay projects to attack the South Vietnams and the USA bases. In December 1967 the North Vietnam’s attacked the American base Khe Sen.
Many of the American wanted to retreat, and President Johnson gave noticed that he doesn’t wanted to sit another period as the president.
Richard Nixon promised to end the war ,and he became the next president.
In Juli he launched the Nixon terroitory and he decided that American soldier never had to fight more on Asian territory. The spring 1972 only 600 soldiers was left in Vietnam.
27. Januar everybody who had fight on Vietnam territory a peace deal in Paris, and the Americans started to withdrew.
In mars 1973 the left of the American soldiers left the Vietnam, but in 1974 the North Vietnam again attacked the the South, but the army collapsed and 30.april 1875 minh went off as prime minister.
Vietnam was united.
List of Sources
- http://www.overhalla.kommune.no/skoler/obus/fagsider/samfunn/smf2001/kaldkrig/kaldkrig.htm#vietnam
- http://www.nupi.no/PubFelles/HHD/HELEHHD/hele99-00/00_29.pdf
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