How long lasted the vietnam war

The United States and many other countries intervened, propping up both sides—but especially South Vietnam—with troops, weapons and Women in the Vietnam War served as soldiers, health workers, and in news-gathering capacities.

For more than years, as Europeans sought to control newly settled American land, wars raged between Native Americans and the frontiersmen who encroached on their territory, resources and trade. Known as the American Indian Wars, the conflicts involved Indigenous people, the From the time U. But in the eyes of millions of Americans, one thing Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Vietnam Background: Uneasy French Rule. Recommended for you.

How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Vietnam War Timeline. Weapons of the Vietnam War. Westmoreland on the Vietnam War. Vietnam War 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. Vietnam War Protests Vietnam War protests began small among peace activists and leftist intellectuals on college campuses but gained national prominence in , after the United States began bombing North Vietnam in earnest.

Vietnamization Vietnamization was a strategy that aimed to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. Weapons of the Vietnam War From air power to infantry to chemicals, the weapons used in the Vietnam War were more devastating than those of any previous conflict. Women in the Vietnam War Women in the Vietnam War served as soldiers, health workers, and in news-gathering capacities.

March 29, : The last US ground troops leave. US Marine and Air Force transport more than 1, American civilians and nearly 7, South Vietnamese refugees in an hour evacuation effort. Information from cnn. Skip to main navigation Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to search Skip to content. Use current location. See all locations.

Admin Admin Admin, collapsed. Main navigation Events. Some in the North Vietnamese government thought the course of war in the south was unwise, but they were overruled. Although publicly the war in the south was described as a civil war within South Vietnam, it was guided, equipped and reinforced by the communist leadership in Hanoi.

S—feared communist expansion throughout Southeast Asia. The Central Intelligence Agency CIA advised that was not the case—America had a strong military presence in the Pacific that would serve as a deterrent.

A different feeling prevailed among many within the U. The communist takeover of China and subsequent war in Korea against North Korean and Chinese troops had focused a great deal of attention on Southeast Asia as a place to take a strong stand against the spread of communism. Fitzgibbon, Jr. They were the only father-son pair to die in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh had been educated in Paris. There is considerable debate over whether he was primarily nationalist or communist, but he was not especially anti-Western. Ho attempted to contact Eisenhower to discuss Vietnam but received no answer. That would have made any negotiation with Ho politically ticklish.

A lingering question of the war is what might have happened if Eisenhower and Ho had arranged a meeting; possibly, an accord could have been reached, or possibly Ho was simply seeking to limit American involvement, in order to more easily depose the Diem government. American involvement began to escalate under President John F. North Vietnam, had by then established a presence in Laos and developed the Ho Chi Minh Trail through that country in order to resupply and reinforce its forces in South Vietnam.

Kennedy saw American efforts in Southeast Asia almost as a crusade and believed increasing the military advisor program, coupled with political reform in South Vietnam, would strengthen the south and bring peace.

Two U. The peasants resented being forced from their ancestral lands, and consolidating them gave the VC better targets. The program, which had been poorly managed, was abandoned after about two years, following the coup that deposed Diem.

Marines landing at Da Nang area beach. Marine Corps. Diem fell from favor with his American patrons, partly over disagreements in how to handle the war against the VC and partly because of his unpopular suppression of religious sects and anyone he feared threatened his regime.

He, in turn, called the Buddhists VC sympathizers. Two younger monks poured a mix of gasoline and jet fuel over him and, as the three had planned, set fire to him. Seven more such immolations occurred that year. To make matters worse, Diem responded by sending troops to raid pagodas. The administration was caught by surprise, however, when Diem was murdered during the coup, which was led by General Duong Van Minh.

This began a series of destabilizing changes in government leadership. That same month, Kennedy himself was assassinated in Dallas , Texas. His successor, Lyndon Baines Johnson, inherited the Vietnam situation. His political party, the Democrats, had been blamed for China falling to communism; withdrawing from Vietnam could hurt them in the elections.

On the other hand, Congress had never declared war and so the president was limited in what he could do in Southeast Asia. That changed in August The pilot of an F-8E Crusader did not see any ships in the area where the enemy was reported, and years later crew members said they never saw attacking craft. Congress swiftly passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that removed most restrictions from the president in regards to Vietnam.

The US Marines carried out many more. In parallel, attempts at escape over water were taking place. The 7th US Fleet was not prepared for what it now encountered — a massive flotilla of anything that could float attempting to sail away from South Vietnam and teeming with desperate people. USS Kirk switched its naval escort mission to a humanitarian rescue operation, but overcrowding on the American ships meant that many small boats would not be saved.

The Vietnam War was over. The US had first become entangled in Vietnam to show its determination to uphold containment worldwide and to reassure its allies. The US departed Vietnam as a country deeply demoralised and divided.

That day, Saigon basked in glorious sunshine after the previous heavy rain that had so hampered the US evacuation effort. There was apprehension. Some soldiers and politicians committed suicide fearing the future, whilst the majority of people hoped that things would be alright. The expected blood bath did not happen.

City dwellers were pushed to take up farming in the countryside as collectivization was implemented to transform Vietnam into a socialist country. The dream was to be short lived. The legacy of the war and the policies of the new government had disastrous effects on the economy. By , Vietnam moved to experiment with a more market-based economy.