The Vietnam War started in 1954 and ended in 1975. Before the war Vietnam had already had a long history of being ruled by other countries. Similar to the U.S. before the Civil War, Vietnamese people in the North and South never fully trusted each other. Populations of the south were mainly in areas along the coast, and the north had a by far larger population. In 1954 Vietnam was split in half. This division was supposed to be temporary. In 1956 elections were to be held to decide the fate of the country, but the anti communists refused to vote. The more populated North won. The communists attacked with guerrilla operations in the south, to try and destabilize the southern government. In 1959 about 800,000 vietnamese fled from the north to the south. This was because the Communist Party had started killing off rivals, oppressing Catholics, and seizing property.
America was involved with Vietnam since the Truman Doctrine was established. Their goal was to fight off communism. They feared that if Vietnam became communists the surrounding countries would follow them, which would eventually lead to people in the U.S. becoming communists. The United States supported the anti communists that were in South Vietnam. In 1964 the North were winning the war. A decade of American aid failed to help South Vietnam forces. In August, America decided to take action and to completely support South Vietnam. There were more than half a million troops sent to Vietnam in 1968. North Vietnam and the Viet Cong (communist allies in the south) increased their efforts in response to America’s reinforcements.
The communists would not yield even when the U.S. began massive bombings in North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army was showing improvement, winning 37 of their last 45 major engagements. On January 30th, 1968 the Vietnamese had a truce for their lunar new year holiday where fighting would cease. The communists disregarded this and attacked every urban area in South Vietnam. This was the ultimate turning point of the Vietnam War. For America the Tet Offensive (the attack) was a military failure. It was the moment the Americans realized that in order to win the war there would be too many sacrifices. A major issue of the 1968 election was whether or not the candidate opposed the war. Johnson announced that he would not accept renomination. The costs and casualties of the growing war proved too much for the United States. The U.S. combat units were withdrawn by 1973. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North.
America was involved with Vietnam since the Truman Doctrine was established. Their goal was to fight off communism. They feared that if Vietnam became communists the surrounding countries would follow them, which would eventually lead to people in the U.S. becoming communists. The United States supported the anti communists that were in South Vietnam. In 1964 the North were winning the war. A decade of American aid failed to help South Vietnam forces. In August, America decided to take action and to completely support South Vietnam. There were more than half a million troops sent to Vietnam in 1968. North Vietnam and the Viet Cong (communist allies in the south) increased their efforts in response to America’s reinforcements.
The communists would not yield even when the U.S. began massive bombings in North Vietnam. The South Vietnamese Army was showing improvement, winning 37 of their last 45 major engagements. On January 30th, 1968 the Vietnamese had a truce for their lunar new year holiday where fighting would cease. The communists disregarded this and attacked every urban area in South Vietnam. This was the ultimate turning point of the Vietnam War. For America the Tet Offensive (the attack) was a military failure. It was the moment the Americans realized that in order to win the war there would be too many sacrifices. A major issue of the 1968 election was whether or not the candidate opposed the war. Johnson announced that he would not accept renomination. The costs and casualties of the growing war proved too much for the United States. The U.S. combat units were withdrawn by 1973. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North.
Person integral to vietnam
William Westmoreland commanded the U.S. Military Assistance Command in Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson choose him for this role in June 1964. He used a lot of firepower to attack the North Vietnamese, which resulted in a costly stalemate by late 1967. He was sent back to the U.S. and replaced in 1968.
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casualties
In South Vietnam 200,000-400,000 civilians were killed, along with 170,000-220,000 people died in the military. There were 58,200 Americans killed. In North Vietnam 50,000 plus civilians dead, 400,000-1 million military casualties.