"[137] Johnson knew he had inherited a rapidly deteriorating situation in South Vietnam,[138] but he adhered to the widely accepted domino theory argument for defending the South: Should they retreat or appease, either action would imperil other nations beyond the conflict. The change in regime was "quite peaceful, a sort of Asiatic 'velvet revolution'"although 30,000 former officials were sent to reeducation camps, often enduring harsh conditions for several years. On the collapse of U.S. morale, historian Shelby Stanton wrote: In the last years of the Army's retreat, its remaining forces were relegated to static security. In 1967, all Viet Cong battalions were reequipped with arms of Soviet design such as the AK-47 assault rifle, carbines and the RPG-2 anti-tank weapon. To show his support for South Vietnam and force Hanoi back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong 1829 December 1972. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, but his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, continued the work that Kennedy had started. PAVN/VC leaders expected the ceasefire terms would favor their side, but Saigon, bolstered by a surge of U.S. aid received just before the ceasefire went into effect, began to roll back the Viet Cong. [179], On 10 May 1968, peace talks began between the United States and North Vietnam in Paris. On 13 December 1974, North Vietnamese forces attacked Phc Long. Following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Hanoi anticipated the arrival of US troops and began expanding the Viet Cong, as well as sending increasing numbers of North Vietnamese personnel southwards. [211][40]:576582, Vietnamization was again tested by the Easter Offensive of 1972, a massive conventional PAVN invasion of South Vietnam. The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. [290], On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He knew that ending this war honorably was essential to his success in the presidency. Format BW Photograph, 8.5" x 11" Source United Press International Series American Experience As resistance in Hu collapsed, PAVN rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. The strike was designed to solve local logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether the U.S. would return. By the 1950s, the conflict had become entwined with the Cold War. "Stabbed in the Back! [40]:8890 Around one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, fled south, fearing persecution by the Communists. [150]:58 Tellingly, South Vietnamese forces were again defeated in June 1965 at the Battle of ng Xoi. [358]:376 Allen's analysis ties the position of potential missing or prisoner Americans into post-war politics and recent presidential elections, including the Swift boat controversy in US electoral politics. [A 8] The end of the Vietnam War would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and the larger Indochina refugee crisis, which saw millions of refugees leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 of whom perished at sea. [160]:341343[246][247][248], Torture and ill-treatment were frequently applied by the South Vietnamese to POWs as well as civilian prisoners. [97]:655, American women served on active duty performing a variety of jobs. [142]:78 The resolution granted the president power "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression" and Johnson would rely on this as giving him authority to expand the war. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and Northern provinces came to an end. In 1971, the Pentagon Papers were leaked to The New York Times. [286], The AC-130 "Spectre" Gunship and the UH-1 "Huey" gunship were used frequently by the U.S. during the war. [357] The band Country Joe and the Fish recorded The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag in 1965, and it became one of the most influential anti-Vietnam protest anthems. [107] According to Gabriel Kolko, 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. "[315] In addition, doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces. On 23 September 1945, French forces overthrew the DRV government, and declared French authority restored. In March 1970, Prince Sihanouk was deposed by his pro-American prime minister Lon Nol, who demanded that North Vietnamese troops leave Cambodia or face military action. Thuc's anniversary celebrations occurred shortly before Vesak had been bankrolled by the government, and Vatican flags were displayed prominently. [114]:24, The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959,[40]:119120 and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail, at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. Many young people protested because they were the ones being drafted, while others were against the war because the anti-war movement grew increasingly popular among the counterculture. [127], Following the coup, chaos ensued. [40]:3335, Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Following an attack on a U.S. Army base in Pleiku on 7 February 1965,[143] a series of airstrikes was initiated, Operation Flaming Dart, while Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin was on a state visit to North Vietnam. By ignoring ARVN units, the U.S. commitment became open-ended. [113] In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near the demilitarized zone between North and South Vietnam. [75]:124 A second attack was reported two days later on USSTurner Joy and Maddox in the same area. Women were enlisted in both the PAVN and the Viet Cong, many joining due to the promises of female equality and a greater social role within society. Brandishing a captured Chinese machine gun, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara appeared at a televised news conference in the spring of 1965. Marilyn B. Why did the Vietnam War start? | Britannica [282], After the Tet Offensive, many PAVN units incorporated light tanks such as the Type 62, Type 59 tank., BTR-60, Type 60 artillery, amphibious tanks (such as the PT-76) and integrated into new war doctrines as a mobile combined-arms force. [165]:148149 By the end of 1968, the VC insurgents held almost no territory in South Vietnam, and their recruitment dropped by over 80%, signifying a drastic reduction in guerrilla operations, necessitating increased use of PAVN regular soldiers from the north. Once in power, the Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide, while conflict between them and the unified Vietnam would eventually escalate into the CambodianVietnamese War, which toppled the Khmer Rouge government in 1979. [195] Among the enlisted, only 2.5% chose infantry combat positions in 19691970. Group 559 was headquartered in Na Kai, Houaphan province in northeast Laos close to the border. [40]:718720, On 30 April 1975, PAVN troops entered the city of Saigon and quickly overcame all resistance, capturing key buildings and installations. Included among their ranks were "about 90 percent" of Laos's "intellectuals, technicians, and officials. [85]:353354 Westmoreland and McNamara furthermore touted the body count system for gauging victory, a metric that would later prove to be flawed. In 1967, Thieu became president with Ky as his deputy, after rigged elections. [97]:556 Most cities were recaptured within weeks, except the former imperial capital of Hu in which PAVN/Viet Cong troops captured most of the city and citadel except the headquarters of the 1st Division and held on in the fighting for 26 days. [85]:369. Tr's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into Phc Long Province. Moreover, the rushed nature of Vietnamization, intended to cover the US retreat, resulted in a lack of spare parts, ground-crew, and maintenance personnel, which rendered most of the equipment inoperable. [257] According to Rummel, PAVN and Viet Cong troops killed 164,000 civilians in democide between 1954 and 1975 in South Vietnam, from a range of between 106,000 and 227,000 (50,000 of which were reportedly killed by shelling and mortar on ARVN forces during the retreat to Tuy Hoa). War crimes were committed by both sides during the conflict and included rape, massacres of civilians, bombings of civilian targets, terrorism, the widespread use of torture, and the murder of prisoners of war. China sent 320,000 troops and annual arms shipments worth $180million. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong/PRG victory, Total military dead/missing:1,100,000Total military wounded:604,200(excluding GRUNK/Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao). [108]:1416, In May 1957, Dim undertook a ten-day state visit to the United States. For a full history of wars in Vietnam, see. [40]:35, During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954), U.S. carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the U.S. conducted reconnaissance flights. It was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war, and the U.S. raised the readiness level of Strategic Air Command (SAC) forces to DEFCON 2. U.S. and allied forces mount major offensive actions to seize the initiative to destroy guerrilla and organized enemy forces. The war also influenced a generation of musicians and songwriters in Vietnam, the United States, and throughout the world, both pro/anti-war and pro/anti-communist, with the Vietnam War Song Project having identified 5,000+ songs about or referencing the conflict. The conflict also spilled over into neighboring states, exacerbating the Laotian Civil War and the Cambodian Civil War, which ended with all three countries becoming communist states by 1975. Meanwhile, the political situation in South Vietnam began to stabilise with the coming to power of prime minister Air Marshal Nguyn Cao K and figurehead chief of state, General Nguyn Vn Thiu, in mid-1965 at the head of a military junta. Instead, civil government and military operations had virtually ceased. Nixon's National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, had continued secret negotiations with North Vietnam's L c Th and in October 1972 reached an agreement. [320] General record-keeping was reported to have been sloppy for government spending during the war. U.S. ground forces had largely withdrawn by early 1972, and their operations were limited to air support, artillery support, advisors, and materiel shipments.
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