The commonly accepted name for the "Vietnam War" or "Vietnam War" is the Second Indochina War, in which the main belligerents were the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States.
For reference: The First Indochina War - France's war for the preservation of its colonies in Indochina in 1946-1954.
The Vietnam War began around 1961 and ended on April 30, 1975. In Vietnam itself, this war is called the Liberation War, and sometimes the American War. Often the Vietnam War is seen as the peak " cold war"between the Soviet bloc and China, on the one hand, and the United States with some of its allies, on the other. In America, the Vietnam War is considered the darkest spot in its history. In the history of Vietnam, this war is perhaps the most heroic and tragic page.
The Vietnam War was both a civil war between various political forces in Vietnam and an armed struggle against the American occupation.
Beginning of the Vietnam War
After 1955, France, as a colonial power, withdraws from Vietnam. Half of the country north of the 17th parallel, or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, is controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam, the southern half, or the Republic of Vietnam, by the United States of America, which governs it through puppet South Vietnamese governments.
In 1956, in accordance with the Geneva agreements on Vietnam, a referendum on the reunification of the country was to be held in the country, which further provided for the election of the president throughout Vietnam. However, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold a referendum in the South. Then Ho Chi Minh creates the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF) in the South, which starts a guerrilla war to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem and hold general elections. The Americans called the NLF, as well as the government of the DRV, the Viet Cong. The word "Viet Cong" has Chinese roots (Viet Cong Shan) and is translated as "Vietnamese Communist". The United States provides assistance to South Vietnam and is increasingly drawn into the war. In the early 60s they introduce South Vietnam their contingents, increasing their numbers every year.
August 2, 1964 a new stage began Vietnam War. On this day, the US Navy destroyer Maddox approached the coast of North Vietnam and was allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. So far, it is not clear whether there was an attack or not. On the part of the Americans, there was no evidence of damage to the aircraft carrier from attacks by Vietnamese boats.
As a response, US President L. Johnson ordered the American air force to strike at the naval facilities of North Vietnam. Then other objects of the DRV were also bombed. Thus the war spread to North Vietnam. From this period, the USSR joined the war in the form of military-technical assistance to the DRV.
The allies of the United States in the Vietnam War were the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN, that is, the Army of the Republic of VietNam), the contingents of Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. In the second half of the 60s, some South Korean units (for example, the Blue Dragon brigade) turned out to be the most cruel towards the local population.
On the other hand, only the North Vietnamese army of the VNA (Vietnamese People's Army) and the NLF fought. On the territory of North Vietnam were military specialists from Ho Chi Minh's allies - the USSR and China, who did not directly participate in the battles, with the exception of the defense of DRV facilities from US military air raids on initial stage war.
Chronicle
Local fighting between the NLF and the US Army happened every day. Large-scale combat operations involving a large number of personnel, weapons and military equipment, were the following.
In October 1965, the US Army launched a major offensive in South Vietnam against the NLF units. 200 thousand American soldiers, 500 thousand soldiers of the South Vietnamese army, 28 thousand soldiers of the US allies were involved. With the support of 2,300 aircraft and helicopters, 1,400 tanks and 1,200 guns, the offensive developed from the coast to the border with Laos and Cambodia and from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The Americans failed to defeat the main forces of the NLF and hold the territories captured during the offensive.
In the spring of 1966, the next major offensive began. Already 250 thousand American soldiers participated in it. This offensive also did not bring significant results.
The autumn offensive of 1966 was even more extensive and was carried out north of Saigon. It was attended by 410 thousand American, 500 thousand South Vietnamese and 54 thousand soldiers of the allied forces. They were supported by 430 aircraft and helicopters, 2300 large-caliber guns and 3300 tanks and armored personnel carriers. On the other hand, 160,000 NLF and 90,000 VNA soldiers opposed. No more than 70 thousand American soldiers and officers participated directly in the battles, since the rest served in the logistics units. The American army and its allies pushed part of the NLF forces to the border with Cambodia, but most of the Viet Cong managed to avoid defeat.
Similar offensives in 1967 did not lead to decisive results.
1968 was a turning point in the Vietnam War. In early 1968, the NLF conducted a short-term operation "Tet", capturing a number of important objects. Fighting even took place near the US embassy in Saigon. During this operation, the NLF forces suffered heavy losses and, from 1969 to the end of 1971, switched to limited guerrilla warfare tactics. In April 1968, in connection with the significant losses of American aircraft over North Vietnam, US President L. Johnson ordered a cessation of bombing, except for a 200-mile zone in the south of the DRV. President R. Nixon set a course for the "Vietnamization" of the war, that is, the gradual withdrawal of American units and a sharp increase in the combat capability of the South Vietnamese army.
On March 30, 1972, the VNA, with the support of the NLF, launched a large-scale offensive, occupying the capital of the Quang Tri province bordering North Vietnam. In response, the United States resumed massive bombing of North Vietnam. In September 1972, South Vietnamese troops managed to recapture Quang Tri. At the end of October, the bombing of North Vietnam was stopped, but resumed in December and continued for twelve days almost until the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973.
The ending
On January 27, 1973, the Paris Accords were signed on a ceasefire in Vietnam. In March 1973, the US finally withdrew its troops from South Vietnam, with the exception of 20,000 military advisers. America continued to provide the South Vietnamese government with huge military, economic and political assistance.
Vietnamese and Russian veterans of the Vietnam War
In April 1975, as a result of the lightning operation "Ho Chi Minh", North Vietnamese troops under the command of the legendary General Vo Nguyen Zap defeated the demoralized South Vietnamese army left without allies and captured all of South Vietnam.
In general, the assessment by the world community of the actions of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) and the US Army in South Vietnam was sharply negative (ARVN surpassed the Americans in cruelty). In Western countries, including the United States, mass anti-war demonstrations were held. The American media in the 70s were no longer on the side of their government and often showed the futility of war. Many conscripts sought because of this to evade service and assignment to Vietnam.
Public protests to a certain extent influenced the position of President Nixon, who decided to withdraw troops from Vietnam, but the main factor was the military and political futility of the further continuation of the war. Nixon and Secretary of State Kissinger came to the conclusion that it was impossible to win the Vietnam War, but at the same time they “turned the arrows” on the Democratic Congress, which formally decided to withdraw troops.
Vietnam War figures
Total US combat losses - 47,378 people, non-combat - 10,799. Wounded - 153,303, missing - 2300.
Approximately 5,000 US Air Force planes were shot down.
The losses of the army of the puppet Republic of Vietnam (US ally) - 254 thousand people.
Combat losses of the Vietnamese People's Army and partisans of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam - more than 1 million 100 thousand people.
Losses of the civilian population of Vietnam - more than 3 million people.
14 million tons of explosives were blown up, which is several times more than during the Second World War in all theaters of operations.
The financial costs of the United States - 350 billion dollars (in the current equivalent - more than 1 trillion dollars).
Military and economic assistance to the DRV from China ranged from $14 billion to $21 billion, from the USSR - from $8 billion to $15 billion. There was also assistance from Eastern European countries, which at that time were part of the Soviet bloc.
Political and economic reasons
On the US side, the main stakeholder in the war was the US armaments corporations. Although the Vietnam War is considered local conflict, a lot of ammunition was used in it, for example, 14 million tons of explosives were blown up, which is several times more than during the Second World War in all theaters of operations. During the years of the Vietnam War, the profits of US military corporations amounted to many billions of dollars. It may seem paradoxical, but the US military corporations, in general, were not interested in a quick victory for the American army in Vietnam.
Indirect confirmation of the negative role of large US corporations in all politics are statements in 2007. one of the Republican presidential candidates, Ron Paul, who stated the following: “We are moving towards fascism, not of the Hitler type, but to a softer one, expressed in the loss of civil liberties, when everything is run by corporations and ... the government is in the same bed with big business” .
Ordinary Americans initially believed in the justice of America's participation in the war, seeing it as a fight for democracy. As a result, several million Vietnamese and 57 thousand Americans died, millions of hectares of land were scorched by American napalm.
The political necessity of the US participation in the Vietnam War was explained by the American administration to the public of their country by the fact that there would supposedly be a “falling domino effect” and after the conquest of South Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh, all countries would pass under the control of the Communists one by one South-East Asia. Most likely, the US was planning a "reverse domino". So, they built a nuclear reactor in Dalat for the Ngo Dinh Diem regime to conduct research work, built capital military airfields, introduced their people into various political movements in countries neighboring Vietnam.
The USSR provided assistance to the DRV with weapons, fuel, military advisers, especially in the field of air defense, due to the fact that the confrontation with America was carried out totally, on all continents. Assistance to the DRV was also provided by China, which feared the strengthening of the United States near its southern borders. Despite the fact that the USSR and China at that time were almost enemies, Ho Chi Minh managed to get help from both of them, showing his political art. Ho Chi Minh and his entourage independently developed a strategy for waging war. Soviet specialists provided assistance only at the technical and educational levels.
There was no clear front in the Vietnam War: the South Vietnamese and the United States did not dare to attack North Vietnam, as this would cause the sending of Chinese military contingents to Vietnam, and the USSR would take other military measures against the United States. The DRV did not need a front, because the NLF controlled by the North actually surrounded the cities of South Vietnam and at one favorable moment could take them. Despite the guerrilla nature of the war, all types of weapons were used in it, except for nuclear weapons. The fighting took place on land, in the air and at sea. Military intelligence of both sides worked intensively, sabotage attacks were carried out, and landings were made. The ships of the US 7th Fleet controlled the entire coast of Vietnam and mined the fairways. A clear front also existed, but not for long - in 1975, when the DRV army launched an offensive to the South.
Direct hostilities between the military of the USA and the USSR in Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, there were separate episodes of direct clashes between the US and the USSR, as well as the deaths of civilians from the USSR. Here are some of them published in the Russian media in different time based on interviews with direct participants in hostilities.
The first battles in the skies of North Vietnam using surface-to-air missiles against US aircraft that bombed without declaring war were carried out by Soviet military specialists.
In 1966, the Pentagon, with the approval of the President of the United States and Congress, allowed the commanders of aircraft carrier strike groups (AUGs) to destroy Soviet submarines found within a radius of one hundred miles in peacetime. In 1968, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-10 in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam for 13 hours imperceptibly at a depth of 50 meters followed under the bottom of the aircraft carrier Enterprise and practiced conditional attacks on it with torpedoes and cruise missiles, being at risk of destruction. The Enterprise was the largest aircraft carrier in the US Navy and flew the most bombing missions from North Vietnam. The correspondent N. Cherkashin wrote about this episode of the war in detail in April 2007.
In the South China Sea during the war, the electronic intelligence ships of the Pacific Fleet of the USSR were actively working. They had two incidents. In 1969, in the area south of Saigon, the Hydrophone ship was fired upon by South Vietnamese (US ally) patrol boats. There was a fire, part of the equipment was out of order.
In another episode, the Peleng ship was attacked by American bombers. Bombs were dropped on the bow and stern of the ship. There were no casualties or destruction.
On June 2, 1967, American planes fired at the port of Kamfa on the ship "Turkestan" of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, which was transporting various cargoes to North Vietnam. 7 people were injured, two of them died.
As a result of the competent actions of the Soviet representatives merchant fleet in Vietnam and the employees of the Foreign Ministry, the Americans were proved their guilt in the death of civilians. The US government has awarded the families of the dead sailors a lifetime benefit payment.
There were cases of damage to other merchant ships.
Effects
The greatest damage in this war was suffered by the civilian population of Vietnam, both its southern and northern parts. South Vietnam was flooded with American defoliants; in northern Vietnam, as a result of many years of bombing by American aircraft, many residents were killed and infrastructure was destroyed.
After the US withdrawal from Vietnam, many American veterans subsequently suffered mental disorders and various kinds of diseases caused by the use of dioxin contained in "agent orange". The American media wrote about an increased percentage of suicides among Vietnam War veterans in relation to the US average. But official data on this subject was not published.
Representatives of the American political elite fought in Vietnam: former Secretary of State John Kerry, many senators at different times, including John McCain, presidential candidate Al Gore. At the same time, shortly after returning from Vietnam to the United States, Kerry participated in the anti-war movement.
One of the former presidents, George W. Bush, escaped Vietnam as he served in the National Guard at the time. His campaign opponents portrayed this as a way of evading duty. However, given fact biographies rather indirectly served him well. Some American political scientists have concluded that any participant in the Vietnam War, regardless of his qualities, has no chance of becoming president - the voter's negative image of this war has become so entrenched.
Since the end of the war, quite a lot of films, books and others have been created based on it. works of art most are in America.
Armed conflict in the 60-70s. 20th century on the territory of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with the participation of the United States and its allies. The war was one of the major conflicts of the Cold War.
Section of Vietnam.
After the defeat of France and the withdrawal of its troops under the Geneva Accords in the spring of 1954, Vietnam was temporarily divided into two parts by a demarcation line running along the 17th parallel: to the north, where the pro-communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) existed, and to the south, where in 1955 The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed with its capital in Saigon. South Vietnam soon came under US control. The new government with Ngo Dinh Diem relied on the support of a narrow layer of citizens associated with Western countries, and received American financial assistance. In 1956, South Vietnam, with the tacit support of the United States, refused to hold a national referendum on the question of the reunification of the country. The adopted constitution included a provision according to which any act aimed at spreading communist ideas in the country was prosecuted. The persecution of political opponents of the regime began. The Catholic Church, along with the army, was the main pillar of the South Vietnamese regime.
At the same time, the communist regime led by Ho Chi Minh gained strength in the North of Vietnam, which was popular among the general population and sought to liberate and unite the entire country on an anti-colonial basis.
Vietcong.
The communists of the DRV arranged for the dispatch of weapons and "volunteers" to the south along the so-called "Ho Chi Minh trail" - roads laid in the jungle from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. The authorities of these two countries were unable to resist the actions of the communists. In December 1960, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was created, which led the guerrilla struggle against the South Vietnamese regime. The South Vietnamese government called these forces the Viet Cong (using this term to refer to all Vietnamese communists). Soon he already numbered 30 thousand fighters. Their struggle enjoyed the military support of North Vietnam.
The idea has become extremely popular among the poor agrarian reform, held in North Vietnam, which led to the transition of many South Vietnamese to the ranks of the partisans.
US intervention.
For the United States, the communist offensive in Indochina was a challenge, as it could lead to the West losing control over Southeast Asia. The concept of "dominoes" was popular in Washington at that time, according to which the fall of one pro-American regime inevitably led to a change political environment throughout the region. By the end of 1963, there were already 17,000 American military advisers in South Vietnam. Since January 1964, the Saigon regime was headed by Nguyen Khanh, who came to power as a result of a military coup and proclaimed his goal to defeat the partisans and unite the entire territory of the country under his rule. But the popularity of the Viet Cong only increased, and dissatisfaction with the ruling regime, unable to cope with the situation inside the country, also grew. Many southerners shared intelligence information with the partisans. The situation was becoming threatening.
As a pretext for large-scale intervention, the United States used the shelling by the Vietnamese of the US Navy destroyer Maddox. On August 2, 1964, Maddox, patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, approached the coast of North Vietnam and was allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Two days later, another attack took place in international waters under unclear circumstances. At the initiative of US President L. Johnson, the US Congress adopted a resolution to protect the US in Indochina.
American bombing of Vietnam.
In February 1965 massive air and sea bombardments of the DRV began. Johnson wanted to "bomb Vietnam in stone Age". For 1965-1968 more than 2.5 million bombs were dropped on Vietnam. Only towards the end of 1965. rural areas South Vietnam left 700 thousand inhabitants who became refugees. In March, 3,500 US Marines landed in South Vietnam to protect the Da Nang airbase. Three years later, the number of troops reached 550 thousand people. The US military operation was also supported by contingents from South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Germany, Great Britain and Japan allied themselves with the United States, but did not take a direct part in the war.
The Americans failed neither to suppress the morale of the enemy, nor to cut off the transfer of aid from the North to the South, nor to defeat the guerrilla forces in South Vietnam. To break the resistance, American troops undertook punitive operations, accompanied by the burning of civilian settlements and the mass extermination of residents. In March 1968, the company of Lieutenant W. Kelly killed almost all the inhabitants of the Vietnamese village of Song My, including women and children. This massacre caused an explosion of indignation in the United States. More and more Americans believed that their army was no better than the Nazis. Soon the Americans had to switch to the defense of their bases, limiting themselves to combing and bombing the jungle. American aviation watered the jungle with pesticides, which dried up the vegetation covering the partisans and made people sick. During the bombing, napalm was often used. American bombers attacked not only military targets, but also industrial enterprises, various infrastructure facilities: power plants, railways, bridges, river communications and oil storage facilities. But the Vietnamese guerrillas opposed the "tunnel war" to the American "helicopter war" with unprecedented troop mobility. Their branching catacombs covered most of Vietnam - and under a single village, the length of the tunnels with warehouses, bedrooms and rooms for the wounded could exceed one and a half kilometers. But this ecological war did not help.
Vietcong counteroffensive.
In January-February 1968, the partisans attacked all the bases and roads of South Vietnam, captured the large city of Hue, the ancient imperial capital, and fought on the streets of Saigon. Dramatic events unfolded around the assault on the building of the American embassy: a stubborn battle lasted six hours before the US troops, with the help of reinforcements arrived in time, managed to push back the Viet Cong. It was this fact that had a shocking effect on American society, demonstrating the weakness of the Saigon regime, the American forces, and the determination of the Communists. At the cost of incredible efforts, American forces pushed back the enemy forces as a result of intensified bombing, but by the end of 1968, about two-thirds of the territory of South Vietnam was in the hands of the communists.
Help from the USSR and China.
The political, economic and military assistance from the Soviet Union played an important role in the current situation. Soviet supplies to North Vietnam were carried out through the port of Hai Phong, from the bombing and mining of which the United States refrained, fearing the consequences of the destruction of Soviet ships. Beginning in 1965, the USSR supplied equipment and ammunition for air defense, tanks and heavy weapons. Soviet specialists who trained the Viet Cong were widely involved.
China, in turn, sent troops of between 30,000 and 50,000 people to North Vietnam to restore roads and railways, and also supplied food, small arms, and trucks. At the same time, both of the most important allies of North Vietnam held different views on the strategy of the war. The Chinese, based on their own experience, advocated a "protracted war", for an emphasis on guerrilla actions carried out in the South mainly by the Viet Cong. The Soviet Union pushed Vietnam to negotiate and thus indirectly supported the idea of large-scale military operations by the main forces of North Vietnam, capable of creating favorable conditions for reaching agreements.
Changing US strategy.
The Vietnam War was becoming increasingly unpopular in the US. Anti-war rallies took place all over the country, turning into clashes between students and the police. President L. Johnson was forced to set a course for negotiations with the DRV, but they were delayed because of the principled position of the DRV and the National Front, which demanded the evacuation of American troops and a change of government in Saigon. The failure of negotiations and the continuation of the war led President Johnson to withdraw his candidacy for another term.
Given the "lessons of Vietnam", the Republican government headed by R. Nixon in the late 60s. headed for the modification of the US Asian strategy. The proclamation of the "Guam Doctrine" or "Nixon Doctrine" reflected the intention of the new US leadership to maintain its predominant influence in Vietnam, while using methods appropriate to the changed conditions.
With regard to South Vietnam, the revision of the American strategy was expressed in the implementation of the strategy of the so-called "Vietnamization", associated with a phased reduction in the number of American forces involved in hostilities. The main burden of political and military responsibility in the struggle against the forces of revolutionary liberation was shifted to the Saigon rulers. At the same time, as was believed in Washington, the main objective- maintaining American influence in Vietnam. The "Vietnamization" strategy was supposed to reduce the level of losses in the American troops and thereby protect the United States from criticism from American and international public opinion.
One of the most important constituent parts This strategy was to "appease" the South Vietnamese peasants, among whom the rebels drew their strength. The Americans tried to strike at the rear of the revolution and destroy the roots of the liberation struggle of the South Vietnamese population. To achieve these goals, the United States used on a larger scale almost the entire military arsenal, including B-52 bombers and pesticides. Under the guidance of American instructors, the army of South Vietnam, which was entrusted with the main burden of the war, was strengthened. At the same time, the Paris peace talks continued. To exert pressure, R. Nixon ordered in May 1972 to mine the North Vietnamese ports. By this, Washington hoped to completely prevent the delivery of Soviet military and economic aid to North Vietnam.
The bombing of the territory of the DRV was also intensified. In response, insurgent military operations against American and South Vietnamese troops intensified. On January 27, 1973, agreements were initialed in Paris to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam. Under the terms of the agreement, the US and the DRV were withdrawing their troops from South Vietnam. The DRV promised not to send weapons and "volunteers" to South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The demarcation between North and South Vietnam continued to run along the 17th parallel, while emphasizing its temporary nature. These countries had to pass free elections. But after the resignation of President Nixon in 1974, the US sharply reduced its aid to the allied regimes in Indochina, which caused the fall of the government of South Vietnam.
Decisive Viet Cong offensive.
In the spring of 1975, the local communists, who, contrary to the agreements, received a lot of help from the USSR, China and the DRV, launched a swift offensive in Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam. In Cambodia, the extremist communist group "Khemor Reds" came to power. In December, the Communist-led People's Democratic Republic of Laos was proclaimed. On April 30, the National Front forces captured Saigon. A year later, elections to the National Assembly were held throughout Vietnam, which proclaimed on July 2, 1976, the reunification of the North and South into a single Socialist Republic of Vietnam with its capital in Hanoi. The city of Saigon was soon renamed Ho Chi Minh, in memory of the founder and president of the DRV.
The US defeat in Vietnam was America's biggest setback during the Cold War. More than 50,000 American soldiers died in the war. The mass anti-war movement led to the emergence of the so-called. "Vietnamese Syndrome", i.e. dissemination of the idea of renunciation of war as a means of resolving conflicts. Also in literature and cinematography, much attention was paid to the "syndrome" that pursued tens of thousands of soldiers and officers who had been in Vietnam and experienced psychological difficulties when returning to civilian life. For North Vietnam, military losses amounted to more than 1 million people, and for South Vietnam - about 250 thousand people.
The Vietnam War, organized by the communists (agents of Moscow), claimed more than 3 million lives. In this war, in fact, Moscow and communist Beijing were at war with the United States. As cannon fodder, the communists, as always, used the masses of Vietnam and China, who believed their demagogy, as well as the USSR. Moscow supplied (free of charge) weapons, officers, specialists, and China - weapons, officers, soldiers and food.
This is how the communists (on orders from Moscow) unleashed the Vietnam War:
For both the Soviet Union and China, Vietnam was an extremely important strategic area. For the USSR, it was the main channel for political penetration into Southeast Asia. Especially significant - in the context of deteriorating relations with China. With Vietnam as an ally, Moscow could achieve complete strategic isolation of Beijing and thus not find itself in a dependent position in the event of reconciliation between the latter and the United States. It was also important for the Chinese side to have Vietnam as an ally. The strategic dominance of the USSR in this region would close the encirclement around the PRC and weaken its position as the leader of the communist movement in Southeast Asia. In this situation, Hanoi tried to formally maintain a neutral position, which allowed it to receive operational assistance from both the USSR and the PRC. Looking ahead, we note that as Moscow and Hanoi drew closer, Beijing's relations with the latter began to noticeably decline and gradually reached their lowest point. Ultimately, the USSR filled the space left by the end of the war and the US withdrawal from Vietnam.
The main role in the development of the partisan movement in South Vietnam was played by the communists from the DRV. At the beginning of 1959, the final decision was made in Moscow to unleash a large-scale civil war. The North Vietnamese communists announced that they allegedly did not see peaceful ways to reunite the country after the failure of the terms of the Geneva Accords, and made a choice in favor of supporting the anti-Ziem underground. From the middle of the year, “military advisers” began to go south, having grown up in these places and ended up in the north after the division of the country. At first, the transfer of people and weapons was carried out through the demilitarized zone (DMZ), but after the military successes of the communist forces in Laos, transit began to be carried out through Lao territory. This is how the “Ho Chi Minh trail” arose, which ran through Laos, bypassing the DMZ and further south, entering the territory of Cambodia. The use of the "trail" was a violation of the neutral status of these two countries, established by the Geneva Accords.
In December 1960, all South Vietnamese groups that fought against the Diem regime were united into the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF), which became widely known in the West as the Viet Cong. From about 1959, the Viet Cong units began to be actively supported by the DRV. In September 1960, the North Vietnamese government officially acknowledged its support for the insurgency in the South. By this time, centers for training fighters were already operating in the territory of the DRV, "forging" cadres from among the inhabitants of the southern regions of Vietnam, who moved to the DRV in 1954. The instructors at these centers were mainly Chinese military specialists. In July 1959, the first large group of trained fighters numbering about 4,500 people began to seep into South Vietnam. Subsequently, they became the core of Viet Cong battalions and regiments. In the same year, the 559th transport group was formed as part of the Army of North Vietnam, designed to provide rear support for operations in South Vietnam through the "Laotian salient". Weapons began to arrive in the southern regions of the country and Combat vehicles, which allowed the rebel detachments to win a number of significant victories. By the end of 1960, the Viet Cong already controlled the Mekong Delta, the Annam Central Plateau, and the coastal plains. At the same time, terrorist methods of struggle became widespread. So, in 1959, 239 South Vietnamese officials were killed, and in 1961 more than 1,400.
Viet Cong fighters began to use mainly Chinese-made Soviet 7.62-mm AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns of the same caliber, RPG-2 anti-tank grenade launchers, as well as 57-mm and 75-mm recoilless rifles. In this regard, it is interesting to quote the statement of US Secretary of Defense McNamara. In a memorandum dated March 16, 1964, he noted that "beginning on July 1, 1963, among the weapons captured from the Viet Cong, weapons that they had not seen before began to come across: Chinese 75-mm recoilless rifles, Chinese heavy machine guns, American 12.7 -mm heavy machine guns on Chinese-made machine guns. In addition, it is clear that the Viet Cong are using Chinese 90-mm rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. " According to the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1961-1965, 130 recoilless rifles and mortars, 1.4 thousand machine guns, 54.5 thousand small arms and ammunition for them (the main trophy, German production). At the same time, significant economic assistance was also provided to North Vietnam. In turn, during the period from 1955 to 1965, China provided the DRV with economic assistance in the amount of 511.8 million rubles, including 302.5 million rubles free of charge. In general, the amount of assistance to the PRC, according to Pentagon intelligence, was approximately 60% of the assistance to the USSR.
Thanks to the support of North Vietnam, the guerrillas acted more and more successfully. This forced the US to step up military aid to the Diem government. In the spring of 1961, the United States sent about 500 counterguerrilla operations specialists, officers and sergeants of the "troops" to South Vietnam. special purpose"(" Green Berets "), as well as two helicopter companies (33 H-21 helicopters). Soon, a special Advisory Group for military assistance to South Vietnam was created in Washington, headed by General P. Harkins. By the end of 1961, the country had already there were 3,200 American troops. Soon, the "group of advisers" was transformed into the Command for the provision of military assistance to South Vietnam with a deployment in Saigon. It took over the solution of many operational issues that had not previously been the responsibility of American advisers and the Advisory Group. In late 1962, the number of American military personnel was already 11,326. During this year, they, together with the South Vietnamese army, conducted about 20 thousand combat operations, many of which, thanks to the use of helicopter support in attacks, were quite successful.In December 1961, the first regular units were transferred to the country US Armed Forces - two helicopter companies designed to increase mobility of the government army. There was a constant build-up of the Soviet corps in the country. American advisers trained South Vietnamese soldiers and participated in the planning of military operations. During this period, the events in South Vietnam did not yet attract much attention of the American public, but the John F. Kennedy administration was determined to repel "communist aggression" in Southeast Asia and demonstrate to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev the US readiness to support its allies in the face of "national liberation movements ". "National liberation movements" - the terminology used by the USSR, denoting the process of exporting the revolution and Moscow's active interference in domestic political processes in other countries, including the organization of civil wars, partisan and terrorist actions, military coups and revolutions. On January 6, 1961, the Soviet leader N.S. Khrushchev publicly declared that "wars for national liberation" are just wars and therefore world communism will support them.
The growing conflict in Vietnam became one of the "hot" hotbeds of the Cold War. First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev was afraid to enter into direct combat with the United States, which was fraught with the war in Vietnam, where American pilots and Soviet anti-aircraft gunners actually found themselves face to face. Moreover, Khrushchev's self-esteem was still too freshly wounded by the forced withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba. He categorically did not want to conflict with the States again. Everything changed overnight. Leonid Brezhnev, who replaced Khrushchev in October 1964, decided to intervene. The flaring ideological conflict with China, strained relations with the radical Castrovian Cuba and the growing tension in the negotiations with the DRV threatened a serious split in the communist part of the world. Having strengthened his influence, Suslov, who became the main ideologist of the Soviet regime, demanded activity in Indochina, because he was afraid that Beijing would be able to strengthen its authority by acting as the only consistent defender of the Vietnamese people.
The competent tactics that the Vietnamese used at the talks in Moscow also played their role. The cunning Prime Minister of the DRV, Pham Van Dong, who controlled the government for almost a quarter of a century, knowing that Brezhnev had been in charge of military-industrial complex, made Leonid Ilyich an offer that he could not refuse: in exchange for assistance to Vietnam, the USSR could receive captured samples of the latest American military equipment. The move was the highest degree effective - in May 1965, military advisers and fully equipped with Soviet personnel anti-aircraft missile units, which on August 5 opened an account of downed American aircraft. The wreckage was to be collected and studied by a special group of trophy workers, formed from employees of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense.
In January 1963, in the battle of Apbak, the partisans managed to defeat the government army for the first time. The situation of the Diem regime became even more precarious after the outbreak of the Buddhist crisis in May. Buddhists make up the bulk of the population of Vietnam, but Diem and almost all of his entourage were Catholic Christians. Buddhist unrest swept through a number of cities in the country, several monks committed self-immolation, which received a great response in Europe and the United States. In addition, it was already clear that Diem was incapable of organizing an effective fight against the NLF guerrillas. American representatives through secret channels contacted the South Vietnamese generals preparing the coup. On November 1, 1963, Ngo Dinh Diem was deprived of power and the next day he was killed along with his brother.
The military junta that replaced Diem proved politically unstable. Over the next year and a half, another coup took place in Saigon every few months. The South Vietnamese army was involved in a political struggle, which allowed the NLF guerrillas to expand the territories under their control.
The number of US troops in South Vietnam before the official deployment of troops:
1959 - 760
1960 - 900
1961 - 3205
1962 - 11300
1963 - 16300
1964 - 23300
Number of North Vietnamese troops transferred to South Vietnam during the first phase of the war:
1959 - 569
1960 - 876
1961 - 3400
1962 - 4601
1963 - 6997
1964 - 7970
In total, by the end of 1964, more than 24000
North Vietnamese military. Gradually, North Vietnam began to send there not just manpower, but entire military formations. In early 1965, the first three regular regiments of the Vietnam People's Army arrived in South Vietnam.
In March 1965, two battalions of the Corps were sent to South Vietnam to protect the strategically important Danang airfield. marines. Since then, the United States has become a participant in the civil war in Vietnam.
The Soviet leadership formally at the beginning of 1965, but in fact at the end of 1964, decided to provide the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with large-scale "military-technical assistance" and, in fact, direct participation in the war. According to A. Kosygin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, assistance to Vietnam during the war cost Soviet Union 1.5 million rubles a day. Until the end of the war, the USSR supplied North Vietnam with 95 S-75 Dvina air defense systems and more than 7.5 thousand missiles for them. 2,000 tanks, 700 light and maneuverable MIG aircraft, 7,000 mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters, and much more were delivered to North Vietnam free of charge from the USSR. Almost the entire air defense system of the country was built at the expense of the USSR, by the forces of Soviet specialists. Despite the fact that the US authorities were well aware of the provision of military assistance by the USSR to North Vietnam, all Soviet specialists, including the military, were required to wear only civilian clothes, their documents were kept at the embassy, and they learned about the final destination of their business trip at the last moment. Secrecy requirements were maintained until the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the country, and the exact numbers and names of the participants are not known to this day.
Over 10,000 Vietnamese were sent to the Soviet Union to receive military training and to learn how to use modern Soviet technology.
Soviet crews of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) took a direct part in the hostilities. The first battle between anti-aircraft gunners of the USSR and American aircraft took place on July 24, 1965. There are claims that the Soviet Union was involved in the Vietnam War much deeper than is commonly believed. In particular, Mark Sternberg, an American journalist and former Soviet officer of the Turkestan military district, wrote about four USSR fighter air divisions that took part in battles with American aircraft. The Americans had every reason not to trust the assurances of the USSR about the exclusively advisory mission of military specialists. The fact is that the majority of the population of North Vietnam was illiterate. The vast majority were starving, people were exhausted, so ordinary fighters did not even have a minimum margin of endurance and strength. Young men could only endure ten minutes of combat with the enemy. There was no need to talk about mastery in the field of piloting on modern machines.
Communist China provided significant military and economic assistance to North Vietnam. Chinese troops were deployed in the territory of the DRV ground troops, which included several units and formations of anti-aircraft (barrel) artillery. From the very beginning of the war, the leadership of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) had the task of involving its two largest allies, the USSR and China, in the war. As in the Korean War of 1950-1953. China was the only force capable of providing direct assistance to people in case of need. And the Chinese leadership, without hesitation, promised to help with manpower if American troops landed on the territory of the DRV. This verbal agreement was largely implemented by Beijing. As Ardalion Malgin, Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR, informed the Central Committee of the CPSU in October 1968, two Chinese divisions and several other units provided cover for the northern regions of the DRV. Without Chinese food aid, the half-starved North Vietnam would have faced the prospect of mass starvation, since China supplied half of the food that came to the DRV through "fraternal aid."
The selection and study of captured samples of American military equipment, as well as acquaintance with the tactics of combat operations of the US armed forces in Vietnam, was carried out by a group of Soviet military scientific specialists in accordance with an agreement between the USSR Minister of Defense and the Minister of National Defense of the DRV. From May 1965 to January 1, 1967 alone, Soviet specialists selected and sent to the Soviet Union over 700 different samples of US military equipment and weapons (according to official Vietnamese data 417), including parts of aircraft, missiles, electronic, photographic reconnaissance and other weapons . In addition, Soviet specialists prepared dozens of information documents based on the results of studying both directly samples of equipment and weapons, and American technical documentation.
During the Vietnam War, the Soviet military-industrial complex received almost all the latest American technology. According to one of the leaders of those years, in the late 60s and early 70s, almost all the State and Lenin Prizes on "closed" topics were awarded for reproducing American models. This process had its downsides. Firstly, they copied American samples in the way that the technological level of Soviet industry allowed. Simplified options and worked in a simplified way. Secondly, sample documentation was usually non-existent, and an incredible amount of work was spent on figuring out why this or that block did not work or did not work as it should. As a result, a whole generation of specialists grew up in the USSR, whose intellectual potential was wasted on studying the behavior of American "black boxes". Having taken leadership positions, they could only demonstrate creative failure. The Soviet military-industrial complex as a whole received experience that was important for itself and detrimental to the country. Its leaders, unlike their American colleagues, did not receive super profits, but the conditions for the supply of "special equipment" to Vietnam created the most fertile ground for large-scale frauds. Since the weapons were handed over to friends free of charge, no transfer and acceptance certificates were drawn up. The Vietnamese might want to set up accounting, but this would complicate relations with Beijing. Until 1969, while a significant part of the supplies went through railway through China, many echelons with weapons disappeared without a trace. Aleksey Vasiliev, who worked as a correspondent for Pravda in Hanoi, said that after several cases of loss, an experiment was carried out. The Vietnamese were informed about the departure of a non-existent train from the USSR. And after the allotted time, they confirmed its receipt.
The losses of the parties in the Vietnam War unleashed by the Communists and Moscow:
According to official figures from the Vietnamese government, released in 1995, 1.1 million North Vietnamese army personnel and NLF (Viet Cong) guerrillas, as well as 2 million civilians in both parts of the country, were killed during the entire war.
The losses of the military personnel of South Vietnam are approximately 250 thousand dead and 1 million wounded.
US losses - 58 thousand dead (combat losses - 47 thousand, non-combat - 11 thousand; out of total number as of 2008, more than 1,700 people are considered missing); wounded - 303 thousand (hospitalized - 153 thousand, minor injuries - 150 thousand).
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Major events and phases of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was the largest conflict of the second half of the twentieth century. Under the Vietnam War is usually meant an armed clash with the United States. But this is only part of the conflict. There are three main stages in this war: the civil war in South Vietnam, the entry of the United States into the war, and the final stage. All these events took place between 1957 and 1975. They are called the Second Indochina War. The conflict began as a civil strife in South Vietnam, which then became involved in North Vietnam. At a certain point, the Vietnam War escalated into a confrontation between the Western bloc SEATO (who were on the side of the southerners) and the Soviet Union with China (who helped the northerners). The Vietnam conflict affected neighboring Cambodia and Laos, where there were also civil wars. If you are interested in what time the Vietnam War was and who participated in it, we advise you to read this material.
Without considering the events leading up to the Vietnam War, it is impossible to give a complete picture of what happened. Therefore, first, let us recall what preceded this armed conflict. To do this, let's go back to the end of World War II.
France colonized Vietnam in the second half of the 19th century. There was a constant struggle with the colonialists in the country, and there was an underground. The confrontation escalated at the beginning of the 20th century after the First World War. As a result, by 1941, the League for the Independence of Vietnam arose. It was a military-political organization that united under its banner all those who fought against the French colonialists. She was also called the Viet Minh. Key positions in this organization were occupied by communists and supporters of Ho Chi Minh.
During the Second World War, the United States provided comprehensive assistance to Vietnam in the war with Japan. After Japan surrendered, the Independence League occupied Hanoi and other big cities Vietnam. As a result, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed. The French authorities did not agree with this and sent an expeditionary force into Vietnam in December 1946. Thus began the colonial war. It went down in history as the First Indochina War.
The French could not cope with the partisans alone, and then the United States began to help them. For them, this region was important in terms of protecting the Philippines and the Japanese islands from the southwest. Therefore, they decided to help their allies, the French, get control of Vietnam.
The war lasted from 1950 to 1954 and ended with the defeat of the French troops at Dien Bien Phu. At this point, the United States provided more than 80 percent of the costs of this war. Richard Nixon (then Vice President of the United States) advocated the use of tactical nuclear weapons. However, in July 1954 a peace agreement was reached in Geneva. In accordance with it, Vietnam was divided into North and South along the seventeenth parallel. passed under the rule of France, which granted him independence. True, only on paper. In reality, American puppets were in power there. After some time, a sluggish civil war began in the country.
In 1960, presidential elections were held in the United States. The "red threat" was actively used in the election campaign. In China, a course was adopted to develop the communist model. Therefore, the US watched the expansion of the communist regime in Indochina very nervously. They could not establish communist rule here. And for this reason they take the place of France.
The first president of the Republic of Vietnam was Ngo Dinh Diem, who, with the help of the Americans, came to this position. The rule of this man can be described as the worst form of tyranny and corrupt power. Key positions were occupied by relatives of Ngo Dinh Diem, who organized a terrible outrage. Opponents of the regime languished in prisons, there was no freedom of the press and speech. The US leadership turned a blind eye to this so as not to lose an ally.
Under such rule and the discontent of the population in South Vietnam, resistance units began to appear, which initially were not even supported by the northerners. But in the USA they convinced themselves that the communists were to blame for everything and began to tighten the screws. This pressure only led to the fact that by the end of 1960, underground groups in South Vietnam united into a single organization called the National Liberation Front. In the west, this organization was called the Viet Cong.
From that time on, the North Vietnamese authorities also established constant assistance to the guerrillas. In response, the Americans increased technical assistance and advisory support. At the end of 1961, the first units of the US Army appeared in South Vietnam. These were several helicopter companies to make the troops of the southerners more mobile. US advisers began to train the troops of the southerners more seriously. In addition, they planned military operations.
All the actions of the White House administration were aimed at demonstrating their determination to fight the "communist infection" in Indochina. Gradually, this confrontation grew into a "hot" spot for the United States, and Vietnam became the scene of a clash of superpowers. After all, behind the back of North Vietnam stood the USSR and China. The United States lost control over South Vietnam and lost Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. This put even Australia at risk.
The Americans realized that their protege Diem could not cope with the partisans, they staged a coup with the help of generals from his entourage. Ngo Dinh Diem was killed on November 2, 1963, along with his brother. After that, a period of struggle for power began and a series of coups followed. As a result partisan movement strengthened its position. At the same time, Kennedy was assassinated in the United States and Lyndon Johnson replaced him in this post. He first sent additional troops to Vietnam. In 1959, the Americans had 760 troops in South Vietnam, and by 1964 their number had increased to 23,300 there. That is, they were gradually drawn into the conflict. And a direct confrontation between American troops and North Vietnam was only a matter of time.
How did the US get into the Vietnam War?
On August 2, 1964, the first "Tonkin Incident" took place. In the bay of the same name, the American destroyers Turner Joy and Maddox engaged North Vietnamese torpedo boats. After 2 days, the destroyer Maddox received a message about repeated shelling from the enemy. But the alarm was false and this was confirmed from the ship after a while. But intelligence officials reported that they had intercepted messages from the North Vietnamese confirming this attack.
The vote in the US Congress was unanimous for the right to respond by all available means. Thus, the Tonkin Resolution was adopted and the full-scale war in Vietnam began. President Johnson ordered air strikes against Northern naval bases. The operation was named Pierce Arrow. An interesting fact here is that the decision to launch a military operation was enthusiastically accepted only by the civilian leadership of the United States. The Pentagon generals were not at all happy with this decision.
Already in our time there have been studies of historians about that episode. In particular, Matthew Aid, who deals with the history of the NSA (the agency national security). This special service is engaged in electronic intelligence and counterintelligence in the United States. He came to the conclusion that intelligence reports about the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin were forged. He came to this conclusion based on a report by Robert Heynock (NSA historian). It was declassified in 2001. According to this document, officers of the National Security Agency made a mistake in translating radio intercepts. Higher officials revealed this error, but covered it up. As a result, everything was presented in such a way that an attack was actually made on an American destroyer. The country's leadership used this data to launch a military operation.
At the same time, historians are not inclined to think that President Johnson wanted the war. It's just that the data has been falsified in such a way that North Vietnam is deliberately escalating the situation. But there are many who think the opposite. They believe that it was the US leadership that was looking for a pretext for war, and they would have come up with it anyway without the events in the Gulf of Tonkin.
At the height of the Vietnam War, the United States presidential elections(1969). Future President Richard Nixon won because he advocated ending the Vietnam War and claimed he had a clear plan to do so. But this was a lie, and after coming to the White House, Nixon began carpet bombing Vietnam. In 1970, US ships and bombers fired more shells and dropped more bombs than in all the years of the war. At the same time, strategic bombers were actively used.
In reality, the Vietnam War had only one beneficiary - the American military corporations that produce weapons and ammunition. During the Vietnam War, about 14 million tons of explosives were used. This number exceeds what was used in the Second world war on all fronts. Powerful aerial bombs, as well as those prohibited by various conventions, were compared to the ground at home. Napalm and phosphorus were actively used to burn the jungle.
Another bloody crime of the US Army is the use of dioxin. This is the strongest poison. In total, during the Vietnam War, he was dropped to 400 kg. For comparison, 100 grams of this substance in the water supply system of a large metropolis will kill the entire city. This poison still causes the birth of children with disabilities in Vietnam. Military corporations well "warmed their hands" in this war. This is the only force that was not interested in victory or defeat. They needed the war to last as long as possible.
Vietnam War 1965─1974 Chronology
In this section, we will review the main stages and key events of the Vietnam War.
On August 5, 1964, the ships of the Seventh Fleet and the US Air Force began shelling and bombing the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In the next few days, Congress passed the "Tonkin Resolution", authorizing military action. Lyndon Johnson received the right to use the armed forces in Vietnam.
American generals planned to isolate freedom movement in South Vietnam from the northern part of the country, as well as along the border with Cambodia and Laos. After that, it was planned to inflict a final defeat on them. An air war plan was developed against North Vietnam. In accordance with the developed plan, on February 7, 1965, the US Air Force launched Operation Flaming Dart, which involved the destruction of industry and military installations of the DRV.
On March 2, 1965, the bombing of North Vietnamese targets became systematic. They were part of Operation Rolling Thunder. Around the same time, several thousand marines landed in the city of Da Nang. Three years later, the US military group had more than half a million people and a lot of military equipment. According to various estimates, a third of the entire ground equipment and helicopters of the US Army, about 40 percent of tactical aviation, 10-15 percent of aircraft carrier formations and more than 60 percent of the Marine Corps.
In February 1966, a conference of members of the SEATO bloc was held, at which it was decided to send a contingent to Vietnam from the following countries:
- South Korea;
- Thailand;
- Australia;
- Philippines;
- New Zealand.
The number of troops sent by these countries ranged from several hundred to several tens of thousands.
The PRC and the Soviet Union provided economic and technical support to the government of North Vietnam. Assistance was also provided by military specialists and instructors. In particular, during the first few years of the conflict, the DRV received assistance from the USSR in the amount of more than three hundred million rubles. Weapons, technical means, and ammunition were supplied to North Vietnam. Specialists from the USSR taught local fighters how to handle military equipment.
The first major ground offensive by the armies of the United States and South Vietnam was undertaken in 1965-1666. to capture the cities of Kontum and Pleiku. The goal was to dissect the Viet Cong detachments, squeezing them to the borders of Cambodia and Laos, followed by destruction. The total grouping of troops used for this operation had a strength of 650 thousand people. The Americans used the entire arsenal of their means, including biological and chemical weapons, as well as napalm. But the forces of the Liberation Front of South Vietnam managed to disrupt this operation thanks to an offensive near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
During the dry season 1966-1967. The US Army organized the second major operation. By this point in the Vietnam War, a situation had developed when the guerrillas constantly left the blows, maneuvered and delivered unexpected blows to the enemy. At the same time, tunnels, fighting at night, and hidden shelters were used. The supply of partisans in South Vietnam was carried out with the help of. As a result, with a total strength of 1.2-1.3 million people, the coalition of the American and South Vietnamese army was on the defensive.
In early 1968, Viet Cong forces launched a major offensive. It went down in history as Operation Tet. it New Year, which is celebrated in Asian countries. The number of attackers was ten infantry divisions, many separate regiments, battalions, companies of the regular army, as well as partisan detachments. Total these units reached three hundred thousand people. Taking into account the local population, which also took part, the attacking forces were approaching a million fighters.
And the partisans attacked more than forty major cities in the south of the country. Among them was the capital, Saigon. 30 major airfields and air bases were attacked. The offensive went on for 45 days. The result for the American coalition was the loss of:
- 150 thousand fighters;
- More than 2 thousand helicopters and planes;
- More than 5 thousand units of military equipment;
- About two hundred ships.
In parallel with these events, the US Army waged an "air war" against the DRV. About a thousand aircraft were involved in carpet bombing. Between 1964 and 1973 they flew over 2 million sorties and dropped about 8 million bombs. However, here the Americans miscalculated. The leadership of North Vietnam evacuated the population from large cities to mountain shelters and jungles. The USSR supplied and helped develop supersonic fighters, air defense systems and radio equipment. As a result, the Vietnamese managed to destroy about 4,000 US Air Force aircraft during the entire conflict.
In mid-1969, the Republic of South Vietnam was proclaimed at the Congress of People's Representatives of South Vietnam, and partisan detachments converted to Folk armed forces(NVSO SE). This outcome of the hostilities forced the United States to negotiate peace and stop the bombing. The American leadership began to gradually reduce their participation in the Vietnam War. By the beginning of 1971, more than 200,000 troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam. The Saigon army was increased to 1,100,000 men. In addition, they were given almost all the heavy weapons of the withdrawn army units.
In early 1973, the Paris Agreement was signed to end the Vietnam War. According to this document, the United States had to completely withdraw its troops and military personnel, remove their bases. A full exchange of prisoners of war was also envisaged. This ends the second phase of the Vietnam War, when the United States took an active part in the hostilities. After that, the Vietnam War entered its final stage.
After the Paris Agreement was concluded in 1973, the Americans left more than 10,000 advisers in Saigon. In addition, they provided them with financial support, which for 1974-1975. was about $4 billion.
In 1973-1974, the Liberation Front intensified the fighting. The troops of the army of South Vietnam were seriously damaged. By the spring of 1975, the southerners had forces only for the defense of Saigon. It all ended in April 1975, when Operation Ho Chi Minh was carried out. Without the support of the Americans, the South Vietnamese army finally lost its combat effectiveness and was defeated. It was the end of the Vietnam War. In 1976 North and South Vietnam were merged into single state ─ Socialist Republic Vietnam.
What is the cause of the US war in Vietnam, the results and consequences
The subject of the Vietnam War cannot be covered in one article. Therefore, a number of articles will be written about this period in. This material will consider the background of the conflict, the causes of the Vietnam War and its results. The US war in Vietnam was the Second Indochina War. The First Indochina War was a liberation war for Vietnam and was fought against France. It ran from 1946 to 1954. By the way, the United States also took part in that war, which is much less often remembered. In the United States, the Vietnam War is treated as a "dark spot" in its history, and for the Vietnamese, it became a tragic and heroic stage on the way to their sovereignty. For Vietnam, this war was both a struggle against foreign occupation and a civil confrontation between various political forces.
Vietnam was colonized by France in the second half of the 19th. A few decades later, the national identity of the Vietnamese led to the creation of the League for Independence in 1941. The organization was called the Viet Minh and united under its wing all those who were dissatisfied with the power of the French in Vietnam.
The Viet Minh organization was created in China and its main figures were communist. They were led by Ho Chi Minh. During World War II, Ho Chi Minh collaborated with the Americans against Japan. When Japan surrendered, Ho Chi Minh supporters took control of northern Vietnam, with Hanoi as its capital. They proclaimed the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
France brought an expeditionary force into the country in December 1946. Thus began the First Indochina War. But the French could not cope with the partisans, and starting in 1950, the United States began to help them. The main reason for their participation in this war, the reason for their intervention in this war was the importance of Vietnam in strategic plan. It was a region that covered the Philippines and Japan from the southwest. And since the French had become allies of the United States by that time, they decided that it was better for them to control the territory of Vietnam.
Gradually, by 1954, the United States already bore almost all the costs of this war. Soon the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu and the United States, along with the allies, were on the verge of defeat. Richard Nixon, then Vice President of the United States, even spoke out in favor of nuclear bombing. But this was avoided and in July 1954 an agreement was concluded in Geneva on the temporary division of the territory of Vietnam along the 17th parallel. A demilitarized zone passed through it. This is how Severny and appeared on the map. The North controlled the Viet Minh, while the South was given independence by the French.
Thus ended the First Indochinese War, but it was only a prelude to more carnage. After communist power was established in China, the US leadership decided to completely replace the French presence with its own. To do this, they placed their puppet Ngo Dinh Diem in the southern part. With US support, he proclaimed himself President of the Republic of Vietnam.
Ngo Dinh Diem turned out to be one of the worst rulers in the history of Vietnam. He appointed relatives to leadership positions in the country. Corruption and tyranny reigned in South Vietnam. The people hated this government, but all opponents of the regime were killed and rotted in prisons. The US didn't like it, but Ngo Dinh Diem was "their scoundrel". As a result of such rule, the influence of North Vietnam and the ideas of communism grew. The number of partisans also increased. However, the US leadership saw the reason not in this, but in the intrigues of the USSR and communist China. Measures to tighten the government did not give the desired result.
By 1960, all partisans and underground organizations in the southern part of the country organized the National Liberation Front. In Western countries, he was dubbed the Viet Cong. In 1961, the first regular units of the US Army arrived in Vietnam. These were helicopter companies. The reason for this was the complete incapacity of the leadership of South Vietnam in the fight against the partisans. In addition, the reason for these actions was also cited as a response to North Vietnamese assistance to the guerrillas. Meanwhile, the North Vietnamese authorities gradually began to lay the so-called supply route for the guerrillas in South Vietnam. Despite the much worse equipment than the US soldiers, the partisans successfully used various ones and carried out sabotage activities.
Another reason was that the US leadership by sending troops demonstrated their determination to the Soviet Union in the destruction of communism in Indochina. The American authorities could not lose South Vietnam, because this led to the loss of Thailand, Cambodia, Laos. And this put Australia at risk. In November 1963, the secret services organized a coup, as a result of which Diem and his brother (the head of the secret police) were killed. The reason for this is clear - they completely discredited themselves in the fight against the underground.
Subsequently, a series of coups followed, during which the partisans managed to further expand the territory under their control. American President Lyndon Johnson, who came to power after Kennedy's assassination, continued to send troops to Vietnam. By 1964, their number there was increased to 23 thousand.
In early August 1964, as a result of the provocative actions of the destroyers Turner Joy and Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin, they were fired upon by the military of North Vietnam. A few days later, there was a report of another shelling of Maddox, which was later denied by the ship's crew. But intelligence reported an interception of a message, where the Vietnamese allegedly recognized the attack on the ship.
The secrets of the Vietnam War were hidden by the American leadership for a long time. As it turned out in our days, the NSA officers made a mistake when deciphering the message. But the NSA leadership, aware of the error, presented the data in a favorable light for themselves. And that was the reason for the war.
As a result, the military invasion was approved by the US Congress. They adopted the Tonkin resolution and started with the US or Second Indochinese.
Causes of the Vietnam War
It can be unequivocally said that the war was unleashed American politicians. At one time, the inhabitants of the USSR were called the imperialist habits of the United States and the desire to subjugate the planet as the cause of the war. In general, given the worldview of the Anglo-Saxon elite of this country, this version is not far from the truth. But there were also more prosaic reasons.
In the United States, they were very afraid of the spread of the communist threat and the complete loss of Vietnam. American strategists wanted to completely surround the communist bloc of countries with a ring of their allies. Such actions have been taken in Western Europe, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea and a number of other countries. Nothing worked out with Vietnam and this became the reason for the military solution to the problem.
The second weighty reason was the desire to enrich corporations that sell weapons and ammunition. As you know, in the United States, economic and political elites are very interconnected. And the corporate lobby has a very strong influence on political decisions.
And how did they describe the cause of the war to ordinary Americans? The need to support democracy, of course. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? In fact, for US politicians, communist Vietnam was like a "splinter in one place." And the owners of military enterprises wanted to increase their fortunes on deaths. The latter, by the way, did not need a victory. They needed a massacre that would last as long as possible.
