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Lance Samreth

Mr. Jason King

English 1 Honors

21 April 2017

Vietnam War History

During the 1950s 2 countries were locked in a conflict without any physical fighting

between them, they both had different ideas and those ideas conflicted with the other countries

ideas. One of the countries was the United Soviet Socialist Republic (or U.S.S.R for short) and

they spread their idea of Communism along eastern europe and the Asian countries, the other

country was The United States of America and they did everything in their power to stop

Communism from spreading because Communism didnt approve of private property and had

everyone have the same profit from their labor. The United States had strongly believed in

private property and having people get the amount of profit for the amount of labor they have

done.

During WWII the Viet Minh party was founded by Ho Chi Minh. The purpose of the Viet

Minh party was to liberate Vietnam from Japanese and French control. Ho Chi Minh was

supported by the Peoples Republic of China and the Soviet Union. The Viet Minh just happen to

be Communist which led to them being supported by other Communist nations. The Viet Minh

were able to defeat the Japanese however the French had established South Vietnam in south

Vietnam with the capital being saigon. The United States viewed the Viet Minh as an ally of

Communism so they did everything in their power to protect South Vietnam and prevent the

Communist takeover of Vietnam. In 1955 a strong anti Communist (Ngo Dinh Diem) takes

control of South Vietnam and establishes the Government of the Republic of Vietnam who was
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supported by the US. The US funded and supplied Diem with weapons and trained his soldiers.

However due to the corruption within the GRV it fell after a coup of Diems own generals killed

him and his brother. DRV torpedo boats attack 2 US destroyers in which Lyndon B Johnson

launches retaliatory bombings on key military points. Johnson increases the amount of soldiers in

Vietnam to nearly 500,000 which shows the United States involvement in the war. Regular

bombings happened in areas deemed free fire zones, which are areas that had civilians evacuated

and only has enemies. North Vietnam launched the tet offensive in 1968 which were coordinated

attacks on 100 cities and towns nearing the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon. Despite the

surprising attack the south forces had struck back quickly.

Richard Nixon gets in office and establishes his policy of Vietnamization in which he

does peace talks and withdraws troops from Vietnam to appeal to the many people protesting

against the Vietnam war. In 1970 protests erupt across the nation which resulted in the death of 6

protesters. 1973 peace talks between nations had officially ended Vietnam war however northern

Vietnam forces continue to attack until they reach Saigon and take it over and renamed it Ho Chi

Minh City. The North Vietnamese saw the end of the war as a good thing, There were no bombs

or airplane sounds or screaming. The happy moment was indescribable. after a interview with a

North Vietnamese soldier. (Rosen, The Vietnam War). After the U.S. retreat the North and

South had a unification day which unified both North and South under Communism.

Work Cited

History.com Staff. "Vietnam War History." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 26 Apr.

2017. <http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history>.

Spector, Ronald H. "Log in." Britannica School. Britannica School, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

<http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Vietnam-War/75317>.
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Rosen, Elisabeth. "The Vietnam War, as Seen by the Victors." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company,

16 Apr. 2015. Web. 01 May 2017. <https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/04/the-

vietnam-war-as-seen-by-the-north-vietnamese/390627/>.