Brief History of Vietnam War

Vietnam was one of the longest and most politically controversial wars in the history of the United States. As with all complex political situations, there is a rich history surrounding the conflict in Vietnam. It involved the country of France and began shortly after the end of World War II. Vietnam, a French colony, was part of French Indochina, today it is known as South Eastern Asia. The native people were unhappy with French control and organized attempts to throw off colonial control. After a series of rebellions, a revolt managed to succeed. This success was enough to give the revolutionaries the boost they needed to slowly gain control of much of their homeland. As time passed, France asked the United States for military aid with which to regain control of French Indochina. The United States gave aid in the form of supplies and food, but no soldiers were sent. Even with the extra firepower, the French were unable to subdue the revolts. In 1954 an agreement was reached between the French and Vietnamese; the French withdrew.

After gaining independence from France, Vietnam had to deal with internal problems; the northern portion of the country was heavily influenced by Communist China, while the south leaned towards a democratic philosophy. North Vietnamese troops began to move farther south, which resulted in civil war. The United States' interest in Vietnam was a result of the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory states that Communism has the tendency to spread, and as more nations came under Communist control the wider its influence would be. Basically, the fear was that one day Communism would take control of all of Asia, then all of Europe, and then it would make its way to the Western Hemisphere, and then the United States.

This led many military strategists and other high-level officials to consider involvement in the situation in Vietnam. Military advisers were sent to aid the South Vietnamese. The condition of the civil war continued to deteriorate on the side of the South Vietnamese, and more advisers were sent. On August 2, 1964 United States involvement changed dramatically.

On August 2, 1964 the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred. A United States destroyer, the Maddox, was reportedly fired upon. Two days later the Maddox, as well as the destroyer C. Turner Joy, were also fired upon, which led to the bombing of naval bases in North Vietnam. The bombing runs became regular by 1965, and combat troops were sent in during the same year. Their primary opposition was the North Vietnamese army and the Vietcong, a group of communist guerrilla soldiers, who thrived on confusion and camouflage. Until 1968, the fighting was steady and somewhat balanced, but everything changed with the Tet Offensive. Many overwhelming victories were achieved by the Vietcong, and morale was sinking for the United States and South Vietnamese. U.S. support continued for four more years, when finally, in August 1972, almost all troops had been sent back home. Although ground troops had been pulled out, the United States still continued bombing missions. The number of POW's increased due to crew member losses in the bombing missions.

In January of 1973, a truce was formally reached, and the United States was to withdraw all forces and cease bombing. Peace did not become reality though. Saigon continued to battle for two more years, making considerable advances in 1973 and early 1974, but losing several more important battles in 1974 and 1975. The forces finally surrendered on April 30, 1975. By the end of the war, over 55,500 US soldiers were dead, and over 300,000 were wounded. Vietnamese casualties were even more staggering. They consisted of over 200,000 South Vietnamese, 1,000,000 North Vietnamese, and 500,000 civilians.

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