The reasons for which the war between America and Vietnam began, in general, were the confrontation of the two political systems. In an Asian country, communist and Western democratic ideologies clashed. This conflict was an episode of a much more global confrontation - the Cold War.
Background
In the first half of the XX century, Vietnam, like other countries in Southeast Asia, was a colony of France. This order was disrupted by World War II. At first, Vietnam was occupied by Japan, then there were supporters of communism who opposed the imperialist French authorities. These proponents of national independence received strong support from China. There immediately after the Second World War, the power of the Communists was finally established.
Leaving Southeast Asia, the French recognized the government of South Vietnam as legitimate. The north of the country was under the control of the Communists. In 1957, an internal confrontation began between the two regimes. It was not America’s war with Vietnam, however, it was during that period that the United States first intervened in the situation in the region.
Just then, the Cold War was in full swing. Any administration of the White House with all its forces opposed the establishment of the next communist regime in every country in the world, whether it is supported by the USSR or China. Under President Eisenhower, Americans openly sided with South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Siem, although they themselves had not yet used their own army.
War is approaching
The leader of the Vietnamese Communists was Ho Chi Minh. He organized the NFLW - the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. In the West, this organization became widely known as the Viet Cong. Supporters of Ho Chi Minh waged a successful guerrilla war. They staged terrorist attacks and harassed the government army. At the end of 1961, the Americans introduced the first troops into Vietnam. However, these units were small. At first, in Washington, they decided to limit themselves to sending military advisers and specialists to Saigon.
Gradually, the position of Zyem worsened. Under these conditions, the war between America and Vietnam became increasingly inevitable. In 1953, Zieh was overthrown and killed in a coup d'état organized by the South Vietnamese army. In the following months, power in Saigon chaotically changed several more times. The rebels took advantage of the enemy’s weakness and took control of all new regions of the country.
First clashes
In August 1964, the war between America and Vietnam became an order of magnitude closer after the battle in the Gulf of Tonkin, in which the American reconnaissance destroyer Maddox and torpedo boats NFOYU collided. In response to this event, the US Congress authorized President Lyndon Johnson to begin a full-scale operation in Southeast Asia.
The head of state for some time followed a peace course. He did this on the eve of the 1964 election. Johnson won that campaign precisely because of the peace-loving rhetoric inverse to Barry Goldwater’s hawkish ideas. Arriving at the White House, the politician changed his mind and set about preparing the operation.
The Viet Cong, meanwhile, were taking over new rural areas. They even began to attack American targets in the southern part of the country. The number of US troops on the eve of the full-scale deployment of troops was about 23 thousand people. Finally, Johnson decided to invade Vietnam after the Vietnamese attack on the American base in Pleiku.
Troop entry
The date when the war between America and Vietnam began is considered March 2, 1965. On this day, the US Air Force launched Operation Thunderclap, a regular bombardment of North Vietnam. A few days later, the American marine corps landed in the southern part of the country. Its appearance was caused by the need to protect the strategically important Danang airfield.
Now it was not just a Vietnamese civil war, but a US war with Vietnam. The years of the campaign (1965-1973) are considered the period of greatest tension in the region. Already 8 months after the start of the invasion in Vietnam there were more than 180 thousand US troops. At the peak of the confrontation, this figure has tripled.
In August 1965, the Vietnamese had their first major battle with US ground forces. It was Operation Starlight. The conflict flared up. A similar trend continued that fall, when the whole world spread the news of the battle in the Ya-Drang Valley.
"Find and destroy"
The first four years of intervention until the very end of 1969, the US military launched a large-scale offensive in South Vietnam. The US Army’s strategy was in line with the “find and destroy” principle developed by Commander-in-Chief William Westmoreland. American tactics divided the territory of South Vietnam into four zones, called corps.
In the first of these regions, located directly next to the possessions of the Communists, the Marines operated. The war between America and Vietnam was conducted as follows. The US Army entrenched in three enclaves (Fubay, Da Nang and Chulai), after which it began to cleanse the surrounding areas. This operation took the whole of 1966. Over time, the fighting here became more complicated. Initially, the NFOYU forces opposed the Americans. However, then on the territory of North Vietnam itself they were expected by the main army of this state.
A big headache for Americans was the DMZ (demilitarized zone). Through it, the Viet Cong drove a large number of people and equipment to the south of the country. Because of this, the Marine Corps had, on the one hand, to unite their enclaves on the coast, and on the other, to deter the enemy in the DMZ area. In the summer of 1966, Operation Hastings took place in the demilitarized zone. Its goal was to stop the transfer of forces of the NFLW. Subsequently, the Marine Corps fully concentrated on the DMZ, transferring the coast to the care of fresh American forces. The contingent here increased without stopping. In 1967, the 23rd US Infantry Division was formed in South Vietnam, sunk into oblivion after the defeat of the Third Reich in Europe.
War in the mountains
Tactical zone II of the corps affected the mountainous areas adjacent to the border with Laos. Through these territories, the Viet Cong crossed the plain coast. In 1965, the operation of the 1st Cavalry Division began in the Annam Mountains. In the Ya Drang Valley region, she stopped the advance of the North Vietnamese army.
At the end of 1966, the 4th US Infantry Division entered the mountains (the 1st Cavalry moved to Bindan Province). They were assisted by South Korean troops, who also arrived in Vietnam. The war with America, the reason for which was the reluctance of Western countries to tolerate the expansion of communism, affected their Asian allies. Back in the 1950s, South Korea experienced its own bloody confrontation with North Korea, and its population better understood the price of such a conflict.
The culmination of the fighting in zone II of the corps was the battle of Dacto in November 1967. The Americans managed at the cost of heavy losses to disrupt the Viet Cong attack. The 173rd airborne brigade took the greatest blow.
Guerrilla action
The protracted war between America and Vietnam for years could not stop because of partisanism. The brisk detachments of the Viet Cong attacked the enemy infrastructure and hid unhindered in the rainforests. The main task of the Americans in the fight against partisans was to protect Saigon from the enemy. In the provinces adjacent to the city, zone III of the corps was formed.
In addition to South Koreans, Australians were allies of the United States in Vietnam. The military contingent of this country was based in the province of Fuoktuy. Here the most important road No. 13 ran, which began in Saigon and ended at the border with Cambodia.
Subsequently, several more major operations took place in South Vietnam : Attleboro, Junction City and Cedar Falls. Nevertheless, the guerrilla war continued. Its main area was the Mekong Delta. This territory abounded with swamps, forests and canals. Its characteristic feature, even during the fighting, remained a high population density. Thanks to all these circumstances, the guerrilla war continued for so long and successfully. The United States and Vietnam, in short, lingered much longer than originally anticipated in Washington.
New year offensive
At the beginning of 1968, the North Vietnamese began a siege of the Kheshan base of the American Marines. Thus began the Tet offensive. It got its name from the local new year. Usually in Tet, the escalation of the conflict decreased. This time it was different - the offensive swept all over Vietnam. The war with America, the reason for which was the intransigence of the two political systems, could not end until both sides had exhausted their resources. Starting a large-scale attack on the enemy’s position, the Viet Cong risked almost all the forces available to him.
Numerous cities were attacked, including Saigon. However, the Communists managed to occupy only Hue - one of the ancient capitals of the country. In other directions, the attacks were successfully repulsed. By March, the offensive ran out. It never achieved its main task: the overthrow of the government of South Vietnam. Moreover, the Americans recaptured Hue. The battle turned out to be one of the most fierce during the war years. Vietnam and America, however, continued the bloodshed. Although the offensive actually failed, it had a significant effect on the morale of the Americans.
In the United States, the widespread attack by the Communists was perceived as a weakness in the US Army. A significant role in shaping public opinion was played by the media. They paid great attention to the siege of Kheshan. Newspapers have criticized the government for their gigantic waste of war.
Meanwhile, in the spring of 1968, a counter-offensive by the Americans and their allies began. To successfully complete the operation, the military asked Washington to send more than 200 thousand soldiers to Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson did not dare to take this step. Anti-militaristic sentiment in the United States has become an increasingly serious factor in domestic politics. As a result, only small reinforcements went to Vietnam, and in late March, Johnson announced the cessation of the bombing of the northern part of the country.
Vietnamization
No matter how long the war between America and Vietnam was, the date for the withdrawal of American troops was inexorably approaching. At the end of 1968, Richard Nixon won the presidential election . He campaigned under anti-war slogans and declared his desire to conclude an “honorable peace”. Against this background, the Communist supporters in Vietnam began primarily to attack American bases and positions in order to accelerate the withdrawal of US troops from their country.
In 1969, the Nixon administration formulated the principle of Vietnamese politics. She replaced the doctrine of "find and destroy." Its essence was that before leaving the country, the Americans needed to transfer control of their positions to the government in Saigon. Steps in this direction began against the background of the Second Tet offensive. It again covered the whole of South Vietnam.
The history of the war with America could have been different if the Communists had no rear bases in neighboring Cambodia. In this country, as well as in Vietnam, there was a civil confrontation between supporters of two opposing political systems. In the spring of 1970, power in Cambodia was seized by an officer Lon Nol, who overthrew King Norodom Sihanouk. The new government changed its attitude towards the communist rebels and began to destroy their shelters in the jungle. Unhappy with the attacks in the rear of the Viet Cong, North Vietnam invaded Cambodia. The Americans and their allies also rushed to the aid of Lon Nol in the country. These events added fuel to the fire of the antiwar public campaign in the States themselves. Two months later, under pressure from a discontented population, Nixon ordered the army to be withdrawn from Cambodia.
Last battles
Many Cold War conflicts in third countries ended with the establishment of communist regimes there. The war between America and Vietnam was no exception. Who won this campaign? Viet Cong. Towards the end of the war, the morale of American soldiers fell dramatically. Drug use was widespread in the troops. By 1971, the Americans stopped their own major operations and began to gradually withdraw the army.
According to the Vietnamese policy, the responsibility for what is happening in the country fell on the shoulders of the government in Saigon - in February 1971, the forces of South Vietnam launched Operation Lam Sean 719. Its purpose was to suppress the transfer of soldiers and weapons of opponents along the guerrilla "Ho Chi Minh trail." It is noteworthy that the Americans almost did not take part in it.
In March 1972, the troops of North Vietnam launched a new major Easter attack. This time, the 125,000th army was assisted by hundreds of tanks - weapons that the NFED had not had before. The Americans did not participate in ground battles, but helped South Vietnam from the air. It was thanks to this support that the onslaught of the Communists was contained. So from time to time the US war with Vietnam could not stop. Infection with pacifist sentiments in the States, however, continued.
In 1972, representatives of North Vietnam and the United States began negotiations in Paris. The parties have almost reached an agreement. However, at the last moment, South Vietnamese President Thieu intervened. He persuaded the Americans to expose the enemy to unacceptable conditions. As a result, negotiations broke.
End of war
The last American operation in Vietnam was a series of carpet bombing of North Vietnam at the end of December 1972. She became known as the Linebacker. Also, the operation was assigned the name "Christmas bombing". They were the largest in the entire war.
The operation began by direct order of Nixon. The president wanted to end the war as quickly as possible and finally decided to put pressure on the Communists. The bombing affected Hanoi and other important cities in the northern part of the country. When the war in Vietnam with America ended, it became clear that it was Linebacker who forced the parties to smooth out the contradictions in the final negotiations.
The U.S. Army completely abandoned Vietnam under the Paris Peace Agreement, signed on January 27, 1973. By that day, about 24 thousand Americans remained in the country. The withdrawal ended March 29.
The peace agreement also implied the beginning of a truce between the two parts of Vietnam. In fact, this did not happen. Without Americans, South Vietnam turned out to be defenseless against the Communists and lost the war, although in early 1973 it even had a numerical superiority in military force. Over time, the United States stopped providing economic assistance to Saigon. In April 1975, the Communists finally established their power over the entire territory of Vietnam. Thus ended the long-standing confrontation in an Asian country.
Perhaps the United States would have defeated the enemy, but public opinion played a role in the United States, which did not like the war between America and Vietnam (the results of the war were summed up for many years). The events of that campaign left a significant imprint on popular culture in the second half of the 20th century. During the war years, about 58 thousand American troops were killed.