Vietnam War explains: key highlights and summary

The Vietnam War (1955-1975) was a lengthy conflict between the Communist North Vietnam and the South Vietnam supported by the USA, which are rooted in the politics of the Cold War. The war cost millions of life, caused immense destruction and had profound effects on American society and foreign policy. Despite superior military power, the United States could not win, especially because of the underestimation of the determination of the Vietnamese people and the effectiveness of the Guerilla warfare.

In Guerilla warfare, the tactics are usually unconventional and used against professional opposition from smaller sides. In the end, Vietnam was reunited after communist rule, while the war left permanent scars in Vietnam and the political and cultural landscape of the United States changed deeply.

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Important highlights of the Vietnam War

Let us discuss some of the most important events of the Vietnam War and the historical background, the importance, the effects and other factors.

background

After the Second World War and the first Indochina War (1946–1954), Vietnam was divided into the communist North Vietnam and the anti-communist South Vietnam according to the Geneva Agreement in 1954 in the Communist North Vietnam and the anti-communist South Vietnam.

Using the era of the Cold War, US President John F. Kennedy was afraid that if a Communist nation of Vietnam had learned, this would lead to a “domino effect”, which essentially means that the entire Southeast Asia would fall victim to the regime of communism. To avoid this, he decided to use the US Army in Vietnam. After his murder, Lyndon B. Johnson hired up to 23,000 US soldiers in Vietnam and angry to the country's indigenous people.

Main reason for conflicts

The main reason for conflicts in the Vietnam War was the difference in interest between North and South Vietnam. After Nordvietnam defeated the French colony, he wanted to set up a full -fledged communist regime throughout Vietnam according to the model of the Soviet Union and China, including South Vietnam. South Vietnam, on the other hand, wanted a governance that is closest to the West. The strong presence of the US military in the region only strengthened this feeling of resistance in the north.

Effects

An official estimate was published by Vietnam in 1995, and almost 2 million civilians died on both sides of the country. According to the United States, 200,000 to 250,000 Vietnamese civilians had lost their lives in the war, and 58,000 US soldiers were killed in Vietnam in the war. This loss was not felt by the United States and Vietnamese civilians alone. 4000 South Koreans, 350 Thai citizens and more than 500 Australians lost their lives when they fought for Vietnam.

Summary

The Vietnam War is also referred to as the Deputy War. This means that the war was led by two other nations, namely the United States and the Soviet Union, for North and South Vietnam. The war occurred between 1954 and 1975 and was a direct effect of the Cold War. The Cold War was an ideological conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States about their ideal form of government and dominance over the rest of the world. The United States was careful with the growing spread of communism in various parts of the world. This fear led to the war between the north and south of Vietnam, which was represented by the Soviet Union and the USA. It was ultimately lost by the USA.

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