Vietnam war summaryoverview of the conflict history. The vietnam war was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. The vietnam war also known as the second indochina war, and in vietnam as the resistance. The vietnam war 195475 was fought between the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam known as the viet cong on one side, and the government of south vietnam and its key ally, the united states, on the other, and it defined america in the second half of the 20th century. In late 1966, australias military intervention in the vietnam war reached a watershed. The vietnam war first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the geneva accords. With the public increasingly turning against the war, nixon wanted to bring the war to end, but he did not want to admit defeat. On september 22, 1940, jean decoux, the french governorgeneral appointed by the vichy government after the fall of france to the nazis, concluded an agreement with the japanese that permitted the stationing of 30,000 japanese troops in indochina and. But a combination of american overconfidence, cold war tensions and. Chinas involvement in the korean and vietnam war by stefanie becker submitted to the graduate degree program in east asian languages and cultures and the graduate faculty of the university of kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts chairperson prof.
Two of the main nations included in the vietnam war, was south vietnam and north vietnam. Cold war practice test 1the building of the berlin wall 2settlement of the cuban missile crisis 3increased united states involvement in the vietnam war 4the seizure of american hostages by iran 25the congress approves and supports the determination of the president, as commander in chief to take all necessary measures to repel any armed. The war took place in south and north vietnam, cambodia, and laos. Americans engaged in largescale military operations in a land far away from their own, but the. Students will be divided into groups and asked to analyze a set of political cartoons relating to presidents johnson and nixon. For example, pose basic questions to the class that follow a basic history of the vietnam war, including why the united states got involved and the final outcome of the conflict. Indochina, both in the ground battle in south vietnam and the air war against north. Barbara tuchman war has shaped many aspects of american history, from our countrys independence from british control through its expansion and emergence as a single nation to its establishment as a world power and protector of. The vietnam war the cold war 19451989 cvce website. Every major southern city was initially lost to the north then retaken us media makes it seem worse than it really was and helps turn public opinion against the war heavy losses for vietcong and regular north vietnamese army overall, a victory for the usa. These include winners of national book awards and pulitzer prizes, both fiction and nonfiction.
At its peak in 1968 the new zealand force only numbered 543. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the cold war. This essay will examine the significance of the conflict in vietnam on the cold war, primarily focussing on the aftermath for the main global superpower involved, the united states of america usa. Circulate throughout the class to support students and correct any individual misunderstandings. This is a free online textbook about the vietnam war by jerry degroot, a historian at the university of st andrews in scotland. The section the vietnam war looks at the us intervention 19651973 in the vietnam war. Vietnam had been divided into two, with a communist regime in the north under ho chi minh and a democratic government in the south under ngo dinh diem. If they want to make war for 20 years then we shall make war for 20 years. These vietnam war documents have been curated by alpha history authors. Students are expected to judge the validity of the editorial perspectives of the artists in comparison with the historical record.
From 1954 to 1975, the bloody war caused a political, economic and social turmoil in the country. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. President trump and coronavirus task force hold briefing at the white house cbs news 15,151 watching live now. War, vietnam and american life a toolkit for educators and parents overview war is the unfolding of miscalculations. In the vietnam war, paul dowswell goes all the way back to the beginning, looking at the history of vietnam up to the start of the first indochina war, 19461954, and the second. A few months later in march the final us troops were removed from vietnam. As grtming numbes killed or injured and large parts to in by 1%7, the bad. In april and may 1968 the largest ground operation of the war, with 110,000 u.
This threepart volume describes jcs activities related to the vietnam war. Commitment in vietnam 53 3a truce line of the cold war ho chi minhs government in hanoi decided in may 1959 to step up its support of armed struggle against ngo dinh diem in the south. The most notable of these was the vietnam war, which hung heavily over the 1960s and early 1970s. All answers are provided on the sheet at the top of the page.
Basically, the vietnam war was a microcosm of the cold war during that time period. Vietnam was lead by the communist party and aligned its political and economic policies to strict socialist principles that mirrored the soviet model and based decisionmaking on strict communist. Between june 1964 and december 1972 around 3500 new zealand service personnel served in south vietnam. For much of the world, the visual history of the vietnam war has been defined by a handful of iconic photographs. Established on the republics founding in 1955, arvn began with 150,000 troops, and by 1975 included over one million menatarms. In april of 1975 south vietnam surrendered to north vietnam. The cold war shaped the way the vietnam war was fought. From terry fincher, one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. During the period of american involvement the nation was polarized between whether the us should be involved or should withdraw. It has a great bibliography and good academic discussion on the war. By any standard one chooses to measure such things, the american war in vietnam was one of most divisive events of its history, exceeded by only the american civil war. The period of detente was not without localised conflicts, but these did not directly jeopardise relations between the united states and the ussr. Eddie adams image of a viet cong fighter being executed, nick uts picture of. The american forces didnt join the fighting until after the gulf of tonkin incident, which occurred in 1964 when there was an unprovoked naval attack on us ships in the gulf.
The joint chiefs of staff and the war in vietnamhistory of the. Americas air power dwarfed north vietnams and, in theory, such dominance should have had a decisive say in the outcome of the vietnam war. Your guide to the vietnam war, plus 7 surprising facts. Born in texas of an army family, he was graduated from the united states. The vietnam war began in good faith, by good people with good intentions. President eisenhower fears the growth of defense spending, unlike president kennedy who increases spending by more than 6 billion dollars. A slew of war memoirs stand with the best writing of that genre. However, the first decade following the end of the war with the us was one in which the cold war had a significant impact upon the vietnam economy. There were those in america who supported the idea of simply bombing north vietnam.
Battle of long tan documentary danger close movie based on this story vietnam war duration. Vietnam war, 195475, a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, known as the viet cong, against the government of south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. A series of south vietnamese strong men proved little more successful than diem in mobilizing their country. This newsreel film explores the personalities of the negotiators at the paris peace talks and the prospects for peace in vietnam.
The war was started because of north vietnam tired to spread communism to south vietnam. Cold war and vietnam unit study guide flashcards quizlet. The summer offensive, i corps, august 1969 by keith william nolan, f100 super sabre units of the vietna. S involvement in the vietnam war, involving a gradual withdrawl of american troops and replacement of them with south vietnamese forces tet offensive a massive surprise attack by the vietcong on south vietnamese towns and cities in early 1968. The dean of cold warfare historians the new york events now presents the definitive account of the worldwide confrontation that dominated the ultimate half of the 20 th century. The causes of the vietnam war trace their roots back to the end of world war ii. September 2, 1945 ho chi minh reads vietnams declaration of independence in hanois ba dinh square second french war september 23, 1945 french troops arriving on u. The vietnam war was a long and dramatically costly conflict that saw the opposition of the communist regime of north vietnam backed by its southern allies, the viet cong and south vietnam backed by the united states. To what extent was the vietnam war part of the cold war. Nansong huang american foreign policy, research paper prof. Navy performed a wide array of missions in the vietnam war. In 1959, ho commenced a guerilla campaign in south vietnam, led by viet cong units, with the goal of reuniting the country under a communist. Free printable american history reading with questions for grades 912 american history readings. So even for young school children who were born after the fall of the berlin wall and the end of the cold war, understanding the lessons of vietnam is important.
But there were, in fact, many vietnam warsan anticolonial war with france, a cold war turned hot with the united states, a civil war between north and south vietnam and among southern vietnamese, a revolutionary war of ideas over the vision that should guide vietnamese society into the postcolonial future, and a postwar war of memory. Blanchard due 12614 the dichotomized media in vietnam war introduction the vietnam war was the longest, most costly and brutal war the us had ever fought during the cold war era. Apr 10, 2015 11 cold war cnn vietnam 1954 1968 documentary best. The vietnam war everything depends on the americans. Among the most positive is an abundance of topnotch books, many written by veterans of the conflict. The army of the republic of vietnam arvn was the main fighting force of the republic of vietnam, or south vietnam, during the war. It might also be helpful for other exam courses because it contains detailed content notes and summary tasks. In 1941, a vietnamese nationalist movement, the viet minh, was formed by their leader ho chi minh 18901969 to resist the occupiers. There was a time when all i knew of vietnam war books was tim obriens, the things they carried, a book that prompted the laconic entry in my book journal, this book destroyed me.
After all, theres so much stuff about the war in vietnam. Its probably to be expected, just like last weeks announcement that vietnams internet connection would be limited for a while because an undersea cable had been severed by accident. Unlike the first and second world wars new zealands contribution in terms of personnel was not huge. South vietnam was sponsored by anticommunist countries and individuals from the south east asia treaty organization which incorporated the united states, australia, thailand and etc. The war fought in the air during the vietnam war was decisively in favour of us forces. The joint chiefs of staff and the war in vietnam 19601968. Kennedy adopts the flexible response defense policy so the us military would be prepared to fight any type of conflict.
The united states army had already been in vietnam since 1959, but they were only in leadership and training roles. Talk about the different effects the vietnam war had on america, and. For five years during world war ii, indochina was a frenchadministered possession of japan. A guide to materials at the british library by jean kemble the eccles centre for american studies. What was the significance of the vietnam war for the cold war. Dec 19, 2016 at first, the vietnam war exacerbated the hostile relationship between the communist and the capitalist blocs as the soviet union and china helped the communist north vietnam while the us helped the anticommunist south vietnam respectively. Revisionist views gabriel kolko keith taylor mark moyar grace koch vietnam war historiography henry summers the vietnam war was a noble cause ngo dinh diem did what. National archives vietnam war national security council. Resources for the vietnam war the cold war 19451989. Armed forces of the vietnam war pritzker military museum. A chronology of the cold war, including the us intervention in vietnam. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing cold war between the united states and the soviet union.
Vietnam war 195475, conflict that pitted the communist government of north vietnam and its allies in south vietnam, the viet cong, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. A communist, ho chi minh waged a guerrilla war against the. Complete the following table by distinguishing the war strategies between usa and vietnam during the. The sinovietnamese war also known as the third indochina war, was a brief border war. The vietnam war began on november 1, 1955 and lasted until april 30, 1975. It was the desire to spread communism versus the desire to stop it. The cold warvietnam wikibooks, open books for an open world. China and the vietnam wars, 19501975 the new cold war history cold calling. According to various american sources1 the vietnam war was won by the us when they finally left the country in 1975. May 12, 2015 whether termed the fall or liberation of saigon, april 30th is certainly garnering a high level of attention this year. War in vietnam reading with questions student handouts. What is the difference between a communist government and democratic government. After supplies and weapons were found in a viet cong tunnel network, a soldier burns a nearby hut used for rice storage by the viet cong.
Tlhe cold war and the american war in vietnam cannot be disentangled. In the vietnam war which lasted from the mid1950s until 1975 the united states and the southernbased republic of vietnam rvn opposed the southernbased revolutionary movement known as the viet cong and its sponsor, the communist democratic republic of vietnam the drv, or north vietnam. Fill in the worksheet on page 3 from the following worksheet packet, which will be given to you in class. Saigon, on april 30th 1975 and with that won the war. Archived pdf from the original on november 16, 2016. The viet cong was the military wing of the national liberation front. The us was invited by the south vietnamese to assist them in their fight against the viet cong. Air force during the rolling thunder and linebacker air campaigns against north vietnam, and in other air operations in laos and cambodia. The vietnam war explained in 25 minutes vietnam war.
How the tet offensive changed the vietnam war history duration. Theyusedanticaircraftguns,surfacectocairmissilesandfighterplanes. The vietnam war represents the fight between communism and capitolism, the fight of the cold war. In a communist government the communist party controls the government, the government owns. This book was originally published back in 2000, but the author has now made it freely available online. It is though generally known that the north vietnamese won the war, they took the capital of the south. The war in iraq and september 11th probably will be the defining event of the youth of the united states today when we look back in a few decades, in much the same way the war in vietnam defined a generation of youth in the 1960s and 1970s. Dissatisfaction with the great society came to be more than matched by unhappiness with the situation in vietnam. The americans justified their military intervention in vietnam by the domino theory, which stated that if one country fell under the influence of communism, the surrounding countries would inevitably follow. This is because the north vietnamese wanted to follow in the footsteps of the soviet union and. A widely discussed topic is the outcome of the vietnam war.
The dichotomized media during vietnam war 2522 words 11 pages. The vietnam war 19541975 was a war between north vietnam and its southern allies, against south vietnam and its principal ally, the united states. Military engagements of the vietnam war the vietnam war vietnamese. Two viet cong prisoners are led to an arvn command outpost at ha tien. Soon the country became officially unified as the socialist republic of vietnam. One of the things i loved so muchand that broke my heart so cleanlyabout the things they carried was that it reminded me of another beloved war book, slaughterhousefive, in that both books are. It was the longest war in american history, and it brought about almost 60,000 american deaths and in an expected 2 million vietnamese deaths, yet it was one of the most unpopular american war of the 20th century. China and the vietnam wars, 19501975 the new cold war. The us had lost the vietnam war and also taken a major blow in the cold war. How did the vietnam war shape the rest of the cold war. This is because the north vietnamese wanted to follow in the footsteps of the soviet union and china, and south vietnam wanted to westernize. For each source, consider both the personal perspective of each author and how that perspective has shaped their argument or actions. The war between northern and southern vietnam had been going on since 1964. The vietnam war and its subsequent ties to the cold war essay.