Vietnam War

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This article primarily concerns the Second Indochina War. For the earlier 1946-1954 conflict between France and  the Viet Minh, see First Indochina War.

Vietnam War
Part of the Cold War
an  attack"> an  attack" width="300" height="244" longdesc="../../../b/u/r/Image%7EBurning_Viet_Cong_base_camp.jpg_9df1.html" /> Viet Cong base camp after an  attack
Date 1959[1] – April 30, 1975 Location Southeast Asia Result Peace treaty providing for U.S. disengagement in 1973 Political defeat for the U.S. Strategic Military defeat for the U.S. Military victory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam over Republic of Vietnam forces in 1975 Casus belli Cold War escalation and  nationalism. Territorial changes Reunification of Vietnam.
Combatants
Republic of Vietnam United States of America Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines	Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Strength
~1,200,000 (1968)	~520,000 (1968)
Casualties
RVN dead: 230,000 wounded: 300,000 U.S. dead: 58,209 wounded: 153,303 R.O.K. dead: 5,000 wounded: 11,000 Australia dead: 520	D.R.V./N.L.F. dead: 600,000* wounded: 600,000* PRC dead: 1100 wounded: 4200
Civilian dead (total Vietnamese): 1,000,000* (* = approximations, see Notes below)

The Vietnam War was a military conflict in which communist forces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and  the indigenous National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, fought the anti-communist forces of the Republic of Vietnam and  its allies — most notably the United States (U.S.) — in a successful effort to unify Vietnam into a single independent, communist state.

The chief cause of the war was the failure of Vietnamese nationalists, in the form of the Viet Minh, to gain control of southern Vietnam both during and  after their struggle for independence from France in the First Indochina War of 1946-1954.

Allies of the Vietnamese communists included the Soviet Union and  the People's Republic of China. South Vietnam's main anti-communist allies were the United States, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, the Philippines, and  New Zealand. The U.S. in particular, deployed large numbers of military personnel to South Vietnam. U.S. military advisors first became involved in Vietnam as early as 1950, when they began to assist French colonial forces. In 1956, these advisors assumed full responsibility for training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam or  ARVN. Large numbers of American combat troops began to arrive in 1965 and  the last left the country in 1973.^[2]

At various stages the conflict involved clashes between small units patrolling the mountains and  jungles, guerrilla attacks in the villages and  cities, and  finally, large-scale conventional battles. U.S. aircraft also conducted substantial aerial bombing campaigns, targeting both logistical networks and  the cities and  transportation arteries of North Vietnam. Large quantities of chemical defoliants were also sprayed from the air in an  effort to reduce the cover available to enemy combatants.

To some degree the Vietnam War was a "proxy war," one of several that erupted during the Cold War period that followed the conclusion of the Second World War and  decolonization.

The Vietnam War was finally concluded on 30 April 1975, with the fall of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces. The war claimed perhaps 2-2.5 million Southeast Asian lives, a large number of whom were civilians.

Alternate Terminology

Also known as the Vietnam Conflict, the Second Indochina War and, in the U.S. colloquially, as Vietnam, The Nam or  simply Nam. Vietnamese communists often referred to it  as the American War or  Kháng chiến chống Mỹ (the Resistance War Against America).

The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam was also reffered to as the Việt Cộng, "Victor Charlie" or  "Charlie" for short, "VC" or  "Cong" or  "Mr. Charlie" or  "Mr. Charles"

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam is  referred to as "DRV" or  "North Vietnam" in this article.

The Republic of Vietnam is  similarly referred to as "RVN" or  "South Vietnam".

Background

See also: History of Vietnam, Second World War, Decolonization, and United States Involvement in the Vietnam War

Exit of the French, 1950-1955

Main article: First Indochina War

Four power talks: Geneva, 1954

In the meantime, the U.S. was supplying its French allies with military aid. The outbreak of the Korean Conflict in 1950 changed everything for the Americans. Washington observed violent resistance in the South was "undertaken by Southerners at their own--not Hanoi's--initiative. . . . Insurgency activity against the Saigon government began in the South under Southern leadership not as a consequence of any dictate from Hanoi, but contrary to Hanoi's injunction"(Section 1, pp. 242-69, The Pentagon Papers, Gravel Edition, Volume 1, Chapter 5, "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960)

In 1950, the U.S.  and  Advisory Group">Military Assistance and  Advisory Group (MAAG) arrived to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and  train Vietnamese soldiers.^[3] In 1956, MAAG assumed responsibility for training the Vietnamese army.^[4] By 1954, the U.S. had given 300,000 small arms and  machine guns, and  one billion dollars to support the French military effort^[5] and  was shouldering at least 80 percent of its cost.

The Viet Minh eventually handed the French a major military defeat at Ðiện Biên Phủ on 7 May 1954 and  the French public and  government had had enough. At the Geneva Conference the French government negotiated a peace agreement with the Viet Minh which allowed the French to leave Indochina and  granted all three of its colonies, Cambodia, Laos, and  Vietnam their independence. However, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel, above which the Viet Minh established a socialist state, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and  below which a non-communist state was established under the Emperor Bảo Đại. Bao Dai's Prime Minister, Ngo Dinh Diem, shortly thereafter removed him from power, and  established himself as President of the new Republic of Vietnam.

 and  Secretary of State John Foster Dulles greet President Ngo Dinh Diem in Washington"> and  Secretary of State John Foster Dulles greet President Ngo Dinh Diem in Washington" width="250" height="202" longdesc="../../../n/g/o/Image%7ENgo_Dinh_Diem_at_Washington_-_ARC_542189.gif_bc4b.html" />

President Eisenhower and  Secretary of State John Foster Dulles greet President Ngo Dinh Diem in Washington

The Diem Era, 1955-1963

See also: Ngo Dinh Diem and United States Involvement in the Vietnam War

The Winston Churchill of Asia

As dictated by the Geneva Accords of 1954, the partition of Vietnam was meant to be only temporary, pending free elections for a national leadership. The agreement stipulated that the two military zones, which were separated by a temporary demarcation line (which eventually became the Demilitarized Zone, or  DMZ), "should not in any way be interpreted as constituting a political or  territorial boundary," and  specifically stated that elections would be held in July 1956. However, the Diem government refused to enter into negotiations to hold the stipulated elections, encouraged by U.S. unwillingness to allow a certain communist victory in an  all-Vietnam election. Questions were also raised about the legitimacy of any election held in the communist-run North. The U.S.-supported government of South Vietnam justified its refusal to comply with the Geneva Accords by virtue of the fact it  had not signed them.

Diem was an  unlikely prospect to lead the Vietnamese people. A devout Roman Catholic, he was aloof, closed-minded, and  trusted only the members of his immediate family. For the U.S., however, he was a godsend. He was fervently anti-communist and  was untainted by any connection to the French. He was the only prominent Vietnamese nationalist who could claim both attributes. In April and  June of 1955, Diem (against U.S. advice) cleared the decks of any political opposition by launching military operations against the Cao Dai Sect, the Hoa Hao, and  the Binh Xuyen organized crime group (which was allied with the secret police and  some army elements).

Surprisingly, Diem was successful, gaining from his surprised American sponsors the sobriquet of "the Winston Churchill of Asia." Later in the year Diem organized an  election for president and  a legislature, and  wrote a constitution. In the election (which he might have  won legally) Diem received 98.2 percent of the vote, raising the eyebrows of even his American supporters.

Beginning in the summer of 1955, he launched a 'Denounce the Communists' campaign, during which communists and  other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned or  executed. During this period refugees and  regroupees moved across the demarcation line in both directions. it  was estimated that around 52,000 Vietnamese civilians moved from south to north, while 450,000 were air- or  boat-lifted from north to south.^[6]

As opposition to Diem's rule in South Vietnam grew, a low-level insurgency began to take shape there in 1957, conducted mainly by Viet Minh cadres who had remained in the south and  had hidden caches of weapons in case unification failed to take place through elections. In late 1956 one of the leading communists in the south, Lê Duẩn, returned to Hanoi to urge that the Vietnam Workers' Party take a firmer stand on national reunification, but Hanoi hesitated in launching a full-scale military struggle. Finally, in January 1959, under pressure from southern cadres who were being successfully targeted by Diem's secret police, the Central Committee of the Party issued a secret resolution authorizing the use of armed struggle in the South.

On 12 December 1960, under instruction from Hanoi, southern communists established the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam in order to overthrow the government of the south. The NLF was made up of two distinct groups: South Vietnamese intellectuals who opposed the government and  were nationalists; and  communists who had remained in the south after the partition and  regrouping of 1954 as well as those who had since come from the north. While there were many non-communist members of the NLF, they were subject to the control of the party cadres and  increasingly side-lined as the conflict continued; they did, however, enable the NLF to portray itself as a primarily nationalist, rather than communist, movement.

South Vietnam, Military Regions, 1967

Vietnam is  the Place

Back in Washington, the new administration of President John F. Kennedy remained essentially committed to the bi-partisan, anti-Communist foreign policies inherited from the administrations of Presidents Truman and  Eisenhower. During his first year in office Kennedy found himself faced with a three-part crisis: The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba; the construction of the Berlin Wall by the Soviets; and  a negotiated settlement between the pro-Western government of Laos and  the Pathet Lao communist movement. Fearing that another failure on the part of the U.S. to stop communist expansion would fatally damage U.S. credibility with its allies, Kennedy realized, "Now we have  a problem in making our power credible", he told reporter James Reston, "and Vietnam looks like the place."^[7] The commitment of the defend Vietnam was reaffirmed by Kennedy on 11 May in National Security Action Memorandum 52 which became known as "The Presidential Program for Vietnam". Its opening statement reads:

"U.S. objectives and  concept of operations [are] to prevent communist domination of South Vietnam; to create in that country a viable and  increasingly democratic society, and  to initiate, on an  accelerated basis, a series of mutually supporting actions of a military, political, economic psychological, and  covert character designed to achieve this objective."

^[8]

Kennedy was intrigued by the idea of utilizing U.S. Army Special Forces for counterinsurgency conflicts in Third World countries threatened by the new "wars of national liberation". Originally intended for use behind front lines after a conventional invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed that the guerrilla tactics employed by special forces would be effective in the "brush fire" war in Vietnam. He saw British success in using such forces during the Malayan Emergency as a strategic template. Thus in May 1961 Kennedy sent detachments of Green Berets to South Vietnam to train South Vietnamese soldiers in guerilla warfare. The Diệm regime had been initially able to cope with the insurgency with the aid of U.S. materiel and  advisers, and, by 1962, seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Senior U.S. military leaders received positive reports from the U.S. commander, General Paul D. Harkins of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam or  MACV. By the following year, however, cracks began to appear in the facade of success. In January a possible victory that was turned into a stunning defeat for government forces at the Battle of Ap Bac caused consternation among both the military advisors in the field and  among politicians in Washington.

Diem was already growing unpopular with many of his countrymen because of his administration's nepotism, corruption, and  its apparent bias in favor of the Catholic minority - of which Diem was a part - at the expense of the Buddhist majority. Promised land reforms were not carried out and  Diem's strategic hamlet program for village self-defense (and government control) was a disaster. The Kennedy administration was growing increasingly frustrated with Diệm. In 1963, a crackdown by Diệm's forces was launched against Buddhist monks protesting discriminatory practices and  demanding a political voice. Diem's repression of the protests sparked the so-called Buddhist Revolt, during which self-immolations by several monks took place and  which were covered in the world press. The communists took full advantage of the situation and  fueled anti-Diem sentiment to create further instability.

Coup and  Assassination

Some policy-makers in Washington began to believe that Diem was incapable of defeating the communists, and  some even feared that he might make a deal with Ho Chi Minh. During the summer of 1963 administration officials began discussing the possibility of a regime change in Saigon. The State Department was generally in favor of encouraging a coup while the Pentagon and  CIA were more  alert to the destabilizing consequences of such a coup and  wanted to continue applying pressure to Diem to make political changes.

Chief among the proposed changes was the removal of his younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu from all of his positions of power. Nhu was in charge of South Vietnam's secret police and  was seen as the man behind the Buddhist repression. As Diem's most powerful advisor, Nhu (along with his wife) had become a hated figure in South Vietnam, and  one whose continued influence was unacceptable to all members of the Kennedy administration. Eventually, the administration determined that Diem was unwilling to further modify his policies and  the decision was made to remove U.S. support from the regime. This choice was was made jointly by the State Department, Pentagon, National Security Council, and  the CIA. President Kennedy agreed with the consensus.

In November, the U.S. embassy in Saigon communicated through the CIA to the military officers that made up the conspiracy that the U.S. would not oppose the removal of Diem. The president was overthrown by the military and  later executed along with his brother. After the coup, Kennedy appeared to be genuinely shocked and  dismayed by the murders. Top CIA officials were baffled that Kennedy didn't understand that this was a possible outcome.

Chaos ensued in the security and  defense systems of South Vietnam and, once again, Hanoi took advantage of the situation to increase its support for the insurgents in the south. South Vietnam now entered a period of extreme political instability, as one military junta replaced another in quick succession. Ironically, Kennedy was himself assassinated just three weeks after Diệm. He was automatically succeeded by Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, who declared on 24 November that the U.S. would continue its support of the South Vietnamese. During this period, the U.S. military involvement in South Vietnam dramatically increased and  the 'Americanization' of the war began.

The Saigon governments, and  their new-found Western allies, portrayed their military actions as simply a defense against the use of armed violence to effect political change. At a geopolitical level, the conflict was conducted in order to deter what was then perceived as expansive global communism emanating from Moscow and  Beijing, which had been a keystone of Western foreign policy since the late 1940s. The Cold War paradigms of containment and  the domino theory were in their heyday and  framed many of the arguments on the issue of Vietnam. As far as the North Vietnamese and  the NLF were concerned, the conflict was a struggle to reunite the nation and  to repel foreign aggressors and  neo-colonialists - battlecries that were a virtual repeat of those of the war against the French.

Escalation and  Americanization, 1963-1968

See also: Opposition to the Vietnam War

Main article: Americanization (Vietnam War)

Vietnamization and  American Withdrawal, 1969-1974

Main article: Vietnamization

In spite of Nixon's promises for peace during the elections, the american military kept stalling for time and  building up the armed forces of the South Vietnamese. This became known as "vietnamization", more  widely applied as the "Nixon Doctrine". The war in general shifted to smaller operations aimed at NLF logistics, better use of power, more  cooperation with the South Vietnamese, and  more openness in the media. Nixon also began to make overtures of diplomacy with other communist nations as well, helping to decrease anti-war opposition in the United States itself. China and  the Soviet Union, on the other hand, continued to supply the North Vietnamese with troops, equipment, and  financial aid.

In addition, the morality of the whole war began to be called into question more  than ever. TheMy Lai Massacre, for example, was covered up for almost a year, but then released by an  investigative journalist named Seymour Hersch; it  was later shown that the commanding officer had not reported the deaths of more  than 400 civilians at the hands of American soldiers.

The United States suffered further loss of credibility because of the publishing of a study by te RAND corporation, referred to as The Pentagon Papers by the media. This uncovered multitudes of mistakes made by four sucessive administrations.

South Vietnam Stands Alone, 1974 – 1975

Total U.S. Withdrawal

In December 1974, the Democratic majority in Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act of 1974, which cut off all military funding to the South Vietnamese government and  made unenforceable the peace terms negotiated by Nixon. Nixon, threatened with impeachment because of Watergate, had resigned his office. Gerald R. Ford, Nixon's vice-president stepped in to finish his term. The new president vetoed the Foreign Assistance Act, but his veto was overridden by Congress.

By 1975, the South Vietnamese Army stood alone against the well-organized, highly determined, and  foreign-funded North Vietnamese. Within South Vietnam, there was increasing chaos. The withdrawal of the American military had compromised an  economy that had thrived largely due to U.S. financial support and  the presence of large numbers of U.S. troops. Along with the rest of the non-oil exporting world, South Vietnam suffered economically from the oil price shocks caused by the Arab oil embargo and  a subsequent global economic downturn.

Between the signing of the Paris Accord and  late 1974 both antagonists had been satisfied with minor land-grabbing operations. The North Vietnamese, however, were growing impatient with the Thieu regime, which remained intransigent as to the called-for national reunification. Hanoi also remained wary that the U.S. would, once again, support its former ally if larger operations were undertaken.

By late 1974, the Politburo in Hanoi gave its permission for a limited VPA offensive out of Cambodia into Phuoc Long Province that would solve a local logistical problem, determine how Saigon forces would react, and  determine if the U.S. would indeed return to the fray. In December and  January the offensive took place, Phuoc Long Province fell to the VPA, and  the American air power did not return. The speed of this success forced the Politburo to reassess the situation. it  was decided that operations in the Central highlands would be turned over to General Van Tien Dung and  that Pleiku should be seized, if possible. Before he left for the south, General Van was addressed by First Party Secretary Le Duan: "Never have  we had military and  political conditions so perfect or  a strategic advantage so great as we have  now."^[9]

Campaign 275

On 10 March 1975, the General Dung launched Campaign 275, a limited offensive into the Central Highlands supported by tanks and  heavy artillery. The target was Ban Me Thuot, in Darlac Province. If the town could be taken, the provincial capital at Pleiku and  the route to the coast would be exposed for a planned campaign in 1976. The ARVN proved no match for the onslaught and  its forces collapsed on 11 March. Once again, Hanoi was surprised by the speed of their success. Van now urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and  then turn his attention to Kontum. There would be two months of good campaigning weather until the onset of the monsoon, so why not take advantage of the situation?

President Thieu, fearful that the bulk of his forces would be cut off in the northern provinces and  Central Highlands, decided to redeploy those troops southward in what he declared to be a "lighten the top and  keep the bottom" strategy. But the withdrawal of the northern forces soon turned into a bloody retreat as the VPA suddenly attacked from the north. While ARVN forces tried to redeploy, splintered elements in the Central Highlands fought desperately against the North Vietnamese. ARVN General Phu abandoned the cities of Pleiku and  Kontum and  retreated toward the coast in what became known as the "column of tears". As the ARVN retreated, civilian refugees mixed in with them. Due to already-destroyed roads and  bridges, Phu's column slowed down as the North Vietnamese closed in. As the exodus staggered down the mountains to the coast, it  was shelled incessantly by the VPA and, by 1 April it  ceased to exist.

On 20 March, Thieu reversed himself and  ordered that Hue, Vietnam's third-largest city, be held at all costs. But as the North Vietnamese attacked, panic ensued and  ARVN resistance collapsed. On 22 March, the VPA opened a siege against Hue. Civilians jammed into the airport and  docks hoping for escape. Some even swam into the ocean to reach boats and  barges. The ARVN were routed along with the civilians, and  some South Vietnamese soldiers shot civilians just to make room for a passageway for their retreat. On 31 March, after a three-day fight, Hue fell. As resistance in Hue collapsed, North Vietnamese rockets rained down on Da Nang and  its airport. By the 28 March, 35,000 VPA troops were poised to attack in the suburbs. By the 30th, 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the VPA marched victoriously through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and  northern provinces collapsed.

Final North Vietnamese offensive

Main article: Ho Chi Minh Campaign

With the northern half of the country under their control, the Politburo ordered General Van to seize the opportunity for a final offensive against Saigon. The operational plan for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign called for capturing Saigon before 1 May, thereby beating the onset of the monsoon and  preventing the redeployment and  regroupment of ARVN forces to defend the capital. Northern forces, their morale boosted by their recent victories, rolled on, taking Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, and  Da Lat.

On 7 April, three North Vietnamese divisions attacked Xuan-loc, 40 miles east of Saigon, where they met fierce resistance from the ARVN 18th Infantry Division. For two bloody weeks, severe fighting raged as the ARVN defenders, in a last-ditch effort, tried desperately to save South Vietnam from conquest. By 21 April, however, the exhausted garrison had surrendered. A bitter and  tearful President Thiệu resigned his office on the same day, declaring that the Americans had betrayed South Vietnam. He left for Taiwan on 25 April, leaving control of his doomed nation to General Duong Van Minh. By that time, North Vietnamese tanks had reached Bien Hoa and  turned towards Saigon, clashing with occasional isolated ARVN units along the way.

By the end of April, the weakened South Vietnamese military had collapsed on all fronts. On the 27th, 100,000 North Vietnamese troops encircled Saigon, which was defended by only about 30,000 ARVN troops. In order to increase panic and  disorder in the city, the VPA began shelling the airport and  eventually forced its closure. With the air exit closed, large numbers of civilians who might otherwise have  fled the city found that they had no way out. On 29 April, the U.S. launched Operation Frequent Wind, arguably the largest helicopter evacuation in history.

Fall of Saigon

 an  Air America helicopter during Operation Frequent Wind"> an  Air America helicopter during Operation Frequent Wind" width="276" height="209" longdesc="../../../v/i/e/Image%7EVietnamescape.jpg_2e20.html" />

Vietnamese civilians scramble to board an  Air America helicopter during Operation Frequent Wind

Main article: Fall of Saigon

Chaos, unrest, and  panic ensued as hysterical South Vietnamese officials and  civilians scrambled to leave Saigon before it  was too late. American helicopters began evacuating both U.S. and  South Vietnamese citizens from the U.S. embassy. The evacuations had been delayed until the last possible moment due to U.S. Ambassador Graham Martin's belief that Saigon could be held and  that a political settlement was still possible. The evacuations began in an  atmosphere of desperation as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for the limited number of seats available on the departing helicopters. Martin pleaded with the U.S. government to send $700 million in emergency aid to South Vietnam in order to bolster the Saigon regime's ability to fight and  mobilize fresh military units, but it  was to no avail.

In the U.S., South Vietnam was now perceived as doomed. President Ford had given a televised speech on 23 April declaring the end of both the Vietnam War and  of all U.S. aid to the Saigon regime. The helicopter evacuations continued day and  night as North Vietnamese tanks breached the defenses on the outskirts of the city. In the early morning hours of 30 April, the last U.S. Marines evacuated the embassy roof by helicopter as civilians poured over the embassy perimeter and  swarmed onto its grounds.

On that day, VPA troops overcame all resistance, quickly capturing the U.S. embassy, the South Vietnamese government army garrison, the police headquarters, radio station, presidential palace, and  other vital facilities. The presidential palace was captured and  the NLF flag waved victoriously over it. Thieu's successor, President Dương Văn Minh attempted to surrender Saigon, but VPA Colonel Búi Tín informed him that he did not have  anything to surrender. Minh then issued his last command, ordering all South Vietnamese troops to lay down their arms.

Aftermath

Main articles: Mayaguez Incident, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Democratic Kampuchea, and  Third Indochina War

The last official American military action in Southeast Asia occurred on 15 May 1975, when 18 Marine and  airmen were killed during a rescue operation known as the Mayagüez incident involving a skirmish with the Khmer Rouge on an  island off the Cambodian coast. The names of those men are  listed on the last panel of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

By 12 April, the Khmer Rouge had entered the Cambodian capital ao Phnom Penh. Only hours before their arrival, the U.S. had launched Operation Eagle Pull, an  evacuation similar to Frequent Wind. U.S. Ambassador John G. Dean boarded a Marine helicopter and  left the city. The communist victory plunged the nation into darkness as the cities and  towns were forcibly evacuated, their inhabitants herded into the countryside to begin the construction of a Maoist paradise in Democratic Kampuchea.

Both of the Vietnams were united 2 July 1976 to form the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam and  Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the former president of North Vietnam. Hundreds of thousands of supporters of the South Vietnamese government were rounded up and  sent to reeducation camps. The new regime considered these supporters to be American collaborators and  traitors.

North Vietnam followed up its southern victory by first making Laos a virtual puppet state. Socialist fraternalism did not last long. The Khmer Rouge, who had historical territorial ambitions in Vietnam, began a series of border incursions that finally led to a Vietnamese invasion. The VPA onslaught overthrew Pol Pot's murderous regime and  a pro-Vietnamese government was installed (see Third Indochina War). The U.S. did not recognise the new government of Cambodia, and, along with the United Nations, continued to consider the Khmer Rouge (perpetrators of the greatest genocide since the Second world War) as their ally. In 1979 the Chinese, furious with the Vietnamese for eliminating their Khmer Rouge allies, launched an  invasion of Vietnam's northern provinces. After fighting to a stalemate, the Chinese withdrew.

Notes

Casualties

Even today the number of those killed, military and  civilian, in the period covered (1959-1975) is  open to debate and  uncertainty. To illustrate the problem, below are  three reference works by three or  more authors listing casualty figures. What is  remarkable about them is  that the only ones that seem to match are  the ones that must be, at best, approximations. None of the figures include the members of South Vietnamese forces killed in the final campaign. Nor do they include the Royal Lao Armed Forces, thousands of Laotian and  Thai irregulars, or  Laotian civilians who all perished in that peculiar conflict. They do not include the tens of thousands of Cambodians killed during the civil war or  the estimated one and  one-half to two million that perished in the genocide that followed Khmer Rouge victory

1. Harry G. Summers, The Vietnam War Almanac. Novato CA: Presidio Press, 1985.

U.S. killed in action, died of wounds, died of other causes, missing and  declared dead - 57,690. South Vietnamese military killed - 243,748. Republic of Korea killed - 4,407. Australia and  New Zealand (combined) - 469. Thailand - 351. The Vietnam People's Army and  NLF (combined) - 666,000. North Vietnamese civilian fatalities - 65,000. South Vietnamese civilian dead - 300,000.

2. Marc Leepson, ed, Webster's New World Dictionary of the Vietnam War. New York: Simon and  Schuster, 1999.

U.S. killed in action, etc. - 58,159. South Vietnamese military - 224,000. Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and  Thailand - not listed. DRV military - not listed. DRV civilians - 65,000. South Vietnamese civilians - 300,000.

3. Edward Doyle, Samuel Lipsman, et al, Setting the Stage. Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1981.

U.S. - 57,605. South Vietnamese military - 220,357. Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and  Thailand - not listed. DRV and  NLF deaths - 444,000. Combined DRV and  RVN civilian deaths -587,000.

A fourth Source, John Rowe's Vietnam: The Australian Experience. Sydney: Time-Life Books Australia, 1987, gives a figure of 496 Australians killed in action or  died of wounds.

Names for the Conflict

Various names have  been applied to the conflict and  these have  shifted over time, although Vietnam War is  the most commonly used title in English. it  has been variously called the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict, the Vietnam War, and, in Vietnamese, Chiến tranh Việt Nam (The Vietnam War) or  Kháng chiến chống Mỹ (Resistance War Against America).

1. Second Indochina War: places the conflict into context with other distinctive, but related, and  contiguous conflicts in Southeast Asia. Vietnam, Laos, and  Cambodia are  seen as the battlegrounds of a larger Indochinese conflict that began at the end of World War II and  lasted until communist victory in 1975. This conflict can be viewed in terms of the demise of colonialism and  its after-effects during the Cold War.
2. Vietnam Conflict: largely a U.S. designation, it  acknowledges that the U.S. Congress never declared war on North Vietnam. Legally, the President used his constitutional discretion - supplemented by supportive resolutions in Congress - to conduct what was said to be a "police action".
3. Vietnam War: the most commonly-used designation in English, it  suggests that the location of the war was exclusively within the borders of North and  South Vietnam, failing to recognize its wider context.
4. Resistance War Against the Americans to Save the Nation: the term favored by North Vietnam (and after North Vietnam's victory over South Vietnam, by Vietnam as a whole); it  is more  of a slogan than a name, and  its meaning is  self-evident. Its usage has been abolished in recent years as the communist government of Vietnam seeks better relations with the U.S. Official Vietnamese publications now refer to the conflict generically as "Chiến tranh Việt Nam" (Vietnam War).

Use of Chemical Defoliants

One of the most controversial aspects (and certainly the longest lasting in its effects) of the U.S. military effort in Southeast Asia was the wide-spread use of herbicides, which were utilized to remove plant cover from large areas. These chemicals continue to change the landscape, cause diseases, and  poison the food-chain in the areas where they were sprayed.

Early in the American effort, the U.S. military decided that, since PAVN/NLF activities were being hidden by triple-canopy jungle and  undergrowth, a useful first step might be to "defoliate" areas, especially those surrounding base camps (both large and  small) in what became known as Operation Ranch Hand. Corporations like Dow and  Monsanto were given the task of developing herbicides for this purpose. The defoliants (which were distributed in drums marked with color-coded bands) included Agents Pink, Green, Purple, Blue, White, and, most famously, the dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange. About 12 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed over Southeast Asia during the American commitment. A prime area of Ranch Hand operations was in the Mekong Delta, where the U.S. Navy patrol boats were vulnerable to attack from the undergrowth at the water's edge.

U.S. aircraft spraying chemical defoliants in South Vietnam

In 1961-1962, the Kennedy administration authorized the use of chemical weapons to destroy rice crops. Between 1961 and  1967, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 20 million U.S. gallons (76,000 m³) of concentrated herbicides over 6 million acres (24,000 km²) of crops and  trees, affecting an  estimated 13 percent of South Vietnam's land. In 1997, an  article published by the Wall Street Journal reported that up to half a million children were born with dioxin-related deformities, and  that the birth defects in southern Vietnam were fourfold those in the north. The use of chemical defoliants may have  been contrary to international rules of war at the time. A 1967 study by the Agronomy Section of the Japanese Science Council concluded that 3.8 million acres (15,000 km²) of foliage had been destroyed, possibly also leading to the deaths of 1,000 peasants and  13,000 pieces of livestock.

As of 2006, the Vietnamese government estimates that there are  over 4,000,000 victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam, although the United States government denies any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and  the Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard.^[10]

The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, type II diabetes, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, and  spina bifida in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange as possible side effects of their parent's exposure to the herbicides. ^{[citation needed]} Although there has been much discussion over whether the use of these defoliants constituted a violation of the laws of war, it  must be noted that the defoliants were not considered weapons, since exposure to them did not lead to immediate death or  even incapacitation.

See also

• History of Vietnam
• History of Laos
• History of Cambodia
• Democratic Kampuchea
• Socialist Republic of Vietnam
• Vietnam People's Army
• Army of the Republic of Vietnam
• Vietnam War casualties
• Phoenix Program
• Tiger Force
• Opposition to the Vietnam War
  • Vietnam Veterans Against the War
  • Winter Soldier Investigation
•  and  the Vietnam War">Canada and  the Vietnam War
• Military history of the United States
  • Cold War
  • Military history
  • United States Air Force In South Vietnam
  • United States Air Force In Thailand
• Weapons of the Vietnam War
• Aircraft losses of the Vietnam War
• Cu Chi tunnels
• Prisoner-of-war camp
•  and  Observations Group">Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and  Observations Group
• Operation Bolo

Lists

Main article: Vietnam War (lists)

• Major Operations during the Vietnam War
• Major Battles during the Vietnam War
• Major bombing campaigns
• Common Military Medals
• Anti-War publications

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Anderson, David L. Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War (2004)
• Duiker, William J. The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam (1996)
• Hammond, William. Public Affairs: The Military and  the Media, 1962-1968 (1987); Public Affairs: The Military and  the Media, 1968-1973 (1995). full-scale history of the war by U.S. Army; much broader than title suggests.
• Herring, George C. America's Longest War: The United States and  Vietnam, 1950-1975 (4th ed 2001), most widely used short history.
• Hitchens, Christopher. The Vietnam Syndrome
• Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History (1983), popular history; strong on Saigon's plans.
• Kutler, Stanley ed. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (1996)
• Lewy, Guenter. America in Vietnam (1978), defends U.S. actions
• McMahon, Robert J. Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and  Essays (1995) textbook
• McNamara, Robert, James Blight, Robert Brigham, Thomas Biersteker, Herbert Schandler, Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy, (Public Affairs, 1999)
• Moise, Edwin E. Historical Dictionary of the Vietnam War (2002)
• Moss, George D. Vietnam (4th ed 2002) textbook
• Moyar, Mark. Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965, (Cambridge University Press; 412 pages; 2006). A revisionist history that challenges the notion that U.S. involvement in Vietnam was misguided; defends the validity of the domino theory and  disputes the notion that Ho Chi Minh was, at heart, a nationalist who would eventually turn against his Communist Chinese allies.
• Palmer, Bruce. The Twenty-Five Year War (1984), narrative military history by a senior U.S. general
• Schulzinger, Robert D. A Time for War: The United States and  Vietnam, 1941-1975 (1997).
• Spector, Ronald. After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (1992), very broad coverage of 1968
• Tucker, Spencer. ed. Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War (1998) 3 vol. reference set; also one-volume abridgement (2001)

Primary sources

• McMahon, Robert J. Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and  Essays (1995) textbook
• Kim A. O'Connell, ed. Primary Source Accounts of the Vietnam War (2006)
• McCain, John. Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir (1999) the Senator was a POW
• Marshall, Kathryn. In the Combat Zone: an  Oral History of American Women in Vietnam, 1966-1975 (1987)
• Myers, Thomas. Walking Point: American Narratives of Vietnam (1988)
• Major General Spurgeon Neel. Medical Support of the U.S. Army in Vietnam 1965-1970 (Department of the Army 1991) official medical history; online complete text
• Tang, Truong Nhu. A Vietcong Memoir (1985), revealing account by senior NLF official
• Terry, Wallace, ed. Bloods: an  Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans (1984)
• The Pentagon Papers (Gravel ed. 5 vol 1971); combination of narrative and  secret documents compiled by Pentagon. excerpts
• U.S. Department of State. Foreign Relations of the United States (multivolume collection of official secret documents) vol 1: 1964; vol 2: 1965; vol 3: 1965; vol 4: 1966;

External links

Further information: Vietnam War (lists)#External links

• Vietnam war timelinevery comprehensive timeline of the Vietnam War
• Leo Durocher's Vietnam joke on The Munsters
• Vietnam War Bibliography covers online and  published resources
• China Vietnam War Chronology
• Russia Vietnam War Chronology
• USA Vietnam War Chronology
• Vietnam Vietnam War Chronology
• U.S. Casualty Statistics
• The Effects of Vietnamization on the Republic of Vietnam's Armed Forces, 1969-1972
• The American War: the U.S. in Vietnam - a Pinky Show online video

Further reading

Further information: Vietnam War (lists)#Further reading

Further information: Vietnam War (lists)#Fiction

Further information: Vietnam War (lists)#Non-fiction

Further information: Vietnam War (lists)#History texts