The Maturation of War

The Vietnam war did not officially start until the 1950's. This is when the U.S. started sending in troops. Before then the French had been trying to conquer what was then called Indochina. They began their conquest in 1859, by 1888 they had turned the area that is now called Vietnam and Cambodia into the Colony of French Indochina. This was challenged many times by different uprisings but none worked as well as the Viet Minh common front( this was controlled by the Vietnamese communist party). During WWII the French were defeated by the Germans. This severely weakened their authority in Vietnam. In 1940 the Japanese invaded and

There were several different factors in the vietnam war. The first factor was that North Vietnam wanted to take over South Vietnam to become an independent country. The second factor was that the US did not want communism expanding to other parts of the world. Of these two factors, the first was the most important because north vietnam was not going to stop at any cost to try and take control over south

The causes of the war in Vietnam are rooted in events that took place before the United States finished World War II. Before WWII started, Hitler was taking over territories that had been taken away from Germany after the First World War. The nations that allowed Hitler to regain those territories were appeasing him thinking that he would stop after the next territory he took. Eventually appeasement had to end but by that time, it was too late; Germany was once again a strong world power, ready to fight a war to regain its position in the world. In part because of the immense fighting that resulted, the United States took it upon itself to not appease the spread of Communism with the Soviet Union. This was best put into light when President

(Vietnam at War, Bradley) The United States involvement shot through the roof when we went through Laos and set up what was known as the ‘Ho Chi Min Trail’ this “trail” was built to resupply southern Vietnam troops with ammo, medical supplies, food, and any other necessities that were needed. (Vietnam at war, Bradley) The first actual support of troops from the United States was decided, because in 1964, two United States Navy vessels were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin, United States congress authorized military action in Southeast Asia. The 1st combat troops were sent over about a year after the United States Navy vessels were attacked, so the troops were

During the 1960s and 70s Americans were fighting a horrific battle in Vietnam resulting in countless deaths and hundreds of violent protests. On November 1, 1955 America joined a war against the Viet Cong; the war didn’t end until April 30, 1975. Lasting 20 years, the Vietnam War caused the deaths of almost 60,000 Americans and over 150,000 injuries. The 60s and 70s were home to much chaos including the Vietnam War, violent protests against war, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in 1954 (though conflict in the region stretched back to the mid-1940s), after the rise to power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist Viet Minh party in North Vietnam, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. After the French lost power over Vietnam and left, there was a power vacuum that resulted in the war. Due to the terrain of Vietnam being a jungle, the US had many difficulties preventing the Soviet Union and China from sending in weapons to arm North Vietnamese against the South Vietnamese.

To understand the origins of the Vietnam War we must go back to the period prior to 1954 which was when Vietnam was a French colony. The French had colonized the South Asia areas of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam in the late 1880’s as part of their vast colonization movement. The French had justified this colonization movement by creating an ideology to support their expansion goals. This ideology was called “mission civilisatrice” which means civilizing mission in English. They felt that certain areas of the world were undeveloped and uncivilized and as such they required the oversight and management of France to help bring them modern ideas and social reforms. As a result of this expansion by France the country of Vietnam became a colony of France along with other locations. The area eventually controlled by the French was referred to as French Indochina.

The Vietnam War was a long and bloody one. The war began on November 1, 1955 and ended on April 30, 1975. The war lasted nearly 20 years. Over this period, 9,087,000 men from United States were deployed, 58,220 were killed and more than 300,000 were wounded. The war also killed an estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians, 1.1 million North Vietnamese troops, and 200,000 South Vietnamese troops. The Vietnam War was the first war America ever lost and this lost would lead to a heavy impact on the American home front ranging from economics, social and even political.

The Vietnam War was an antagonism war that took place in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia for around 20 years – 1954 to 1975. It was a hostile struggle that not only lasted many years, but also an expensive one. The Vietnam War had radical outcomes for the U.S and the various countries who took part in it. The war was between South Vietnam backed by the United States of America and many other countries that opposed communism ideologies, and North Vietnam backed by China, The Soviet Union and supporters of communism. The reason for the start of the Vietnam War rotates around the notion at that time held by America that communism was extending to all parts of south East Asia. The US government considered American participation in the war as a strategy to preclude a communist seize of South Vietnam. This was a component of a broader restraint strategy, with the declared aim of blocking diffusion of communism and a way to repress nationalist self-determination (Eldridge, 2012, p.18-20).

It is highly debatable for what the reasons were for the Vietnam War beginning but for the most part the reason was to stop the spread of communism. Communism was on the rise and

The Vietnam war starts in the 1950s. The reason the War started was because North Vietnam got its freedom from France and decided to become communism when it was split to north and south Vietnam. North Vietnam decided to be communism and was trying to get South Vietnam to the do same. But the United States did not want this to happen because they thought if North Vietnam becomes Communism, then North Vietnam will get all other Asian countries communism and the United States could not let that happen.

The U.S. first sent American advisors to Vietnam after the Viet Cong, Viet Minh sympathizers, started becoming a threat in South Vietnam (“Vietnam War History”). At first, President John F. Kennedy sent military advisors to Vietnam to report the conditions there. They advised aid and the American military to help stop the Viet Cong. President Kennedy was a firm believer in the “Domino Theory,” and as a result, he increased aid. U.S. military in South Vietnam grew up to 9,000 troops by 1962 (“Vietnam War History”.) The U.S. started sending combat forces in 1965 (Tucker). Thereafter, the number of troops continued to increase, in the article, “Vietnam War,” the author comments, “At the end of 1964, about 23,500 Americans had been serving in Vietnam, but by the close of 1968, that number would grow to 525,000 in a steady stream of additional deployments” (Tucker). Thousands of Americans were sent to serve in the war, and after only four years that number went up to hundreds of thousands American soldiers. Initially, the U.S. was staying out of

The Vietnam war was a civil war between Northern and Southern Vietnam. The two halves of Vietnam were separated because of disagreements in governmental policies. American troops involved themselves in the Vietnam war because they wanted to protect Vietnam from becoming a communist country. The United States was split between those who wanted troops to get involved in the war and those who opposed. So when the US officials decided to enter into the war, uproars and peace movements began. The United States should not have gotten involved in the war because there was a loss of many soldiers and the economy was damaged.

The Vietnam War greatly changed America forever. It was the longest battle fought in America’s history, November 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975. The war also had great effects on the American people. The people were able to view what was happening on the battlefield because it was broadcasted on television. One of the main effects of the war was the division it caused among the people. This war would have lasting affects on the United States. The Vietnam War is one that will never be forgotten, and its effects on America have changed the way Americans will look at all future

The Vietnam War started November 1, 1955 and ended April 30, 1975. This war began due to the United States wanting containment to stop the inevitable spread of communism. The Vietnam War arose because of what had unraveled throughout the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Vietnam was fought by North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong. North Vietnam essentially wanted the country to be under communist rule but South Vietnam wanted the country to be allied closely with the West. North Vietnam wanted to replicate the Soviet Union and China.