The Vietnam Conflict and Its effects

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The Vietnam conflict began in the

late nineteenth century. The French conquered Vietnam and made it a protectorate.

For nearly forty years, Vietnam had not experienced settled peace. The League for the

Independence of Vietnam ( Viet Minh ) was formed in 1941, seeking independence from

the French. On September 2nd,1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed it independent of France.

The French opposed their independence from 1945 to 1954. The first representatives of

de Gualle's government landed by parachute in Saigon and Hanoi on August 23rd, 1945.

The French wanted to reestablish their rule in Vietnam but were beaten at the battle of

Dien Bien Phu on May 7th, 1954. The French Expeditionary Force tried to prevent the

Viet Minh from entering Laos and Dien Bien Phu was the place chosen to do so. The

French were not very careful and this allowed the Viet Minh to cut off their airway to

Hanoi. After a siege that had lasted for fifty - five days, the French surrendered. Ho

Chi Minh led the war against France and won.

After the war there was a conference in Geneva where Vietnam was divided into two

parts along the seventeenth parallel. North Vietnam was mainly Communist and

supported Ho Chi Minh, while the south was supported by the United States and the

French were based there. There was still some Communist rebels within South Vietnam.

These were the Viet Cong. The South Vietnam ruler was Ngo Dinh Diem who was anti -

Communist. At the conference, Laos and Cambodia became independent states.

North Vietnam wished to unify North and South Vietnam through military force. Since

the United States feared the spread of communism in Asia, John F. Kennedy provided

economic and military aid to South Vietman to prevent the takeover by North Vietnam.

At this time, this was still a civil war. The United States were not yet officially involved.

The North Vietnamese resented the little intervention by the United Sates and so,

three Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on the U.S. destroyer, " Maddox " on August 2nd,

1964. The " Maddox " had

been in the Gulf of Tonkin ( international waters ), thirty miles off the coast of Vietnam.

On August 3rd, 1964, Johnson gave the right " to attack with the objective of

destroying attacking forces " ( Pimlott 1982, 36 ). Retaliation air attacks began on

August 3rd. Their aim was to destroy North Vietnam's gunboat capability. As two more

United States destroyers were supposedly sunk, more air and sea forces were sent (

Wicker August 5, 1964, 1 ). Up until now, the U.S. had refrained from direct combat.

This is when the United States formally entered the Vietman War. The U.S. did this for

two reasons. We wished to maintain the independence of South Vietnam and we had to

prove to allied nations that we would help them resist Communist overtaking. As

Congress was about to vote whether or not to allow the combat to move

into North Vietnam, the North Vietnamese attacked a major U.S. airbase at Bein Hoa.

On February 7th, 1965, Johnson ordered retaliation

bombing on North Vietnam. Rolling Thunder was the name of this

operation. It's purpose was to put pressure on Hanoi and convince them

that Communism could not and would not win.

At the end of 1965, one hundred and eighty thousand Americans were in South Vietnam

under General William S. Westmoreland (Encyclopedia Britannica, 12, 361 ). The U.S.

mainly depended on superior firepower and helicopters. The Viet Cong and North

Vietnamese depended on surprise attack and concealment.

The United States soldiers realized that the war would last for many more years and

wondered if the U.S. war effort could succeed. At the end of 1968, The number of

American troops in South Vietnam reached it's peak of 542, 000 men ( Pimlott 1982, 53

). The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched a major invasion against the United

States called the Tet offensive from January 30th to February 25th, 1968. At the Khe

Sanh U.S. firebase, there was a major ground battle. There was a siege from January

21st to April 14th. It was thought to be the " American Dien Bien Phu ". The United

States turned it around however, with their victory at Hue. By 1969, combat decreased

rapidly

and American troops began to return home.

The role of Communism was extremely important in this conflict. Communism was one of

the main reasons of why the United States entered the war in the first place. The U.S.

" had " to enter the war to stop the spread of Communism in Asia since North Vietnam

was Communist. If North Vietnam were to succeed in converting Vietnam into a

Communist country, it could become very powerful and go on to 'pursuade' other

countries to become Communist. The U.S. believed that Vietnam could become

powerful. They were amazed that France, an Allied power, had been beaten by the

Vietnamese.

North Vietnam was a Communist country. The man who had proclaimed Vietnam

independent, Ho Chi Minh, was a Communist. He was a Marxist and believed in "

national Communism " ( Encyclopedia Britannica, 5, 955). During the war with the

French, Ho Chi Minh took refuge in northern Vietnam and settled there with his

followers. He founded the Indochina Communist Party and the Viet Minh. The Viet Minh

did not become Communist until the 1950's. He became the president of North Vietnam

from 1945 to 1969. North Vietnam was a poor area and was cut off from the

agricultural benefit of South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh was forced to ask assistance from

major Communist allies - the Soviet Union and China. Both aided North Vietnam before

and during the war.

The North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam. They wanted to use military tactics to

force unification. The United States did not allow their unification. The U.S. knew that

the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese wished to establish one ruling government, the

Communist Party. This led to the Vietnam War and U.S. intervention.

On January 27th, 1973, South Vietnam Communist forces ( Viet Cong ), North Vietnam,

South Vietnam and the United States agreed on many things during peace talks that

were held in Paris. The talks had lasted for over two years before any agreements were

made that suited all of them. The forces involved agreed that U.S. troops would

gradually withdraw from Vietnam and all prisoners of war would be released. They also

agreed that South Vietnam had the right to choose their own future, whether or not to

unite with North Vietnam. North

Vietnamese troops were given the right to remain in South Vietnam but they could not

be reinforced. Nixon was the U.S. president who finalized the accepted treaty and

began to remove United States troops.

Even after the peace talks, fighting continued between the North and South

Vietnamese. After the majority of American soldiers had left, North Vietnam went

against all that was enforced at the peace talks. North Vietnam planned a major

invasion on the south in 1975 or 1976. By April 30th, 1976, North Vietnamese tanks had

occupied Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, with no trouble.

On July 2nd, 1976, the country was united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The

capital became Hanoi and it was under Communist rule. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi

Minh City after the instigator of Communism. The North Vietnamese had won. Forty -

seven

thousand Americans were killed in action and three hundred and

thirteen soldiers were wounded, physically as well as mentally. The war had cost the

United States an estimated two hundred billion dollars ( Encyclopedia Britannica, 12,

361 ). There were two thousand, two hundred and sixty - one United States

servicemen listed as missing in action ( Time, February 15, 1993, 44 ). The tally is still

incomplete. Some say that this war was fought for nothing. There were only losses and

nothing was gained.

After the war, southern Vietnam's agriculture, business and industry were devestated.

The newly Communist Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia became an important South - Asian

power. Today, Vietnam remains under Communist rule. The Vietnamese Communist

Party is the

major political party. The State Council Chairman is Vo Chi Chong. The

Prime Minister is Do Muoi.

After the Vietnam war, United States Presidents tried to punish Vietnam for the losses

suffered by their country. They cut off all trade to Vietnam. Vietnam's economy was

severely damaged. This came about by the U.S. decision to stop trade and the new

efforts to install a Soviet - style system in the unified country. By 1985, ten years

after it's " liberation ", Vietnam had to beg for help from the Soviet Union ( Time,

February 15, 1993, 43).

In 1986, the government leaders began an economic plan, doi moi to get Vietnam back

on it's feet. When aid from the Soviet Union stopped, the country was able to stand on

it's own. The Vietnamese veterans don't regard the Americans as enemies but the

government leaders do. The government fears that if contact with the United

States increases, it might result in a revolution that would destroy their authority.

Meanwhile, even without United States help, Vietnam is seen to be an important

exporter in the future. Japan has already exported goods to Vietnam and the United

States is afraid that they will soon gain economic control over the entire region.