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{{Short description|War in Southeast Asia from 1955 to 1975}}
{{use dmy dates}}{{sprotected2}}
{{redirect|Second Indochina War|the war between India and China|Nathu La and Cho La clashes}}
{{fixHTML|beg}}
{{For-multi|a full history of wars in Vietnam|List of wars involving Vietnam|the documentary television series|The Vietnam War (TV series){{!}}''The Vietnam War'' (TV series)}}
{{Infobox Military Conflict
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
|partof = the ]
|image=]
|caption=A ] climbs skyward after discharging a load of US infantrymen on a ] mission.
|date= September 26, 1959<ref name="WarBegan"/> – April 30, 1975
|place=], ], ], ]
|causes=Reunificationof Vietnam (North Vietnam)<br />] and ], ] (United States)
|territory=Unification of North and South Vietnam under North Vietnamese rule.
|result=North Vietnamese victory<br />Eventual American withdrawal and communist takeover of ], Cambodia and Laos.<br />
|combatant1= '''] forces:'''
'''{{flag|South Vietnam}}'''<br />'''{{flag|United States}}'''<br />{{flag|South Korea}}<br />{{flag|Australia}}<br />{{flag|Philippines|1919}}<br />{{flag|New Zealand}}<br />{{flag|Thailand}}<br />{{flagicon|Cambodia|1970}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Laos|1952}} ] <br />{{flagicon|Republic of China}} ]<br />
|combatant2= '''] forces:'''
'''{{flag|North Vietnam}}'''<br />{{flagicon|Republic of South Vietnam}} ''']'''<br />{{flagicon|Cambodia|1975}} ]<br />{{flagicon|Laos}} ]<br />{{flag|People's Republic of China}}<br />{{flag|Soviet Union|1955}}<br />{{flag|North Korea}}<br />
|strength1=~1,200,000 (1968)<br />South Vietnam: ~650,000<br />United States: 553,000 (1968)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historycentral.com/Vietnam/Troop.html |title=Vietnam War : US Troop Strength |publisher=Historycentral.com |date= |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref><br />South Korea: 312,853,<ref>{{citation
|last1=Larsen
|first1=Stanley Robert
|last2=Collins
|first2=James Lawton, Jr.
|chapter=CHAPTER VI, The Republic of Korea
|chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/allied/ch06.htm
|title= Allied Participation in Vietnam
|url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/allied/
|publisher=Department of the Army
|publication-date=1985
|year=1975
|id=Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 74-28217
}}</ref><br />Australia: 49,968 (1962–1973)<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://www.defence.gov.au/army/ahu/HISTORY/vietnam_war.htm
|title=Vietnam War 1962-72
|publisher=Army History Unit, Australian Army
|accessdate=2008-10-05}}.</ref><br />Thailand, Philippines: 10,450<ref>{{citation
|url=http://ieas.berkeley.edu/cks/k12/ROKTimeline.doc
|title=Appendix B: Timeline of Korean Involvement in Vietnam War
|publisher=
|accessdate=2008-10-04}}{{Verify credibility|date=October 2008}}</ref><br />New Zealand: 3,890 (1964-1973)<ref>http://www.vietnamwar.govt.nz/</ref>
<!-- expand troop numbers by country -->
|strength2=~520,000 (1968)<br />North Vietnam: ~340,000<br />PRC: 170,000 (1969) <br />Soviet Union: 3,000<br />North Korea: 300<!-- expand troop numbers by country -->
|commander1 = {{flagicon|South Vietnam}} ] <br />{{flagicon|South Vietnam}} ]<br />{{flagicon| South Vietnam}} ]<br />{{flagicon|USA}} ] <br />{{flagicon|USA}} ]<br />{{flagicon|USA}} ]<br />{{flagicon|USA}} ]<br />]
|commander2 = {{flagicon|North Vietnam}} ] <br /> {{flagicon|North Vietnam}} ] <br />{{flagicon|North Vietnam}} ] <br />{{flagicon|Republic of South Vietnam}} ]<br />]
|casualties1={{flagicon|South Vietnam}} '''South Vietnam'''<br />220,357 dead;<ref name="aaron">{{cite video
|people = Aaron Ulrich (Editor); Edward FeuerHerd (Producer & Director)
|date= 2005 & 2006
|title = Heart of Darkness: The Vietnam War Chronicles 1945-1975
|url =
|format = Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
|medium = Documentary
|publisher = Koch Vision
|location =
|accessdate =
|time = 321 minutes
|id =
|isbn = 1-4172-2920-9
}}</ref> 1,170,000 wounded<br />{{flagicon|USA}} '''US'''<br />58,159 dead;<ref name="aaron"/> 1,724 missing; 303,635 wounded<ref>552 Army, 369 Navy, 213 Marine Corps, 558 Air Force, 32 civilains {{As of|2009|12|9|lc=on}}, per ''''.</ref><br />{{flagicon|South Korea}} '''South Korea'''<br />4,960 dead; 10,962 wounded<br />
{{flagicon|Australia}} '''Australia'''<br />520 dead;<ref name="aaron"/> 2,400* wounded<br />{{flagicon|New Zealand}} '''New Zealand'''<br />37 dead; 187 wounded<br />{{flagicon|Thailand}} '''Thailand'''<br /> 1,351 dead<ref name="aaron"/><br />
{{flagicon|Laos|1952}} '''Kingdom of Laos'''<br />30,000 killed, wounded unknown<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vietnamgear.com/casualties.aspx |title=Vietnam War Casualties |publisher=Vietnamgear.com |date=1995-04-03 |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref>


{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}
'''Total dead: 315,831<br />'''Total wounded: ~1,490,000+'''

|casualties2={{flagicon|North Vietnam}} ] '''North Vietnam & NLF'''<br />1,176,000 dead/missing;<ref name="aaron"/><br />600,000+ wounded<ref>Soames, John. ''A History of the World'', Routledge, 2005.</ref> <br />{{flagicon|People's Republic of China}} '''P.R. China'''<br />1,446 dead; 4,200 wounded<br />{{flagicon|Soviet Union|1955}} '''Soviet Union'''<br />16 dead<ref>Dunnigan, James & Nofi, Albert: ''Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know.'' St. Martin's Press, 2000, p. 284. ISBN 0-312-25282-X.</ref><br />
{{very long|date=November 2024}}
'''Total dead: ~1,177,446<br />'''Total wounded: ~604,000+

|casualties3='''South Vietnamese civilian dead''': 1,581,000*<ref name="aaron"/><br />'''Cambodian civilian dead''': ~700,000*<br />'''North Vietnamese civilian dead''': ~2,000,000<ref name="afp1995"> (PDF).</ref><br />'''Laotian civilian dead''': ~50,000*<br />
{{Infobox military conflict
<br />* = approximations, see ] below<br />
For more information on casualties see ] | conflict = Vietnam War
| partof = the ] and the ]
| image = {{multiple image|border=infobox|perrow=2/2/2|total_width=300
| image1=U.S. Army UH-1H Hueys insert ARVN troops at Khâm Đức, Vietnam, 12 July 1970 (79431435).jpg
| image2=Pavnbattle.jpg
| image3=Hue Massacre Interment.jpg
| image4=Flame Thrower. Operation New Castle. - NARA - 532488.tif
| image5=A-4E Skyhawk of VA-56 drops bomb over Vietnam c1966.jpg
| image6=Saigon Execution (cropped).jpg
}}'''Clockwise from top left:''' {{flatlist|
* US ] helicopters inserting South Vietnamese ] troops, 1970
* North Vietnamese ] troops in action, {{circa|1966}}
* ] using a ], 1967
* South Vietnamese officer ] a ] officer during the ], 1968
* US Navy ] on a bombing run, 1966
* Burial of civilians killed in the ], 1968
}} }}
| date = 1 November 1955<ref group=A name="start date" />{{snd}}30 April 1975<br />({{Age in years, months, and days|month1=11|day1=1|year1=1955|month2=04|day2=30|year2=1975}})
{{fixHTML|mid}}
| place = {{flatlist|
{{Campaignbox Indochina Wars}}
* ]
{{fixHTML|mid}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (spillover conflict in ], and ])}}
| territory = Reunification of ] and ] into the ] in 1976
| result = ]ese victory
| combatant2 = {{Plainlist}}
* {{Flag|South Vietnam}}
* {{Flagdeco|United States|1960}} ]
* {{Flagcountry|Third Republic of Korea}}
* {{Flag|Australia}}
* {{Flag|New Zealand}}
* {{Flag|Kingdom of Laos|name=Laos}}
* {{Flagdeco|Cambodia}} ] (1967–1970)
* {{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1970}} ] (1970–1975)
* {{Flag|Thailand|1932}}
* {{Flagcountry|Fourth Philippine Republic}}
* {{Flag|Taiwan}}
{{Endplainlist}}
| combatant1 = {{Plainlist}}
* {{Flag|North Vietnam}}
* {{Flagdeco|Republic of South Vietnam}} ] and ]
* {{Flagdeco|Laos}} ]
* {{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1975}} ]
* {{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1973}} ] (1970–1975)
* {{Flag|China}} (1965–1973)
* {{Flag|Soviet Union|1955}}
* {{Flag|North Korea|1948}}
{{Endplainlist}}
| strength1 = '''≈860,000 (1967)'''
{{Plainlist}}
* {{Flagdeco|North Vietnam}} '''North Vietnam:'''<br />690,000 (1966, including ] and Viet Cong){{Refn|group="A"|According to Hanoi's official history, the Viet Cong was a branch of the People's Army of Vietnam.<ref>{{Harvnb|Military History Institute of Vietnam|2002|p=182}}. "By the end of 1966 the total strength of our armed forces was 690,000 soldiers."</ref>}}
* {{Flagdeco|Republic of South Vietnam}} '''Viet Cong:'''<br />{{Nowrap|~200,000 (estimated, 1968)}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Doyle |first1=Edward |title=The Vietnam Experience The North |last2=Lipsman |first2=Samuel |last3=Maitland |first3=Terence |publisher=Time Life Education |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-939526-21-5 |pages=45–49}}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|China|1949}} '''China:'''<br />170,000 (1968)<br />320,000 total<ref name="Toledo Blade 320,000 Chinese troops">{{Cite news |date=16 May 1989 |title=China admits 320,000 troops fought in Vietnam |work=Toledo Blade |agency=Reuters |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19890516&id=HkRPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3769,1925460 |access-date=24 December 2013 |archive-date=2 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702034430/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19890516&id=HkRPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3769,1925460 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Roy">{{Cite book |last=Roy |first=Denny |url=https://archive.org/details/chinasforeignrel0000royd/page/27 |title=China's Foreign Relations |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-8476-9013-8 |page=}}</ref><ref name="Womack">{{Cite book |last=Womack |first=Brantly |title=China and Vietnam |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-61834-2 |page=|publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1975}} '''Khmer Rouge:'''<br />70,000 (1972)<ref name="Tucker">{{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer C |title=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-85109-960-3}}</ref>{{Rp|376}}
* {{Flagdeco|Laos}} '''Pathet Lao:'''<br />48,000 (1970)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Area Handbook Series Laos |url=http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/laos/la_glos.html#Lao |access-date=1 November 2019 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307033933/http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/laos/la_glos.html#Lao |url-status=live }}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|Soviet Union}} '''Soviet Union:''' ~3,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Ballance |first=Edgar |title=Tracks of the bear: Soviet imprints in the seventies |publisher=Presidio |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-89141-133-8 |page=171}}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|North Korea|1948}} '''North Korea:''' 200<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pham Thi Thu Thuy |date=1 August 2013 |title=The colorful history of North Korea-Vietnam relations |work=] |url=https://www.nknews.org/2013/08/the-colorful-history-of-north-korea-vietnam-relations/ |access-date=3 October 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424055821/http://www.nknews.org/2013/08/the-colorful-history-of-north-korea-vietnam-relations/|archive-date=April 24, 2015}}</ref>
{{Endplainlist}}
| strength2 = '''≈1,420,000 (1968)'''
{{Plainlist}}
* {{Flagdeco|South Vietnam}} '''South Vietnam:'''<br />850,000 (1968)<br />1,500,000 (1974–1975)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Le Gro |first=William |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/090/90-29/CMH_Pub_90-29.pdf |title=Vietnam from ceasefire to capitulation |publisher=US Army Center of Military History |year=1985 |isbn=978-1-4102-2542-9 |page=28|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202012033/https://history.army.mil/html/books/090/90-29/CMH_Pub_90-29.pdf|archive-date=February 2, 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|United States|1960}} '''United States:'''<br />2,709,918 serving in Vietnam total<br />Peak: 543,000 (April 1969)<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|xlv}}
* {{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1970}} '''Khmer Republic:'''<br />200,000 (1973){{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* {{Flagdeco|Laos|1952}} '''Laos:'''<br />72,000 (Royal Army and ] militia)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The rise of Communism |url=http://www.footprinttravelguides.com/c/4999/the-rise-of-communism |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117114707/http://footprinttravelguides.com/c/4999/the-rise-of-communism/ |archive-date=17 November 2010 |access-date=31 May 2018 |website=www.footprinttravelguides.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hmong rebellion in Laos |url=http://members.ozemail.com.au/~yeulee/Topical/Hmong%20rebellion%20in%20Laos.html |access-date=11 April 2021 |website=Members.ozemail.com.au|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404230156/http://members.ozemail.com.au/~yeulee/Topical/Hmong%20rebellion%20in%20Laos.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|Third Republic of Korea}} '''South Korea:'''<br />48,000 per year (1965–1973, 320,000 total)
* {{Flagdeco|Thailand|1939}} '''Thailand:''' 32,000 per year (1965–1973)<br />(in Vietnam<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vietnam War Allied Troop Levels 1960–73 |url=http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwatl.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802134052/http://www.americanwarlibrary.com/vietnam/vwatl.htm |archive-date=2 August 2016 |access-date=2 August 2016}}, accessed 7 November 2017</ref> and Laos){{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}
* {{Flagdeco|Australia}} '''Australia:''' 50,190 total<br />(Peak: 8,300 combat troops)<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Doyle |first1=Jeff |last2=Grey |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Pierce |first3=Peter |date=2002 |title=Australia's Vietnam War – A Select Chronology of Australian Involvement in the Vietnam War |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/14206/3/14206_Doyle_et_al_2002_Back_Pages.pdf |publisher=]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110165929/https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/14206/3/14206_Doyle_et_al_2002_Back_Pages.pdf|archive-date=November 10, 2022}}</ref>
* {{Flagdeco|New Zealand}} '''New Zealand:''' Peak: 552 in 1968<ref name=Blackburn>{{cite book|last=Blackburn|first=Robert M.|title=Mercenaries and Lyndon Johnson's "More Flage": The Hiring of Korean, Filipino, and Thai Soldiers in the Vietnam War|publisher=McFarland|year=1994|isbn=0-89950-931-2}}</ref>{{rp|158}}
* {{Flagdeco|Fourth Philippine Republic}} '''Philippines:''' 2,061
* {{Flagdeco|Francoist Spain}} '''Spain:''' 100–130 total<br />(Peak: 30 medical troops and advisors)<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2012/04/09/inenglish/1333979983_253264.html| title=Spain's secret support for US in Vietnam| newspaper=El País| date=2012-04-09| last1=Marín| first1=Paloma| access-date=18 February 2024| archive-date=4 November 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104193117/https://elpais.com/elpais/2012/04/09/inenglish/1333979983_253264.html| url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Endplainlist}}
| commander1 = {{Plainlist}}
* {{Flagicon|North Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagicon|North Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagicon|North Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagicon|North Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagicon|North Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagdeco|South Vietnam|1975}} ]
* ''...{{Nbsp}}]''
{{Endplainlist}}
| commander2 = {{Plainlist}}
* {{Flagicon|South Vietnam}} ]{{Assassinated|Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem}} {{Refn|1955–1963| group="A"}}
* {{Flagicon|South Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagicon|South Vietnam}} ]
* {{Flagicon|US|1960}} ]
* {{Flagicon|US|1960}} ] ''']'''
* {{Flagicon|US|1960}} ]{{Refn|1963–1969| group="A"}}
* {{Flagicon|US|1960}} ]
* {{Flagicon|US|1960}} ]
* {{flagicon|US|1960}} ]
* {{Nowrap|{{Flagicon|US|1960}} ]}}{{Refn|1964–1968| group="A"}}
* {{Flagicon|US|1960}} ]
* ''...{{Nbsp}}]''
{{Endplainlist}}
| casualties1 = {{Plainlist}}
* {{Flagdeco|North Vietnam}}{{Flagdeco|Republic of South Vietnam}} '''North Vietnam & Viet Cong'''<br />30,000–182,000 civilian dead<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|176}}<ref name="Hirschman">{{Cite journal |last1=Hirschman |first1=Charles |last2=Preston |first2=Samuel |last3=Vu |first3=Manh Loi |date=December 1995 |title=Vietnamese Casualties During the American War: A New Estimate |url=http://faculty.washington.edu/charles/new%20PUBS/A77.pdf |journal=] |volume=21 |issue=4 |page=783 |doi=10.2307/2137774 |jstor=2137774 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012055340/http://faculty.washington.edu/charles/new%20PUBS/A77.pdf|archive-date=October 12, 2013 |issn=0098-7921 }}</ref><ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–453}}<ref name=bfvietnam>{{Cite web |title=Battlefield:Vietnam – Timeline |url=http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/index2.html |publisher=]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604101618/http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/index2.html|archive-date=June 4, 2023}}</ref><br />849,018 military dead (per Vietnam; 1/3 non-combat deaths)<ref name="Moyar, Mark" /><ref name="Chuyen">{{Cite web |title=Chuyên đề 4 CÔNG TÁC TÌM KIẾM, QUY TẬP HÀI CỐT LIỆT SĨ TỪ NAY ĐẾN NĂM 2020 VÀ NHỮNG NĂM TIẾP THEO |url=http://datafile.chinhsachquandoi.gov.vn/Qu%E1%BA%A3n%20l%C3%BD%20ch%E1%BB%89%20%C4%91%E1%BA%A1o/Chuy%C3%AAn%20%C4%91%E1%BB%81%204.doc |access-date=11 April 2021 |website=Datafile.chinhsachquandoi.gov.vn|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404230151/http://datafile.chinhsachquandoi.gov.vn/Qu%E1%BA%A3n%20l%C3%BD%20ch%E1%BB%89%20%C4%91%E1%BA%A1o/Chuy%C3%AAn%20%C4%91%E1%BB%81%204.doc|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref><ref name="VNMOD">{{Cite web |title=Công tác tìm kiếm, quy tập hài cốt liệt sĩ từ nay đến năm 2020 và những năn tiếp theo |trans-title=The work of searching and collecting the remains of martyrs from now to 2020 and the next |url=http://chinhsachquandoi.gov.vn/tinbai/309/Tap-huan-cong-tac-chinh-sach |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217065036/http://chinhsachquandoi.gov.vn/tinbai/309/Tap-huan-cong-tac-chinh-sach |archive-date=17 December 2018 |access-date=11 June 2018 |publisher=], Government of Vietnam |language=vi}}</ref><br />666,000–950,765 dead<br />(US estimated 1964–1974){{Refn|Upper figure initial estimate, later thought to be inflated by at least 30% (lower figure)<ref name=Hirschman/><ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–453}}|name=USclaim|group=A}}<ref name=Hirschman/><ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–451}}<br />232,000+ military missing (per Vietnam)<ref name="Moyar, Mark">Moyar, Mark. "Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965–1968." Encounter Books, December 2022. Chapter 17 index: "Communists provided further corroboration of the proximity of their casualty figures to American figures in a postwar disclosure of total losses from 1960 to 1975. During that period, they stated, they lost 849,018 killed plus approximately 232,000 missing and 463,000 wounded. Casualties fluctuated considerably from year to year, but a degree of accuracy can be inferred from the fact that 500,000 was 59 percent of the 849,018 total and that 59 percent of the war's days had passed by the time of Fallaci's conversation with Giap. The killed in action figure comes from "Special Subject 4: The Work of Locating and Recovering the Remains of Martyrs From Now Until 2020 And Later Years," downloaded from the Vietnamese government website datafile on 1 December 2017. The above figures on missing and wounded were calculated using Hanoi's declared casualty ratios for the period of 1945 to 1979, during which time the Communists incurred 1.1 million killed, 300,000 missing, and 600,000 wounded. Ho Khang, ed, ''Lich Su Khang Chien Chong My, Cuu Nuoc 1954–1975, Tap VIII: Toan Thang'' (Hanoi: Nha Xuat Ban Chinh Tri Quoc Gia, 2008), 463."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Joseph Babcock |date=29 April 2019 |title=Lost Souls: The Search for Vietnam's 300,000 or More MIAs |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/lost-souls-search-vietnams-300000-or-more-mias |access-date=28 June 2021 |website=Pulitzer Centre|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110165934/https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/lost-souls-search-vietnams-300000-or-more-mias|archive-date=November 10, 2022}}</ref><br />600,000+ military wounded<ref name="Hastings">{{Cite book |last=Hastings |first=Max |title=Vietnam an epic tragedy, 1945–1975 |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-06-240567-8}}</ref>{{Rp|739}}
* '''{{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1975}}''' '''Khmer Rouge:''' Unknown
* '''{{Flagicon|Laos}}''' '''Pathet Lao:''' Unknown
* '''{{Flagu|China|1949}}:''' ~1,100 dead and 4,200 wounded<ref name=Womack/>
* '''{{Flagu|Soviet Union}}:''' 16 dead<ref>{{Cite book |last1=James F. Dunnigan |title=Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know |last2=Albert A. Nofi |publisher=Macmillan |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-312-25282-3 |author-link2=Albert A. Nofi}}</ref>
* '''{{Flagu|North Korea|1948}}:''' 14 dead<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 March 2000 |title=North Korea fought in Vietnam War |work=] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/696970.stm |access-date=18 October 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312063506/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/696970.stm|archive-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/NKIDP_eDossier_2_North_Korean_Pilots_in_Vietnam_War.pdf|title=North Korean Pilots in the Skies over Vietnam|last=Pribbenow|first=Merle|publisher=]|date=November 2011|access-date=3 March 2023|page=1|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605173651/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/NKIDP_eDossier_2_North_Korean_Pilots_in_Vietnam_War.pdf|archive-date=June 5, 2023}}</ref>
'''Total military dead/missing:<br />≈1,100,000'''<br />'''Total military wounded:<br />≈604,200'''<br />(excluding ]/] and ])
{{Endplainlist}}
| casualties2 = {{Plainlist}}
* '''{{Flagu|South Vietnam}}:'''<br />195,000–430,000 civilian dead<ref name=Hirschman/><ref name="Lewy">{{Cite book |last=Lewy |first=Guenter |title=America in Vietnam |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-19-987423-1 |author-link=Guenter Lewy}}</ref>{{Rp|450–453}}<ref name="Thayer">{{Cite book |last=Thayer |first=Thomas C. |title=War Without Fronts: The American Experience in Vietnam |publisher=Westview Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8133-7132-0}}</ref>{{Rp|}}<br />Military dead: 313,000 (total)<ref name="Rummel">{{Citation |last=Rummel |first=R. J. |title=Vietnam Democide |loc=Table 6.1A |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB6.1A.GIF |work=Freedom, Democracy, Peace; Power, Democide, and War, University of Hawaii System |year=1997 |format=GIF|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313125242/http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB6.1A.GIF|archive-date=March 13, 2023}}</ref>{{Bulletedlist|254,256 combat deaths (between 1960 and 1974)<ref name="Clarke">{{Cite book |last=Clarke |first=Jeffrey J. |title=United States Army in Vietnam: Advice and Support: The Final Years, 1965–1973 |publisher=Center of Military History, United States Army |year=1988 |quote=The Army of the Republic of Vietnam suffered 254,256 recorded combat deaths between 1960 and 1974, with the highest number of recorded deaths being in 1972, with 39,587 combat deaths}}</ref>{{Rp|275}}}}<br />1,170,000 military wounded<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}<br />≈ 1,000,000 captured<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Fall of South Vietnam |url=https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2005/R2208.pdf |access-date=11 April 2021 |website=Rand.org|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129192039/https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reports/2005/R2208.pdf|archive-date=January 29, 2023}}</ref>
* '''{{Flagu|United States|1960}}:'''<br />58,281 dead<ref name="2new">{{Cite press release |title=2021 NAME ADDITIONS AND STATUS CHANGES ON THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL |date=4 May 2021 |url=https://www.vvmf.org/News/2021-Name-Additions-and-Status-Changes-on-the-Vietnam-Veterans-Memorial/ |author=Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429132111/https://www.vvmf.org/News/2021-Name-Additions-and-Status-Changes-on-the-Vietnam-Veterans-Memorial/|archive-date=April 29, 2023}}</ref> (47,434 from combat)<ref>{{Citation |title=National Archives–Vietnam War US Military Fatal Casualties |date=15 August 2016 |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics#hostile |access-date=29 July 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526173917/https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics#hostile |url-status=live }}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526173917/https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics#hostile |date=26 May 2020 }} US National Archives. 29 April 2008. Accessed 13 July 2019.</ref><br />303,644 wounded (including 150,341 not requiring hospital care)<ref name="USd&w" group="A" />
* '''{{Flagu|Laos|1952}}:''' 15,000 army dead<ref>T. Lomperis, From People's War to People's Rule (1996)</ref>
* '''{{Flagdeco|Cambodia|1970}}''' '''Khmer Republic:''' Unknown
* '''{{Flagdeco|Third Republic of Korea}}''' '''South Korea''': 5,099 dead; 10,962 wounded; 4 missing
* '''{{Flagu|Australia}}:''' 521 dead; 3,129 wounded<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian casualties in the Vietnam War, 1962–72 |url=http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/vietnam/statistics |access-date=29 June 2013 |publisher=Australian War Memorial|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214111653/https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/vietnam/statistics|archive-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref>
* '''{{Flagu|Thailand|1939}}:''' 351 dead<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}
* '''{{Flagu|New Zealand}}:''' 37 dead<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 July 1965 |title=Overview of the war in Vietnam |url=http://vietnamwar.govt.nz/resources |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726010609/http://vietnamwar.govt.nz/resources |archive-date=26 July 2013 |access-date=29 June 2013 |publisher=New Zealand and the Vietnam War}}</ref>
* '''{{Flagu|Taiwan}}:''' 25 dead<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 October 2013 |title=America Wasn't the Only Foreign Power in the Vietnam War |url=http://militaryhistorynow.com/2013/10/02/the-international-vietnam-war-the-other-world-powers-that-fought-in-south-east-asia/ |access-date=10 June 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418045659/http://militaryhistorynow.com/2013/10/02/the-international-vietnam-war-the-other-world-powers-that-fought-in-south-east-asia/|archive-date=April 18, 2023}}</ref><br />17 captured<ref>{{Cite news |date=1964 |title=Vietnam Reds Said to Hold 17 From Taiwan as Spies |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/13/archives/vietnam-reds-said-to-hold-17-from-taiwan-as-spies.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307170856/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/07/13/archives/vietnam-reds-said-to-hold-17-from-taiwan-as-spies.html|archive-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref>
* '''{{Flagdeco|Fourth Philippine Republic}}''' '''Philippines:''' 9 dead;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Larsen |first=Stanley |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/090/90-5-1/CMH_Pub_90-5-1.pdf |title=Vietnam Studies Allied Participation in Vietnam |publisher=Department of the Army |year=1975 |isbn=978-1-5176-2724-9|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606061125/https://history.army.mil/html/books/090/90-5-1/CMH_Pub_90-5-1.pdf|archive-date=June 6, 2023}}</ref> 64 wounded<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 1970 |title=Asian Allies in Vietnam |url=http://175thengineers.homestead.com/Philcav.pdf |access-date=18 October 2015 |publisher=Embassy of South Vietnam|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521032045/http://175thengineers.homestead.com/Philcav.pdf|archive-date=May 21, 2023}}</ref>
{{Endplainlist}}
'''Total military dead:<br />333,620 (1960–1974) – 392,364 (total)'''<br />'''Total military wounded:<br />≈1,340,000+'''<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}<br />(excluding ])<br />'''Total military captured:<br />{{est.}} 1,000,000+'''
| casualties3 = {{Plainlist}}
* '''Vietnamese civilian dead''': 405,000–2,000,000<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–453}}<ref name="Shenon">{{Cite news |last=Shenon |first=Philip |date=23 April 1995 |title=20 Years After Victory, Vietnamese Communists Ponder How to Celebrate |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/23/world/20-years-after-victory-vietnamese-communists-ponder-how-to-celebrate.html |access-date=24 February 2011 |quote=The Vietnamese government officially claimed a rough estimate of 2 million civilian deaths, but it did not divide these deaths between those of North and South Vietnam.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527230912/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/23/world/20-years-after-victory-vietnamese-communists-ponder-how-to-celebrate.html|archive-date=May 27, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Obermeyer">{{Cite journal |last1=Obermeyer |first1=Ziad |last2=Murray |first2=Christopher J. L. |last3=Gakidou |first3=Emmanuela |date=23 April 2008 |title=Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme |journal=] |volume=336 |issue=7659 |pages=1482–1486 |doi=10.1136/bmj.a137 |pmc=2440905 |pmid=18566045 |quote=From 1955 to 2002, data from the surveys indicated an estimated 5.4 million violent war deaths{{Nbsp}}... 3.8 million in Vietnam}}</ref>
* '''Vietnamese total dead''': 966,000<ref name=Hirschman/>–3,010,000<ref name=Obermeyer/>
* '''Cambodian Civil War dead''': 275,000–310,000<ref name="Heuveline">{{Cite book |last=Heuveline |first=Patrick |title=Forced Migration and Mortality |publisher=] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-309-07334-9 |pages=102–104, 120, 124 |chapter=The Demographic Analysis of Mortality Crises: The Case of Cambodia, 1970–1979 |quote=As best as can now be estimated, over two million Cambodians died during the 1970s because of the political events of the decade, the vast majority of them during the mere four years of the 'Khmer Rouge' regime.{{Nbsp}}... Subsequent reevaluations of the demographic data situated the death toll for the in the order of 300,000 or less.}}</ref><ref name="Banister">{{Cite book |last1=Banister |first1=Judith |url=https://archive.org/details/genocidedemocrac00kier |title=Genocide and Democracy in Cambodia: The Khmer Rouge, the United Nations and the International Community |last2=Johnson |first2=E. Paige |publisher=Yale University Southeast Asia Studies |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-938692-49-2 |page= |quote=An estimated 275,000 excess deaths. We have modeled the highest mortality that we can justify for the early 1970s. |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Sliwinski">{{Cite book |last=Sliwinski |first=Marek |title=Le Génocide Khmer Rouge: Une Analyse Démographique |publisher=] |year=1995 |isbn=978-2-7384-3525-5 |pages=42–43, 48 |trans-title=The Khmer Rouge genocide: A demographic analysis}}</ref>
* '''Laotian Civil War dead''': 20,000–62,000<ref name=Obermeyer/>
* '''Non-Indochinese military dead''': 65,494
* '''Total dead''': 1,326,494–3,447,494
* For more information see ] and ]
{{Endplainlist}}
| notes = {{flagicon image|Flag of FULRO.svg}} ] fought an ] against both ] and ] with the ] and was supported by ] for much of the war.
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Indochina Wars}}
{{Campaignbox Vietnam War}} {{Campaignbox Vietnam War}}
{{Campaignbox Vietnam War massacres}}
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The '''Vietnam War''', also known as the '''Second Indochina War''', the '''Vietnam Conflict''' or the '''American War''' <ref></ref>, was a ] ] that occurred in ], ], and ] from September 26, 1959,<ref name="WarBegan">, The Pentagon Papers (Gravel Edition), Volume 1, Chapter 5, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1971), Section 3, pp. 314-346; International Relations Department, Mount Holyoke College.</ref> to April 30, 1975. This war followed the ] and was fought between the ] ], supported by its communist allies, and the government of ], supported by the ] and other anti-communist nations.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |title=Vietnam War |quote=Meanwhile, the United States, its military demoralized and its civilian electorate deeply divided, began a process of coming to terms with defeat in its longest and most controversial war |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/628478/Vietnam-War |accessdate=2008-03-05}}</ref>


The '''Vietnam War''' (1 November 1955{{Refn|Due to the early presence of US troops in Vietnam, the start date of the Vietnam War is a matter of debate. In 1998, after a high-level review by the ] (DoD) and through the efforts of ]'s family, the start date of the Vietnam War according to the US government was officially changed to 1 November 1955.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Name of Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial |publisher=] |url=http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=1902 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020044326/http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=1902 |archive-date=20 October 2013}}</ref> US government reports currently cite 1 November 1955 as the commencement date of the "Vietnam Conflict", because this date marked when the US ] (MAAG) in Indochina (deployed to Southeast Asia under President Truman) was reorganized into country-specific units and MAAG Vietnam was established.<ref name="Lawrence">{{Cite book |last=Lawrence |first=A.T. |title=Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant |publisher=McFarland |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7864-4517-2}}</ref>{{Rp|20}} Other start dates include when Hanoi authorized Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam to begin a low-level insurgency in December 1956,{{Sfn|Olson|Roberts|2008|p=67}} whereas some view 26 September 1959, when the first battle occurred between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese army, as the start date.<ref name="WarBegan">{{Cite book |title=The Pentagon Papers (Gravel Edition), Volume 1 |publisher=Beacon Press |year=1971 |location=Boston |at=Section 3, pp. 314–346 |chapter=Chapter 5, Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954–1960 |access-date=17 August 2008 |chapter-url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/pent14.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019184424/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/pent14.htm |archive-date=19 October 2017 |url-status=dead |via=International Relations Department, Mount Holyoke College}}</ref>|group="A"|name="start date"}} – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in ], ], and ] fought between ] (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and ] (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the ] and ], while South Vietnam was supported by the ] and other ] nations. The conflict was the second of the ] and a major ] of the ] between the Soviet Union and US. ] greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the ] and ]s, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.
The ], a lightly-armed South Vietnamese ]-controlled ], largely fought a ] against ] forces in the region. The ] engaged in a more ], at times committing large units into battle. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on ] and overwhelming firepower to conduct ] operations, involving ], ] and ]s.


After the defeat of ] in the ] that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the ] but was divided into two parts at the ]: the ], led by ], took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by ].<ref name="advisors" group="A">Prior to this, the ] (with an authorized strength of 128 men) was set up in September 1950 with a mission to oversee the use and distribution of US military equipment by the French and their allies.</ref> The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the ] (VC), a ] of dissidents in the south, which intensified a ] from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam ], establishing the ] to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own ] (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President ] increased US involvement from 900 ] in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the ] (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem was killed in ], which added to the south's instability.
The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of ]. ]s arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962.<ref> 25th Aviation Batallion website.</ref> U.S. ] were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the ]. After this, U.S. ground forces were withdrawn as part of a policy called ]. Despite the ], signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued.


Following the ] in 1964, the US Congress passed ] that gave President ] authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched ] and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by the end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on ] and overwhelming firepower to conduct ] operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the ], which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more ]. Johnson's successor, ], began a policy of "]" from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A ] in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN ], escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 ] saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until the ] and ] to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976.
The ], passed by the U.S. Congress in response to the ] movement, prohibited direct U.S. military involvement without congressional authorization after August 15, 1973. U.S. military and economic aid continued until 1975.<ref>Kolko, Gabriel ''Anatomy of War'', pp. 457, 461 ff., ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> The ] by North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of Vietnam War. North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.


The war exacted ]: estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 ], 20,000–62,000 ], and 58,220 US service members died.{{Refn|The figures of 58,220 and 303,644 for US deaths and wounded come from the Department of Defense Statistical Information Analysis Division (SIAD), Defense Manpower Data Center, as well as from a Department of Veterans fact sheet dated May 2010; the total is 153,303 WIA excluding 150,341 persons not requiring hospital care<ref>{{Cite report |url=http://www1.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf |title=America's Wars |date=May 2010 |publisher=Department of Veterans Affairs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124020810/http://www.va.gov/opa/publications/factsheets/fs_americas_wars.pdf |archive-date=24 January 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> the CRS (]) Report for Congress, American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics, dated 26 February 2010,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf |title=American War and Military Operations: Casualties: Lists and Statistics |last1=Anne Leland |last2=Mari–Jana "M-J" Oboroceanu |date=26 February 2010 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514171012/https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf|archive-date=May 14, 2023}}</ref> and the book Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant.<ref name=Lawrence/>{{Rp|65,107,154,217}} Some other sources give different figures (e.g. the 2005/2006 documentary ''Heart of Darkness: The Vietnam War Chronicles 1945–1975'' cited elsewhere in this article gives a figure of 58,159 US deaths,<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Darkness-Vietnam-Chronicles-1945-1975/dp/B000GDIBT8 |title=Heart of Darkness: The Vietnam War Chronicles 1945–1975 |type=Documentary |publisher=Koch Vision |time=321 minutes |format=DVD |isbn=1-4172-2920-9 |people=Aaron Ulrich (editor); Edward FeuerHerd (producer and director) (2005, 2006) |access-date=11 May 2017 |archive-date=29 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329215600/https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Darkness-Vietnam-Chronicles-1945-1975/dp/B000GDIBT8 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the 2007 book ''Vietnam Sons'' gives a figure of 58,226){{citation needed|date=November 2024}}|name=USd&w|group=A}} Its end would precipitate the ] and the larger ], which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the ] forests, by spraying over {{convert|20|e6USgal|e6L|round=5|abbr=off|sp=us}} of toxic herbicides;<ref name=":02" /><ref name="Kolko">{{Cite book |last=Kolko |first=Gabriel |url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofwarviet00kolk |title=Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience |publisher=Pantheon Books |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-394-74761-3 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Rp|144–145}}<ref name=":0" /> a notable example of ].<ref name=":2" /> The ] carried out the ], while conflict between them and the unified Vietnam escalated into the ]. In response, China ], with ] lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to ], a public aversion to American overseas military involvement,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalb |first=Marvin |date=22 January 2013 |title=It's Called the Vietnam Syndrome, and It's Back |url=http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2013/01/22-obama-foreign-policy-kalb |access-date=12 June 2015 |publisher=Brookings Institution |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224132036/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2013/01/22/its-called-the-vietnam-syndrome-and-its-back/|archive-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref> which, with the ], contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Horne |first=Alistair |title=Kissinger's Year: 1973 |publisher=Phoenix |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-7538-2700-0 |pages=370–371}}</ref>
The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities (See: ]), including 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million ] and ], and 58,159 U.S. soldiers.<ref>.</ref> By this war's end, the Vietnamese had been fighting foreign involvement or occupation in various wars for over a hundred years.


==Etymology== ==Names==
Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though ''Vietnam War'' is the most commonly used title in ]. It has been called the ''Second Indochina War'' since it spread to ] and ],<ref name="Factasy">{{Cite web |last=Factasy |title=The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War |url=http://www.prlog.org/10118782-the-vietnam-war-or-second-indochina-war.html |access-date=29 June 2013 |publisher=PRLog|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425152621/https://www.prlog.org/10118782-the-vietnam-war-or-second-indochina-war.html|archive-date=April 25, 2023}}</ref> the ''Vietnam Conflict'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 August 2016 |title=The National Archives – Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics |access-date=8 December 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526173917/https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marlatt |first=Greta E. |title=Research Guides: Vietnam Conflict: Maps |url=https://libguides.nps.edu/vietnamwar/maps |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405200653/https://libguides.nps.edu/vietnamwar/maps |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=11 April 2021 |website=Libguides.nps.edu}}</ref> and ''Nam'' (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as ''Kháng chiến chống Mỹ'' ({{Literally|Resistance War against America}}).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meaker |first=Scott S.F. |title=Unforgettable Vietnam War: The American War in Vietnam – War in the Jungle |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-312-93158-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=Robert |date=January 27, 2018 |title=Grim reminders of a war in Vietnam, a generation later |url=https://www.concordmonitor.com/Grim-reminders-of-a-war-in-Vietnam-a-generation-later-15159686 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128005729/https://www.concordmonitor.com/Grim-reminders-of-a-war-in-Vietnam-a-generation-later-15159686 |archive-date=2018-01-28 |access-date=2019-02-28 |website=Concord Monitor |quote=It's been more than for 40-plus years, the war that Americans simply call Vietnam but the Vietnamese refer to as their Resistance War Against America.}}</ref> The ] officially refers to it as the ''Resistance War against America to Save the Nation.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Edward |title=Vietnam War perspective: the unreconciled conflict |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/18/vietnam-war-perspective-unreconciled-conflict/962358001/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US |archive-date=6 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906182356/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/18/vietnam-war-perspective-unreconciled-conflict/962358001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It is sometimes called the ''American War''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asian-Nation: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues:: The American / Viet Nam War |url=http://www.asian-nation.org/vietnam-war.shtml |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527183201/https://www.asian-nation.org/vietnam-war.shtml |archive-date=May 27, 2023 |access-date=18 August 2008 |quote=The Viet Nam War is also called 'The American War' by the Vietnamese}}</ref>
{{further|]}}
Various names have been applied to the conflict. ''Vietnam War'' is the most commonly used name in English. It has also been called the ''Second Indochina War'', and the ''Vietnam Conflict''.


== Background ==
As there have been so many conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the name of their chief opponent to distinguish it from the others.<ref>Moore, Harold. G and Joseph L. Galloway ''We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam'' (p. 57).</ref> Thus, in ], the war is known as ''Chiến tranh Việt Nam'' (The Vietnam War), or as ''Kháng chiến chống Mỹ'' (Resistance War Against America), loosely translated as ''the American War''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Asian-Nation: Asian American History, Demographics, &amp; Issues:: The American / Viet Nam War|quote=The Viet Nam War is also called 'The American War' by the Vietnamese |url=http://www.asian-nation.org/vietnam-war.shtml |accessdate=2008-08-18}}</ref>
{{Main|French conquest of Vietnam|French Indochina}}
Vietnam had been under French control as part of ] since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, ], established the ] in 1930, a ] political organization which operated primarily in ] and the ]. The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Umair Mirza |url=http://archive.org/details/thevietnamwarthedefinitiveillustratedhistory_202002 |title=The Vietnam War The Definitive Illustrated History |date=2017-04-01}}</ref>


=== Japanese occupation of Indochina ===
The main military organizations involved in the war were, on one side, the ] (ARVN) and the U.S. military, and, on the other side, the ] (VPA), or North Vietnamese Army (NVA), and the ], or National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), a South Vietnamese communist army.
{{Main|French Indochina in World War II|1940–1946 in French Indochina}}
] flag, which later became the flag of ], prototype of the ] of contemporary Vietnam]]
In September 1940, ] French Indochina, following France's ] to ]. French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as ], returned to Vietnam to establish the ], an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence.<ref name=":3" /> The Viet Minh received aid from the ], namely the US, Soviet Union, and ]. Beginning in 1944, the US ] (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and ] forces.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-15 |title=The OSS in Vietnam, 1945: A War of Missed Opportunities by Dixee Bartholomew-Feis |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/oss-vietnam-1945-dixee-bartholomew-feis |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en |archive-date=15 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315115133/https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/oss-vietnam-1945-dixee-bartholomew-feis |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":7" /> ] against the Vietnamese people led many to join the resistance, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Defense |first=United States Department of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHjOVH6k5BQC&pg=RA1-PA4 |title=United States-Vietnam Relations, 1945-1967: Study |date=1971 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref> US President ] continued to support Vietnamese resistance throughout the war, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship after the war was over.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hess |first=Gary R. |date=1972 |title=Franklin Roosevelt and Indochina |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1890195 |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=353–368 |doi=10.2307/1890195 |jstor=1890195 |issn=0021-8723 |access-date=19 December 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414004902/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1890195 |url-status=live }}</ref>


In March 1945, Japan, losing the war, ] in Indochina, establishing the ] and installing Vietnamese Emperor ] as its figurehead leader.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Ralph B. |date=September 1978 |title=The Japanese Period in Indochina and the Coup of 9 March 1945 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-southeast-asian-studies/article/abs/japanese-period-in-indochina-and-the-coup-of-9-march-1945/275B1ABEED60A9B95F85297F68603286 |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=268–301 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400009784 |issn=1474-0680}}</ref> Following the ] in August, the Viet Minh launched the ], overthrowing the Japanese-backed state and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On 2 September, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the ] (DRV).<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part I.djvu/30 - Wikisource, the free online library |url=https://en.wikisource.org/Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part_I.djvu/30 |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=en.wikisource.org |language=en |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031133156/https://en.wikisource.org/Page%3APentagon-Papers-Part_I.djvu/30 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, on 23 September, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule.<ref name=":5" /> American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French ].
==Background to 1949==
{{See also|History of Vietnam}}
France began its conquest of ] in 1859. In spite of military resistance, by 1888, the area of the current-day nations of Cambodia and Vietnam was made into the ] of ] (Laos was added later).<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 3, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> Various Vietnamese opposition movements to the French rule existed during this period but none were ultimately as successful as the ] ], controlled by the ], founded in 1941 and funded by United States and Chinese Nationalists in its fight against Japanese occupation.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 17">Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 17, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref><ref>The ''Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội'' had previously formed in ], China, at some point between August 1935 and early 1936 when the non-communist Vietnamese Nationalist Party (], or Việt Quốc), led by ], and some members of the ] (ICP) and a number of other Vietnamese nationalist parties formed an anti-imperialist united front. This organisation soon lapsed into inactivity, only to be revived by the ICP and ] in 1941. NGUYEN, Sai D. "." Quinn-Judge, ''Ho Chi Minh: The Missing Years'', pp. 212-3.</ref>


=== First Indochina War ===
During ], the French were defeated by the Germans in 1940. For French Indochina, this meant that the colonial authorities became ], allies of the German-Italian ]. In turn this meant that the French collaborated with the Japanese forces after their ] during 1940. The French continued to run affairs in the colony, but ultimate power resided in the hands of the Japanese.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 17"/>
{{Main|First Indochina War|War in Vietnam (1945–1946)}}
] (right) as the "supreme advisor" to the government of the ] led by president ] (left), 1 June 1946{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}]]


Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into ] by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider ]. On 12 March 1947, US president ] announced the ], an ] foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Administration |first=United States National Archives and Records |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qqDA6OGvhmUC&pg=PA194 |title=Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives |date=2006-07-04 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |isbn=978-0-19-530959-1 |language=en |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630110920/https://books.google.com/books?id=qqDA6OGvhmUC&pg=PA194 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Indochina, this doctrine was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed ] in ], led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the ]s of the ] and ] recognized the ], led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month.<ref name="McNamara">{{Cite book |last1=McNamara |first1=Robert S. |url=https://archive.org/details/argumentwithoute00mcna |title=Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy |last2=Blight |first2=James G. |last3=Brigham |first3=Robert K. |last4=Biersteker |first4=Thomas J. |last5=Schandler |first5=Herbert |date=1999 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-891620-87-4 |location=New York |author-link=Robert McNamara |author-link4=Thomas J. Biersteker |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Rp|377–379}}<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|88}} The outbreak of the ] in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|33–35}}
This situation continued until the German forces were expelled from France and the French Indochina colonial authorities started holding secret talks with the ]. Fearing that they could no longer trust the French authorities the Japanese army interned them all on 9 March 1945 and assumed direct control themselves<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 18, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> through their puppet state of the ] under ].


Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950.<ref name="Ang">{{Cite book |last=Ang |first=Cheng Guan |title=The Vietnam War from the Other Side |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7007-1615-9}}</ref>{{Rp|14}} Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|26}}<ref name="HistoryPlace">{{Cite web |title=The History Place – Vietnam War 1945–1960 |url=http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1945.html |access-date=11 June 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312070611/http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1945.html|archive-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref> In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating a ] (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers.<ref name="Herring">{{Cite book |last=Herring |first=George C. |title=America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975 (4th ed.) |date=2001 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-253618-8}}</ref>{{Rp|18}} By 1954, the US had spent $1&nbsp;billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|35}}
During 1944–1945, a ] struck northern Vietnam due to a combination of poor weather and Japanese exploitation. 1 million people died of starvation (out of a population of 10 million in the affected area).<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', pp. 18–19, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> Exploiting the administrative gap<ref name="Kolko, Gabriel page 36">Kolko, Gabriel ''Anatomy of War'', p. 36, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> that the internment of the French had created, the Viet Minh in March 1945 urged the population to ransack ] warehouses and refuse to pay their ]es.
<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 19, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> Between 75 and 100 warehouses were consequently raided.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20">Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 20, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref>
This rebellion against the effects of the famine and the authorities that were partially responsible for it, bolstered the Viet Minh's popularity and they recruited many members during this period.<ref name="Kolko, Gabriel page 36"/>


==== Battle of Dien Bien Phu ====
In August 1945, the Japanese had been defeated and ]. In French Indochina this created a ] as the French were still interned and the Japanese forces stood down.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/> Into this vacuum, the Viet Minh entered and grasped power across Vietnam in the "]"<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/> (in large part supported by the Vietnamese population).<ref>Kolko, Gabriel ''Anatomy of War'', p. 37, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref>
{{Main|Battle of Dien Bien Phu|Operation Vulture}}


During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US ] sailed to the ] and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and the US discussed the use of ]s, though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague.<ref name="Maclear">{{Cite book |last=Maclear |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/tenthousanddaywa00mich/page/57 |title=The Ten Thousand Day War: Vietnam 1945–1975 |date=1981 |publisher=Thames |isbn=978-0-312-79094-3 |page=}}</ref><ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|75}} According to then-Vice President ], the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French.<ref name=Maclear/> Nixon, a so-called "]", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in".<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|76}} President ] made American participation contingent on British support, but the British were opposed.<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|76}} Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|75–76}} Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success.<ref name="Gravel">{{Cite book |title=The Pentagon Papers (Gravel Edition), Volume 1 |pages=391–404}}</ref>
On 2 September 1945, ], the leader of the Viet Minh, declared the ] ] before a crowd of 500,000 in ].<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/>
In an overture to the Americans, he began his speech by paraphrasing the ]: ''All men are created equal. The Creator has given us certain inviolable Rights: the right to Life, the right to be Free, and the right to achieve Happiness.''<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/>


On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the ], they negotiated a ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vietnam.vassar.edu/overview/doc2.html|title=The Final Declarations of the Geneva Conference July 21, 1954|work=The Wars for Viet Nam|publisher=]|access-date=20 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807062726/http://vietnam.vassar.edu/overview/doc2.html|archive-date=7 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Geneva Accords {{!}} history of Indochina {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Geneva-Accords |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028002543/https://www.britannica.com/event/Geneva-Accords |url-status=live }}</ref>
However, the major ], the ], the United States and the ], all agreed that the area belonged to the French.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/> As the French did not have the ships, weapons or soldiers to immediately retake Vietnam, the major powers came to an agreement that British troops would occupy the south while ] forces would move in from the north.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/> When the British landed they rearmed the interned French forces as well as parts of the surrendered Japanese forces to aid them in retaking south Vietnam as they did not have enough troops to do this themselves.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 20"/>


==Transition period==
Following the ] from Moscow, Ho Chi Minh initially attempted to negotiate with the French who were slowly re-establishing their control across the country.<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 24, ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> In January 1946, the Viet Minh won elections across central and northern Vietnam.<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', pp. 23–24 ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> The French landed in Hanoi by March 1946 and in November of that year they ousted the Viet Minh from the city.<ref>Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 24 ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> Soon thereafter the Viet Minh began a ] against the ] forces, beginning the ].
{{Main|1954 Geneva Conference|Operation Passage to Freedom|Land reform in Vietnam|Land reform in North Vietnam|1954 in Vietnam}}
]]]


At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the ]. Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 January 2001 |title=China Contributed Substantially to Vietnam War Victory, Claims Scholar |language=en |work=Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/china-contributed-substantially-to-vietnam-war-victory-claims-scholar |access-date=20 May 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502013703/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/china-contributed-substantially-to-vietnam-war-victory-claims-scholar|archive-date=May 2, 2023}}</ref><ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|87–88}} Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between the two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|88–90}} However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State ], objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại.<ref name=":7" /> John Foster's brother, ], who was director of the ], then initiated a ] campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Kinzer |first=Stephen |title=The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret World War |date=2013 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-1-4299-5352-8 |pages=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Patrick |first=Johnson, David |title=Selling "Operation Passage to Freedom": Dr. Thomas Dooley and the Religious Overtones of Early American Involvement in Vietnam |date=2009 |publisher=University of New Orleans |url=https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/950/ |language=en|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409174806/https://scholarworks.uno.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1931&context=td|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Hastings" />{{Rp|96–97}}
The war spread to Laos and Cambodia where Communists organized the ] and the ] after the model of the Viet Minh.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 25">Neale, Jonathan ''The American War'', p. 25 ISBN 1-898876-67-3.</ref> Globally, the ] began in earnest which meant that the ] that had existed between the ] and the Soviet Union during World War II disintegrated. The Viet Minh fight was hampered by a lack of weapons; this situation changed by 1949 when the ] had largely won the ] and were free to provide arms to their Vietnamese allies.<ref name="Neale, Jonathan page 25"/>


During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|96}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prados |first=John |date=January–February 2005 |title=The Numbers Game: How Many Vietnamese Fled South In 1954? |url=http://www.vva.org/TheVeteran/2005_01/feature_numbersGame.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527190340/http://www.vva.org/TheVeteran/2005_01/feature_numbersGame.htm |archive-date=27 May 2006 |access-date=11 May 2017 |publisher=The VVA Veteran}}</ref> The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $93&nbsp;million relocation program, which involved the ] and the US ] to ferry refugees.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murti |first=B.S.N. |url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamdivided0000unse |title=Vietnam Divided |date=1964 |publisher=Asian Publishing House |url-access=registration}}</ref> The northern refugees gave the later ] regime a strong anti-communist constituency.<ref name="Karnow">{{Harvnb|Karnow|1997}}</ref>{{Rp|238}} Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years.<ref name=Kolko/>{{Rp|98}} The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 ] in the south as a base for future insurgency.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|104}} The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|116}} and the PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam.<ref name=Ang/>{{Rp|14}}
==Exit of the French, 1950–1954==
:''Main articles: ] and ]


]
In January 1950, the communist nations, led by the ] (PRC), recognized the ]'s ] as the government of Vietnam. Non-Communist nations recognized the French-backed ] in Saigon led by former Emperor ] the following month.<ref name="McNamara 377">McNamara, ''Argument Without End'' pp. 377–79.</ref> The outbreak of the ] in June 1950 convinced many Washington policymakers that the war in ] was an example of communist expansionism directed by the ].<ref>''Pentagon Papers'', Gravel, ed, Chapter 2, 'U.S. Involvement in the Franco-Viet Minh War', p. 54.</ref>


Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars.<ref name="Turner">{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Robert F. |title=Vietnamese Communism: Its Origins and Development |date=1975 |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8179-6431-3}}</ref>{{Rp|143}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gittinger |first=J. Price |date=1959 |title=Communist Land Policy in North Viet Nam |journal=Far Eastern Survey |volume=28 |issue=8 |pages=113–126 |doi=10.2307/3024603 |jstor=3024603}}</ref><ref name="Courtois">{{Cite book |last1=Courtois |first1=Stephane |title=The Black Book of Communism |title-link=The Black Book of Communism |last2=Werth |first2=Nicolas |last3=Panne |first3=Jean-Louis |last4=Paczkowski |first4=Andrzej |last5=Bartosek |first5=Karel |last6=Margolin |first6=Jean-Louis |date=1997 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-674-07608-2 |display-authors=1}}</ref>{{Rp|569}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dommen |first=Arthur J. |title=The Indochinese Experience of the French and the Americans |date=2001 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-33854-9 |page=340}}</ref> However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vu |first=Tuong |date=25 May 2007 |title=Newly released documents on the land reform |url=http://www.lib.washington.edu/southeastasia/vsg/elist_2007/Newly |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420044800/http://www.lib.washington.edu/southeastasia/vsg/elist_2007/Newly%20released%20documents%20on%20the%20land%20reform%20.html |archive-date=20 April 2011 |access-date=15 July 2016 |website=Vietnam Studies Group |quote=There is no reason to expect, and no evidence that I have seen to demonstrate, that the actual executions were less than planned; in fact the executions perhaps exceeded the plan if we consider two following factors. First, this decree was issued in 1953 for the rent and interest reduction campaign that preceded the far more radical land redistribution and party rectification campaigns (or waves) that followed during 1954–1956. Second, the decree was meant to apply to free areas (under the control of the Viet Minh government), not to the areas under French control that would be liberated in 1954–1955 and that would experience a far more violent struggle. Thus the number of 13,500 executed people seems to be a low-end estimate of the real number. This is corroborated by Edwin Moise in his recent paper "Land Reform in North Vietnam, 1953–1956" presented at the 18th Annual Conference on SE Asian Studies, Center for SE Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley (February 2001). In this paper Moise (7–9) modified his earlier estimate in his 1983 book (which was 5,000) and accepted an estimate close to 15,000 executions. Moise made the case based on Hungarian reports provided by Balazs, but the document I cited above offers more direct evidence for his revised estimate. This document also suggests that the total number should be adjusted up some more, taking into consideration the later radical phase of the campaign, the unauthorized killings at the local level, and the suicides following arrest and torture (the central government bore less direct responsibility for these cases, however).}}<br />cf. {{Cite journal |last=Szalontai |first=Balazs |date=November 2005 |title=Political and Economic Crisis in North Vietnam, 1955–56 |journal=] |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=395–426 |doi=10.1080/14682740500284630 |s2cid=153956945}}<br />cf. {{Cite book |last=Vu |first=Tuong |title=Paths to Development in Asia: South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia |date=2010 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-139-48901-0 |page=103 |quote=Clearly Vietnamese socialism followed a moderate path relative to China.{{Nbsp}}... Yet the Vietnamese 'land reform' campaign{{Nbsp}}... testified that Vietnamese communists could be as radical and murderous as their comrades elsewhere.}}</ref> In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|99–100}}
PRC military advisors began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950.<ref name="OtherSide14">Ang, Cheng Guan, ''The Vietnam War from the Other Side'', p. 14. Routledge (2002).</ref> PRC weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army.<ref name="HistoryPlace">{{cite web |url = http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1945.html |title = The History Place - Vietnam War 1945-1960 |accessdate = 2008-06-11}}</ref> In September 1950, the U.S. created a ] (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers.<ref>Herring, George C.: ''America's Longest War'', p. 18.</ref> By 1954, the U.S. had supplied 300,000 small arms and spent US$1 billion in support of the French military effort and was shouldering 80 percent of the cost of the war.<ref>Zinn, ''A People's History of the United States'', p. 471.</ref>


The south, meanwhile, constituted the State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate ],<ref name="PP">{{Cite book |title=The Pentagon Papers (Gravel Edition), Volume 3 |date=1971 |publisher=Beacon Press}}</ref>{{Rp|134}} who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under the supervision of "local commissions".<ref name=PP/>{{Rp|119}} The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK.<ref name=PP/>{{Rp|140}} It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation.<ref name=PP/>{{Rp|140}} The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this".<ref name=PP/>{{Rp|570–571}}
There were also talks between the French and Americans in which the possible use of three ]s was considered, though how seriously this was considered and by whom are even now vague and contradictory.<ref name="Ten Thousand Day War 1981, page 57">Vietnam The Ten Thousand Day War, Thames 1981, Michael Maclear, p. 57.</ref><ref>, ISBN 978-0-19-506792-7, .</ref> One version of plan for the proposed ] envisioned sending 60 B-29s from US bases in the region, supported by as many as 150 fighters launched from US Seventh Fleet carriers, to bomb Viet Minh commander ]’s positions. The plan included an option to use up to three atomic weapons on the Viet Minh positions. Admiral ], Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave this nuclear option his backing. US B-29s, B-36s, and B-47s could have executed a nuclear strike, as could carrier aircraft from the Seventh Fleet.<ref name=AirForceMagazine>, Air Force Magazine 87:8, August 2004.</ref>
US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954:
{{Blockquote|I have never talked or corresponded with a person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for.{{Sfn|Eisenhower|1963|p=}}}}
], commander of the ] religious movement, in Can Tho Military Court 1956]]


According to the ''Pentagon Papers'', which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nara-media-001.s3.amazonaws.com/arcmedia/research/pentagon-papers/Pentagon-Papers-Part-IV-A-5.pdf |title=Evolution of the War. Origins of the Insurgency |page=6 |date=January 15, 1969 |website=National Archives |access-date=October 8, 2023 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912155004/https://nara-media-001.s3.amazonaws.com/arcmedia/research/pentagon-papers/Pentagon-Papers-Part-IV-A-5.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the ] (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with the ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement.<ref>{{Harvnb|Woodruff|2005|p=6}} states: "The elections were not held. South Vietnam, which had not signed the Geneva Accords, did not believe the Communists in North Vietnam would allow a fair election. In January 1957, the International Control Commission (ICC), comprising observers from India, Poland, and Canada, agreed with this perception, reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. With the French gone, a return to the traditional power struggle between north and south had begun again."</ref>
U.S. carriers sailed to the ], and reconnaissance flights over Dien Bien Phu were conducted during the negotiations. According to ] the plan involved the Joint Chiefs of Staff drawing up plans to use 3 small tactical nuclear weapons in support of the French.<ref name="Ten Thousand Day War 1981, page 57"/> Vice president ], a so-called "hawk" on Vietnam, suggested that the U.S. might have to "put American boys in".<ref name=Tucker1999p76>, Routledge, 1999, Spencer Tucker, ISBN 978-1-85728-922-0, .</ref> President ] made American participation contingent on British support, but London was opposed.<ref name=Tucker1999p76 /> In the end, convinced that the political risks outweighed the possible benefits, Eisenhower decided against the intervention.<ref>, Naval Institute Press, 1997, Nathan Miller, ISBN 978-1-55750-595-8, .</ref>


From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the ] and ] of ]. The campaign also attacked the ] ] group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group was defeated in April following a ]. As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists.<ref name=Tucker/>
The Viet Minh received crucial support from the Soviet Union and PRC. PRC support in the ] allowed supplies to come from PRC into Vietnam. Throughout the conflict, U.S. intelligence estimates remained skeptical of French chances of success.<ref>''The Pentagon Papers.'' Gravel, ed. vol. 1, pp. 391–404.</ref>


In a ] in October 1955, Diệm ] the poll supervised by his brother ] and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended a more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|224}} He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president.<ref name=Hastings/> Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections".<ref name=Turner/>{{Rp|193–194, 202–203, 215–217}}
The ] marked the end of French involvement in Indochina. The Viet Minh and their mercurial commander Vo Nguyen Giap handed the French a stunning military defeat, and on 7 May 1954, the ] garrison surrendered. At the ] the French negotiated a ceasefire agreement with the Viet Minh. Independence was granted to ], ], and Vietnam.


The ], which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow, was first proposed by the ].<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|19}} ], then a ], said in a speech to the ]: "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam."<ref>{{Cite web |title=America's Stakes in Vietnam Speech to the American Friends of Vietnam, June 1956 |url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Remarks-of-Senator-John-F-Kennedy-at-the-Conference-on-Vietnam-Luncheon-in-the-Hotel-Willard-Washing.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626125802/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Remarks-of-Senator-John-F-Kennedy-at-the-Conference-on-Vietnam-Luncheon-in-the-Hotel-Willard-Washing.aspx |archive-date=26 June 2012 |access-date=26 June 2012 |publisher=JFK Library}}</ref>
Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the ], and under the terms of the Geneva Convention, civilians were to be given the opportunity to freely move between the two provisional states. Elections throughout the country were to be held, according to the Geneva accords, but were blocked by the South Vietnamese president, who feared a communist victory.<ref>Press release by the Embassy of the Republic of Vietnam, quoted from the Washington D.C. press and Information Service, vol l. no. 18 (22 July 1955) and no. 20 (18 August 1955), in Chapter 19 of Gettleman, Franklin and Young, ''Vietnam and America: A Documented History''], pp. 103–105.</ref> Around one million northerners, mainly ]s, fled south, fearing persecution by the communists,<ref>Jacobs, pp. 45&ndash;55.</ref> following an American ] campaign using slogans such as, "The ] is heading south",<ref name="2VNbf">''Two Viet-nams'' by Bernard B. Fall. Praeger, 1964.</ref> and aided by a U.S. funded $93 million relocation program, which included ferrying refugees with the Seventh Fleet.<ref name="BSNMurti">''Vietnam Divided'' by B.S.N. Murti, Asian Publishing House, 1964.</ref> It is estimated that as many as two million more would have left had they not been stopped by the Viet Minh.<ref>Robert Turner, ''Vietnamese Communism: Its Origin and Development'', 102 (Stanford Ca: Hoover Institution Press, 1975).</ref>


==Diệm era, 1954–1963==
In the north, the Viet Minh established a ]&mdash;the ]&mdash;and engaged in a drastic ] program in which an estimated eight thousand perceived "]" were executed.<ref>Christian G. Appy (2008) ''Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told From All Sides''. London, Ebury Press: 46.</ref> In 1956 the Communist Party leaders of Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored a large amount of the land to the original owners.<ref>Christian G. Appy (2008) ''Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told From All Sides''. London, Ebury Press: 46–7.</ref>
{{Main|Ngo Dinh Diem|War in Vietnam (1954–1959)}}


===Rule===
In the south, a non-communist state was established under the Emperor Bao Dai, a former puppet of the French and the Japanese. ] became his prime minister. In addition to the Catholics flowing south, up to 130,000 ‘Revolutionary Regroupees’, went north for "regroupment" expecting to return to the South within 2 years.<ref>Anatomy of a war, Gabiel Kolko, Phoenix press 1994 , p. 98.</ref> The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 ]s in South Vietnam as a "politico-military substructure within the object of its ]."<ref>1 ''Pentagon Papers'' (The Senator Gravel Edition), 247, 328 (Boston, Beacon Press, 1971).</ref> The last French soldiers left Vietnam in April 1956.<ref name="HistoryPlace"/> The PRC completed their withdrawal from North Vietnam at around the same time.<ref name="OtherSide14"/>
] and Secretary of State ] greet President ] of ] in Washington, 8 May 1957]]


A devout Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and ]."<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|200–201}} Most Vietnamese were ], and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of the country to the ].
==Diem era, 1955–1963==
{{Main|Ngo Dinh Diem}}
] and Secretary of State ] greet President ] in Washington.]]
], 1954]]
The ], concluded between France and the Viet Minh in 1954, partitioned Vietnam pending national elections (under ]) to be held by 20 July 1956.<ref>.</ref> Much as in Korea, the agreement stipulated that the two military zones were to be separated by a temporary demarcation line (known as the ] or DMZ). In June 1955, Prime Minister ] of the State of Vietnam (South Vietnam) announced that elections would not be held. South Vietnam had rejected the agreement from the beginning and was therefore not bound by it, he said. "How can we expect 'free elections' to be held in the Communist North?" Diem asked. President Dwight D. Eisenhower echoed senior U.S. experts<ref>Kolko, Gabriel, ''Anatomy of a War'' p. 98, ISBN 1-56584-218-9.</ref> when he wrote that, in 1954, "80 per cent of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh" over Emperor Bao Dai.<ref>Dwight D. Eisenhower. ''Mandate for Change.'' Garden City, NJ. Doubleday & Company, 1963, p. 372.</ref><ref>.</ref>


In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist.<ref name="WarBegan" /> The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in the process.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Robert F. |title=Vietnamese Communism: Its Origins and Development |date=1975 |publisher=] Publications |isbn=978-0817964313 |pages=174–178}}</ref> According to ], 40,000 ]s had been jailed by the end of 1958.<ref name=Kolko/>{{Rp|89}} In October 1956, Diệm launched a ] limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners.<ref name="Collision">{{Cite book |last1=Doyle |first1=Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/collisionofcultu00doyl |title=The Vietnam Experience, a Collision of Cultures |last2=Weiss |first2=Stephen |date=1984 |publisher=Boston Publishing Company |isbn=978-0939526123 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Rp|14–16}}
The ], which argued that if one country fell to communist forces, then all of the surrounding countries would follow, was first proposed as policy by the Eisenhower administration.<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' p. 19.</ref> It was, and is still, commonly hypothesized that it applied to Vietnam. ], then a U.S. senator, said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam: "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the ] of ] overflowed into Vietnam."<ref>John F. Kennedy. "". Speech to the American Friends of Vietnam, June 1956.</ref>


In May 1957, Diệm undertook a ]. President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|230}}
===Rule===
{{Main|State of Vietnam referendum, 1955|Operation Passage to Freedom| Battle for Saigon}}
] was named premier of South Vietnam in 1954 by former emperor and Head of State ]. A devout ], he was fervently anti-communist and was "untainted" by any connection to the French. He was one of the few prominent Vietnamese nationalists who could claim both attributes. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes, however, that "Diem represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and ]."<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' pp. 200–201.</ref>


===Insurgency in the South, 1954–1960===
] wrote that the new American patrons were almost completely ignorant of Vietnamese culture. They knew little of the language or long history of the country.<ref name="McNamara 377"/> There was a tendency to assign American motives to Vietnamese actions, and Diem warned that it was an illusion to believe that blindly copying Western methods would solve Vietnamese problems.<ref name="McNamara 377"/>
{{Main|Viet Cong|War in Vietnam (1959–1963)}}


Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors".<ref name="McNamera35">{{Cite book |last1=McNamera |first1=Robert S. |title=Argument Without End |last2=Blight |first2=James G. |last3=Brigham |first3=Robert K. |date=1999 |publisher=] |isbn=1-891620-22-3 |pages=35}}</ref> 17 people were killed in the ] at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family.<ref name="WarBegan" /> By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Excerpts from Law 10/59, 6 May 1959 |url=http://vietnam.vassar.edu/doc6.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723163835/http://vietnam.vassar.edu/doc6.html |archive-date=23 July 2008}}</ref> There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to "]" activities separate from the other communists and anti-GVN activists. ] estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|106}}<ref name="WarBegan" /> Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September.<ref name="cmh">{{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Francis John |url=http://www.history.army.mil/BOOKS/Vietnam/90-23/90-23C.htm |title=History of Special Forces in Vietnam, 1961–1971 |publisher=] |year=1989 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=4 |id=CMH Pub 90-23 |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212151656/http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/90-23/90-23C.htm |archive-date=12 February 2014 |url-status=dead |orig-year=1973}}</ref>
In April and June 1955, Diem (against U.S. advice) cleared the decks of any political opposition by launching military operations against the ] religious sect, the ] sect, and the ] organized crime group (which was allied with members of the secret police and some military elements). As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diem increasingly sought to blame the communists.<ref name=RKBrigham>Robert K. Brigham. </ref>


In September 1960, ], North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered a coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|106–107}} In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the ] (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in ], and directed through COSVN.<ref name=Ang/>{{Rp|55–58}} The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of the GVN, on ] and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret.<ref name="WarBegan" />
Beginning in the summer of 1955, he launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. Diem instituted a policy of death penalty against any activity deemed communist in August 1956.<ref> Volume 1, Chapter 5, "Origins of the Insurgency in South Vietnam, 1954-1960"].</ref> Opponents were labeled ] ("Vietnamese communist") by the regime to degrade their nationalist credentials. During this period refugees moved across the demarcation line in both directions. Around 52,000 Vietnamese civilians moved from south to north. However, 800,000 people fled north Vietnam to the south, mostly in aircraft and ships provided by France and the U.S.<ref>John Prados, "", ''The VVA Veteran'', January/February 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-21.</ref> CIA propaganda efforts increased the outflow with slogans such as "the Virgin Mary is going South." The northern, mainly Catholic refugees were meant to give Diem a strong anti-communist constituency.<ref name= "Karnow p. 238">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=238}}</ref> Diem later went on to staff his administration's key posts mostly with northern and central Catholics. As a measure of the level of ], about 12,000 suspected opponents of Diem were killed in the years 1955–1957 and by the end of 1958 an estimated 40,000 ]s had been jailed.<ref>''Anatomy of a War'' by ], ISBN 1-56584-218-9, p. 89.</ref>


Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought the landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. ] wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government".<ref name="Young">{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Marilyn |url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamwars194510000youn |title=The Vietnam Wars: 1945–1990 |date=1991 |publisher=Harper Perennial |isbn=978-0-06-092107-1 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Rp|73}}
In a referendum on the future of the monarchy, Diem ] the poll supervised by his brother ] and was accredited with 98.2 percent of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisers had recommended a more modest winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diem, however, viewed the election as a test of authority.<ref name= "Karnow p. 224">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=224}}</ref> On 26 October 1955, Diem declared the new Republic of Vietnam, with himself as president.<ref>Gerdes (ed.) ''Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War'' p. 19.</ref> The Republic of Vietnam was created largely because of the Eisenhower administration's desire for an anti-communist state in the region.<ref name=RKBrigham />


====North Vietnamese involvement====
As a wealthy Catholic, Diem was viewed by many ordinary Vietnamese as part of the old elite who had helped the French rule Vietnam. The majority of Vietnamese people were Buddhist, so his attack on the Buddhist community served only to deepen mistrust.
{{See also|North Vietnamese invasion of Laos|Ho Chi Minh trail}}


In March 1956, southern communist leader ] presented a plan to revive the insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected.<ref name=Ang/>{{Rp|58}} Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956.{{Sfn|Olson|Roberts |2008|p=67}} Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958.{{Sfn|Military History Institute of Vietnam|2002|p=68}} In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at ] in Southern Laos near the demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam.<ref name="Prados-1999">{{Cite book |last=Prados |first=John |title=The Blood Road: The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the Vietnam War |date=1999 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=9780471254652}}</ref>{{RP|24}}
In May, Diem undertook a ten-day state visit to the United States. President Eisenhower pledged his continued support. A parade in New York City was held in his honor. Although Diem was openly praised, in private ] ] conceded that he had been selected because there were no better alternatives.<ref name= "Karnow p. 230">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=230}}</ref>


The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959,<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|119–120}} and, in May, ] was established to maintain and upgrade the ], at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and ] forces invaded Laos, fighting the ] all along the border.<ref name="Morrocco-1985">{{Cite book |last=Morrocco |first=John |title=Rain of Fire: Air War, 1969–1973 |date=1985 |publisher=Boston Publishing Company |isbn=9780939526147 |series=Volume 14 of Vietnam Experience}}</ref>{{RP|26}} About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation.{{Sfn|Military History Institute of Vietnam|2002|p=xi}} The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Prados |first=John |title=Rolling Thunder in a Gentle Land |date=2006 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=978-1-84603-020-8 |editor-last=Wiest |editor-first=Andrew |location=Oxford |pages=74–95 |chapter=The Road South: The Ho Chi Minh Trail |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/rollingthunderin00wies}}</ref> In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963.<ref name=Ang/>{{Rp|76}}
===Insurgency in the South, 1956–1960===
{{Main|Vietcong}}


==Kennedy's escalation, 1961–1963==
The ] led to a reduction in the influence of the PRC, which had insisted in 1954 that the ] accept a division of the country. ], North Vietnam's pro-PRC party first secretary, was demoted and Hanoi authorized communists in South Vietnam to begin a low level ] in December 1956.<ref>James Olson and Randy Roberts, ''Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam, 1945-1990,'' p. 67 (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991).</ref> This insurgency in the south had begun in response to Diem's Denunciation of Communists campaign, in which thousands of local Viet Minh cadres and supporters had been executed or sent to concentration camps, and was in violation of the Northern Communist party line which had enjoined them not to start an insurrection, but rather engage in a political campaign, agitating for a free all-Vietnam election in accordance with the Geneva accords.<ref>Neil Sheehan (1988)'' A Bright Shining Lie''. New York, Vintage: 184–93.</ref>
{{Main|War in Vietnam (1959–1963)|Strategic Hamlet Program}}
]


In the ], Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights."<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|264}} In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier ] when they ] to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later, the ] (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to ].
] stated, "Do not engage in military operations; that will lead to defeat. Do not take land from a peasant. Emphasize nationalism rather than communism. Do not antagonize anyone if you can avoid it. Be selective in your violence. If an assassination is necessary, use a knife, not a rifle or grenade. It is too easy to kill innocent bystanders with guns and bombs, and accidental killing of the innocent bystanders will alienate peasants from the revolution. Once an assassination has taken place, make sure peasants know why the killing occurred." This strategy was referred to as "armed propaganda."<ref>Vo Nguyen Giap, "The Political and Military Line of Our Party", in ''The Military Art'', pp. 179–80.</ref>


The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the ] he had approved in April,<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 May 2015 |title=It's Time to Stop Saying that JFK Inherited the Bay of Pigs Operation from Ike |url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/161188 |publisher=History News Network|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207045947/https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/161188|archive-date=February 7, 2023}}</ref> settlement negotiations between the pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May,<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|265}} construction of the ] in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of '']'' after the Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place."<ref>.</ref><ref>Mann, Robert. ''A Grand Delusion'', Basic Books, 2002.</ref>
Soon afterward, ], a communist leader who had been working in the South, returned to Hanoi to accept the position of acting first secretary, effectively replacing Trường. Duẩn urged a military line and advocated increased assistance to the insurgency. Four hundred government officials were ] in 1957 alone, and the violence gradually increased. While the terror was originally aimed at local government officials, it soon broadened to include other symbols of the ''status quo'', such as schoolteachers,<ref>{{Citation
|last=Pike
|first=Douglas
|title=The Viet-Cong Strategy of Terror
|year=1970
|publisher=, Texas Tech University
|pages=60, 62, 69, 71
}} (a monograph prepared for the United States Mission, Vietnam).</ref><ref>{{Citation
|title=Out of Bounds: Transnational Sanctuary in Irregular Warfare|author=Thomas A. Bruscino
|publisher=Combat Studies Institute Press
|2006=2006
|isbn=9780160768460
|page=30
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=uhTiAAAACAAJ
}}, "... Vietcong units regularly threw grenades into crowds and vehicles, fired small arms into villages at night, assassinated and kidnapped village leaders and teachers, and burned down sections of villages." (Online versions available here (pdf) and here (viewable, pdf, and plain text).<br /> (1972), p. 65.</ref> health workers,<ref>Op. cit. {{Harvnb|Pike|1970|p=70}}.</ref> and agricultural officials.<ref>''Pentagon Papers Gravel'', 335.</ref>


Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in the long run, adverse military consequences."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vietnam Task Force |url=http://media.nara.gov/research/pentagon-papers/Pentagon-Papers-Part-IV-B-4.pdf |title=Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force |date=1969 |publisher=] |location=Washington, DC |pages=1–2 |chapter=IV. B. Evolution of the War 4. Phased Withdrawal of U.S. Forces in Vietnam, 1962–64 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504231323/http://media.nara.gov/research/pentagon-papers/Pentagon-Papers-Part-IV-B-4.pdf |archive-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis.<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|369}}
According to one estimate, 20 percent of South Vietnam's village chiefs had been assassinated by the insurgents by 1958.<ref>''Pentagon Papers Gravel'', 337.</ref> (The village chiefs were Diem appointees from outside the villages and were hated by the peasantry for their corruption and abuse.)<ref>''Anatomy of a War'' by ], ISBN 1-56584-218-9, pp. 94–95.</ref> The insurgency sought to completely destroy government control in South Vietnam's rural villages and replace it with a ].<ref>See Mark Moyar, "The War Against the Viet Cong Shadow Government," in ''The Real Lesson of the Vietnam War'' (John Norton Moore and Robert Turner eds., 2002) pp. 151–67.</ref>
], in June 1962]]


One major issue Kennedy raised was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using ] for ] warfare in ] countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as the ], would be effective in a "brush fire" war in Vietnam.
In January 1959, the North's Central Committee issued a secret resolution authorizing an "armed struggle". This authorized the southern communists to begin large-scale operations against the South Vietnamese military. North Vietnam supplied troops and supplies in earnest, and the infiltration of men and weapons from the north began along the ]. In May, South Vietnam enacted Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation.<ref>.</ref>


Kennedy advisors ] and ] ] US troops be sent to South Vietnam disguised as flood relief workers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stavins |first=Ralph L. |date=22 July 1971 |title=A Special Supplement: Kennedy's Private War |work=The New York Review of Books |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1971/07/22/a-special-supplement-kennedys-private-war/ |access-date=2 December 2017 |issn=0028-7504|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406045200/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1971/07/22/a-special-supplement-kennedys-private-war/|archive-date=April 6, 2023}}</ref> Kennedy rejected the idea but increased military assistance. In April 1962, ] warned Kennedy of the "danger we shall replace the French as a colonial force in the area and bleed as the French did."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Galbraith |first=John Kenneth |title=The Pentagon Papers (Gravel Edition), Volume 2 |date=1971 |publisher=Beacon Press |location=Boston |pages=669–671 |chapter=Memorandum to President Kennedy from John Kenneth Galbraith on Vietnam, 4 April 1962 |author-link=John Kenneth Galbraith}}</ref> Eisenhower put 900 advisors in Vietnam, and by November 1963, Kennedy had put 16,000 military personnel there.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|131}}
Observing the increasing unpopularity of the Diem regime, on 12 December 1960, ] authorized the creation of the ] as a ] controlled by the communist party in the South.


The ] was initiated in late 1961. This joint U.S.–South Vietnamese program attempted to resettle the rural population into fortified villages. It was implemented in early 1962 and involved some forced relocation and segregation of rural South Vietnamese, into new communities where the peasantry would be isolated from the VC. It was hoped these new communities would provide security for the peasants and strengthen the tie between them and the central government. However, by November 1963 the program had waned, and it ended in 1964.<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|1070}} In July 1962, 14 nations, including China, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, North Vietnam, and the US, signed an ] promising to respect Laos' neutrality.
Successive American administrations, as ] and others have noted, overestimated the control that Hanoi had over the NLF.<ref name="McNamara 377"/> Diem's paranoia, repression, and incompetence progressively angered large segments of the population of South Vietnam.<ref>U.S. Department of Defense, ''U.S.-Vietnam Relations'', vol. 2, p. 2.</ref> According to a November 1960 report by the head of the US military advisory team, Lieutenant General ], a "significant part" of the population in the south supported the communists.<ref>''Anatomy of a War'' by ], ISBN 1-56584-218-9, p. 105.</ref> The communists thus had a degree of popular support for their campaign to bring down Diem and reunify the country.


===Ousting and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm===
== During John F. Kennedy's administration, 1961–1963==
{{Main|Arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm}}
{{Main|Strategic Hamlet Program}}
{{See also|United States in the Vietnam War|Krulak Mendenhall mission|McNamara Taylor mission|1963 South Vietnamese coup}}
When ] won the ], one major issue Kennedy raised was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the U.S. As Kennedy took over, despite warnings from Eisenhower about ] and ], ] and ] "loomed larger than ] on his sights."<ref name= "Karnow p. 264">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=264}}</ref> In his inaugural address, Kennedy made the ambitious pledge to "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty."<ref>The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. ''.''</ref>


The inept performance of the ARVN was exemplified by failed actions such as the ] on 2 January 1963, in which the VC won a battle against a much larger and better-equipped South Vietnamese force, many of whose officers seemed reluctant even to engage in combat.<ref name="Sheehan">{{Cite book |last=Sheehan |first=Neil |title=A Bright Shining Lie – John Paul Vann and the American War in Vietnam |date=1989 |publisher=Vintage |isbn=978-0-679-72414-8|url=https://archive.org/details/brightshininglie0000shee_r0g3}}</ref>{{Rp|201–206}} The ARVN lost 83 soldiers and 5 US helicopters, serving to ferry troops shot down by VC forces, while the VC lost only 18 soldiers. The ARVN forces were led by Diệm's most trusted general, ]. Cao was a Catholic, promoted due to religion and fidelity rather than skill, and his main job was to preserve his forces to stave off coups. Policymakers in Washington began to conclude Diệm was incapable of defeating the communists and might even make a deal with Ho Chi Minh. He seemed concerned only with fending off coups and had become paranoid after attempts in ] and ], which he partly attributed to US encouragement. As ] noted, "Diệm wouldn't make even the slightest concessions. He was difficult to reason with{{Nbsp}}..."<ref>Live interview by ]. ''Was Kennedy Planning to Pull out of Vietnam?'' New York City. John F. Kennedy Library, 1964, Tape V, Reel 1.</ref> Historian James Gibson summed up the situation:
In June 1961, John F. Kennedy bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna over key U.S.-Soviet issues. The ] created the idea of a limited war.


{{Blockquote|Strategic hamlets had failed{{Nbsp}}... The South Vietnamese regime was incapable of winning the peasantry because of its class base among landlords. Indeed, there was no longer a 'regime' in the sense of a relatively stable political alliance and functioning bureaucracy. Instead, civil government and military operations had virtually ceased. The National Liberation Front had made great progress and was close to declaring provisional revolutionary governments in large areas.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gibson |first=James |date=1986 |title=The Perfect War: Technowar in Vietnam |page= |publisher=The Atlantic Monthly Press |url=https://archive.org/details/perfectwartechno0000gibs |url-access=registration}}</ref>}}
Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was also interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were originally intended for use behind front lines after a conventional invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed that the guerrilla tactics employed by special forces such as the ] would be effective in a "brush fire" war in Vietnam.


Discontent with Diệm's policies exploded in May 1963, following the ] of nine Buddhists protesting the ban on displaying the ] on ], Buddha's birthday. This resulted in mass protests -the ]- against discriminatory policies that gave privileges to Catholics over the Buddhist majority. Diệm's elder brother ] was the Archbishop of Huế and aggressively blurred the separation between church and state. Thuc's anniversary celebrations occurred shortly before Vesak had been bankrolled by the government, and Vatican flags were displayed prominently. There had been reports of Catholic paramilitaries demolishing Buddhist pagodas throughout Diệm's rule. Diệm refused to make concessions to the Buddhist majority or take responsibility for the deaths. On 21 August 1963, the ] of Colonel ], loyal to Diệm's younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu, ], causing widespread destruction and leaving a death toll into the hundreds.
The Kennedy administration remained essentially committed to the ] foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the USA had 50,000 troops based in Korea, and Kennedy faced a three-part crisis—the failure of the ], the construction of the ], and a negotiated settlement between the pro-Western government of Laos and the ] communist movement<ref name= "Karnow p. 265">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=265}} - suggested that "Kennedy sidestepped Laos, whose rugged terrain was no battleground for American soldiers."</ref> These made Kennedy believe that another failure on the part of the United States to gain control and stop communist expansion would fatally damage U.S. credibility with its allies and his own reputation. Kennedy determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam, saying, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place," to James Reston of '']'' immediately after meeting Khrushchev in Vienna.<ref>.</ref><ref>Mann, Robert. ''A Grand Delusion'', Basic Books, 2002.</ref>
]


US officials began discussing ] during the middle of 1963. The ] wanted to encourage a coup, while the Pentagon favored Diệm. Chief among the proposed changes was removal of Diệm's younger brother Nhu, who controlled the secret police and special forces, and was seen as being behind the Buddhist repression and the architect of the Ngô family's rule. This proposal was conveyed to the US embassy in Saigon in ]. The CIA contacted generals planning to remove Diệm, and told them the US would not oppose such a move, nor punish them by cutting off aid. Diệm was overthrown and then executed, along with his brother, on 2 November 1963. When Kennedy was informed, Maxwell Taylor remembered he "rushed from the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face."<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|326}} Kennedy had not anticipated Diệm's murder. The U.S. ambassador ], invited the coup leaders to the embassy and congratulated them. Lodge informed Kennedy that "the prospects now are for a shorter war".<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|327}} Kennedy wrote Lodge a letter congratulating him for "a fine job".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume IV, Vietnam, August–December 1963 |chapter=304. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam—Washington, November 6, 1963—7:50 p.m. |chapter-url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/d304 |via=Office of the Historian|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404230151/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v04/d304|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>
In May 1961, Vice President ] visited Saigon and enthusiastically declared Diem the "] of Asia."<ref name= "Karnow p. 267">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=267}}</ref> Asked why he had made the comment, Johnson replied, "Diem's the only boy we got out there."<ref name= "Karnow p. 230"/> Johnson assured Diem of more aid in molding a fighting force that could resist the communists.


Following the coup, chaos ensued. Hanoi took advantage and increased its support for the VC. South Vietnam entered extreme political instability, as one military government toppled another in quick succession. Increasingly, each new regime was viewed by the communists as a puppet of the Americans; whatever the failings of Diệm, his credentials as a nationalist had been impeccable.<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|328}} US advisors were embedded at every level of the South Vietnamese armed forces. They were however criticized for ignoring the political nature of the insurgency.{{Sfn|Demma|1989}} The Kennedy administration sought to refocus US efforts on pacification – which in this case was defined as countering the growing threat of insurgency<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2015 |title=Counterinsurgency in Vietnam: Lessons for Today |url=https://www.afsa.org/counterinsurgency-vietnam-lessons-today |website=The Foreign Service Journal|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407114858/https://afsa.org/counterinsurgency-vietnam-lessons-today|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pacification |url=http://www.vietnamgear.com/dictionary/pacification.aspx |website=Vietnam War Dictionary|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405065336/http://www.vietnamgear.com/dictionary.aspx?s=pacification|archive-date=April 5, 2023}}</ref> – and ] of the population. Military leadership in Washington, however, was hostile to any role for U.S. advisors other than troop training.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blaufarb |first=Douglas S. |title=The Counterinsurgency Era: U.S. Doctrine and Performance, 1950 to the Present |date=1977 |publisher=Free Press |isbn=978-0-02-903700-3 |page=119}}</ref> General ], the ], confidently predicted victory by Christmas 1963.<ref name=Herring/>{{Rp|103}} The CIA was less optimistic, however, warning that "the Viet Cong by and large retain de facto control of much of the countryside and have steadily increased the overall intensity of the effort".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schandler |first=Herbert Y. |url=https://archive.org/details/americainvietnam0000scha |title=America in Vietnam: The War That Couldn't Be Won |date=2009 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-6697-2 |page= |url-access=registration}}</ref>
Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam rested on the assumption that Diem and his forces must ultimately defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed that "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in the long run, adverse military consequences."<ref>U.S. Department of Defense, ''U.S.-Vietnam Relations,'' vol. 3, pp. 1–2.</ref>
], Military Regions, 1967]]


Paramilitary officers from the CIA's ] trained and led ] tribesmen in Laos and into Vietnam. The indigenous forces were in the tens of thousands and conducted direct action missions, led by paramilitary officers, against the Communist Pathet Lao forces and their North Vietnamese supporters.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Southworth |first1=Samuel |url=https://archive.org/details/usspecialforcesg0000sout |title=U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to America's Special Operations Units: the World's Most Elite Fighting Force |last2=Tanner |first2=Stephen |date=2002 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81165-4 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The CIA ran the ] and participated in the ] (MAC-V SOG).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Warner |first=Roger |title=Shooting at the Moon The story of America's clandestine war in Laos |date=1996 |publisher=Steerforth Press |isbn=978-1-883642-36-5}}</ref>
The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Bad leadership, corruption, and political interference all played a part in emasculating the ] (ARVN). The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the NLF played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis.<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' p. 369.</ref>


==Gulf of Tonkin and Johnson's escalation, 1963–1969==
Kennedy advisers ] and ] recommended that U.S. troops be sent to South Vietnam disguised as flood relief workers. Kennedy rejected the idea but increased military assistance yet again. In April 1962, ] warned Kennedy of the "danger we shall replace the French as a colonial force in the area and bleed as the French did."<ref>John Kenneth Galbraith. "Memorandum to President Kennedy from John Kenneth Galbraith on Vietnam, 4 April 1962." ''The Pentagon Papers.'' Gravel. ed. Boston, Mass. Beacon Press, 1971, vol. 2. pp. 669–671.</ref> By 1963, there were 16,000 American military personnel in South Vietnam, up from Eisenhower's 900 advisors.<ref>{{Citation
{{Main|Joint warfare in South Vietnam, 1963–1969}}
|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/conscientiousobjection/OverviewVietnamWar.htm
{{Further|United States in the Vietnam War#Americanization|January 1964 South Vietnamese coup|September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt|December 1964 South Vietnamese coup|1965 South Vietnamese coup}}
|title=Vietnam War
|publisher=}}.</ref>


Kennedy ] on 22 November 1963. Vice President ] had not been heavily involved with policy toward Vietnam;<ref name="Karnow 1997 336_339">{{Harvnb|Karnow|1997|pp=336–339}}. Johnson viewed many members that he inherited from Kennedy's cabinet with distrust because he had never penetrated their circle during Kennedy's presidency; to Johnson's mind, those like ] and ] spoke a different language.</ref>{{Refn|group="A"|Shortly after the assassination of Kennedy, when ] called Johnson on the phone, Johnson responded: "Goddammit, Bundy. I've told you that when I want you I'll call you."<ref>{{Cite book |last=VanDeMark |first=Brian |title=Into the Quagmire |date=1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |page=13}}</ref>}} however, upon becoming president, he immediately focused it. On 24 November 1963, he said, "the battle against communism{{Nbsp}}... must be joined{{Nbsp}}... with strength and determination."<ref>{{Harvnb|Karnow|1997|p=339}}. Before a small group, including Henry Cabot Lodge, Johnson also said, "We should stop playing cops and robbers and get back to{{Nbsp}}... winning the war{{Nbsp}}... tell the generals in Saigon that Lyndon Johnson intends to stand by our word{{Nbsp}}... win the contest against the externally directed and supported Communist conspiracy."</ref> Johnson knew he had inherited a deteriorating situation in South Vietnam,<ref name="Karnow 1997 339">{{Harvnb|Karnow|1997|p=339}}: "At a place called Hoa Phu, for example, the strategic hamlet built during the previous summer now looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.{{Nbsp}}... Speaking through an interpreter, a local guard explained to me that a handful of Viet Cong agents had entered the hamlet one night and told the peasants to tear it down and return to their native villages. The peasants complied without question."</ref> but adhered to the widely accepted domino argument for defending the South: Should they retreat or appease, either action would imperil other nations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunt |first=Michael |title=The World Transformed – 1945 to the Present |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-937102-0 |location=New York |pages=169–171}}</ref> Findings from RAND's ] bolstered his confidence that an air war would weaken the insurgency. Some argue the policy of North Vietnam was not to topple other non-communist governments in South East Asia.<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|48}}
The ] had been initiated in 1961. This joint U.S.-South Vietnamese program attempted to resettle the rural population into fortified camps. The aim was to isolate the population from the insurgents, provide education and health care, and strengthen the government's hold over the countryside. The Strategic Hamlets, however, were quickly infiltrated by the guerrillas. The peasants resented being uprooted from their ancestral villages. The government refused to undertake land reform, which left farmers paying high rents to a few wealthy landlords. Corruption dogged the program and intensified opposition. Government officials were targeted for assassination.


The military revolutionary council, meeting in lieu of a strong South Vietnamese leader, had 12 members. It was headed by General ], whom journalist ], recalled as "a model of lethargy".<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|340}} Lodge cabled home about Minh: "Will he be strong enough to get on top of things?" Minh's regime was overthrown in January 1964 by General ].<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|341}} There was persistent instability in the military: several coups—not all successful—occurred in a short period of time.
On 23 July 1962, fourteen nations, including the People's Republic of China, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, North Vietnam and the United States, signed an agreement promising the neutrality of Laos.<ref name=laos35k>.</ref>


===Coup and assassinations=== ===Gulf of Tonkin incident===
{{Main|Gulf of Tonkin incident}}
:''See also: ], ], ] and ]''
{{Further|Credibility gap}}
{{Main|Cable 243|Arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm|Buddhist crisis| Krulak Mendenhall mission|McNamara Taylor mission|Reaction to the 1963 South Vietnamese coup}}
The inept performance of the South Vietnamese army was exemplified by failed actions such as the ] on 2 January 1963, in which a small band of Viet Cong beat off a much larger and better equipped South Vietnamese force, many of whose officers seemed reluctant even to engage in combat.<ref>Neil Sheehan (1989) ''A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam''. New York, Vintage: 201–66.</ref> The ARVN were led in that battle by Diem's most trusted General ], commander of the ] a Catholic who had been promoted due to religion and fidelity rather than skill, and whose main job was to preserve his forces to stave off coups; Cao had earlier vomited during a communist attack. Some policymakers in Washington began to conclude that Diem was incapable of defeating the communists and might even make a deal with Ho Chi Minh. He seemed concerned only with fending off coups. As ] noted, "Diem wouldn't make even the slightest concessions. He was difficult to reason with..."<ref>Live interview by John Bartlow Martin. ''Was Kennedy Planning to Pull out of Vietnam?'' New York, NY. John F. Kennedy Library, 1964, Tape V, Reel 1.</ref>


] and four ] dropping bombs on ] during ]]]
Discontent with Diem's policies exploded following the ] of majority Buddhists who were protesting against the ban on the ] on ], the Buddha's birthday. This resulted in mass protests against policies that gave privileges to the Catholic Church and its adherents. Diem's elder brother ] was the Archbishop of Hue and aggressively blurred the separation between church and state. Diem refused to make concessions to the Buddhist majority or take responsibility for the deaths. On 21 August 1963, the ] of Colonel ], loyal to Diem's younger brother ], ], causing widespread damage and destruction.


On 2 August 1964, {{USS|Maddox|DD-731|6}}, on an intelligence mission along North Vietnam's coast, fired upon and damaged torpedo boats approaching it in the Gulf of Tonkin.<ref name=Kolko/>{{Rp|124}} A second attack was reported two days later on {{USS|Turner Joy|DD-951|6}} and ''Maddox''. The circumstances were murky.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|218–219}} Johnson commented to Undersecretary of State George Ball that "those sailors out there may have been shooting at flying fish."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kutler |first=Stanley I. |title=Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War |date=1996 |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |isbn=978-0-13-276932-7 |page=249}}</ref> An ] publication declassified in 2005 revealed there was no attack on 4 August.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shane |first=Scott |date=31 October 2005 |title=Vietnam Study, Casting Doubts, Remains Secret |work=The New York Times] |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2005/10/31/politics/31war.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211090222/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/31/politics/31war.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all |archive-date=11 December 2008}}</ref>
U.S. officials began discussing the possibility of a regime change during the summer of 1963. The ] was generally in favor of encouraging a ], while the Defense Department favored Diem.


The second "attack" led to ], and prompted Congress to approve the ] on 7 August 1964.<ref name="Moïse">{{Cite book |last=Moïse |first=Edwin E. |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780807823002 |title=Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War |date=1996 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-2300-2 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Rp|78}} The resolution granted the president power "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression" and Johnson relied on this as giving him authority to expand the war.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|221}} Johnson pledged he was not "committing American boys to fighting a war that I think ought to be fought by the boys of Asia to help protect their own land".<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|227}}
Chief among the proposed changes was the removal of Diem's younger brother ]. Nhu controlled the secret police and was seen as the man behind the Buddhist repression. As Diem's most powerful adviser, Nhu had become a hated figure in South Vietnam. This was conveyed to the US embassy in Saigon in ].
]
The ] was in contact with generals planning to remove Diem. They were told that the United States would not oppose such a move nor punish the generals by cutting off aid. President Diem was overthrown and executed, along with his brother, on 2 November 1963. When he was informed, Maxwell Taylor remembered that Kennedy "rushed from the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face."<ref name= "Karnow p. 326">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=326}}</ref> He had not approved Diem's murder. The U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam, ], invited the coup leaders to the embassy and congratulated them. Ambassador Lodge informed Kennedy that "the prospects now are for a shorter war".<ref name= "Karnow p. 327">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=327}}</ref>


The ] recommended a three-stage escalation of the bombing of North Vietnam. Following an ] on 7 February 1965,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Simon |first=Dennis M. |date=August 2002 |title=The War in Vietnam, 1965–1968 |url=http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Change-Viet2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426064833/http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Change-Viet2.html |archive-date=26 April 2009 |access-date=7 May 2009}}</ref> airstrikes were initiated, while Soviet Premier ] was on a ] to North Vietnam. ] and ] expanded aerial bombardment and ground support operations.{{Sfn|Nalty|1998|pp=97, 261}} The bombing campaign, which lasted three years, was intended to force North Vietnam to cease its support for the VC by threatening to destroy North Vietnamese air defenses and infrastructure. It was additionally aimed at bolstering South Vietnamese morale.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tilford |first=Earl L. |url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Apr/07/2001728434/-1/-1/0/B_0040_TILFORD_SETUP.PDF |title=Setup: What the Air Force did in Vietnam and Why |date=1991 |publisher=Air University Press |page=89|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404230151/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Apr/07/2001728434/-1/-1/0/B_0040_TILFORD_SETUP.PDF|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref> Between March 1965 and November 1968, ''Rolling Thunder'' deluged the north with a million tons of missiles, rockets and bombs.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|468}}
Following the coup, chaos ensued. Hanoi took advantage of the situation and increased its support for the guerrillas. South Vietnam entered a period of extreme political instability, as one military government toppled another in quick succession. Increasingly, each new regime was viewed as a puppet of the Americans; whatever the failings of Diem, his credentials as a nationalist (as Robert McNamara later reflected) had been impeccable.<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' p. 328.</ref>


===Bombing of Laos===
U.S military advisers were embedded at every level of the South Vietnamese armed forces. They were, however, almost completely ignorant of the political nature of the ]. The insurgency was a political power struggle, in which military engagements were not the main goal.<ref name="Demma">Demma, Vincent H. "The U.S. Army in Vietnam." ''American Military History'' (1989) the official history of the United States Army. Available .</ref> The Kennedy administration sought to refocus U.S. efforts on pacification and "winning over the hearts and minds" of the population. The military leadership in Washington, however, was hostile to any role for U.S. advisers other than conventional troop training.<ref>Douglas Blaufarb. ''The Counterinsurgency Era.'' New York, NY. Free Press, 1977, p. 119.</ref> General ], the commander of U.S. forces in South Vietnam, confidently predicted victory by Christmas 1963.<ref>George C. Herring. ''America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975.'' Boston, Mass. McGraw Hill, 1986, p. 103.</ref> The CIA was less optimistic, however, warning that "the Viet Cong by and large retain de facto control of much of the countryside and have steadily increased the overall intensity of the effort".<ref>''Foreign Relation of the United States, Vietnam, 1961-1963.'' Washington, DC. Government Printing Office, 1991, vol. 4., p. 707.</ref>
{{Main|Laotian Civil War}}
Bombing was not restricted to North Vietnam. Other aerial campaigns, targeted different parts of the VC and PAVN infrastructure. These included the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia. The ostensibly neutral Laos had become ], pitting the ] backed by the US, against the Pathet Lao and its North Vietnamese allies.


Massive aerial bombardment against the Pathet Lao and PAVN forces was carried out by the US to prevent the collapse of the Royal central government, and deny use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1&nbsp;million tons of bombs it dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in history, relative to its population.<ref name="KiernanTaylor">{{Cite journal |last1=Kiernan |first1=Ben |author-link=Ben Kiernan |last2=Owen |first2=Taylor |date=26 April 2015 |title=Making More Enemies than We Kill? Calculating U.S. Bomb Tonnages Dropped on Laos and Cambodia, and Weighing Their Implications |url=http://apjjf.org/2015/13/16/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=13 |issue=17 |id=4313 |access-date=18 September 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326111723/https://apjjf.org/Ben-Kiernan/4313.html|archive-date=March 26, 2023}}</ref>
Paramilitary officers from the CIA's ] trained and led Hmoung tribesmen in Laos and into Vietnam. The indigenous forces numbered in the tens of thousands and they conducted direct action missions, led by paramilitary officers, against the Communist Pathet Lao forces and their North Vietnamese supporters.<ref>U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to America's Special Operations Units : the World's Most Elite Fighting Force,By Samuel A. Southworth, Stephen Tanner, Published by Da Capo Press, 2002, ISBN 0-306-81165-0, 9780306811654.</ref> The CIA also ran the Phoenix Program and participation MAC-V SOG (Studies and Observations Group), which was originally named the Special Operations Group, but was changed for cover purposes.<ref>Shooting at the Moon by Roger Warner – The history of CIA/IAD'S 15-year involvement in conducting the secret war in Laos, 1960–1975, and the career of CIA PMCO (paramilitary case officer) Bill Lair.</ref>


The objective of stopping North Vietnam and the VC was never reached. The ] ], however, had long advocated saturation bombing in Vietnam and wrote of the communists that "we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age".<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|328}}
== Lyndon B. Johnson expands the war, 1963–1969 ==
] and four ]s dropping bombs on ]]]
:''For more details on this topic, see ]''
{{See also|Opposition to the Vietnam War|Gulf of Tonkin Incident}}
] (LBJ), as he took over the presidency after the ], did not consider Vietnam a priority and was more concerned with his "]" and progressive social programs. Presidential aide ] recalls, "Vietnam at the time was no bigger than a man's fist on the horizon. We hardly discussed it because it was not worth discussing."<ref name= "Karnow pp. 336-339">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|pp=336–339}} - Johnson viewed many members whom he inherited from Kennedy's cabinet with distrust because he had never penetrated their circle early in Kennedy's presidency; to Johnson's mind, such as ] and ] spoke a different language.</ref><ref>Shortly after the assassination of Kennedy, when ] called LBJ on the phone, LBJ responded: "Goddammit, Bundy. I've told you that when I want you I'll call you." Brian VanDeMark, ''Into the Quagmire'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 13.</ref>


===The 1964 offensive===
On November 24, 1963, Johnson said, "the battle against ]... must be joined... with strength and determination."<ref>Vietnam: ''A History'' (New York: Penguin books, 1983), p. 339. Before a small group, including ], the new president also said, "We should stop playing cops and robbers and get back to... winning the war... tell the generals in Saigon that Lyndon Johnson intends to stand by our word... win the contest against the externally directed and supported Communist conspiracy."</ref> The pledge came at a time when Vietnam was deteriorating, especially in places like the Mekong Delta, because of the recent coup against Diem.<ref name= "Karnow p. 339">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=339}} - talking about the Mekong Delta, that, "At a place called Hoa Phu, for example, the ] built during the previous summer now looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.... Speaking through an interpreter, a local guard explained to me that a handful of Vietcong agents had entered the hamlet one night and told the peasants to tear it down and return to their native villages. The peasants complied without question."</ref>
], June 1965]]


Following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Hanoi anticipated the arrival of US troops and began expanding the VC, as well as sending increasing numbers of PAVN personnel southwards. They were outfitting the VC forces and standardizing their equipment with ] rifles and other supplies, as well as forming the ].<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|223}}<ref>{{Cite book |title=Vietnam War After Action Reports |publisher=BACM Research |page= |language=en}}</ref> "From a strength of approximately 5,000 at the start of 1959 the Viet Cong's ranks grew to about 100,000 at the end of 1964{{Nbsp}}... Between 1961 and 1964 the Army's strength rose from about 850,000 to nearly a million men."{{Sfn|Demma|1989}} U.S. troop numbers deployed to Vietnam during the same period were much lower: 2,000 in 1961, rising to 16,500 in 1964.<ref name="Kahin">{{Cite book |last1=Kahin |first1=George |title=The United States in Vietnam: An analysis in depth of the history of America's involvement in Vietnam |last2=Lewis |first2=John W. |date=1967 |publisher=Delta Books}}</ref> The use of captured equipment decreased, while greater numbers of ammunition and supplies were required to maintain regular units. Group 559 was tasked with expanding the Ho Chi Minh Trail, in light of the bombardment by US warplanes. The war had shifted into the final, conventional phase of Hanoi's ]. The VC was now tasked with destroying the ARVN and capturing and holding areas; however, it was not yet strong enough to assault major towns and cities.
Johnson had reversed Kennedy's disengagement policy from Vietnam in withdrawing 1,000 troops by the end of 1963 (] 263 on Oct. 11),<ref>.</ref> with his own NSAM 273 (Nov. 26)<ref>.</ref> to expand the war.


In December 1964, ARVN forces suffered heavy losses at the ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moyar |first=Mark |title=Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965 |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86911-9 |page=}}</ref> in a battle both sides viewed as a watershed. Previously, the VC had utilized hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. At Binh Gia, however, they defeated a strong ARVN force in a conventional battle and remained in the field for four days.<ref name="McNeill">{{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=Ian |title=To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966 |date=1993 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-86373-282-6}}</ref>{{Rp|58}} Tellingly, South Vietnamese forces were again defeated in June 1965 at the ].<ref name=McNeill/>{{Rp|94}}
The military revolutionary council, meeting in lieu of a strong South Vietnamese leader, was made up of 12 members headed by General Minh—whom ], a journalist on the ground, later recalled as "a model of lethargy."<ref name= "Karnow p. 340">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=340}} - who quote Minh as enjoying playing tennis more than bureaucratic work.</ref> His regime was overthrown in January 1964 by General Nguyen Khanh. Lodge, frustrated by the end of the year, cabled home about Minh: "Will he be strong enough to get on top of things?"<ref name= "Karnow p. 341">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=341}}</ref>
]n border, is interrogated.]]
On 2 August 1964, the ], on an intelligence mission along North Vietnam's coast, allegedly fired upon and damaged several torpedo boats that had been stalking it in the ].<ref name="nsa1964">Hanyok, Robert J., '''', NSA Cryptologic Quarterly, <!-- Bot generated title --> (archived from {{Dead link|date=January 2009}} on 26 February 2008).</ref> <!--<ref>.</ref>--> A second attack was reported two days later on the ] and ''Maddox'' in the same area. The circumstances of the attack were murky. Lyndon Johnson commented to Undersecretary of State George Ball that "those sailors out there may have been shooting at flying fish."<ref>Gerdes (ed.) ''Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War'' p. 26.</ref>


===American ground war===
The second attack led to retaliatory air strikes, prompted Congress to approve the ], and gave the president power to conduct military operations in Southeast Asia without declaring war. In the same month, Johnson pledged that he was not "...&nbsp;committing American boys to fighting a war that I think ought to be fought by the boys of Asia to help protect their own land."<ref name="Palmer">{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Dave Richard|title=Summons of the Trumpet: U.S.-Vietnam in Perspective|publisher=Presidio Press|year=1978|page=882|isbn=0891415505}}</ref>
{{See also|Buddhist Uprising}}
], moves a suspected Viet Cong during a search and clear operation held by the battalion {{Convert|15|mi|km|0}} west of ], 1965.]]


On 8 March 1965, 3,500 ] were landed near ], South Vietnam.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|246–247}} This marked the beginning of the American ground war. U.S. public opinion overwhelmingly supported the deployment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 October 2002 |title=Generations Divide Over Military Action in Iraq |url=http://www.people-press.org/2002/10/17/generations-divide-over-military-action-in-iraq |publisher=Pew Research Center|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121005317/https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2002/10/17/generations-divide-over-military-action-in-iraq/|archive-date=21 November 2022}}</ref> The Marines' initial assignment was defense of ]. The first deployment was increased to nearly 200,000 by December.<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|349–351}} U.S. military had long been schooled in offensive warfare. Regardless of political policies, U.S. commanders were institutionally and psychologically unsuited to a defensive mission.<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|349–351}}
An undated ] publication declassified in 2005, however, revealed that there was no attack on 4 August.<ref name="nsa1964"/> It had already been called into question long before this. ], writes Louise Gerdes, "is an oft-cited example of the way in which Johnson misled the American people to gain support for his foreign policy in Vietnam."<ref>Gerdes (ed.) ''Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War'' p. 25.</ref> George C. Herring argues, however, that McNamara and the Pentagon "did not knowingly lie about the alleged attacks, but they were obviously in a mood to retaliate and they seem to have selected from the evidence available to them those parts that confirmed what they wanted to believe."<ref>George C. Herring, ''America's longest war: the United States and Vietnam 1950-1975'' (New York: Wiley, 1979), 121.</ref>


General ] informed Admiral ], commander of U.S. Pacific forces, that the situation was critical,<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|349–351}} "I am convinced that U.S. troops with their energy, mobility, and firepower can successfully take the fight to the NLF (Viet Cong)".<ref>United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, vol. 4, p. 7.</ref> With this recommendation, Westmoreland was advocating an aggressive departure from America's defensive posture and the sidelining of the South Vietnamese. By ignoring ARVN units, the U.S. commitment became open-ended.<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|353}} Westmoreland outlined a three-point plan to win the war:
"From a strength of approximately 5,000 at the start of 1959 the Viet Cong's ranks grew to about 100,000 at the end of 1964...Between 1961 and 1964 the Army's strength rose from about 850,000 to nearly a million men."<ref name="Demma"/> The numbers for US troops deployed to Vietnam during the same period were quite different; 2,000 in 1961, rising rapidly to 16,500 in 1964.<ref name="USvietAnalysis">The United States in Vietnam: An analysis in depth of the history of America's involvement in Vietnam by ] and John W. Lewis, Delta Books, 1967.</ref>
* Phase 1. Commitment of U.S. and allied forces necessary to halt the losing trend by the end of 1965.
].]]
* Phase 2. U.S. and allied forces mount major offensive actions to seize the initiative to destroy guerrilla and organized enemy forces. This phase would end when the enemy had been worn down and driven back from major populated areas.
The ] recommended a three-stage escalation of the bombing of North Vietnam. On 2 March 1965, following an attack on a ] barracks at ],<ref name="DennisSimon">{{cite web |last =Simon |first =Dennis M. |title =The War in Vietnam,1965-1968 |date =August 2002 |url =http://faculty.smu.edu/dsimon/Change-Viet2.html |accessdate = 2009-05-07}}</ref> ], ] and ] commenced.<ref>Nalty 1998, pp. 97, 261.</ref> The bombing campaign, which ultimately lasted three years, was intended to force North Vietnam to cease its support for the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF) by threatening to destroy North Vietnam's air defenses and industrial infrastructure. As well, it was aimed at bolstering the morale of the South Vietnamese.<ref name = "Tilford 89">Earl L. Tilford, ''Setup: What the Air Force did in Vietnam and Why''. Maxwell Air Force Base AL: Air University Press, 1991, p. 89.</ref> Between March 1965 and November 1968, "Rolling Thunder" deluged the north with a million tons of missiles, rockets and bombs.<ref name= "Karnow p. 468">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=468}}</ref>
* Phase 3. If the enemy persisted, a period of 12–18 months following Phase 2 would be required for final destruction of enemy forces remaining in remote base areas.<ref>United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, vol. 5, pp. 8–9.</ref>


The plan was approved by Johnson and marked a profound departure from the insistence that South Vietnam was responsible for defeating the VC. Westmoreland predicted victory by the end of 1967.<ref>United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, vol. 4, pp. 117–19. and vol. 5, pp. 8–12.</ref> Johnson did not communicate this change in strategy to the media. Instead he emphasized continuity.<ref>''Public Papers of the Presidents, 1965.'' Washington, DC Government Printing Office, 1966, vol. 2, pp. 794–99.</ref> The change in policy depended on matching the North Vietnamese and VC in a contest of ] and ]. The opponents were locked in a cycle of ].<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|353–354}} Westmoreland and McNamara touted the ] system for gauging victory, a metric that would prove flawed.<ref name=Mohr>{{Cite news |last=Mohr |first=Charles |date=16 May 1984 |title=McNamara on Record, Reluctantly, on Vietnam |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/16/us/mcnamara-on-record-reluctantly-on-vietnam.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404185613/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/16/us/mcnamara-on-record-reluctantly-on-vietnam.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>
Bombing was not restricted to North Vietnam. Other aerial campaigns, such as ], targeted different parts of the NLF and ] (VPA) infrastructure. These included the ], which ran through ] and ]. The objective of forcing North Vietnam to stop its support for the NLF, however, was never reached. As one officer noted "this is a political war and it calls for discriminate killing. The best weapon... would be a knife... The worst is an airplane."<ref name=vann-44k /> The ] ], however, had long advocated saturation bombing in Vietnam and wrote of the Communists that "we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age".<ref>.</ref>


]
===Escalation and ground war===
]s suspected of being ]s under detention of U.S. army, 1966]]


The American buildup transformed the South Vietnamese economy and had a profound effect on society. South Vietnam was inundated with manufactured goods. Washington encouraged its ] allies to contribute troops; Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and the Philippines<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|556}} agreed to do so. South Korea would ask to join the ] program in return for economic compensation. Major allies, however, notably ] countries Canada and the UK, declined troop requests.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Church |first=Peter |title=A Short History of South-East Asia |date=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-82481-8 |page=193}}</ref>
Escalation of the war officially started on the morning of 31 January 1965, when orders were cut and issued to mobilize the ] from ] to ] (AFB). A red alert alarm to scramble was sounded at ] AFB at 3:00 a.m. ]s, pilots, and support were deployed from Okinawa and landed in Vietnam that afternoon to join up with other smaller units who had already arrived weeks earlier. Preparations were under way for the first step of ]. The mission of Operation Flaming Dart, to cross the Seventeenth Parallel into North Vietnam, had already been planned and was in place before the ] on 6 February.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} On 7 February, 49 ]s flew out of Danang AFB to targets located in North Vietnam. From this day forward the war was no longer confined to South Vietnam. It took almost an hour to get all of the F-105's in the air. On that morning, the continuous loud roar of the F-105 engines going down the runway, one following another, was described by the ground crew as a "rolling thunder".{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}


The U.S. and its allies mounted complex ] operations. In November 1965, the U.S. engaged in its first major battle with the PAVN, the ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Galloway |first=Joseph |date=18 October 2010 |title=Ia Drang – The Battle That Convinced Ho Chi Minh He Could Win |url=http://www.historynet.com/ia-drang-where-battlefield-losses-convinced-ho-giap-and-mcnamara-the-u-s-could-never-win.htm |access-date=2 May 2016 |publisher=Historynet|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322083652/https://www.historynet.com/ia-drang-where-battlefield-losses-convinced-ho-giap-and-mcnamara-the-u-s-could-never-win/?f|archive-date=March 22, 2023}}</ref> The operation was the first large scale helicopter air assault by the U.S., and first to employ ] strategic bombers in support.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|284–285}} These tactics continued in 1966–67, however, the PAVN/VC insurgents remained elusive and demonstrated tactical flexibility. By 1967, the war had generated large-scale internal refugees, 2&nbsp;million in South Vietnam, with 125,000 people evacuated and rendered homeless during ] alone,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Geoffrey C. |title=The Vietnam War: An Intimate History |last2=Burns |first2=Ken |date=5 September 2017 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-5247-3310-0 |page= |language=en |quote=By the end of the year, more than 125,000 civilians in the province had lost their homes{{Nbsp}}...}}</ref> which was the largest search and destroy operation to that point. Operation Masher would have negligible impact, however, as the PAVN/VC returned to the province just four months after it ended.<ref name="Ward">{{Cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Geoffrey C. |title=The Vietnam War: An Intimate History |last2=Burns |first2=Ken |date=2017 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=978-0-307-70025-4}}</ref>{{Rp|153–156}} Despite major operations, which the VC and PAVN would typically evade, the war was characterized by smaller-unit contacts or engagements.<ref name="GS">{{Cite book |title=The Pentagon Papers (Gravel Edition), Volume 4 |at=Section 4, pp. 277–604 |chapter=Chapter 2, US Ground Strategy and Force Deployments, 1965–1968 |access-date=12 June 2018 |chapter-url=https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon4/pent9.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626210700/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon4/pent9.htm |archive-date=26 June 2019 |url-status=dead |via=International Relations Department, Mount Holyoke College}}</ref> The VC and PAVN would initiate 90% of large firefights, and thus the PAVN/VC would retain strategic initiative despite overwhelming US force and fire-power deployment.<ref name=GS/> The PAVN and Viet Cong had developed strategies capable of countering US military doctrines and tactics: see ].
After several attacks upon them, it was decided that ] bases needed more protection. The South Vietnamese military seemed incapable of providing security. On 8 March 1965, 3,500 ] were dispatched to South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the American ground war. U.S. public opinion overwhelmingly supported the deployment.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080202203114rn_1/people-press.org/commentary/display.php3?AnalysisID=57|title=Generations Divide Over Military Action in Iraq|publisher=Pew Research Center|month=October|year=2002}} (archived from on 2 February 2008).</ref> Public opinion, however, was based on the premise that Vietnam was part of a global struggle against communism.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}


Meanwhile, the political situation in South Vietnam began to stabilize with the arrival of prime minister Air Marshal ] and figurehead chief of state, General ], in mid-1965 at the head of a junta. In 1967, Thieu became president with Ky as his deputy, after rigged elections. Although they were nominally a civilian government, Kỳ was supposed to maintain real power through a behind-the-scenes military body. However, Thiệu outmanoeuvred and sidelined Kỳ. Thiệu was accused of murdering Kỳ loyalists through contrived military accidents. Thiệu remained president until 1975, having won a ].<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|706}}
In a statement similar to that made to the French almost two decades earlier, Ho Chi Minh warned that if the Americans "want to make war for twenty years then we shall make war for twenty years. If they want to make peace, we shall make peace and invite them to afternoon tea."<ref>Ho Chi Minh. ''Letter to Martin Niemoeller.'' December, 1966. quoted in Marilyn B. Young. ''The Vietnam Wars: 1945–1990.'' New York, NY. Harper, 1991, p. 172.</ref> As former First Deputy Foreign Minister Tran Quang Co has noted, the primary goal of the war was to reunify Vietnam and secure its independence. The policy of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) was not to topple other non-communist governments in South East Asia.<ref>McNamara, ''Argument Without End'' p. 48.</ref>


Johnson employed a "policy of minimum candor"<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|18}} with the media. Military information officers sought to manage coverage by emphasizing stories that portrayed progress. This policy damaged the public trust in official pronouncements. As coverage of the war and the Pentagon diverged, a so-called ] developed.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|18}} Despite Johnson and Westmoreland publicly proclaiming victory and Westmoreland stating the "end is coming into view",<ref>{{Cite news |title=TWE Remembers: General Westmoreland Says the "End Begins to Come Into View" in Vietnam |language=en |work=Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-general-westmoreland-says-end-begins-come-view-vietnam |access-date=12 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605025020/https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-general-westmoreland-says-end-begins-come-view-vietnam|archive-date=June 5, 2023}}</ref> internal reports in the '']'' indicate that VC forces retained strategic initiative and controlled their losses. VC attacks against static US positions accounted for 30% of engagements, VC/PAVN ambushes and encirclements for 23%, American ambushes against VC/PAVN forces for 9%, and American forces attacking Viet Cong emplacements only 5%.<ref name=GS/>
The Marines' assignment was defensive. The initial deployment of 3,500 in March was increased to nearly 200,000 by December.<ref name="McNamara 349">McNamara, ''Argument Without End'' pp. 349–51.</ref> The U.S. military had long been schooled in offensive warfare. Regardless of political policies, U.S. commanders were institutionally and psychologically unsuited to a defensive mission.<ref name="McNamara 349"/> In December, ] (ARVN) forces suffered heavy losses at the ],<ref>{{Citation
|title=Triumph forsaken: the Vietnam war, 1954-1965
|author=Mark Moyar
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|year=2006
|isbn=9780521869119
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=phJrZ87RwuAC
|page=}}.</ref> in a battle that both sides viewed as a watershed. Previously communist forces had utilized hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, however at Binh Gia they had successfully defeated a strong ARVN force in conventional warfare.<ref>McNeill 1993, p. 58.</ref> Tellingly, South Vietnamese forces were again defeated in June, at the ].<ref>McNeill 1993, p. 94.</ref>


{| class="wikitable"
]]]
|+Types of Engagements, From Department of Defence Study 1967<ref name=GS/>
!TYPE OF ENGAGEMENTS IN COMBAT NARRATIVES
!Percentage of
Total Engagements
!Notes
|-
|Hot Landing Zone. VC/PAVN Attacks U.S. Troops As They Deploy
|{{center|13}}
| rowspan="3" |Planned VC/PAVN Attacks
Are 66% Of All Engagements
|-
|Planned VC/PAVN Attack Against US Defensive Perimeter
|{{center|30}}
|-
|VC/PAVN Ambushes or Encircles A Moving US Unit
|{{center|23}}
|-
|Unplanned US Attacks On A VC/PAVN Defensive Perimeter,
Engagement A Virtual Surprise To US Commanders
|{{center|13}}
|Defensive Posts Being Well Concealed
or VC/PAVN Alerted or Anticipated
|-
|Planned US Attack Against Known
VC/PAVN Defensive Perimeter
|{{center|5}}
| rowspan="2" |Planned US Attacks Against
VC/PAVN Represent 14%


Of All Engagements
Desertion rates were increasing, and ] plummeted. General ] informed Admiral ], commander of U.S. Pacific forces, that the situation was critical.<ref name="McNamara 349"/> He said, "I am convinced that U.S. troops with their energy, mobility, and firepower can successfully take the fight to the NLF ."<ref>U.S. Department of Defense, ''U.S.-Vietnam Relations'' vol. 4, p. 7.</ref> With this recommendation, Westmoreland was advocating an aggressive departure from America's defensive posture and the sidelining of the South Vietnamese. By ignoring ARVN units, the U.S. commitment became open-ended.<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' p. 353.</ref> Westmoreland outlined a three-point plan to win the war:
|-
|U.S. Forces Ambushes Moving VC/PAVN Units
|{{center|9}}
|-
|Chance Engagement, Neither Side Planned
|{{center|7}}
|
|}


== Tet Offensive and its aftermath ==
* Phase 1. Commitment of U.S. (and other free world) forces necessary to halt the losing trend by the end of 1965.
{{Main|Tet Offensive|United States news media and the Vietnam War}}
]
]]]


In late 1967, the PAVN lured American forces into the hinterlands at ] and at the Marine ], where the U.S. fought ]. These were part of a diversionary strategy meant to draw US forces towards the Central Highlands.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 June 2006 |title=Interview with NVA General Tran Van Tra {{!}} HistoryNet |url=http://www.historynet.com/interview-with-nva-general-tran-van-tra.htm |access-date=1 June 2018 |website=www.historynet.com |language=en-US|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409152943/https://www.historynet.com/interview-with-nva-general-tran-van-tra/?f|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> Preparations were underway for the ], with the intention of ] forces to launch "direct attacks on the American and puppet nerve centers—Saigon, ], Danang, all the cities, towns and main bases{{Nbsp}}..."<ref name="Wilson">{{Cite news |date=20 October 2014 |title=The Urban Movement and the Planning and Execution of the Tet Offensive |language=en |work=Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/the-urban-movement-and-the-planning-and-execution-the-tet-offensive |access-date=1 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409152950/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/the-urban-movement-and-the-planning-and-execution-the-tet-offensive|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> Le Duan sought to placate critics of the stalemate by planning a decisive victory.<ref name="Nguyen">{{Cite book |last=Nguyen |first=Lien-Hang T. |title=Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam |date=2012 |publisher=Univ of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-4696-2835-6}}</ref>{{Rp|90–94}} He reasoned this could be achieved through sparking an uprising within the towns and cities,<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|148}} along with mass defections among ARVN units, who were on leave during the truce period.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wiest |first=Andrew |date=1 March 2018 |title=Opinion {{!}} The Tet Offensive Was Not About Americans |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/opinion/tet-offensive-americans-vietnam.html |access-date=1 June 2018 |issn=0362-4331|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416233243/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/opinion/tet-offensive-americans-vietnam.html|archive-date=April 16, 2023}}</ref>
* Phase 2. U.S. and allied forces mount major offensive actions to seize the initiative to destroy guerrilla and organized enemy forces. This phase would be concluded when the enemy had been worn down, thrown on the defensive, and driven back from major populated areas.


The Tet Offensive began on 30 January 1968, as over 100 cities were attacked by over 85,000 VC/PAVN troops, including assaults on military installations, headquarters, and government buildings, including the ].<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|363–365}} U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were shocked by the scale, intensity and deliberative planning, as infiltration of personnel and weapons into the cities was accomplished covertly;<ref name=Wilson/> the offensive constituted an ] on the scale of ].<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|556}} Most cities were recaptured within weeks, ], which PAVN/VC troops held on for 26 days.<ref name="Bowden">{{Cite book |last=Bowden |first=Mark |title=Hue 1968 A turning point of the American war in Vietnam |date=2017 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press}}</ref>{{Rp|495}} They ] civilians and foreigners they considered to be spies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hosmer |first=Stephen T. |title=Viet Cong Repression and its Implications for the Future |date=1970 |publisher=Rand Corporation |pages=72–8}}</ref><ref name=Bowden/>{{Rp|495}} In the following Battle of Huế American forces employed massive firepower that left 80% of the city in ruins.<ref name=Kolko/>{{Rp|308–309}} At ], the ], the 1st Division and a regiment of the US 1st Cavalry Division managed to hold out and overcome an assault intended to capture the city.<ref name="Villard">{{Cite book |last=Villard |first=Erik B. |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/vietnam/tet_battles/tet.pdf |title=The 1968 Tet Offensive Battles of Quang Tri City and Hue |date=2008 |publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History |isbn=978-1-5142-8522-0|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605173341/https://history.army.mil/html/books/vietnam/tet_battles/tet.pdf|archive-date=June 5, 2023}}</ref>{{Rp|}}<ref name="Ankony">{{Cite book |last=Ankony |first=Robert C. |title=Lurps: A Ranger's Diary of Tet, Khe Sanh, A Shau, and Quang Tri |date=2009 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-7618-3281-2}}</ref>{{Rp|104}} In Saigon, VC/PAVN fighters had captured areas in and around the city, attacking key installations before US and ARVN forces dislodged them after three weeks.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|479}} During one battle, ] reported an infantry commander saying of the ] that "it became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keyes |first=Ralph |url=https://archive.org/details/quoteverifierwho00keye |title=The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When |date=2006 |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |isbn=978-0-312-34004-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Weinraub |first=Bernard |date=8 February 1968 |title=Survivors Hunt Dead of Bentre, Turned to Rubble in Allied Raids |work=The New York Times |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D1FFA3F541B7B93CAA91789D85F4C8685F9|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409014500/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/02/08/archives/survivors-hunt-dead-of-bentre-turned-to-rubble-in-allied-raids.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>
* Phase 3. If the enemy persisted, a period of twelve to eighteen months following Phase 2 would be required for the final destruction of enemy forces remaining in remote base areas.<ref>U.S. Department of Defense, ''U.S.-Vietnam Relations'' vol. 5, pp. 8–9.</ref>


]
The plan was approved by Johnson and marked a profound departure from the previous administration's insistence that the government of South Vietnam was responsible for defeating the guerrillas. Westmoreland predicted victory by the end of 1967.<ref>U.S. Department of Defense, ''U.S.-Vietnam Relations'' vol. 4, pp 117–119. and vol. 5, pp. 8–12.</ref> Johnson did not, however, communicate this change in strategy to the media. Instead he emphasized continuity.<ref>''Public Papers of the Presidents, 1965.'' Washington, DC. Government Printing Office, 1966, vol. 2, pp. 794–799.</ref> The change in U.S. policy depended on matching the North Vietnamese and the NLF in a contest of ] and ]. The opponents were locked in a cycle of ].<ref name="McNamara 353">McNamara ''Argument Without End'' pp. 353–354.</ref> The idea that the government of South Vietnam could manage its own affairs was shelved.<ref name="McNamara 353"/>


During the first month of the offensive, 1,100 Americans and other allied troops, 2,100 ARVN and 14,000 civilians were killed.<ref name="Trieu">{{Cite journal |last=Triều |first=Họ Trung |date=5 June 2017 |title=Lực lượng chính trị và đấu tranh chính trị ở thị xã Nha Trang trong cuộc Tổng tiến công và nổi dậy Tết Mậu Thân 1968 |journal=Hue University Journal of Science: Social Sciences and Humanities |volume=126 |issue=6 |doi=10.26459/hujos-ssh.v126i6.3770 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |issn=2588-1213}}</ref> After two months, nearly 5,000 ARVN and over 4,000 U.S. forces had been killed and 45,820 wounded.<ref name=Trieu/> The U.S. claimed 17,000 PAVN/VC had been killed and 15,000 wounded.<ref name=Ankony/>{{Rp|104}}<ref name=Villard/>{{Rp|82}} A month later a second offensive known as the ] was launched; it demonstrated the VC were still capable of carrying out orchestrated nationwide offensives.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|488–489}} Two months later a third offensive was launched, ]. PAVN records of their losses across all three offensives was 45,267 killed and 111,179 total casualties.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tết Mậu Thân 1968 qua những số liệu |language=vi-VN |url=http://www.nhandan.com.vn/chinhtri/item/7976502-.html |access-date=1 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407184326/https://nhandan.vn/tet-mau-than-1968-qua-nhung-so-lieu-post484868.html|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eyraud |first=Henri |date=March 1987 |title=Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience. By Kolko Gabriel. |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=109 |page=135 |doi=10.1017/s0305741000017653 |issn=0305-7410 |s2cid=154919829}}</ref> It had become the bloodiest year up to then. The failure to spark a general uprising and lack of defections among the ARVN units meant both war goals of Hanoi had fallen flat at enormous cost.<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|148–149}}
]


Prior to Tet, in November 1967, Westmoreland had spearheaded a public relations drive for the Johnson administration to bolster flagging public support.<ref name="Witz">{{Cite book |last=Witz |title=The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure in War |date=1994 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-8209-0 |pages=1–2}}</ref> In a speech to the ] he said a point had been reached "where the end comes into view."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Berman |first=Larry |title=Lyndon Johnson's War |date=1991 |publisher=W.W. Norton |page=116}}</ref> Thus, the public was shocked and confused when Westmoreland's predictions were trumped by the Tet Offensive.<ref name=Witz/> Public approval of his performance dropped from 48% to 36%, and endorsement for the war fell from 40% to 26%."<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|546}} The public and media began to turn against Johnson as the offensives contradicted claims of progress.<ref name=Witz/>
It is widely held that the average U.S. serviceman was nineteen years old, as evidenced by the casual reference in a pop song ("]" by ]); the figure is cited by ] ] ret. of the ] in his 1995 book '']'' (p.&nbsp;265). However, it is disputed by the<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.vhfcn.org/stat.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080127034256/http://www.vhfcn.org/stat.html
|archivedate=2008-01-27 |title=Statistics about the Vietnam War |publisher=Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network |accessdate=2008-10-05}}.{{Verify credibility|date=October 2008}}(archived from on 27 January 2008).</ref> Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network Website, which claims the average age of MOS 11B personnel was 22. This compares with 26 years of age for those who participated in World War II. Soldiers served a one-year tour of duty. The average age of the US military men who died in Vietnam was 22.8 years old.<ref></ref>


At one point in 1968, Westmoreland considered the use of ]s in a contingency plan codenamed ], which was abandoned when it became known to the White House.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanger |first=David E. |date=6 October 2018 |title=U.S. General Considered Nuclear Response in Vietnam War, Cables Show |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/06/world/asia/vietnam-war-nuclear-weapons.html |access-date=8 October 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314213812/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/06/world/asia/vietnam-war-nuclear-weapons.html|archive-date=March 14, 2023}}</ref> Westmoreland requested 200,000 additional troops, which was leaked to the media, and the fallout combined with intelligence failures caused him to be removed from command in March 1968, succeeded by his deputy ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sorley |first=Lewis |title=A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam |date=1999 |publisher=Harvest |isbn=0-15-601309-6 |pages=11–6}}</ref>
The one-year ] deprived units of experienced leadership. As one observer noted "we were not in Vietnam for 10 years, but for one year 10 times."<ref name=vann-44k>John Paul Vann. {{Verify credibility|date=October 2008}}</ref> As a result, training programs were shortened. Some ] were referred to as "]" to highlight their accelerated training. Unlike soldiers in World War II and Korea, there were no secure rear areas in which to get rest and relaxation.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} One unidentified soldier said to ] that there was nothing to do in Vietnam and therefore many of the men smoked ]. He said, "One of the reasons I guess -- one of the biggest reasons that a lot of GIs do get high over here is there is nothing to do; this place is really a drag, its a bore over here. Like right now sitting around here, we are getting loaded. Whereas, it doesn’t really get you messed up, that's I guess the main reason why we smoke it."<ref name=upi1970>, UPI.com.</ref>


On 10 May 1968, ] began between the US and North Vietnam in Paris. Negotiations stagnated for five months, until Johnson gave orders to halt the bombing of North Vietnam. Hanoi realized it could not achieve a "total victory" and employed a strategy known as "talking while fighting, fighting while talking", in which offensives would occur concurrently with negotiations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 April 2012 |title=North Vietnam's "Talk-Fight" Strategy and the 1968 Peace Negotiations with the United States |language=en |work=Wilson Center |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/north-vietnams-talk-fight-strategy-and-the-1968-peace-negotiations-the-united-states |access-date=1 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409174807/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/north-vietnams-talk-fight-strategy-and-the-1968-peace-negotiations-the-united-states|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>
South Vietnam was inundated with manufactured goods. As Stanley Karnow writes, "the main PX,{{Clarify|date=April 2009}} located in the Saigon suburb of ], was only slightly smaller than the New York ]..."<ref name= "Karnow p. 453">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=453}}</ref> The American buildup transformed the economy and had a profound impact on South Vietnamese society. A huge surge in corruption was witnessed.


Johnson declined to run for re-election as his approval rating slumped from 48% to 36%.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|486}} His escalation of the war divided Americans, cost 30,000 American lives by that point and was regarded to have destroyed his presidency.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|486}} Refusal to send more troops was seen as Johnson's admission that the war was lost.<ref name="Command Magazine Issue 18, page 15">''Command Magazine'' Issue 18, p. 15.</ref> As McNamara said, "the dangerous illusion of victory by the United States was therefore dead."<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|367}}
]


Vietnam was a major political issue during the ]. The election was won by Republican Richard Nixon who claimed to have a secret plan to end the war.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|515}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johns |first=Andrew |title=Vietnam's Second Front: Domestic Politics, the Republican Party, and the War |date=2010 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-7369-6 |pages=198 |language=en}}</ref>
Washington encouraged its ] allies to contribute troops. ], ], the ], ], and the ]<ref name= "Karnow p. 556">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=556}}</ref> all agreed to send troops. Major allies, however, notably ] nations ] and the United Kingdom, declined Washington's troop requests.<ref>Peter Church. ed. ''A Short History of South-East Asia.'' Singapore, John Wiley & Sons, 2006, p. 193.</ref> The U.S. and its allies mounted complex operations, such as operations ], ], ], and ]. However, the communist insurgents remained elusive and demonstrated great ] flexibility.


==Vietnamization (1969–1972)==
Meanwhile, the political situation in South Vietnam began to stabilize somewhat with the coming to power of Vice President ] and President ] in 1967. Thieu, mistrustful and indecisive, remained president until 1975.<ref name= "Karnow p. 706">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=706}}</ref> This ended a long series of military ] that had begun with Diem's assassination. The relative calm allowed the ARVN to collaborate more effectively with its allies and become a better fighting force.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}


===Nuclear threats and diplomacy===
The Johnson administration employed a "policy of minimum candor"<ref name= "Karnow p. 18">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=18}}</ref> in its dealings with the media. Military information officers sought to manage media coverage by emphasizing stories which portrayed progress in the war. Over time, this policy damaged the public trust in official pronouncements. As the media's coverage of the war and that of the Pentagon diverged, a so-called ] developed.<ref name= "Karnow p. 18"/> In October 1967 a large anti-war demonstration was held on the steps of the Pentagon. Of the thousands of protesters, over 680 were arrested. Some protesters chanted phrases like, "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh! The NLF is going to win!"<ref>Rovira, Carlito., Socialism and Liberation Magazine, March 2007.</ref> and "Hey, hey, LBJ! How many boys did you kill today?"<ref>Carroll, Anne W. ''Christ and the Americas,'' Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1997, p. 413.</ref>
Nixon began troop withdrawals in 1969. His plan to build up the ARVN so it could take over the defense of South Vietnam became known as "]". As the PAVN/VC recovered from their 1968 losses and avoided contact, Abrams conducted operations aimed at disrupting logistics, with better use of firepower and more cooperation with the ARVN.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|517}} In October 1969, Nixon had ordered B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons ] to convince the Soviet Union, in accord with the ], he was capable of anything to end the Vietnam War.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sagan |first1=Scott Douglas |last2=Suri |first2=Jeremi |date=16 June 2003 |title=The Madman Nuclear Alert: Secrecy, Signaling, and Safety in October 1969 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/43692 |journal=International Security |language=en |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=150–183 |doi=10.1162/016228803321951126 |issn=1531-4804 |s2cid=57564244 |access-date=8 February 2018 |archive-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607003022/http://muse.jhu.edu/article/43692 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Michael |title=Nixon's Nuclear Ploy |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB81/index2.htm |access-date=8 February 2018 |website=nsarchive2.gwu.edu|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407114836/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB81/index2.htm|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref> Nixon had sought '']'' with the Soviet Union and ], which decreased tensions and led to nuclear arms reductions. However, the Soviets continued to supply the North Vietnamese.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foundations of Foreign Policy, 1969-1972 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/i/21100.htm |access-date=4 July 2021 |website=Foreign Relations, 1969-1976, Volume I |publisher=U.S. Department of State|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513100856/https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/nixon/i/21100.htm|archive-date=May 13, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Ness |first=Peter |date=December 1986 |title=Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, and the American Accommodation with China: A Review Article |journal=Contemporary Southeast Asia |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=231–245 |jstor=25797906}}</ref>


===Tet Offensive=== ===Hanoi's war strategy===
] and ]ese to the side of the ]]]
{{Main|Tet Offensive}}


On 2 September 1969, Ho Chi Minh died aged 79.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 September 1969 |title=Ho Chi Minh Dies of Heart Attack in Hanoi |page=1 |work=The Times}}</ref> The failure of the 1968 Tet Offensive to spark a popular uprising in the south caused a shift in Hanoi's war strategy, and the ]-] "Northern-First" faction regained control over military affairs from the Lê Duẩn-] "Southern-First" faction.<ref name="Currey">{{Cite book |last=Currey |first=Cecil B. |title=Victory at Any Cost: The Genius of Viet Nam's Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap |date=2005 |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc. |isbn=978-1-57488-742-6 |page=}}</ref>{{Rp|272–274}} An unconventional victory was sidelined in favor of a conventional victory through conquest.<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|196–205}} Large-scale offensives were rolled back in favor of ] and ] attacks as well as targeting the pacification and Vietnamization strategy.<ref name=Currey/> Following Tet, the PAVN had transformed from a ], limited mobility force into a ] and mechanized ] force.<ref name=Currey/>{{Rp|189}} By 1970, over 70% of communist troops in the south were northerners, and southern-dominated VC units no longer existed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kiernan |first=Ben |title=Viet Nam: A History from Earliest Times to the Present |date=February 2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=447}}</ref>
Having lured General Westmoreland's forces into the hinterland at ] in ],<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' pp. 363–365.</ref> in January 1968, the NVA and NLF broke the truce that had traditionally accompanied the ] (Lunar New Year) holiday. They launched the surprise Tet Offensive in the hope of sparking a national uprising. Over 100 cities were attacked, with assaults on General Westmoreland's headquarters and the ].


===U.S. domestic controversies===
Although the U.S. and South Vietnamese were initially taken aback by the scale of the urban offensive, they responded quickly and effectively, decimating the ranks of the NLF. In the former capital city of ], the combined NLF and ] troops captured the Imperial Citadel and much of the city, which led to the ]. Throughout the offensive, the American forces employed massive firepower; in Hue where the battle was the fiercest, that firepower left 80% of the city in ruins.<ref>''Anatomy of a War'' by ] ISBN 1-56584-218-9 pp. 308–309.</ref> During the interim between the capture of the Citadel and end of the "Battle of Hue", the communist insurgent occupying forces ] several thousand unarmed Hue civilians (estimates vary up to a high of 6,000). After the war, North Vietnamese officials acknowledged that the Tet Offensive had, indeed, caused grave damage to NLF forces. But the offensive had another, unintended consequence.
The ] was gaining strength in the US. Nixon appealed to the "]" who he said supported the war without showing it. But revelations of the 1968 ],<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|518–521}} in which a US Army unit raped and killed civilians, and the 1969 "]", where eight ] soldiers, were arrested for the murder<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stein |first=Jeff |url=https://archive.org/details/murderinwartimeu00stei |title=A Murder in Wartime: The Untold Spy Story that Changed the Course of the Vietnam War |date=1992 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-07037-3 |pages= |url-access=registration}}</ref> of a suspected double agent,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bob Seals |date=2007 |title=The "Green Beret Affair": A Brief Introduction |url=http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/20thCentury/articles/greenberets.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509150017/http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/20thCentury/articles/greenberets.aspx|archive-date=May 9, 2008}}</ref> provoked national and international outrage.


In 1971, the ''Pentagon Papers'' were leaked to ''The New York Times''. The top-secret history of US involvement in Vietnam, commissioned by the Department of Defense, detailed public deceptions on the part of the government. The ] ruled its publication was legal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=] |date=February 1997 |title=The Pentagon Papers Case |url=http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/goodsb1.htm |url-status=dead |journal=eJournal USA |volume=2 |issue=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112095748/http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/goodsb1.htm |archive-date=12 January 2008 |access-date=27 April 2010}}</ref>
General Westmoreland had become the public face of the war. He was featured on the cover of ''Time'' magazine three times and was named 1965's Man of the Year.<ref name="Time">"The Guardians at the Gate," ''Time: The Weekly Newsmagazine'' 7 January 1966, vol. 87, no.1.</ref> ''Time'' described him as "the sinewy personification of the American fighting man... (who) directed the historic buildup, drew up the battle plans, and infused the... men under him with his own idealistic view of U.S. aims and responsibilities."<ref name="Time"/>


===Collapsing U.S. morale===
In November 1967 Westmoreland spearheaded a public relations drive for the Johnson administration to bolster flagging public support.<ref name="Witz">Witz ''The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure in War'' pp. 1–2.</ref> In a speech before the ] he said that a point in the war had been reached "where the end comes into view."<ref>Larry Berman. ''Lyndon Johnson's War.'' New York, W.W. Norton, 1991, p. 116.</ref> Thus, the public was shocked and confused when Westmoreland's predictions were trumped by Tet.<ref name="Witz"/> The American media, which had been largely supportive of U.S. efforts, rounded on the Johnson administration for what had become an increasing credibility gap. Despite its military failure, the Tet Offensive became a political victory and ended the career of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who declined to run for re-election. Johnson's approval rating slumped from 48 to 36 percent.<ref name="Witz"/>
{{Further|G.I. movement}}
Following the Tet Offensive and decreasing support among the US public, US forces began a period of morale collapse, and disobedience.<ref name="Stewart">{{Cite book |last=Stewart |first=Richard |url=https://history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/chapter11.htm |title=American Military History, Volume II, The United States Army in a Global Era, 1917–2003 |date=2005 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-16-072541-8 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-date=14 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214153119/http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/chapter11.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|349–350}}<ref name="Daddis">{{Cite book |last=Daddis |first=Gregory A. |title=Withdrawal: Reassessing America's Final Years in Vietnam |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-069110-3 |page=}}</ref>{{Rp|166–175}} At home, desertion rates quadrupled from 1966 levels.<ref name="Heinl">{{Cite journal |last=Heinl |first=Robert D. Jr. |date=7 June 1971 |title=The Collapse of the Armed Forces |url=https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/Vietnam/heinl.pdf |journal=Armed Forces Journal |access-date=14 June 2018 |archive-date=12 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412060044/https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/Vietnam/heinl.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Among the enlisted, only 2.5% chose infantry combat positions in 1969–70.<ref name=Heinl/> ] enrollment decreased from 191,749 in 1966 to 72,459 by 1971,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sevy |first=Grace |title=The American Experience in Vietnam: A Reader |date=1991 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=978-0-8061-2390-5 |page=}}</ref> and reached a low of 33,220 in 1974,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Richard Halloran |date=12 August 1984 |title=R.O.T.C. Booming as Memories of Vietnam Fade |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/12/us/rotc-booming-as-memories-of-vietnam-fade.html |access-date=14 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415124225/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/12/us/rotc-booming-as-memories-of-vietnam-fade.html|archive-date=April 15, 2023}}</ref> depriving US forces of much-needed military leadership.


Open refusal to engage in patrols or carry out orders emerged, with a notable case of an entire company refusing orders to carry out operations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 March 1971 |title=General Won't Punish G.I.'s for Refusing Orders |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/23/archives/general-wont-punish-gis-for-refusing-orders-53-defiant-gis-escape.html |access-date=13 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409031624/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/03/23/archives/general-wont-punish-gis-for-refusing-orders-53-defiant-gis-escape.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> Unit cohesion began to dissipate and focused on minimizing contact with the PAVN/VC.<ref name=Daddis/>{{Rp|}} A practice known as "sand-bagging" started, where units ordered to patrol would go into the country-side, find a site out of view from superiors and radio in false coordinates and unit reports.<ref name=Ward/>{{Rp|407–411}} Drug usage increased among US forces, 30% regularly used marijuana,<ref name=Ward/>{{Rp|407}} while a House subcommittee found 10% regularly used high-grade heroin.<ref name=Heinl/><ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|526}} From 1969 on, search-and-destroy operations became referred to as "search and avoid" operations, falsifying battle reports while avoiding guerrillas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robert |first=Graham |date=1984 |title=Vietnam: An Infantryman's View of Our Failure |url=https://web.viu.ca/davies/H323Vietnam/Vietnam.InfantryView.failure.pdf |journal=Military Affairs |volume=48 |issue=3 (Jul. 1984) |pages=133–139 |doi=10.2307/1987487 |jstor=1987487|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605173405/https://web.viu.ca/davies/H323Vietnam/Vietnam.InfantryView.failure.pdf|archive-date=June 5, 2023}}</ref> 900 ] and suspected fragging incidents were investigated, most occurring between 1969 and 1971.<ref name="Stanton">{{Cite book |last=Stanton |first=Shelby L. |title=The Rise and Fall of an American Army: U.S. Ground Forces in Vietnam, 1963–1973 |date=2007 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-41734-3}}</ref>{{Rp|331}}<ref name=Ward/>{{Rp|407}} In 1969, field-performance was characterized by lowered morale, lack of motivation, and poor leadership.<ref name=Stanton/>{{Rp|331}} The significant decline in US morale was demonstrated by the ] in March 1971, in which a sapper attack inflicted serious losses on the U.S. defenders.<ref name=Stanton/>{{Rp|357}} Westmoreland, no longer in command but tasked with investigation of the failure, cited a dereliction of duty, lax defensive postures and lack of officers in charge.<ref name=Stanton/>{{Rp|357}}
As James Witz noted, Tet "contradicted the claims of progress... made by the Johnson administration and the military."<ref name="Witz"/> The Tet Offensive was the turning point in America's involvement in the Vietnam War. It had a profound impact on domestic support for the conflict. The offensive constituted an ] on the scale of ].<ref name= "Karnow p. 556">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=556}}</ref><ref>Harold P. Ford. ''CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers'' pp. 104–123.</ref> Journalist ] quoted an unnamed officer, saying of ] (laid to rubble by US firepower)<ref> nytimes.com.</ref> that "it became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it" (though the authenticity of this quote is disputed).<ref>, ], ''Jewish World Review'', 1 April 2003.</ref> According to one source, this quote was attributed to Major Booris of 9th Infantry Division.<ref>.</ref>


On the collapse of morale, historian Shelby Stanton wrote:
]


{{Blockquote|In the last years of the Army's retreat, its remaining forces were relegated to static security. The American Army's decline was readily apparent in this final stage. Racial incidents, drug abuse, combat disobedience, and crime reflected growing idleness, resentment, and frustration{{Nbsp}}... the fatal handicaps of faulty campaign strategy, incomplete wartime preparation, and the tardy, superficial attempts at Vietnamization. An entire American army was sacrificed on the battlefield of Vietnam.<ref name=Stanton/>{{Rp|366–368}}}}
Westmoreland became Chief of Staff of the Army in March, just as all resistance was finally subdued. The move was technically a promotion. However, his position had become untenable because of the offensive and because his request for 200,000 additional troops had been leaked to the media. Westmoreland was succeeded by his deputy ], a commander less inclined to public media pronouncements.<ref>Sorely 1999, pp. 11-16.</ref>


===ARVN taking the lead and U.S. ground force withdrawal===
On 10 May 1968, despite low expectations, ] began between the U.S. and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Negotiations stagnated for five months, until Johnson gave orders to halt the bombing of North Vietnam. The ] candidate, Vice President ], was running against ] former vice president ]. Through an intermediary, ], Nixon advised Saigon to refuse to participate in the talks until after elections, claiming that he would give them a better deal once elected. {{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} Thieu obliged, leaving almost no progress made by the time Johnson left office. {{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}
]


Beginning in 1969, American troops were withdrawn from border areas where most of the fighting took place and redeployed along the coast and interior. US casualties in 1970 were less than half of 1969, after being relegated to less active combat.<ref name="upi1970">{{Cite web |title=Vietnamization: 1970 Year in Review |url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1970/Apollo-13/12303235577467-2/#title |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831125343/http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1970/Apollo-13/12303235577467-2 |archive-date=31 August 2011 |website=UPI.com}}</ref> While US forces were redeployed, the ARVN took over combat operations, with casualties double US casualties in 1969, and more than triple US ones in 1970.<ref name="Wiest">{{Cite book |last=Wiest |first=Andrew |title=Vietnam's Forgotten Army: Heroism and Betrayal in the ARVN |date=2007 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-9451-7 |pages=–140}}</ref> In the post-Tet environment, membership in the ] and ] militias grew, and they were now more capable of providing village security, which the Americans had not accomplished.<ref name=Wiest/>
As historian Robert Dallek writes, "Lyndon Johnson's escalation of the war in Vietnam divided Americans into warring camps... cost 30,000 American lives by the time he left office, (and) destroyed Johnson's presidency..."<ref>Gerdes (ed.) ''Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War'' p. 27.</ref> His refusal to send more U.S. troops to Vietnam was seen as Johnson's admission that the war was lost.<ref name="Command Magazine Issue 18, page 15">Command Magazine Issue 18, p. 15.</ref> It can be seen that the refusal was a tacit admission that the war could not be won by escalation, at least not at a cost acceptable to the American people.<ref name="Command Magazine Issue 18, page 15"/> As Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara noted, "the dangerous illusion of victory by the United States was therefore dead."<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' pp. 366–367.</ref>


In 1970, Nixon announced the withdrawal of an additional 150,000 American troops, reducing US numbers to 265,500.<ref name=upi1970/> By 1970, VC forces were no longer southern-majority, nearly 70% of units were northerners.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=Gareth |title=Vietnam: The Politics of Bureaucratic Socialism |date=1993 |isbn=978-0-8014-2168-6 |page=26|publisher=Cornell University Press }}</ref> Between 1969 and 1971 the VC and some PAVN units had reverted to ] typical of 1967 and prior, instead of nationwide offensives.<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|}} In 1971, Australia and New Zealand withdrew their soldiers and US troops were further reduced to 196,700, with a deadline to remove another 45,000 troops by February 1972. The US reduced support troops, and in March 1971 the ], the first American unit deployed to South Vietnam, withdrew.<ref name="StantonVOB">{{Cite book |last=Stanton |first=Shelby L. |title=Vietnam order of battle |date=2003 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-0071-9}}</ref>{{Rp|240}}{{Refn|On 8 March 1965 the first American combat troops, the ], began landing in Vietnam to protect the ].{{Sfn|Willbanks|2009|p=110}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Facts about the Vietnam Veterans memorial collection |url=http://www.nps.gov/mrc/reader/vvmcr.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528032742/http://www.nps.gov/mrc/reader/vvmcr.htm |archive-date=28 May 2010 |access-date=26 April 2010 |publisher=]}}</ref>|group="A"}}
==Vietnamization, 1969–1972==
===Nixon Doctrine / Vietnamization===
]
:''For more details on this topic, see ]''
Severe communist losses during the Tet Offensive allowed U.S. President ] to begin troop withdrawals. His plan, called the ], was to build up the ARVN, so that they could take over the defense of South Vietnam. The policy became known as "]". Vietnamization had much in common with the policies of the Kennedy administration. One important difference, however, remained. While Kennedy insisted that the South Vietnamese fight the war themselves, he attempted to limit the scope of the conflict.


===Cambodia===
Nixon said in an announcement, "I am tonight announcing plans for the withdrawal of an additional 150,000 American troops to be completed during the spring of next year. This will bring a total reduction of 265,500 men in our armed forces in Vietnam below the level that existed when we took office 15 months ago."<ref name=upi1970 />
{{Main|Operation Menu|Operation Freedom Deal|5=Cambodian Civil War}}
]


Prince ] had proclaimed Cambodia neutral since 1955,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sihanouk |first=Prince Norodom |title=Cambodia Neutral: The Dictates of Necessity |journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=1958 |pages=582–583}}</ref> but permitted the PAVN/VC to use the port of ] and the ]. In March 1969 Nixon launched a secret bombing campaign, called ], against communist sanctuaries along the Cambodia/Vietnam border. Only five high-ranking congressional officials were informed.{{Refn|group="A"|They were: Senators ] (MS) and ] Jr. (GA) and Representatives ] (SC), ] (MI) and ] (IL). Arends and Ford were leaders of the Republican minority and the other three were Democrats on either the Armed Services or Appropriations committees.}}
Nixon also pursued negotiations. Theater commander ] shifted to smaller operations, aimed at communist logistics, with better use of firepower and more cooperation with the ARVN. Nixon also began to pursue ] with the ] and ]. This policy helped to decrease global tensions. Détente led to nuclear arms reduction on the part of both ]s. But Nixon was disappointed that the PRC and the Soviet Union continued to supply the North Vietnamese with aid. In September 1969, Ho Chi Minh died at age seventy-nine.<ref>{{cite news |last = |first = |coauthors = |title = Ho Chi Minh Dies of Heart Attack in Hanoi |work = The Times |page =1 |publisher = |date =4 September 1969 | url= |accessdate = }}</ref>


In March 1970, ] by his ] prime minister ], who demanded North Vietnamese troops leave Cambodia or face military action.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sutsakhan |first=S. |url=https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/239/2390505001A.pdf |title=The Khmer Republic at War and the Final Collapse |date=1987 |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |page=42 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412060055/https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/star/images/239/2390505001A.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nol began rounding up Vietnamese civilians in Cambodia into internment camps and massacring them, provoking reactions from the North and South Vietnamese governments.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lipsman |first1=Samuel |url=https://archive.org/details/fightingfortime00lips/page/145 |title=The Vietnam Experience Fighting for time |last2=Doyle |first2=Edward |date=1983 |publisher=Boston Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-939526-07-9 |page=}}</ref> In April–May 1970, North Vietnam invaded Cambodia at the request of the ], following negotiations with deputy leader ]. Nguyen Co Thach recalls: "Nuon Chea has asked for help and we have liberated five provinces of Cambodia in ten days."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Susan E. Cook |url=https://gsp.yale.edu/genocide-cambodia-and-rwanda-0 |title=Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda |date=2004 |publisher=Yale University |series=Yale Genocide Studies Program Monograph Series |page=54|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409052610/https://gsp.yale.edu/genocide-cambodia-and-rwanda-0|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> US and ARVN forces launched the ] in May to attack PAVN/VC bases. A counter-offensive in 1971, as part of ] by the PAVN, would recapture most of the border areas and decimate most of Nol's forces.
The anti-war movement was gaining strength in the United States. Nixon appealed to the "]" of Americans to support the war. But revelations of the ], in which a U.S. Army ] went on a rampage and raped and killed civilians, and the 1969 "]" where eight Special Forces soldiers, including the 5th Special Forces Group Commander were arrested for the murder<ref>Jeff Stein, Murder in Wartime: The Untold Spy Story that Changed the Course of the Vietnam War. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992) 60–62.</ref> of a suspected double agent<ref>Seals, Bob (2007) .</ref> provoked national and international outrage.


The US incursion into Cambodia sparked ] as Nixon had promised to deescalate American involvement. ] in May 1970 during a protest at ], which provoked further public outrage. The reaction by the administration was seen as callous, reinvigorating the declining anti-war movement.<ref name=Daddis/>{{Rp|128–129}} The US Air Force continued to bomb Cambodia in support of the Cambodian government as part of ].
The civilian cost of the war was again questioned when the U.S. concluded operation ] with a claimed bodycount of 10,889 Communist guerillas with only 40 U.S. losses; Kevin Buckley writing in '']'' estimated that perhaps 5,000 of the Vietnamese dead were civilians.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/Vietnam/buckley.html
|title= Pacification’s Deadly Price
|publisher=self-published, quoting ''Newsweek''¸ 19 June 1972, pp. 42–3
|accessdate=2008-10-05}}.{{copyvio link|date=October 2008}}</ref>


===Laos===
Beginning in 1970 American troops were being taken away from border areas where much more killing took place and instead put along the coast and interior which is one reason why casualties in 1970 were less than half of 1969's totals.<ref name=upi1970 />
{{Main|3=Operation Commando Hunt|4=Laotian Civil War|6=Operation Lam Son 719}}


Building on the success of ARVN units in Cambodia, and further testing the Vietnamization program, the ARVN were tasked with ] in February 1971, the first major ground operation to attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail, at the crossroad of Tchepone. This offensive was the first time the PAVN would field-test its combined arms force.<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|}} The first few days were a success, but momentum slowed after fierce resistance. Thiệu had halted the general advance, leaving PAVN armored divisions able to surround them.{{Sfn|Willbanks|2014|p=89}}
=== Operation Menu: the secret bombing of Cambodia and Laos ===
{{Main|Operation Menu}}
Prince ] had proclaimed Cambodia neutral since 1955,<ref>Prince Norodom Sihanouk. "Cambodia Neutral: The Dictates of Necessity." ''Foreign Affairs'' 1958, pp. 582–583.</ref> but the communists used Cambodian soil as a base and Sihanouk tolerated their presence, because he wished to avoid being drawn into a wider regional conflict. Under pressure from Washington, however, he changed this policy in 1969. The Vietnamese communists were no longer welcome. President Nixon took the opportunity to launch a massive secret bombing campaign, called Operation Menu, against their sanctuaries along the Cambodia/Vietnam border.


Thieu ordered ] troops to capture Tchepone and withdraw, despite facing four-times larger numbers. During the withdrawal, the PAVN counterattack had forced a panicked rout. Half of the ARVN troops were either captured or killed, half of the ARVN/US support helicopters were downed and the operation was considered a fiasco, demonstrating operational deficiencies within the ARVN.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|644–645}} Nixon and Thieu had sought to use to showcase victory simply by capturing Tchepone, and it was spun off as an "operational success".{{Sfn|Willbanks|2014|p=118}}<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|576–582}}
This violated a long succession of pronouncements from Washington supporting Cambodian neutrality. Richard Nixon wrote to Prince Sihanouk in April 1969 assuring him that the United States respected "the sovereignty, neutrality and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia..."<ref>quoted in {{Citation
|editor-last=Ross
|editor-first=Russell R.
|chapter-url=http://www.countrystudies.us/cambodia/18.htm
|chapter=Nonaligned Foreign Policy
|url=http://countrystudies.us/cambodia/
|title=Cambodia: A Country Study
|publication-place=Washington
|publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress
|year=1987}}</ref> In 1970, Prince ] by his pro-American prime minister ]. The country's borders were closed, and the U.S. and ARVN launched ] to attack VPA/NLF bases and buy time for South Vietnam.


=== Easter Offensive and Paris Peace Accords (1972) ===
]]]
]
The invasion of Cambodia sparked nationwide U.S. protests. ] at ] during a protest in ], which provoked public outrage in the United States. The reaction to the incident by the Nixon administration was seen as callous and indifferent, providing additional impetus for the anti-war movement.<ref>Joe Angio. ''Nixon a Presidency Revealed.'' Television Documentary, The History Channel, 15 February 2007.</ref>


Vietnamization was again tested by the ] of 1972, a conventional PAVN invasion of South Vietnam. The PAVN overran the northern provinces and attacked from Cambodia, threatening to cut the country in half. US troop withdrawals continued, but American airpower responded, beginning ], and the offensive was halted.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|606–637}} The US Navy also initiated ] in May, an aerial mining campaign in ] Harbor that prevented North Vietnam's allies from resupplying it with weapons and aid by sea.<ref>{{Cite web |last=magazine |first=Marcelo Ribeiro da Silva, Vietnam |date=2020-01-14 |title=Inside America's daring plan to mine Haiphong Harbor |url=https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/01/14/inside-americas-daring-plan-to-mine-haiphong-harbor/ |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Navy Times |language=en}}</ref>
In 1971 the ] were leaked to '']''. The top-secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, commissioned by the Department of Defense, detailed a long series of public deceptions. The ] ruled that its publication was legal.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/goodsb1.htm
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080112095748/http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/goodsb1.htm
|archivedate=2008-01-12
|publisher=eJournal USA
|volume=2
|issue=1
|month=February
|year=1997
|title=The Pentagon Papers Case}} (archived from {{Dead link|url=http://www.usinfo.state.gov/journals/itdhr/0297/ijde/goodsb1.htm|date=April 2009}} on 12 January 2008).</ref>


The war was central to the ] as Nixon's opponent, ], campaigned on immediate withdrawal. Nixon's Security Advisor, ], had continued secret negotiations with North Vietnam's ] and in October 1972 reached an agreement. Thiệu demanded changes to the peace accord upon its discovery, and when North Vietnam went public with the details, the Nixon administration claimed they were attempting to embarrass the president. The negotiations became deadlocked when Hanoi demanded changes. To show his support for South Vietnam and force Hanoi back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered ], a bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in December 1972.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|649–663}} Nixon pressured Thiệu to accept the agreement or face military action.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beschloss |first=Michael |title=Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times |date=2018 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-307-40960-7 |location=New York |page=579}}</ref>
The ARVN launched ] in February 1971, aimed at cutting the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.<ref name=laos35k /> The ostensibly neutral Laos had long been the scene of a secret war. After meeting resistance, ARVN forces retreated in a confused rout. They fled along roads littered with their own dead. When they ran out of fuel, soldiers abandoned their vehicles and attempted to barge their way on to American helicopters sent to evacuate the wounded. Many ARVN soldiers clung to helicopter skids in a desperate attempt to save themselves. U.S. aircraft had to destroy abandoned equipment, including tanks, to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Half of the invading ARVN troops were either captured or killed. The operation was a fiasco and represented a clear failure of Vietnamization. As Karnow noted "the blunders were monumental... The (South Vietnamese) government's top officers had been tutored by the Americans for ten or fifteen years, many at training schools in the United States, yet they had learned little."<ref name= "Karnow pp. 644-645">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|pp=644–645}}</ref>


On 15 January 1973, all US combat activities were suspended. Lê Đức Thọ and Henry Kissinger, along with the PRG Foreign Minister ] and a reluctant Thiệu, signed the ] on 27 January 1973.<ref name=Ward/>{{Rp|508–513}} This ended direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, created a ceasefire between North Vietnam/PRG and South Vietnam, guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam under the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for elections or a political settlement between the PRG and South Vietnam, allowed 200,000 communist troops to remain in the south, and agreed to a POW exchange. There was a 60-day period for the withdrawal of US forces. "This article", noted Peter Church, "proved{{Nbsp}}... to be the only one of the Paris Agreements which was fully carried out."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Church |first=Peter |title=A Short History of South-East Asia |date=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-82181-7 |pages=193–194}}</ref> All US forces personnel were withdrawn by March 1973.<ref name=Herring/>{{Rp|260}}
In 1971 Australia and New Zealand withdrew their soldiers. The U.S. troop count was further reduced to 196,700, with a deadline to remove another 45,000 troops by February 1972. As peace protests spread across the United States, disillusionment grew in the ranks. Drug use increased, race relations grew tense and the number of soldiers disobeying officers rose. ], or the murder of unpopular officers with fragmentation grenades, increased.<ref>{{Citation
|chapter=11. The U.S. Army in Vietnam from Tet to the Final Withdrawal, 1968-1975
|chapter-url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/chapter11.htm
|title=American Military History, Volume II, The United states Army in a Global Era, 1917-2003
|url=http://www.history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/
|publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History
|pages=349–350}}</ref>


==U.S. exit and final campaigns (1973–1975)==
]]]
]
Vietnamization was again tested by the ] of 1972, a massive conventional invasion of South Vietnam. The VPA and NLF quickly overran the northern provinces and in coordination with other forces attacked from Cambodia, threatening to cut the country in half. U.S. troop withdrawals continued. But American airpower came to the rescue with ], and the offensive was halted. However, it became clear that without American airpower South Vietnam could not survive. The last remaining American ground troops were withdrawn in August.


In the lead-up to the ceasefire on 28 January, both sides attempted to maximize land and population under their control in a campaign known as the ]. Fighting continued after the ceasefire, without US participation, and throughout the year.<ref name=Ward/>{{Rp|508–513}} North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying troops in the South but only to replace expended material. The ] was awarded to Kissinger and Thọ, but Thọ declined it saying true peace did not yet exist.
=== 1972 election and Paris Peace Accords ===
], December 1972]]
The war was the central issue of the ]. Nixon's opponent, ], campaigned on a platform of withdrawal from Vietnam. Nixon's National Security Adviser, ], continued secret negotiations with North Vietnam's ]. In October 1972, they reached an agreement.


On 15 March 1973, Nixon implied the US would intervene militarily if the North launched a full offensive, and Secretary of Defense ] re-affirmed this during his June confirmation hearings. Public and congressional reaction to Nixon's statement was unfavorable, prompting the Senate to pass the ] to prohibit any intervention.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|670–672}}
However, South Vietnamese President Thieu demanded massive changes to the peace accord. When North Vietnam went public with the agreement's details, the Nixon administration claimed that the North was attempting to embarrass the President. The negotiations became deadlocked. Hanoi demanded new changes.


Northern leaders expected the ceasefire terms would favor their side, but Saigon, bolstered by a surge of US aid just before the ceasefire went into effect, began to roll them back. The North responded with a new strategy hammered out in meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of ].<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|672–674}} With US bombings suspended, work on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other logistical structures could proceed. Logistics would be upgraded until the North was in a position to launch a massive invasion of the South, projected for the 1975–76 dry season. Trà calculated this date would be Hanoi's last opportunity to strike, before Saigon's army could be fully trained.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|672–674}} The PAVN resumed offensive operations when the dry season began in 1973, and by January 1974 had recaptured territory it lost during the previous dry season.
To show his support for South Vietnam and force Hanoi back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered ], a massive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong 18–29 December 1972. The offensive destroyed much of the remaining economic and industrial capacity of North Vietnam. Simultaneously Nixon pressured Thieu to accept the terms of the agreement, threatening to conclude a bilateral peace deal and cut off American aid.


] campaign, depicting a ] of the ], a NVA soldier and a ]]]
On 15 January 1973, Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action against North Vietnam. The ] on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" were signed on 27 January 1973, officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. A cease-fire was declared across North and South Vietnam. U.S. ]s were released. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of ] and, like the ] of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. The Paris Peace Accords stipulated a sixty-day period for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces. "This article," noted Peter Church, "proved... to be the only one of the Paris Agreements which was fully carried out."<ref>Peter Church, ed. ''A Short History of South-East Asia.'' Singapore. John Wiley & Sons, 2006, pp. 193–194.</ref>


Within South Vietnam, the departure of the US and the global recession after the ] hurt an economy partly dependent on US financial support and troop presence. After clashes that left 55 ARVN soldiers dead, Thiệu announced on 4 January 1974, that the war had restarted and the Peace Accords were no longer in effect. There were over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period.<ref>{{Cite web |title=This Day in History 1974: Thieu announces war has resumed |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thieu-announces-war-has-resumed |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120114757/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thieu-announces-war-has-resumed |archive-date=20 January 2013 |access-date=17 October 2009 |publisher=History.com}}</ref><ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|683}} ] took over as US president in August 1974, and Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1&nbsp;billion a year to $700&nbsp;million. Congress voted in restrictions on funding to be phased in through 1975 and then total cutoff in 1976.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|686}}
== Opposition to the Vietnam War: 1962–1975 ==
] during the Vietnam War.]]
{{Main|Opposition to the Vietnam War}}
Some advocates within the peace movement advocated a unilateral withdrawal of U.S. forces from ]. One reason given for the withdrawal is that it would contribute to a lessening of tensions in the region and thus less human bloodshed. Another, contrasting reason was that the Vietnamese should work out their problems independent of foreign influence.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} Early opposition to America's involvement in Vietnam was centered around the ] and its mandate that elections be held to unite the country. America's refusal to sign the Accords, and their support of Diem, was considered to be thwarting the very democracy that America claimed to be supporting. John Kennedy, while Senator, opposed involvement in Vietnam.<ref name="USvietAnalysis"/>


The success of the 1973–1974 dry season offensive inspired Trà to return to Hanoi in October 1974 and plead for a larger offensive the next dry season. This time, Trà could travel on a drivable highway with fueling stops, a vast change from when the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a dangerous mountain trek.<ref name="Karnow" />{{Rp|676}} Giáp, the North Vietnamese defense minister, was reluctant to approve Trà's plan since a larger offensive might provoke US reaction and interfere with the big push planned for 1976. Trà appealed to Giáp's superior, Lê Duẩn, who approved it. Trà's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into ]. The strike was designed to solve logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether the US would return.<ref name="Hastings" />{{Rp|685–690}} On 13 December 1974, PAVN forces ]. Phuoc Binh fell on 6 January 1975. Ford desperately asked Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before it was overrun.<ref name="Ford asks for additional aid">{{Cite news |title=Ford asks for additional aid |work=history.com |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ford-asks-for-additional-aid |url-status=dead |access-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811232207/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ford-asks-for-additional-aid |archive-date=11 August 2018}}</ref> Congress refused.<ref name="Ford asks for additional aid" /> The fall of Phuoc Binh and lack of American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralized.
Opposition to the Vietnam War tended to unite groups opposed to U.S. anti-communism, ] and ] and, for those involved with the ] such as the ], ] itself. Others, such as ] opposed the war based on the theory of ]. Some wanted to show solidarity with the people of Vietnam, such as ] emulating the actions of ]. Some critics of U.S. withdrawal predicted that it would not contribute to peace but rather vastly increased bloodshed. These critics advocated U.S. forces remain until all threats from the ] and ] had been eliminated. Advocates of U.S. withdrawal were generally known as "doves", and they called their opponents "]", following nomenclature dating back to the ]. This language has dated little in the intervening years; it is still used.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}


The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. It decided operations in the Central Highlands would be turned over to General Văn Tiến Dũng and that ] should be seized, if possible. Dũng said to Lê Duẩn: "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage as great as we have now."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dougan |first1=Clark |title=The Vietnam Experience The Fall of the South |last2=Fulgham |first2=David |publisher=Boston Publishing Company |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-939526-16-1 |page=22}}</ref> At the start of 1975, the South Vietnamese had three times as much artillery and twice as many tanks and armored vehicles as the PAVN. However, heightened oil prices meant many assets could not be leveraged. Moreover, the rushed nature of Vietnamization, intended to cover the US retreat, resulted in a lack of spare parts, ground-crew, and maintenance personnel, which rendered most of it inoperable.<ref name=Stewart/>{{Rp|362–366}}
High-profile opposition to the Vietnam war turned to street protests in an effort to turn U.S. political opinion against the war. The protests gained momentum from ] that had organized to oppose ] laws, which had laid a foundation of theory and infrastructure on which the anti-war movement grew. Protests were fueled by a growing network of independently published newspapers (known as "underground papers") and the timely advent of large venue rock'n'roll festivals such as ] and ] shows, attracting younger people in search of generational togetherness. On 15 October 1969, the ] peace demonstration was held in Washington D.C. and other US cities. Millions of Americans, throughout the country, participated.<ref>. BBC On This Day.</ref>


===Campaign 275===
The ] of four anti-war protesters at ] cemented the resolve of many protesters. The ] saw campuses erupt all across the country; in May 1970 most universities were strike-bound, for example at ].<ref>{{Citation
{{See also|1975 spring offensive|Battle of Ban Me Thuot|Hue–Da Nang Campaign}}
|url=http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm
]
|title=Vietnam &ndash; A View from the Walls: a History of the Vietnam Anti-War Movement
|author=Bob Fink
|publisher=Greenwich Publishing
}}</ref> The late 1960s in the U.S. became a time of youth rebellion, mass gatherings and riots, many of which began in response to the ] of Dr. ], but which ignited in an atmosphere of open opposition to a wartime government.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}} Provocative actions by police and by protesters turned anti-war demonstrations in Chicago at the ] into a riot. Chicago mayor ] brought to bear 23,000 police and National Guardsman upon 10,000 protestors.<ref>Jennings & Brewster 1998: 413.</ref> Explosive news reports of American ], such as the 1968 ], brought new attention and support to the anti-war movement. Some veterans of the Vietnam War returned home to join the movement, including ], who spearheaded ] and testified before Congress in televised hearings.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}


On 10 March 1975, Dũng launched Campaign 275, a limited offensive into the Central Highlands, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. The target was ]; if the town could be taken, the provincial capital Pleiku and the road to the coast, would be exposed for a campaign in 1976. The ARVN proved incapable of resisting the onslaught, and its forces collapsed. Again, Hanoi was surprised by the speed of their success. Dung urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and turn his attention to ]. He argued that with two months of good weather until onset of the monsoon, it would be irresponsible not to take advantage.<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}
Anti-war protests ended with the final withdrawal of troops after the ] were signed in 1973. Momentum from the protest organizations became a main force for the growth of an ] in the United States. South Vietnam was left to defend itself alone when the fighting resumed. Many South Vietnamese fled to the United States in one of the largest war refugee migrations in history. There was no peace movement to protest the renewed bloodshed, and little media coverage. Saigon surrendered to the North in 1975; Laos and Cambodia were overrun by Communist troops that same spring.{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}


Thiệu, a former general, ordered the abandonment of the Central Highlands and less defensible positions in a rushed policy described as "light at the top, heavy at the bottom". While the bulk of ARVN forces attempted to flee, isolated units fought desperately. ARVN general Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kon Tum and retreated toward the coast, in what became known as the "convoy of tears".<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|693–694}} On 20 March, Thiệu reversed himself and ordered Huế, Vietnam's third-largest city, be held at all costs, and then changed policy several times. As the PAVN launched their attack, panic set in, and ARVN resistance withered. On 22 March, the PAVN ]. Civilians flooded the airport and docks hoping for escape. As resistance in Huế collapsed, PAVN rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. By 28 March 35,000 PAVN troops were poised to attack the suburbs. By 30 March 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the PAVN marched through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and Northern provinces ended.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|699–700}}
==Exit of the Americans: 1973–1975==
The U.S. began drastically reducing their troop support in South Vietnam during the final years of "]". Many U.S. troops were removed from the region, and on 5 March 1971, the U.S. returned the ], which was the first American unit deployed to ], to its former base in ], ].<ref>{{Dead link|date=October 2009}}</ref>


===Final North Vietnamese offensive===
Under the ], between North Vietnamese Foreign Minister ] and U.S. Secretary of State ], and reluctantly signed by South Vietnamese President ], U.S. military forces withdrew from South Vietnam and prisoners were exchanged. North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying communist troops in the South, but only to the extent of replacing materials that were consumed. Later that year the ] was awarded to Kissinger and Thọ, but the Vietnamese negotiator declined it saying that a true peace did not yet exist.
{{Further|topic=the final North Vietnamese offensive|Ho Chi Minh Campaign}}


With the north half of the country under their control, the Politburo ordered Dũng to launch the final offensive against Saigon. The operational plan for the ] called for Saigon's capture before 1 May. Hanoi wished to avoid the coming monsoon and prevent redeployment of ARVN forces defending the capital. PAVN forces, their morale boosted by their recent victories, rolled on, taking ], ] and ].<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|702–704}}
The communist leaders had expected that the ceasefire terms would favor their side. But Saigon, bolstered by a surge of U.S. aid received just before the ceasefire went into effect, began to roll back the Vietcong.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 672-74">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=672–74}}</ref> The communists responded with a new strategy hammered out in a series of meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of ].<ref name= "Karnow pp. 672-74"/>


On 7 April, three PAVN divisions attacked ], {{Convert|40|mi}} northeast of Saigon. For two weeks, fighting raged as the ARVN defenders made a ] to try to block PAVN advance. On 21 April, however, the exhausted garrison was ordered to withdraw towards Saigon.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|704–707}} An embittered and tearful Thiệu resigned, declaring that the US had betrayed South Vietnam. In a scathing attack, he suggested Kissinger had tricked him into signing the Paris peace agreement, promising military aid that failed to materialize. Having transferred power to ] on 21 April, he left for ].<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|714}} After having appealed unsuccessfully to Congress for $722 million in emergency aid for South Vietnam, Ford gave a televised speech on 23 April, declaring an end to the War and US aid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Finney |first=John W. |date=12 April 1975 |title=Congress Resists U.S. Aid In Evacuating Vietnamese |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/12/archives/congress-resists-us-aid-in-evacuating-vietnamese-congress-resists.html |access-date=4 July 2021 |website=The New York Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409033130/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/12/archives/congress-resists-us-aid-in-evacuating-vietnamese-congress-resists.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Transcript of speech by President Gerald R. Ford - April 23, 1975 |url=https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane%3A75293 |access-date=4 July 2021 |publisher=Tulane University|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409183152/https://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/islandora/object/tulane:75293|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>
As the Vietcong's top commander, Trà participated in several of these meetings.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 672-74"/> With U.S. bombings suspended, work on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other logistical structures could proceed unimpeded.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 672-74"/> Logistics would be upgraded until the North was in a position to launch a massive invasion of the South, projected for the 1975–1976 dry season.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 672-74"/> Trà calculated that this date would be Hanoi's last opportunity to strike before Saigon's army could be fully trained. A three-thousand-mile long oil pipeline would be built from North Vietnam to Vietcong headquarters in ], about {{convert|75|mi|km}} northwest of Saigon.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 672-74"/>


By the end of April, the ARVN had collapsed except in the ]. Refugees streamed southward, ahead of the main PAVN onslaught. By 27 April, 100,000 PAVN troops encircled Saigon. The city was defended by about 30,000 ARVN troops. To hasten a collapse and foment panic, the PAVN shelled ] and forced its closure. With the runways closed, large numbers of civilians had no way out.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|716}}
Although McGovern himself was not elected U.S. president, the November 1972 election did return a Democratic majority to both houses of Congress under McGovern's "Come home America" campaign theme. On 15 March 1973, U.S. President ] implied that the U.S. would intervene militarily if the communist side violated the ceasefire.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 670-72">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|pp=670–72}}</ref> Public and congressional reaction to Nixon's trial balloon was unfavorable and in April Nixon appointed ] as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. Martin was a second stringer compared to previous U.S. ambassadors and his appointment was an early signal that Washington had given up on Vietnam.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 670-72"/> During his confirmation hearings in June 1973, ] ] stated that he would recommend resumption of U.S. bombing in North Vietnam if North Vietnam launched a major offensive against South Vietnam. On 4 June 1973, the U.S. Senate passed the ] to prohibit such intervention.<ref name= "Karnow pp. 670-72"/>


===Fall of Saigon===
The oil price shock of October 1973 caused significant damage to the South Vietnamese economy. The Vietcong resumed offensive operations when dry season began and by January 1974 it had recaptured the territory it lost during the previous dry season. After two clashes that left 55 South Vietnamese soldiers dead, President Thiệu announced on 4 January that the war had restarted and that the Paris Peace Accord was no longer in effect. There had been over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=1592 |title=This Day in History 1974: Thieu announces war has resumed |publisher=History.com |date= |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref>
{{Main|Fall of Saigon|Operation Frequent Wind}}
]


Chaos and panic broke out as South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave. ] was declared. American helicopters began evacuating South Vietnamese, US and foreign nationals from Tan Son Nhut and the U.S. embassy compound. ] had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of Ambassador ]'s belief Saigon could be held and a political settlement reached. Frequent Wind was the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It began on 29 April, in an atmosphere of desperation, as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for limited space. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as PAVN tanks breached defenses near Saigon. In the early morning of 30 April, the last US Marines evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|718–720}}
] took over as U.S. president on 9 August 1974 after President Nixon resigned due to the ]. At this time, Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1 billion a year to $700 million. The U.S. midterm elections in 1974 brought in a new Congress dominated by Democrats who were even more determined to confront the president on the war. Congress immediately voted in restrictions on funding and military activities to be phased in through 1975 and to culminate in a total cutoff of funding in 1976.


On 30 April 1975, PAVN troops entered Saigon and overcame all resistance, capturing key buildings and installations.<ref name="mtholyoke.edu">{{Cite report |url=https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/paris.htm |title=The Paris Agreement on Vietnam: Twenty-five Years Later |date=April 1998 |publisher=The Nixon Center |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=5 September 2012 |type=Conference Transcript |via=International Relations Department, Mount Holyoke College |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901153020/https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/paris.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Tanks from the ] crashed through the gates of the ] and the VC flag was raised above it.<ref>{{Citation |last=Thai Binh Department of Information and Communications |title=Soldier from Thai Binh who put flag on the roof of Independence Palace |date=30 July 2020 |url=https://thaibinh.gov.vn/english130nam/dat-va-nguoi-thai-binh/soldier-from-thai-binh-who-put-flag-on-the-roof-of-independe.html |work=Thai Binh Provincial Portal |publication-place=Thai Binh |access-date=15 January 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409174812/https://thaibinh.gov.vn/english130nam/dat-va-nguoi-thai-binh/soldier-from-thai-binh-who-put-flag-on-the-roof-of-independe.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> President Dương Văn Minh, who had succeeded Huong two days earlier, surrendered to Lieutenant colonel Bùi Văn Tùng, political commissar of the 203rd Tank Brigade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 April 2020 |title=Reunion of the Veterans organization of Tank Amour force in the South Vietnam |url=https://independencepalace.gov.vn/news/a-reunion-of-the-veterans-organization-of-tank-amour-force-in-the-south-vietnam-was-held-at-independence-palace-historical-site/ |access-date=14 January 2022 |website=] official website|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404035108/https://independencepalace.gov.vn/news/a-reunion-of-the-veterans-organization-of-tank-amour-force-in-the-south-vietnam-was-held-at-independence-palace-historical-site/|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Leong, Ernest |title=Vietnam Tries to Create New Image 30 Years After End of War |date=31 October 2009 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2005-04-27-voa67/397223.html |work=Voice of America |access-date=14 January 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404085333/https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2005-04-27-voa67/397223.html|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref><ref name="Terzani">{{Cite book |last=Terzani |first=Tiziano |title=Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon |publisher=Angus & Robertson (U.K.) Ltd |year=1976 |isbn=0207957126 |pages=92–96}}</ref>{{Rp|95–96}} Minh was then escorted to ] to announce the surrender declaration.<ref name="Bui Tin">{{Cite book |last=Bui |first=Tin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NUl_nVpW-gC |title=Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel |date=1999 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824822330 |pages=84–86 |access-date=25 July 2023 |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430010702/https://books.google.com/books?id=2NUl_nVpW-gC |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|85}} The statement was on air at 2:30&nbsp;pm.<ref name=Terzani/>
The success of the 1973–1974 dry season offensive inspired Trà to return to Hanoi in October 1974 and plead for a larger offensive in the next dry season. This time, Trà could travel on a drivable highway with regular fueling stops, a vast change from the days was Ho Chi Minh Trail was a dangerous mountain trek.<ref name= "Karnow p. 676">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=676}}</ref> Giáp, the North Vietnamese defense minister, was reluctant to approve Trà's plan. A larger offensive might provoke a U.S. reaction and interfere with the big push planned for 1976. Trà appealed over Giáp's head to first secretary ], who approved of the operation.


==Opposition to U.S. involvement==
Trà's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into ]. The strike was designed to solve local logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether the U.S. would return to the fray.
{{Main|Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|Protests of 1968}}
{{See also|Russell Tribunal|Fulbright Hearings|Chicago Seven}}
], 21 October 1967, an anti-war demonstration organized by the ]]]


During the course of the war a large segment of Americans became opposed to U.S. involvement. In January 1967, only 32% of Americans thought the US had made a mistake in sending troops.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 2018 |title=CBS News Poll: U.S. involvement in Vietnam |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201070627/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-u-s-involvement-in-vietnam/|archive-date=February 1, 2023}}</ref> Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third believed the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops.<ref>Lunch, W. & Sperlich, P. (1979). The Western Political Quarterly. 32(1). pp. 21–44</ref><ref name="Hagopian">{{Cite book |last=Hagopain |first=Patrick |title=The Vietnam War in American Memory |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55849-693-4 |pages=13–4}}</ref>
On 13 December 1974, North Vietnamese forces attacked Route 14 in Phuoc Long Province. Phuoc Binh, the provincial capital, fell on 6 January 1975. Ford desperately asked Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before it was overrun. Congress refused. The fall of Phuoc Binh and the lack of an American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralized and corruption grew rampant.


Early opposition to US involvement drew its inspiration from the Geneva Conference of 1954. American support of Diệm in refusing elections was seen as thwarting the democracy America claimed to support. Kennedy, while senator, opposed involvement.<ref name=Kahin/> It is possible to specify groups who led the anti-war movement at its peak in the late 1960s and the reasons why. Many young people protested because they were being ], while others were against because the anti-war movement grew popular among the ]. Some advocates within the peace movement advocated a ] withdrawal of forces. Opposition to the war tended to unite groups opposed to U.S. anti-communism and ],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zimmer |first=Louis B. |title=The Vietnam War Debate |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7391-3769-7 |pages=54–5}}</ref> and for those involved with the ]. Others, such as ], opposed the war based on the theory of ]. Some wanted to show solidarity with the people of Vietnam, such as ] emulating ].
The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. It was decided that operations in the Central Highlands would be turned over to General ] and that Pleiku should be seized, if possible. Before he left for the South, Dũng was addressed by Lê Duẩn: "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage as great as we have now."<ref>Clark Dougan, David Fulgham et al., ''The Fall of the South.'' Boston: Boston Publishing Company, 1985, p. 22.</ref>


High-profile opposition to the war increasingly turned to mass protests to shift public opinion. Riots broke out at the ].<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|514}} After reports of American military abuses, such as the My Lai Massacre, brought attention and support to the anti-war movement, some veterans joined ]. On 15 October 1969, the ] attracted millions of Americans.<ref></ref> The fatal shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 led to nationwide university protests.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bob Fink |url=http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm |title=Vietnam – A View from the Walls: a History of the Vietnam Anti-War Movement |publisher=Greenwich Publishing |access-date=18 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111005135/http://www.greenwych.ca/vietnam.htm |archive-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Anti-war protests declined after the Paris Peace Accords and the ] in January 1973, and the withdrawal of American troops.
At the start of 1975 the South Vietnamese had three times as much artillery and twice the number of tanks and armoured cars as the opposition. They also had 1,400 aircraft and a two-to-one numerical superiority in combat troops over their Communist enemies.<ref> by ], ] 30 April / 1 May 2005.</ref> Nevertheless, they faced a well-organized, highly determined and well-funded North Vietnam. Much of the North's material and financial support came from the communist bloc. Within South Vietnam, there was increasing chaos. Their abandonment by the American military had compromised an economy dependent on U.S. financial support and the presence of a large number of U.S. troops. South Vietnam suffered from the global recession which followed the ].


==Involvement of other countries==
===Campaign 275===
{{main|International participation in the Vietnam War}}
{{Refimprovesect|date=May 2008}}
On 10 March 1975, General Dung launched Campaign 275, a limited offensive into the Central Highlands, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. The target was ], in ]. If the town could be taken, the provincial capital of ] and the road to the coast would be exposed for a planned campaign in 1976. The ARVN proved incapable of resisting the onslaught, and its forces collapsed on 11 March. Once again, Hanoi was surprised by the speed of their success. Dung now urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and then turn his attention to ]. He argued that with two months of good weather remaining until the onset of the monsoon, it would be irresponsible to not take advantage of the situation.


===Pro-Hanoi===
President ], a former general, was fearful that his forces would be cut off in the north by the attacking communists; Thieu ordered a retreat. The president declared this to be a "lighten the top and keep the bottom" strategy. But in what appeared to be a repeat of ], the withdrawal soon turned into a bloody rout. While the bulk of ARVN forces attempted to flee, isolated units fought desperately. ARVN General Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kontum and retreated toward the coast, in what became known as the "column of tears".
====People's Republic of China====
{{See also|China in the Vietnam War}}
China provided significant support for North Vietnam when the US started to intervene, including financial aid and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of military personnel in support roles. China said its military and economic aid to North Vietnam totaled $20&nbsp;billion ($160&nbsp;billion adjusted for 2022 prices) during the Vietnam War;<ref name="Womack" />{{Rp|}} included were 5&nbsp;million tons of food to North Vietnam (equivalent to a year's food production), accounting for 10–15% of their food supply by the 1970s.<ref name="Womack" />{{Rp|}}


In the summer of 1962, ] agreed to supply Hanoi with 90,000 rifles and guns free of charge, and starting in 1965, China began sending ] units and engineering battalions, to repair the damage caused by American bombing. They helped man anti-aircraft batteries, rebuild roads and railroads, transport supplies, and perform other engineering works. This freed PAVN units for combat. China sent 320,000 troops and annual arms shipments worth $180&nbsp;million.<ref name="Qiang">{{Cite book |last=Qiang |first=Zhai |title=China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950–1975 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8078-4842-5}}</ref>{{Rp|135}} China claims to have caused 38% of American air losses in the war.<ref name=Womack/>{{Rp|}} China also began financing the Khmer Rouge as a counterweight to North Vietnam. China "armed and trained" the Khmer Rouge during the civil war, and continued to aid them afterward.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bezlova, Antoaneta |date=21 February 2009 |title=China haunted by Khmer Rouge links |work=Asia Times |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KB21Ad01.html |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223174332/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KB21Ad01.html |archive-date=23 February 2009}}</ref>
As the ARVN tried to disengage from the enemy, refugees mixed in with the line of retreat. The poor condition of roads and bridges, damaged by years of conflict and neglect, slowed Phu's column. As the North Vietnamese forces approached, panic set in. Often abandoned by the officers, the soldiers and civilians were shelled incessantly. The retreat degenerated into a desperate scramble for the coast. By 1 April the "column of tears" was all but annihilated. It marked one of the poorest examples of a strategic withdrawal in modern military history.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}


====Soviet Union====
On 20 March, Thieu reversed himself and ordered Hue, Vietnam's third-largest city, be held at all costs. Thieu's contradictory orders confused and demoralized his officer corps. As the North Vietnamese launched their attack, panic set in, and ARVN resistance withered. On 22 March, the VPA opened the siege of Hue. Civilians flooded the airport and the docks hoping for any mode of escape. Some even swam out to sea to reach boats and barges anchored offshore. In the confusion, routed ARVN soldiers fired on civilians to make way for their retreat.
{{Hatnote|For further reading, see ]}}
]


The Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with medical supplies, arms, tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery, anti-aircraft missiles and other military equipment. Soviet crews fired Soviet-made ]s at US aircraft in 1965.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Russians Acknowledge a Combat Role in Vietnam|date=14 April 1989|page=13|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/14/world/russians-acknowledge-a-combat-role-in-vietnam.html#:~:text=Soviet%20soldiers%20sent%20to%20the,Soviet%20Army%20newspaper%20reported%20today|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407114837/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/14/world/russians-acknowledge-a-combat-role-in-vietnam.html|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref> Following the ] in 1991, ]n officials acknowledged that the USSR had stationed up to 3,000 troops in Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Soviet Involvement in the Vietnam War |publisher=historicaltextarchive.com |agency=Associated Press |url=http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=180|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222024941/http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=180|archive-date=February 22, 2012}}</ref>
On 31 March, after a three-day battle, Hue fell. As resistance in Hue collapsed, North Vietnamese rockets rained down on ] and its airport. By 28 March, 35,000 VPA troops were poised to attack the suburbs. By 30 March, 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the VPA marched victoriously through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and Northern provinces came to an end.


According to Russian sources, between 1953 and 1991, the hardware donated by the Soviet Union included: 2,000 tanks; 1,700 ]; 7,000 artillery guns; over 5,000 anti-aircraft guns; 158 surface-to-air missile launchers; and 120 helicopters. In total, the Soviets sent North Vietnam annual arms shipments worth $450&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sarin |first1=Oleg |url=https://archive.org/details/alienwarssovietu00sari |title=Alien Wars: The Soviet Union's Aggressions Against the World, 1919 to 1989 |last2=Dvoretsky |first2=Lev |publisher=Presidio Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-89141-421-6 |pages= |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Hastings" />{{Rp|364–371}} From July 1965 to the end of 1974, fighting in Vietnam was observed by some 6,500 officers and generals, as well as more than 4,500 soldiers and sergeants of the ], amounting to 11,000 military personnel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Soviet rocketeer: After our arrival in Vietnam, American pilots refused to fly |url=http://rus.ruvr.ru/2010/01/29/3985810.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082418/http://rus.ruvr.ru/2010/01/29/3985810.html |archive-date=17 January 2013 |access-date=26 May 2010 |publisher=rus.ruvr |language=ru}}</ref> The ] helped develop the ] capabilities of the North Vietnamese.<ref name="MP">{{Cite web |last=Pribbenow |first=Merle |date=December 2014 |title=The Soviet-Vietnamese Intelligence Relationship during the Vietnam War: Cooperation and Conflict |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CWIHP_Working_Paper_73_Soviet-Vietnamese_Intelligence_Relationship_Vietnam_War_0.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412060039/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/CWIHP_Working_Paper_73_Soviet-Vietnamese_Intelligence_Relationship_Vietnam_War_0.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019 |access-date=1 June 2018}}</ref>
===Final North Vietnamese offensive===
{{details|Ho Chi Minh Campaign|the final North Vietnamese offensive}}
With the northern half of the country under their control, the Politburo ordered General Dung to launch the final offensive against Saigon. The operational plan for the ] called for the capture of Saigon before 1 May. Hanoi wished to avoid the coming monsoon and prevent any redeployment of ARVN forces defending the capital. Northern forces, their morale boosted by their recent victories, rolled on, taking Nha Trang, Cam Ranh, and Da Lat.


===Pro-Saigon===
On 7 April, three North Vietnamese divisions attacked ], 40 miles (64&nbsp;km) east of Saigon. The North Vietnamese met fierce resistance at Xuan Loc from the ]. For two bloody weeks, severe fighting raged as the ARVN defenders made a ] to try to block the North Vietnamese advance. By 21 April, however, the exhausted garrison surrendered.
{{See also|Southeast Asia Treaty Organization|Many Flags}}
As South Vietnam was formally part of a military alliance with the US, Australia, New Zealand, France, the UK, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines, the alliance was invoked during the war. The UK, France and Pakistan declined to participate, and South Korea, Taiwan, and Spain were non-treaty participants.


==United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races==
An embittered and tearful President Thieu resigned on the same day, declaring that the United States of America had betrayed South Vietnam. In a scathing attack on the U.S., he suggested U.S. Secretary of State ] had tricked him into signing the Paris peace agreement two years ago, promising military aid which then failed to materialise.
{{Main|United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races|FULRO insurgency}}


The ethnic minority peoples of South Vietnam, like the ] in the Central Highlands, the Hindu and Muslim ], and the Buddhist ], were actively recruited in the war. There was a strategy of recruitment and favorable treatment of Montagnard tribes for the VC, as they were pivotal for control of infiltration routes.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kaminsky |first1=Arnold P. |title=Nationalism and Imperialism in South and Southeast Asia: Essays Presented to Damodar R.SarDesai |last2=Long |first2=Roger D. |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-351-99742-3}}</ref> Some groups split off and formed the ''United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races'' (FULRO) to fight for autonomy or independence. FULRO fought against the South Vietnamese and VC, later fighting against the unified ], after the fall of South Vietnam.
{{cquote|At the time of the peace agreement the United States agreed to replace equipment on a one-by-one basis.But the United States did not keep its word. Is an American's word reliable these days?...The United States did not keep its promise to help us fight for freedom and it was in the same fight that the United States lost 50,000 of its young men.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/21/newsid_2935000/2935347.stm |title=BBC 21 &#124; 1975: Vietnam's President Thieu resigns |publisher=BBC News |date=1945-04-21 |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref> He left for ] on 25 April, leaving control of the government in the hands of General ]. At the same time, North Vietnamese tanks had reached ] and turned toward Saigon, brushing aside isolated ARVN units along the way.


During the war, South Vietnamese president Diem began a program to settle ethnic Vietnamese Kinh on Montagnard lands in the Central Highlands region. This provoked a backlash from the Montagnards, some joining the VC as a result. The Cambodians under pro-China Sihanouk and pro-American Lon Nol, supported their fellow co-ethnic Khmer Krom in South Vietnam, following an anti-ethnic Vietnamese policy. Following Vietnamization, many Montagnard groups and fighters were incorporated into the ] as border sentries.
By the end of April, the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam had collapsed on all fronts. Thousand of refugees streamed southward, ahead of the main communist onslaught. On 27 April, 100,000 North Vietnamese troops encircled Saigon. The city was defended by about 30,000 ARVN troops. To hasten a collapse and foment panic, the VPA shelled the airport and forced its closure. With the air exit closed, large numbers of civilians found that they had no way out.


===Fall of Saigon=== ==War crimes==
{{Main|List of war crimes#1955–1975: Vietnam War|List of massacres in Vietnam}}
{{Main|Fall of Saigon|Operation Frequent Wind}}
Chaos, unrest, and panic broke out as hysterical South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave Saigon. ] was declared. American helicopters began evacuating South Vietnamese, U.S., and foreign nationals from various parts of the city and from the U.S. embassy compound. ] had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of U.S. Ambassador ]'s belief that Saigon could be held and that a political settlement could be reached.


Many ] took place, by both sides, including: rape, massacres of civilians, bombings of civilian targets, ], torture, and murder of ]. Additional common crimes included theft, arson, and the destruction of property not warranted by ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Solis |first=Gary D. |title=The Law of Armed Conflict: International Humanitarian Law in War |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-139-48711-5 |pages=–303}}</ref>
Schlesinger announced early in the morning of 29 April 1975 the evacuation from ] by helicopter of the last U.S. diplomatic, military, and civilian personnel. Frequent Wind was arguably the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It began on 29 April, in an atmosphere of desperation, as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for limited seats. Martin pleaded with Washington to dispatch $700 million in emergency aid to bolster the regime and help it mobilize fresh military reserves. But American public opinion had soured on this conflict halfway around the world.


===South Vietnamese, Korean and American{{Anchor|War crimes committed by US forces}}===
In the U.S., South Vietnam was perceived as doomed. President ] had given a televised speech on 23 April, declaring an end to the Vietnam War and all U.S. aid. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as North Vietnamese tanks breached defenses on the outskirts of Saigon. The song "]" was broadcast as the final signal for withdrawal. In the early morning hours of 30 April, the last ] evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds. Many of them had been employed by the Americans and were left to their fate.
{{See also|United States war crimes#Vietnam War|Winter Soldier Investigation|Vietnam War Crimes Working Group|Tiger Force}}
]]]


In 1966, the ] was organized by a number of public figures opposed to the war led by ] in an effort to apply the precepts of ] to the actions of the United States and its allies in Vietnam. The tribunal found the US and its allies guilty of ], use of weapons forbidden by the laws of war, bombardment of targets of a purely civilian character, mistreatment of prisoners, and ]. Though the tribunal's lack of juridical authority meant its findings were largely ignored by the United States and other governments, the hearings contributed to a growing body of evidence and documentation which established the factual basis for a counter-narrative to the United States' justifications for the war and inspired future hearings, tribunals and legal investigations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tulli |first=Umberto |date=2021-06-01 |title=Wielding the human rights weapon against the American empire: the second Russell Tribunal and human rights in transatlantic relations |journal=Journal of Transatlantic Studies |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=215–237 |doi=10.1057/s42738-021-00071-4 |issn=1754-1018|doi-access=free }}</ref>
On 30 April 1975, VPA troops overcame all resistance, quickly capturing key buildings and installations. A tank crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace, and at 11:30 a.m. local time the NLF flag was raised above it. Thieu's successor, President ], attempted to surrender, but VPA officers informed him that he had nothing left to surrender. Minh then issued his last command, ordering all South Vietnamese troops to lay down their arms.


In 1968, the ] (VWCWG) was established by ] ] set up in the wake of the My Lai Massacre, to ascertain the veracity of emerging claims of ]. Of the war crimes reported to military authorities, sworn statements by witnesses and status reports indicated 320 incidents had a factual basis.<ref name="TurseNelson">{{Cite web |last1=Nick Turse |last2=Deborah Nelson |date=6 August 2006 |title=Civilian Killings Went Unpunished |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-vietnam6aug06,0,7018171,full.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215021044/http://www.latimes.com/news/la-na-vietnam6aug06,0,7018171,full.story |archive-date=15 December 2012 |access-date=14 September 2013 |website=]}}</ref> The substantiated cases included seven massacres between 1967 and 1971 in which at least 137 civilians were killed; 78 further attacks targeting non-combatants resulting in at least 57 deaths, 56 wounded and 15 sexually assaulted; and 141 cases of US soldiers torturing civilian detainees, or prisoners of war with fists, sticks, bats, water or electric shock. Journalists since have documented overlooked and uninvestigated war crimes, involving every active army division,<ref name="TurseNelson" /> including atrocities committed by ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sallah |first=Michael |url=https://archive.org/details/tigerforcetruest00sall |title=Tiger Force: a true story of men and war |publisher=Little, Brown |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-316-15997-5 |page= |url-access=registration}}</ref> ] estimated that American forces committed around 5,500 ] killings between 1960 and 1972.<ref name="Rummel" />{{Rp|}}
The Communists had attained their goal: they had toppled the Saigon regime. But the cost of victory was high. In the past decade alone, one Vietnamese in every ten had been a casualty of war—nearly a million and a half killed, three million wounded.


US forces established ]s to prevent VC fighters from sheltering in South Vietnamese villages.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Free Fire Zone – The Vietnam War |language=en-US |work=The Vietnam War |url=https://thevietnamwar.info/free-fire-zone/ |access-date=20 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205052554/https://thevietnamwar.info/free-fire-zone/|archive-date=February 5, 2023}}</ref> Such practice, which involved the assumption that anyone appearing in the designated zones was an enemy combatant that could be freely targeted by weapons, was regarded by journalist Lewis Simons as "a severe violation of the laws of war".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis M. Simons |title=Free Fire Zones |url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/a-z-guide/free-fire-zones/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019162449/http://www.crimesofwar.org/a-z-guide/free-fire-zones/ |archive-date=19 October 2016 |access-date=5 October 2016 |publisher=Crimes of War}}</ref> ] argues that a relentless drive toward higher ]s, widespread use of free-fire zones, rules of engagement where civilians who ran from soldiers or helicopters could be viewed as VC and disdain for Vietnamese civilians, led to massive civilian casualties and war crimes inflicted by US troops.<ref name="Turse">{{Cite book |last=Turse |first=Nick |title=Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam |publisher=Metropolitan Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8050-8691-1}}</ref>{{Rp|251}} One example cited by Turse is ], which was described by ] as, in effect, "many Mỹ Lais".<ref name=Turse/>{{Rp|251}} A report by ''Newsweek'' magazine suggested that at least 5,000 civilians may have been killed during six months of the operation, and there were 748 recovered weapons and an official US military body count of 10,889 enemy combatants killed.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kevin Buckley |date=19 June 1972 |title=Pacification's Deadly Price |url=http://www.chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/Vietnam/buckley.html |magazine=Newsweek |pages=42–43 |access-date=30 October 2015 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510130004/http://chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/Vietnam/buckley.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
By war's end, the Vietnamese had been fighting foreign involvement or occupation (primarily by the French, Chinese, Japanese, British, and American governments) for 116 years.<ref name="tucker29">{{cite book
], which won the 1973 ], showing ] running down a road after being severely burned by napalm.]]
|last=Tucker
Rummel estimated that 39,000 were killed by South Vietnam during the Diem-era in democide; for 1964–75, Rummel estimated 50,000 people were killed in democide. Thus, the total for 1954 to 1975 is about 80,000 deaths caused by South Vietnam.<ref name="Rummel" />{{Rp|}} ] estimates 110,000–310,000 deaths as a "possible case" of "counter-guerrilla mass killings" by US and South Vietnamese forces.<ref name="Valentino">{{Cite book |last=Valentino |first=Benjamin |title=Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century |publisher=] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8014-7273-2 |page=84}}</ref> The ], coordinated by the CIA and involving US and South Vietnamese security forces, was aimed at destroying the political infrastructure of the VC. The program killed 26,000 to 41,000 people, with an unknown number being innocent civilians.<ref name="Ward" />{{Rp|341–343}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Otterman |first=Michael |title=American Torture: From the Cold War to Abu Ghraib and Beyond |publisher=] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-522-85333-9 |page=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hersh |first=Seymour |author-link=Seymour Hersh |date=15 December 2003 |title=Moving Targets |url=https://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/12/15/031215fa_fact?currentPage=all |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=20 November 2013 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112102432/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/12/15/031215fa_fact?currentPage=all |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McCoy |first=Alfred |title=A question of torture: CIA interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror |publisher=Macmillan |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8050-8041-4 |page=}}</ref>
|first=Spencer C.
|title=Vietnam |page=29
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WZry2NaH2_sC&pg=PA29
| format=]
|year=1999 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky
|isbn=0813109663}}</ref>


Torture and ill-treatment were frequently applied by the South Vietnamese to POWs, as well as civilian prisoners.<ref name="Greiner">{{Cite book |last=Greiner |first=Bernd |title=War Without Fronts: The USA in Vietnam |publisher=Vintage Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-09-953259-0}}</ref>{{Rp|77}} During their visit to the ] in 1970, US congressmen ] and ] witnessed detainees either confined in minute "tiger cages" or chained to their cells, and provided with poor-quality food. American doctors inspecting the prison found many inmates suffering symptoms resulting from forced immobility and torture.<ref name=Greiner/>{{Rp|77}} During their visits to US detention facilities in 1968 and 1969, the ] recorded many cases of torture and inhumane treatment before the captives were handed over to South Vietnamese authorities.<ref name=Greiner/>{{Rp|78}} Torture was conducted by the South Vietnamese government in collusion with the CIA.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 December 2014 |title=Torture: What the Vietcong Learned and the CIA Didn't |language=en |work=Newsweek |url=http://www.newsweek.com/cia-torture-report-vietcong-vietnam-war-292041 |access-date=20 June 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409031604/https://www.newsweek.com/cia-torture-report-vietcong-vietnam-war-292041|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Man in the Snow White Cell |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol48no1/article06.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613112835/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol48no1/article06.html |archive-date=13 June 2007 |access-date=20 June 2018 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref>
==Other countries' involvement==
===People's Republic of China===
{{Refimprove|section|date=July 2009}}
In 1950, the People's Republic of China extended diplomatic recognition to the ]'s ] and sent weapons, as well as military advisors led by Luo Guibo to assist the Viet Minh in its war with the French. The first draft of the 1954 ] was negotiated by French Prime Minister ] and Chinese Premier ] who, fearing U.S. intervention, urged the Viet Minh to accept a partition at the ].<ref>Qiang Zhai, ''China and the Vietnam Wars, 1950-1975'', pp. 54–55.</ref>


South Korean forces were accused of war crimes. One documented event was the ] where the ] reportedly killed between 69 and 79 civilians on 12 February 1968 in Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất village, ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Go Gyeong-tae |date=15 November 2000 |script-title=ko:잠자던 진실, 30년만에 깨어나다 "한국군은 베트남에서 무엇을 했는가"{{Nbsp}}... 미국 국립문서보관소 비밀해제 보고서·사진 최초공개 |language=ko |work=] |url=http://h21.hani.co.kr/section-021003000/2000/021003000200011150334040.html |access-date=8 September 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407205452/https://h21.hani.co.kr/section-021003000/2000/021003000200011150334040.html|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref> South Korean forces are accused of perpetrating other massacres: ], ] and ].
China's ability to aid the Viet Minh declined when Soviet aid to China was reduced following the end of the ] in 1953. Moreover, a divided Vietnam posed less of a threat to China. China provided material and technical support to the Vietnamese communists worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Chinese-supplied rice allowed North Vietnam to pull military-age men from the paddies and imposed a universal draft beginning in 1960.


===North Vietnamese and Viet Cong===
In the summer of 1962, ] agreed to supply Hanoi with 90,000 rifles and guns free of charge. Starting in 1965, China sent anti-aircraft units and engineering battalions to North Vietnam to repair the damage caused by American bombing, rebuild roads and railroads, and to perform other engineering works. This freed North Vietnamese army units for combat in the South. Between 1965 and 1970, over 320,000 Chinese soldiers served in North Vietnam. The peak was in 1967, when 170,000 were stationed there.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}
{{Main|Viet Cong and People's Army of Vietnam use of terror in the Vietnam War}}
{{See also|Cambodian Civil War#War Crimes}}
]]]


Ami Pedahzur has written that "the overall volume and lethality of Viet Cong terrorism rivals or exceeds all but a handful of terrorist campaigns waged over the last third of the twentieth century", based on the definition of terrorists as a non-state actor, and examining targeted killings and civilian deaths which are estimated at over 18,000 from 1966 to 1969.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pedahzur |first=Ami |title=Root Causes of Suicide Terrorism: The Globalization of Martyrdom |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-415-77029-3 |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIGTAgAAQBAJ |access-date=25 July 2023 |archive-date=13 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513214523/https://books.google.com/books?id=LIGTAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The US Department of Defense estimates the VC/PAVN had conducted 36,000 murders and 58,000 kidnappings from 1967 to 1972, {{Circa|1973}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lanning |first1=Michael |title=Inside the VC and the NVA: The Real Story of North Vietnam's Armed Forces |last2=Cragg |first2=Dan |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-60344-059-2 |pages=186–188 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/2746 |access-date=12 June 2023 |archive-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504134343/https://muse.jhu.edu/book/2746 |url-status=live }}</ref> Benjamin Valentino attributes 45,000–80,000 "terrorist mass killings" to the VC.<ref name=Valentino/> Statistics for 1968–1972 suggest "about 80 percent of the terrorist victims were ordinary civilians and only about 20 percent were government officials, policemen, members of the self-defence forces or pacification cadres."<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|273}} VC tactics included frequent mortaring of civilians in refugee camps, and placing of mines on highways frequented by villagers taking goods to urban markets. Some mines were set only to go off after heavy vehicle passage, causing slaughter aboard packed civilian buses.<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|270–279}}
Sino-Soviet relations soured after the Soviets invaded ] in August 1968. In October, the Chinese demanded North Vietnam cut relations with Moscow, but Hanoi refused.<ref>Ang, Cheng Guan, ''Ending the Vietnam War: The Vietnamese Communists' Perspective'', p. 27.</ref> The Chinese began to withdraw in November 1968 in preparation for a clash with the Soviets, which occurred at ] in March 1969. The Chinese also began financing the ] as a counterweight to the Vietnamese communists at this time. China's withdrawal from Vietnam was completed in July 1970.<ref name= "Li p. 206">{{harvnb|Li|2007|p=206}}</ref>


Notable VC atrocities include the massacre of over 3,000 unarmed civilians at Huế<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kiernan |first=Ben |title=Viet Nam: A History from Earliest Times to the Present |publisher=] |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-19-062730-0 |page=444 |author-link=Ben Kiernan}}</ref> during the Tet Offensive and the killing of 252 civilians during the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pike |first=Douglas |url=https://archive.org/details/pavnpeoplesarmyo00pike |title=PAVN: People's Army of Vietnam |publisher=Presidio Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-89141-243-4 |url-access=registration}}</ref> 155,000 refugees fleeing the final North Vietnamese Spring Offensive were reported to have been killed, or abducted, on the road to ] in 1975.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiesner |first=Louis |title=Victims and Survivors: Displaced Persons and Other War Victims in Viet-Nam, 1954–1975 |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-313-26306-4 |pages=318–319}}</ref> PAVN/VC troops killed 164,000 civilians in democide between 1954 and 1975 in South Vietnam.<ref name=Rummel/>{{Rp|}} North Vietnam was known for its abusive treatment of American POWs, most notably in ] (the ''Hanoi Hilton''), where ].<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|655}}
The Khmer Rouge launched ferocious raids into Vietnam in 1975–1978. Vietnam responded with an invasion that toppled the Khmer Rouge. In response, China launched a brief, punitive ]. The two nations continued the border wars in the 1980s, with China capturing disputed islands during the ] and the ] in 1988.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}


===South Korea=== ==Women==
{{See|ROKMC#Vietnam War}} {{main|Women in the Vietnam War}}
]


Women were active in a large variety of roles, making significant impacts and the war having significant impacts on them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/from-hidden-resistance-to-peace-talks-women-in-the-vietnam-war/6907610|title = From hidden resistance to peace talks: Women in the Vietnam War|website = ]|date = 4 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.thanhniennews.com/arts-culture/exhibition-honors-vietnamese-female-soldiers-in-vietnam-war-40860.html|title = Exhibition honors Vietnamese female soldiers in Vietnam War|date = 8 April 2015|access-date = 8 August 2024|archive-date = 24 May 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220524125544/http://www.thanhniennews.com/arts-culture/exhibition-honors-vietnamese-female-soldiers-in-vietnam-war-40860.html|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://femmes-guerres.ens-lyon.fr/spip.php?rubrique90|title = Vietnamese women in wartime – Press Photos – Femmes et guerres}}</ref> Several million Vietnamese women served in the military and in militias, particularly in the VC, with the slogan "when war comes, even the women must fight" being widely used.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/alr/vol1/iss53/5|title=Women in the Vietnam War|first=Elizabeth|last=Windschuttle|date=February 15, 1976|journal=Australian Left Review|volume=1|issue=53|pages=17–25|via=ro.uow.edu.au}}</ref> These women made vital contributions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, espionage, medical care, logistical and administrative work, and sometimes direct combat.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://progressive.international/wire/2021-03-09-portraits-of-vietnamese-women-at-war/en|title=Portraits of Vietnamese Women At War|date=2021-03-09|website=Progressive International}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Springer|first=James|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3085401/world-war-ii-anti-nazi-greek-resistance-viet-cong-syrian-kurdish-militia|title=Women in combat, from World War II anti-Nazi Greek resistance to Viet Cong to Syrian Kurdish militia |date=2020-05-22|website=South China Morning Post}}</ref> Women workers took on more roles in the economy and Vietnam saw an increase in women's rights.<ref name="Werner">{{cite journal | last1 = Werner | first1 = Jayne | year = 1981 | title = Women, Socialism, and the Economy of Wartime North Vietnam | journal = Studies in Comparative Communism | volume = 16 | pages = 165–90 | doi = 10.1016/0039-3592(81)90005-3 }}</ref> In Vietnam and elsewhere, women emerged as leaders of anti-war peace campaigns and made significant contributions to ].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/vietnam-women-reporters-becker/2021/03/26/79477986-8e32-11eb-a730-1b4ed9656258_story.html|title=Three groundbreaking journalists saw the Vietnam War differently. It's no coincidence they were women.|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 28, 2021|author=Margaret Sullivan}}</ref>
On the ] side, ] had the second-largest contingent of foreign troops in South Vietnam after the United States. The first South Korean troops began arriving in 1964 and large combat battalions began arriving a year later, with the South Koreans soon developing a reputation for effectiveness. Indeed arguably, they conducted counterinsurgency operations so well that American commanders felt that Korean area of responsibility was the safest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkingproud.us/International061406WhiteHorse.html |title=ROK Army and Marines prove to be rock-solid fighters and allies in Vietnam War |accessdate=2008-02-03}}</ref>


However, women still faced significant levels of discrimination during and were often targets of ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|last=Turse|first=Nick|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/rape-wartime-vietnam/|title=Rape Was Rampant During the Vietnam War. Why Doesn't US History Remember This?|date=2013-03-19|website=Mother Jones}}</ref> Post-war, some Vietnamese women veterans faced difficulty reintegrating into society and having their contributions recognised, as well as advances in women's rights failing to be sustained.<ref name="Lamb 2003">{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-10-fg-vietnam10-story.html|title=Vietnam's Women of War|website=]|date=10 January 2003}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23750856|jstor = 23750856|title = Laments of warriors' wives: Re-gendering the war in Vietnamese cinema|last1 = Healy|first1 = Dana|journal = South East Asia Research|year = 2006|volume = 14|issue = 2|pages = 231–259|doi = 10.5367/000000006778008149|s2cid = 30828054}}</ref> Portrayals of the war have been criticised for their depictions of women, both for overlooking the role women played and reducing Vietnamese women to racist stereotypes.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/658646|doi = 10.1353/ff.2017.0006|title = (Im)possible Futures: Liberal Capitalism, Vietnamese Sniper Women, and Queer Asian Possibility|year = 2017|last1 = Ly|first1 = Lynn|journal = Feminist Formations|volume = 29|pages = 136–160|s2cid = 149380700|doi-access = free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1180&context=graddis|title=Racism at the Movies: Vietnam War Films, 1968-2002|date=2008|author=Sara Pike|publisher=University of Vermont}}</ref> Women are at the forefront of campaigns to deal with the war's aftermath, such as the long-terms effect of ] use and the ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/magazine/laos-agent-orange-vietnam-war.html|title=The Victims of Agent Orange the U.S. Has Never Acknowledged|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 March 2021|last1=Black|first1=George|last2=Anderson|first2=Christopher}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2071021,00.html|magazine = Time|date = 13 May 2011|last1 = Cain|first1 = Geoffrey|title= Is Time Running Out to Find Soldiers' Remains in Vietnam?}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/vietnamese-woman-sues-seoul-for-wartime-massacre/a-53258186|title=Vietnamese woman sues Seoul for 'wartime massacre' |date= 27 April 2020|website=DW.COM}}</ref>
This was further supported when Vietcong documents captured after the Tet Offensive warned their compatriots to never engage Koreans until full victory was certain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-8704.html-31k- |title=Elite Korean Units during the Vietnam war [Archive&#93; - Military Photos |publisher=Military Photos<! |date=1968-01-16 |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref> {{Verify credibility|date=January 2008}} Approximately 320,000 South Korean soldiers were sent to Vietnam, each serving a one year tour of duty. Maximum troop levels peaked at 50,000 in 1968, however all were withdrawn by 1973.<ref>Leepson 1999, p. 209.</ref> More than 5,000 South Koreans were killed and 11,000 were injured during the war.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}


==Black servicemen==
===Australia and New Zealand===
{{Main|Military history of African Americans in the Vietnam War}}
]
] soldier being carried away, 1968]]
{{Main|Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War|New Zealand in the Vietnam War}}
The experience of African-American military personnel has received significant attention. The site "African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War" compiles examples,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fully Integrated |url=http://www.aavw.org/served/homepage_wetoo_integrated.html |access-date=11 May 2017 |website=African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War (aavw.org) |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525181243/http://www.aavw.org/served/homepage_wetoo_integrated.html |url-status=live }}</ref> as does the work of journalist ] whose book ''Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans'', includes observations about the impact on the black community and black servicemen. He notes: the higher proportion of combat casualties among African-American servicemen than other races, the shift toward and different attitudes of black military volunteers and conscripts, the discrimination encountered by black servicemen "on the battlefield in decorations, promotion and duty assignments", as well as having to endure "the racial insults, cross-burnings and Confederate flags of their white comrades"—and the experiences faced by black soldiers stateside, during the war and after withdrawal.{{Sfn|Terry|1984|loc=Epigraph, pp. xv–xvii}}
Australia and New Zealand, both close allies of the United States and members of the ] (SEATO), sent ground troops to Vietnam. Both nations had gained experience in counterinsurgency and jungle warfare during the ]. Geographically close to Asia, their governments subscribed to the ] of communist expansion and felt that their national security would be threatened if communism spread further in ].


Civil rights leaders protested the disproportionate casualties and overrepresentation in hazardous duty, experienced by African American servicemen, prompting reforms that were implemented beginning in 1967. As a result, by the war's completion in 1975, black casualties had declined to 13% of US combat deaths, approximately equal to percentage of draft-eligible black men, though still slightly higher than the 10% who served in the military.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Appy |first=Christian |title=Working-class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-8078-6011-3}}</ref>
Australia began by sending advisors to Vietnam, the number of which rose steadily until 1965, when combat troops were committed. New Zealand began by sending a detachment of engineers and an artillery battery, and then started sending special forces and regular infantry. Australia's peak commitment was 7,672 combat troops, New Zealand's 552. Most of these soldiers served in the ], a ]-type formation, which was based in what was then ] province, in the vicinity of present-day ].


==Weapons==
Australia re-introduced ] to expand its armed forces in the face of significant ].
{{Main|Weapons of the Vietnam War}}
]


Nearly all US-allied forces were armed with US weapons including the ], ], ], and ]. The Australian and New Zealand forces employed the 7.62&nbsp;mm ], with occasional use of the M16 rifle.
] were awarded U.S. unit citations for their service in South Vietnam, while four ]es&mdash;the highest award for bravery in the ]&mdash;were awarded to members of the Australian armed forces for actions in Vietnam.<ref>, www.anzacday.org.au.</ref><ref>] was the last Australian to be awarded the imperial ]. In 1991 the ] replaced the original Victoria Cross as the highest award for bravery for Australians, whilst in 1999 the ] replaced the award for New Zealanders. Both have since been awarded for acts of bravery during the conflict in Afghanistan.</ref>


The PAVN/VC, although having inherited US, French, and Japanese weapons from World War II and the ], were largely armed and supplied by China, the Soviet Union, and its ] allies. Some weapons—notably anti-personnel explosives, the ], and "home-made" versions of the ]—were manufactured in North Vietnam. By 1969 the US Army had identified 40 rifle/carbine types, 22 machine gun types, 17 types of mortar, 20 recoilless rifle or rocket launcher types, nine types of antitank weapons, and 14 anti-aircraft artillery weapons used by ground troops on all sides. Also in use, mostly by anti-communist forces, were 24 types of armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery, and 26 types of field artillery and rocket launchers.
===Philippines===
Some 10,450 ] troops were dispatched to South Vietnam. They were primarily engaged in medical and other civilian pacification projects. These forces operated under the designation PHLCAG-V or Philippine Civic Action Group-Vietnam.


==Extent of U.S. bombings==
===Thailand===
{{See also|Operation Rolling Thunder|Operation Menu|Operation Freedom Deal|CIA activities in Laos}}
] Army formations, including the "Queen's Cobra" battalion, saw action in South Vietnam between 1965 and 1971. Thai forces saw much more action in the covert war in Laos between 1964 and 1972, though Thai regular formations there were heavily outnumbered by the irregular "volunteers" of the CIA-sponsored Police Aerial Reconnaissance Units or PARU, who carried out reconnaissance activities on the western side of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The US dropped over 7&nbsp;million tons of bombs on Indochina during the war, more than triple the 2.1&nbsp;million tons it dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II, and more than ten times the amount during the Korean War. 500 thousand tons were dropped on Cambodia, 1&nbsp;million tons on North Vietnam, and 4&nbsp;million tons on South Vietnam. On a per person basis, the 2&nbsp;million tons dropped on Laos make it the most heavily bombed country in history; ''The New York Times'' noted this was "nearly a ton for every person in Laos."<ref name=KiernanTaylor/> Due to the particularly heavy impact of cluster bombs, Laos was a strong advocate of the ] to ban the weapons, and was host to its first meeting in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2011 |title=Disarmament |url=http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/B3F3E37A2838630FC125772E0050F4F7?OpenDocument |access-date=20 September 2013 |website=The United Nations Office at Geneva |publisher=United Nations |archive-date=21 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060643/http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/(httpPages)/B3F3E37A2838630FC125772E0050F4F7?OpenDocument |url-status=live }}</ref>


Former US Air Force official Earl Tilford recounted "repeated bombing runs of a lake in central Cambodia. The B-52s literally dropped their payloads in the lake." The Air Force ran many missions like this to secure additional funding during budget negotiations, so the tonnage expended does not directly correlate with the resulting damage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenberg |first=Jon |date=11 September 2014 |title=Kissinger: Drones have killed more civilians than the bombing of Cambodia in the Vietnam War |url=http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/sep/11/henry-kissinger/kissinger-drones-have-killed-more-civilians-bombin/ |access-date=18 September 2016 |website=]}}</ref>
===Soviet Union===
The ] supplied North Vietnam with medical supplies, arms, tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery, anti-aircraft missiles and other military equipment. Soviet crews fired USSR-made ]s at the ], which were the first raiders shot down over Hanoi. Fewer than a dozen Soviet citizens lost their lives in this conflict. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian officials acknowledged that the Soviet Union had stationed up to 3,000 troops in Vietnam during the war.<ref name="historicaltextarchive.com.Soviet">{{cite web |ref=harv|date= 2010 |year= 2010|url = http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=180|title = Soviet Involvement in the Vietnam War|work = ] |publisher = historicaltextarchive.com| accessdate = March 27, 2010 | last=]| first= |quote=}}</ref>


===North Korea=== == Casualties ==
{{Main|Vietnam War casualties}}
As a result of a decision of the ] in October 1966, in early 1967 ] sent a fighter squadron to North Vietnam to back up the North Vietnamese 921st and 923rd fighter squadrons defending Hanoi. They stayed through 1968, and 200 pilots were reported to have served.<ref>Asia Times, 18 August 2006, Richard M Bennett .</ref>
{{See also|Vietnam War body count controversy}}
{| class="wikitable sortable floatright" style="text-align:right;"
|+ '''Military deaths {{Nowrap |(1955–1975)}}'''
|-
! Year || U.S.<ref name="USarchives">{{Cite web |date=30 April 2019 |title=Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics, Electronic Records Reference Report |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statistics#category |access-date=2 August 2021 |publisher=U.S. National Archives |at=DCAS Vietnam Conflict Extract File record counts by CASUALTY CATEGORY (as of April 29, 2008)}} (generated from the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files (as of 29 April 2008))</ref>|| South Vietnam
|-
| 1956–1959 || 4 || n.a.
|-
| 1960 || 5 || 2,223
|-
| 1961 || 16 || 4,004
|-
| 1962 || 53 || 4,457
|-
| 1963 || 122 || 5,665
|-
| 1964 || 216 || 7,457
|-
| 1965 || 1,928 || 11,242
|-
| 1966 || 6,350 || 11,953
|-
| 1967 || 11,363 || 12,716
|-
| 1968 || 16,899 || 27,915
|-
| 1969 || 11,780 || 21,833
|-
| 1970 || 6,173 || 23,346
|-
| 1971 || 2,414 || 22,738
|-
| 1972 || 759 || 39,587
|-
| 1973 || 68 || 27,901
|-
| 1974 || 1 || 31,219
|-
| 1975 || 62 || n.a.
|-
| After 1975 || 7 || n.a.
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total || 58,220 || >254,256<ref name=Clarke/>{{Rp|275}}
|}


Estimates of casualties vary, with one source suggesting up to 3.8&nbsp;million violent war deaths in Vietnam for 1955 to 2002.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 April 2008 |title=fifty years of violent war deaths: data analysis from the world health survey program: BMJ |url=http://www.bmj.com/content/336/7659/1482 |access-date=5 January 2013}} From 1955 to 2002, data from the surveys indicated an estimated 5.4 million violent war deaths{{Nbsp}}... 3.8 million in Vietnam.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lind |first=Michael |year=1999 |title=Vietnam, The Necessary War: A Reinterpretation of America's Most Disastrous Military Conflict |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/l/lind-vietnam.html |access-date=17 January 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307092630/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/l/lind-vietnam.html |archive-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Herbert |title=Allies of the Republic of Vietnam |url=http://www.psywarrior.com/AlliesRepublicVietnam.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307112918/http://www.psywarrior.com/AlliesRepublicVietnam.html |archive-date=March 7, 2012 |access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="Toledo Blade 320,000 Chinese troops" /> A demographic study calculated 791,000–1,141,000 war-related deaths during the war for all of Vietnam, for military and civilians.<ref name=Hirschman/> Between 195,000 and 430,000 South Vietnamese civilians died in the war.<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–453}}<ref name=Thayer/>{{Rp|}} Extrapolating from a 1969 US intelligence report, Guenter Lewy estimated 65,000 North Vietnamese civilians died.<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–453}} Estimates of civilian deaths caused by American bombing of North Vietnam range from 30,000<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|176,617}} to 182,000.<ref name=bfvietnam/> A 1975 US Senate subcommittee estimated 1.4&nbsp;million South Vietnamese civilians casualties during the war, including 415,000 deaths.<ref name="Turse" />{{Rp|12}} The military of South Vietnam suffered an estimated 254,256 killed between 1960 and 1974, and additional deaths from 1954 to 1959 and in 1975.<ref name=Clarke/>{{Rp|275}} Other estimates point to higher figures of 313,000 casualties.<ref name=Gravel/><ref name="Obermeyer" /><ref name="Hirschman" /><ref name="Heuveline" /><ref name="Banister" /><ref name="Sliwinski" />
In addition, at least two anti-aircraft artillery regiments were sent as well. North Korea also sent weapons, ammunition and two million sets of uniforms to their comrades in North Vietnam.<ref>Merle Pribbenow, 'The 'Ology War: technology and ideology in the defense of Hanoi, 1967' ''Journal of Military History'' 67:1 (2003) p. 183.</ref> ] is reported to have told his pilots to "fight in the war as if the Vietnamese sky were their own".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1427367.stm |date= 7 July 2001 |title=N Korea admits Vietnam war role |first= Caroline |last= Gluck |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2006-10-19}}; also see {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/696970.stm |date=31 March 2000 |title=North Korea fought in Vietnam War |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2006-10-19}}; also see {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1435540.stm| date= 12 July 2001 |title=North Korea honours Vietnam war dead| publisher=BBC News| accessdate=2006-10-19}}</ref>


The official US Department of Defense figure for PAVN/VC killed in Vietnam from 1965 to 1974 was 950,765. Officials believed these body count figures need to be deflated by 30 percent. Guenter Lewy asserts that one-third of the reported "enemy" killed may have been civilians, concluding that the actual number of deaths of PAVN/VC military forces was probably closer to 444,000.<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|450–453}}
===Canada and the ICC===
{{Main|Canada and the Vietnam War}}
Canadian, ] and ] troops (respectively, representatives of ], ], and the ]) formed the ], which was supposed to monitor the 1954 ceasefire agreement. Canada also had citizens serving in Vietnam as part of the U.S. armed forces and was a favored destination for American deserters, ], and ]s during the conflict. Canada hosted 30,000–90,000 Americans seeking asylum.


According to figures released by the Vietnamese government there were 849,018 confirmed military deaths on the PAVN/VC side.<ref name=Chuyen/><ref name=VNMOD/> The Vietnamese government released its estimate of war deaths for the more lengthy period of 1955 to 1975. This figure includes battle deaths of Vietnamese soldiers in the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars, in which the PAVN was a major participant. Non-combat deaths account for 30-40% of these.<ref name=Chuyen/> However, the figures do not include deaths of South Vietnamese and allied soldiers.<ref name=Shenon/> These do not include the estimated 300,000–500,000 PAVN/VC missing in action. Vietnamese government figures estimate 1.1 million dead and 300,000 missing from 1945 to 1979, with approximately 849,000 dead and 232,000 missing from 1960 to 1975.<ref name="Moyar, Mark"/>
===Other countries and parties===
;Spain
] sent thirteen soldiers, including doctors, in support of the United States.<ref>.</ref>
;Nicaragua
]<ref>Booth, John A. and Thomas W. Walker. ''Understanding Central America''. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-0002-9 p. 31.</ref> and ]<ref> Obituary: "Alfredo Stroessner; Paraguayan Dictator."</ref> also offered to send troops to Vietnam in support of the United States.
;Republic of China (Taiwan)
Since November 1967, the ] (]) secretly operated a cargo transport detachment to assist the US and the ROV. It was based on existing formation of the 34th squadron of ROC Air force. The unit's strength included two cargo aircraft, seven flight officers and two mechanics, even though a higher number of military personnel was involved through rotation. It was tasked with air transportation, airdrop and electronic reconnaissance. Some 25 members of the unit were killed, among them 17 pilots and co-pilots, and three aircraft were lost. Other ROC involvement in Vietnam included a secret listening station, special reconnaissance and raiding squads, military advisers and civilian airline operations (which cost a further two aircraft due to Vietnamese individually operated AA missiles).<ref name="xinhuanet.com.2007">{{cite web |ref=harv|date= March 16, 2007|year= 2007|url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/theory/2007-03/16/content_5857383_1.htm|title = 台湾曾秘密参加越战 (Eng:Taiwan was secretly engaged in the Vietnam War)|format = |publisher = ]| accessdate = March 30, 2010 | language=Chinese| first= |quote=}}</ref>


US reports of "enemy KIA", referred to as body count, were thought to have been subject to "falsification and glorification", and a true estimate of PAVN/VC combat deaths is difficult to assess, as US victories were assessed by having a "greater kill ratio".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kempster |first=Norman |date=31 January 1991 |title=In This War, Body Count Is Ruled Out: Casualties: Gen. Schwarzkopf makes it clear he's not repeating a blunder made in Vietnam. |language=en-US |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-31-mn-442-story.html |access-date=3 June 2018 |issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aman |first=Mohammed M. |date=April 1993 |title=General H. Norman Schwarzkopf: The Autobiography: It Doesn't Take a Hero; H. Norman Schwarzkopf with Peter Petre |journal=Digest of Middle East Studies |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=90–94 |doi=10.1111/j.1949-3606.1993.tb00951.x |issn=1060-4367}}</ref> It was difficult to distinguish between civilians and military personnel in the VC, as many were part-time guerrillas or impressed laborers who did not wear uniforms{{Sfn|Willbanks|2008|p=32}}<ref>] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216061330/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a032189.pdf |date=16 February 2017}} 1965</ref> and civilians killed were sometimes written off as enemy killed, because high enemy casualties was directly tied to promotions and commendation.<ref name=Currey/>{{Rp|649–650}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kelman |first1=H.C |url=https://archive.org/details/crimesofobedienc0000unse/page/1 |chapter=The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience |last2=Hamilton |first2=V. |title=Crimes of Obedience: Towards a Social Psychology of Authority and Responsibility |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-300-04813-1 |pages=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Declassification of the BDM Study, "The Strategic Lessons Learned in Vietnam" |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a096431.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190412100450/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a096431.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019 |publisher=Defense Technical Center |pages=225–234}}</ref>
Taiwan also provided military training units for the South Vietnamese diving units. The Taiwaneses trained units would eventually become the Lien Doi Nguoi Nhai (LDMN) or ''Frogman unit'' in English.<ref name= "Moïse pp. 3-4"/> In addition to the diving trainers there were several hundred military personal.<ref name= "Moïse pp. 3-4">{{harvnb|Moïse|1996|pp=3-4}}</ref> Military commandos from Taiwan were captured by communist forces three time July 16, 1961 July 1963 and again on October 23, 1963 trying to infiltrate North Vietnam.<ref name= "Moïse pp. 3-4"/>

Between 275,000<ref name=Banister/> and 310,000<ref name=Sliwinski/> Cambodians were estimated to have died, including between 50,000 and 150,000 combatants and civilians from US bombings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kiernan |first=Ben |url=https://archive.org/details/howpolpotcametop00kier_0 |title=How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Communism in Cambodia, 1930–1975 |publisher=] |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-300-10262-8 |page=xxiii |author-link=Ben Kiernan |url-access=registration}}</ref> 20,000–62,000 Laotians died,<ref name=Obermeyer/> and 58,281 U.S. military personnel were killed,<ref name=2new/> of which 1,584 are still listed as missing {{as of|March 2021|lc=yes}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 March 2021 |title=Vietnam-era unaccounted for statistical report |url=https://www.dpaa.mil/Portals/85/Statistics%20as%20of%20March%201.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407114839/https://www.dpaa.mil/Portals/85/Statistics%20as%20of%20March%201.pdf|archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref>


==Aftermath== ==Aftermath==
===Events in Southeast Asia=== ===In Southeast Asia===
{{Main|Mayagüez Incident|Socialist Republic of Vietnam|Democratic Kampuchea|Third Indochina War|Reeducation camp|boat people}}
], the capital of ], fell to followers of the ], commonly known as the ], on 17 April 1975. Over the next four years, the Khmer Rouge would enact a genocidal policy that would kill over one-fifth of all Cambodians, or more than a million people.<ref>. BBC News. March 30, 2008.</ref> After repeated border clashes in 1978, Vietnam invaded ] (Cambodia) and ousted the Khmer Rouge in the ].


==== In Vietnam ====
In response, China invaded Vietnam in 1979. The two countries fought a brief border war, known as the ] or the ]. From 1978 to 1979, some 450,000 ethnic ] left Vietnam by boat as refugees or were expelled across the land border with China.<ref>. U.S. Department of State.</ref>
{{Further|Re-education camp (Vietnam)|Mayaguez incident}}
], its remains have been turned into ].]]
On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robbers |first=Gerhard |title=Encyclopedia of world constitutions |publisher=] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-8160-6078-8 |page=}}</ref> Despite speculation that the victorious North Vietnamese would, in Nixon's words, "massacre the civilians there by the millions," no mass executions took place.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliot |first=Duong Van Mai |title=RAND in Southeast Asia: A History of the Vietnam War Era |publisher=RAND Corporation |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8330-4754-0 |pages=499, 512–513 |chapter=The End of the War |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9o8fAo2R6wC&pg=PA499}}</ref>{{Refn|group="A"|A study by Jacqueline Desbarats and Karl D. Jackson estimated that 65,000 South Vietnamese were executed for political reasons between 1975 and 1983, based on a survey of 615 Vietnamese refugees who claimed to have personally witnessed 47 executions. However, "their methodology was reviewed and criticized as invalid by authors ] and James Roberts." Sixteen of the 47 names used to extrapolate this "bloodbath" were duplicates; this extremely high duplication rate (34%) strongly suggests Desbarats and Jackson were drawing from a small number of total executions. Rather than arguing that this duplication rate proves there were very few executions in post-war Vietnam, Porter and Roberts suggest it is an artifact of the self-selected nature of the participants in the Desbarats-Jackson study, as the authors followed subjects' recommendations on other refugees to interview.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Elliot |first=Duong Van Mai |title=RAND in Southeast Asia: A History of the Vietnam War Era |publisher=RAND Corporation |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8330-4754-0 |pages=512–513 |chapter=The End of the War |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9o8fAo2R6wC&pg=PA512 }}<br />cf. {{Cite journal |last1=Porter |first1=Gareth |last2=Roberts |first2=James |date=Summer 1988 |title=Creating a Bloodbath by Statistical Manipulation: A Review of ''A Methodology for Estimating Political Executions in Vietnam, 1975–1983'', Jacqueline Desbarats; Karl D. Jackson. |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=303–310 |doi=10.2307/2759306 |jstor=2759306}}</ref> Nevertheless, there exist unverified reports of mass executions.<ref>''see'' Nguyen Cong Hoan' testimony in {{Cite report |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002939991 |title=Human Rights in Vietnam: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations: House of Representatives, Ninety-Fifth Congress, First Session |date=26 July 1977 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=149, 153 |access-date=2 September 2016 |archive-date=17 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117043107/https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002939991 |url-status=live }};<br />''see also'' {{Cite journal |last1=Desbarats |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Jackson |first2=Karl D. |date=September 1985 |title=Vietnam 1975–1982: The Cruel Peace |journal=The Washington Quarterly |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=169–182 |doi=10.1080/01636608509477343 |pmid=11618274}}</ref>}}
]


However many South Vietnamese were sent to ] where they endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labor.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sagan |first1=Ginetta |last2=Denney |first2=Stephen |date=October–November 1982 |title=Re-education in Unliberated Vietnam: Loneliness, Suffering and Death |url=https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sdenney/Vietnam-Reeducation-Camps-1982 |access-date=1 September 2016 |website=The Indochina Newsletter |archive-date=28 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428231519/https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sdenney/Vietnam-Reeducation-Camps-1982 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nghia |first=M. Vo |title=The Bamboo Gulag: Political Imprisonment in Communist Vietnam |publisher=McFarland |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7864-1714-8}}</ref> According to Amnesty International, this figure varied depending on different observers: "...{{Nbsp}}"50,000 to 80,000" (''Le Monde'', April 1978), "150,000" (Reuters from Bien Hoa, November 1977), "150,000 to 200,000" (''The Washington Post'', December 1978), and "300,000" (Agence France Presse from Hanoi, February 1978)."<ref>{{Cite web |year=1979 |title=Amnesty International Report, 1979 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/POL100011979ENGLISH.PDF |access-date=26 March 2018 |publisher=Amnesty International |page=116|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323142937/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/001/1979/en/|archive-date=March 23, 2023}}</ref> Such variations are because "Some estimates may include not only detainees but also people sent from the cities to the countryside." According to a native observer, 443,360 people had to register for a period in re-education camps in Saigon alone, and while some were released after a few days, others stayed for more than a decade.<ref>''Huy, Đức. Bên Thắng Cuộc. OsinBook.''</ref> Between 1975 and 1980, more than 1 million northerners migrated south, to regions formerly in the Republic of Vietnam, while, as part of the ], around 750,000 to over 1 million southerners were moved mostly to mountainous forested areas.<ref name="Desbarats">{{Cite book |last=Desbarats |first=Jacqueline |title=Repression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Executions and Population Relocation |series=Indochina report ; no. 11 |publisher=Executive Publications |location=Singapore |date=1987}}</ref><ref name="Chapman">{{Cite news |last=Chapman |first=William |date=17 August 1979 |title=Hanoi Rebuts Refugees on 'Economic Zones' |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/08/17/hanoi-rebuts-refugees-on-economic-zones/a26c10ab-3791-4d76-9c4a-db4f7d48be32/ |access-date=30 June 2021|archive-date=June 14, 2023|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20230614164256/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/08/17/hanoi-rebuts-refugees-on-economic-zones/a26c10ab-3791-4d76-9c4a-db4f7d48be32/}}</ref> ], a ] winning writer, described South Vietnam as a "False paradise" after the war, when he visited in 1980:
The ] overthrew the royalist government of ] in December 1975. They established the ].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/la.html#history |title = CIA – The World Factbook – Laos |accessdate = 2008-06-11}}</ref> From 1975 to 1996, the U.S. resettled some 250,000 Lao refugees from Thailand, including 130,000 ].<ref>. U.S. Department of State.</ref>
{{Blockquote|The cost of this delirium was stupefying: 360,000 people mutilated, a million widows, 500,000 prostitutes, 500,000 drug addicts, a million tuberculous and more than a million soldiers of the old regime, impossible to rehabilitate into a new society. Ten percent of the population of Ho Chi Minh City was suffering from serious venereal diseases when the war ended, and there were 4 million illiterates throughout the South.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Read Gabriel García Márquez's Moving Vietnam Piece |magazine=Rolling Stone |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-vietnam-wars-19800529 |access-date=25 April 2018 |archive-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617093009/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-vietnam-wars-19800529 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
The US used its ] to block Vietnam's UN recognition three times, an obstacle to it receiving international aid.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 1977 |title=Vietnam Is Admitted to the U.N. As 32d General Assembly Opens |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/21/archives/vietnam-is-admitted-to-the-un-as-32d-general-assembly-opens.html |access-date=27 April 2018 |issn=0362-4331|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409052642/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/21/archives/vietnam-is-admitted-to-the-un-as-32d-general-assembly-opens.html|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>


==== Laos and Cambodia ====
More than 3 million people fled from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, many as "]". Most Asian countries were unwilling to accept refugees.<ref>"". Stephen Castles, University of Oxford. Mark J. Miller, University of Delaware. July 2009.</ref> Since 1975, an estimated 1.4 million ]s from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries have been resettled to the ].<ref>. Migration Information Source.</ref>
By 1975, the North Vietnamese had lost influence over the Khmer Rouge.<ref name=Hastings/>{{Rp|708}} ], Cambodia's capital, fell to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975. Under ], the Khmer Rouge would ] out of a population of around 8&nbsp;million, in one of the ].<ref name=Heuveline/>{{Rp|}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharp |first=Bruce |date=1 April 2005 |title=Counting Hell: The Death Toll of the Khmer Rouge Regime in Cambodia |url=http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/deaths.htm |access-date=15 July 2016 |quote=The range based on the figures above extends from a minimum of 1.747 million, to a maximum of 2.495 million. |archive-date=15 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115041409/http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/deaths.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>The ] has mapped some 23,745 mass graves containing approximately 1.3 million suspected victims of execution; execution is believed to account for roughly 60% of the full death toll. See: {{Cite book |last1=Seybolt |first1=Taylor B. |title=Counting Civilian Casualties: An Introduction to Recording and Estimating Nonmilitary Deaths in Conflict |last2=Aronson |first2=Jay D. |last3=Fischoff |first3=Baruch |publisher=] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-997731-4 |page=238}}</ref><ref>] cites a range of 1.671 to 1.871 million excess deaths under the Khmer Rouge. See {{Cite journal |last=Kiernan |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Kiernan |date=December 2003 |title=The Demography of Genocide in Southeast Asia: The Death Tolls in Cambodia, 1975–79, and East Timor, 1975–80 |journal=Critical Asian Studies |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=585–597 |doi=10.1080/1467271032000147041 |s2cid=143971159}}</ref>


The relationship between Vietnam and ] (Cambodia) escalated after the end of the war. In response to the Khmer Rouge taking over ] and ], and the belief they were responsible for the disappearance of 500 Vietnamese natives on Tho Chu, Vietnam launched a counterattack to take back these islands.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Farrell |first=Epsey Cooke |title=The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the law of the sea: an analysis of Vietnamese behavior within the emerging international oceans regime |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |year=1998 |isbn=90-411-0473-9}}</ref> After failed attempts to negotiate, Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea in 1978 and ousted the Khmer Rouge, who were being supported by China, in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. In response, China invaded Vietnam in 1979. The two countries fought a border war: the ]. From 1978 to 1979, some 450,000 ethnic ] left Vietnam by boat as refugees or were deported.
===Effect on the United States===
] in ], ]]]
In the post-war era, Americans struggled to absorb the lessons of the military intervention.<ref>Gerdes (ed). ''Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War'' pp. 14–15.</ref> As General ], one of the principal architects of the war, noted "first, we didn't know ourselves. We thought that we were going into another ], but this was a different country. Secondly, we didn't know our South Vietnamese allies... And we knew less about North Vietnam. Who was ]? Nobody really knew. So, until we know the enemy and know our allies and know ourselves, we'd better keep out of this kind of dirty business. It's very dangerous."<ref name= "Karnow p. 23">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=23}}</ref><ref>Taylor paraphrases Sun Tzu, '']'', Samuel B. Griffith, trans. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press, 1963.</ref>


The Pathet Lao overthrew the monarchy of Laos in December 1975, establishing the ]. The change in regime was "quite peaceful, a sort of Asiatic ']'"—although 30,000 former officials were sent to reeducation camps, often enduring harsh conditions.<ref name=Courtois/>{{Rp|575–576}}
Some have suggested that "the responsibility for the ultimate failure of this policy lies not with the men who fought, but with those in Congress..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vietnamwar.com/presidentnixonsrole.htm |title=VietnamWar.com:Vietnam War - President Richard Nixon's Role in the Vietnam War |publisher=Vietnam War |date= |accessdate=2009-10-17}}</ref> Alternatively, the official history of the ] noted that "] have often seemed to exist apart from larger issues, strategies, and objectives. Yet in Vietnam the Army experienced tactical success and strategic failure... The... Vietnam War('s)... legacy may be the lesson that unique historical, political, cultural, and social factors always impinge on the military... Success rests not only on military progress but on correctly analyzing the nature of the particular conflict, understanding the enemy's strategy, and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of allies. A new humility and a new sophistication may form the best parts of a complex heritage left to the Army by the long, bitter war in Vietnam."<ref>see the conclusion in </ref>


==== Unexploded ordnance ====
U.S. Secretary of State ] wrote in a secret memo to President Gerald Ford that "in terms of military tactics, we cannot help draw the conclusion that our armed forces are not suited to this kind of war. Even the Special Forces who had been designed for it could not prevail."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/exhibits/vietnam/750512a.htm |title = Lessons of Vietnam - Secret Memoranda to The President of the United States by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, ca. 12 May 1975 p. 3. |accessdate = 2008-06-11}}</ref> Even Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara concluded that "the achievement of a military victory by U.S. forces in Vietnam was indeed a dangerous illusion."<ref>McNamara ''Argument Without End'' p. 368.</ref>
], mostly from US bombing, continues to kill people, and has rendered much land hazardous and impossible to cultivate. Ordnance has killed 42,000 people since the war ended.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 December 2012 |title=Vietnam War Bomb Explodes Killing Four Children |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/03/vietname-war-bomb-explodes_n_2229727.html |website=The Huffington Post |access-date=21 March 2014 |archive-date=19 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219040016/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/03/vietname-war-bomb-explodes_n_2229727.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref></ref> In Laos, 80&nbsp;million bombs failed to explode and still remain. Unexploded ordnance has killed or injured over 20,000 Laotians since the war and about 50 people are killed or maimed annually.<ref name="Wright">{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Rebecca |date=6 September 2016 |title='My friends were afraid of me': What 80 million unexploded US bombs did to Laos |work=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/ |access-date=18 September 2016 |archive-date=17 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117203916/https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/05/asia/united-states-laos-secret-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lao PDR - Casualties and Victim Assistance |url=http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2016/lao-pdr/casualties-and-victim-assistance.aspx |access-date=17 July 2022 |website=Landmine and Clustering Munition Monitor |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407114839/http://www.the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2016/lao-pdr/casualties-and-victim-assistance.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> It is estimated the explosives buried will not be removed entirely for centuries.<ref name="Nguyen" />{{Rp|317}}


==== Refugee crisis ====
Doubts surfaced as to the effectiveness of large-scale, sustained bombing. As ] ] noted, "if anything came out of Vietnam, it was that air power couldn't do the job.<ref name="Buzzano">Quoted in Bob Buzzano. {{cite web |url = http://www.commondreams.org/views/041700-106.htm |title = 25 Years After End Of Vietnam War Myths Keep Us From Coming To Terms With Vietnam |accessdate=2008-06-11 |publisher=''The Baltimore Sun Times,'' 17 April 2000}}</ref> Even General William Westmoreland admitted that the bombing had been ineffective. As he remarked, "I still doubt that the North Vietnamese would have relented."<ref name="Buzzano"/>
{{Main|Indochina refugee crisis|Vietnamese boat people}}
Over 3&nbsp;million people left Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in the ] after 1975. Most Asian countries were unwilling to accept them, many of whom fled by boat and were known as ].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Stephen Castles |last2=Mark J. Miller |date=10 July 2009 |title=Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region |url=http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/migration-asia-pacific-region |publisher=Migration Policy Institute |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-date=14 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614072213/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/migration-asia-pacific-region |url-status=live }}</ref> Between 1975 and 1998, an estimated 1.2&nbsp;million ]s from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries resettled in the US, while Canada, Australia, and France resettled over 500,000, China accepted 250,000 people.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=William |title=Terms of refuge: the Indochinese exodus & the international response |publisher=Zed Books |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-85649-610-0 |page=}}</ref> Laos experienced the largest refugee flight proportionally, 300,000 out of a population of 3&nbsp;million crossed the border into Thailand. Included among their ranks were "about 90%" of Laos' "intellectuals, technicians, and officials."<ref name=Courtois/>{{Rp|575}} An estimated 200,000 to 400,000 ] died at sea, according to the ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nghia |first=M. Vo |title=The Vietnamese Boat People, 1954 and 1975–1992 |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7864-2345-3}}</ref>


===In the United States===
The inability to bomb Hanoi to the bargaining table also illustrated another U.S. miscalculation. The North's leadership was composed of hardened communists who had been fighting for independence for thirty years. They had successfully defeated the French, and their tenacity as both nationalists and communists was formidable. Ho Chi Minh is quoted as saying, “You can kill ten of my men for every one I kill of yours…But even at these odds you will lose and I will win.”<ref name= "Karnow p. 17">{{harvnb|Karnow|1991|p=17}}</ref>
{{Main|United States in the Vietnam War}}
] private waits on the beach during the Marine landing, ], 3 August 1965]]


Failure of US goals is often placed at different institutions and levels. Some have suggested it was due to political failures of leadership.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lippman |first=Thomas W. |date=9 April 1995 |title=McNamara Writes Vietnam Mea Culpa |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/04/09/mcnamara-writes-vietnam-mea-culpa/a85cc058-54fe-4074-bda3-b374885ede8f/ |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228230351/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1995/04/09/mcnamara-writes-vietnam-mea-culpa/a85cc058-54fe-4074-bda3-b374885ede8f/ |archive-date=28 December 2019 |quote=As recounted by McNamara{{Nbsp}}... the war could and should have been avoided and should have been halted at several key junctures, one as early as 1963. According to McNamara, he and other senior advisers to President Lyndon B. Johnson failed to head it off through ignorance, inattention, flawed thinking, political expediency and lack of courage.}}</ref> Others point to a failure of military doctrine. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara stated that "the achievement of a military victory by U.S. forces in Vietnam was indeed a dangerous illusion."<ref name=McNamara/>{{Rp|368}} The inability to bring Hanoi to the bargaining table by bombing illustrated another US miscalculation, and the limitations of military abilities in achieving political goals.<ref name=Karnow/>{{Rp|17}} ] ] noted, "if anything came out of Vietnam, it was that air power couldn't do the job."<ref name="Buzzano">{{Cite web |last=Buzzanco |first=Bob |date=17 April 2000 |title=25 Years After End of Vietnam War, Myths Keep Us from Coming to Terms with Vietnam |url=http://www.commondreams.org/views/041700-106.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605195117/http://www.commondreams.org/views/041700-106.htm |archive-date=5 June 2008 |access-date=11 June 2008 |website=]}}</ref> General William Westmoreland admitted bombing had been ineffective, saying he doubted "that the North Vietnamese would have relented."<ref name=Buzzano/> Kissinger wrote in a memo to President Ford that "in terms of military tactics ... our armed forces are not suited to this kind of war. Even the Special Forces who had been designed for it could not prevail."{{Sfn|Kissinger|1975}} Hanoi had persistently sought unification since the Geneva Accords, and the effects of US bombing had negligible impact on North Vietnam's goals.<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|1–10}} US bombing mobilized people throughout North Vietnam and international support, due to the perception of a superpower attempting to bomb a significantly smaller, agrarian society into submission.<ref name=Nguyen/>{{Rp|48–52}}
The Vietnam War called into question the U.S. Army doctrine. Marine Corps General ] heavily criticised Westmoreland's ] strategy, calling it "wasteful of American lives... with small likelihood of a successful outcome."<ref name="Buzzano"/> As well, doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces.<ref name="Demma"/> The defeat also raised disturbing questions about the quality of the advice that was given to successive presidents by the Pentagon.<ref name="Demma"/>


In the post-war era, Americans struggled to absorb the lessons of the military intervention. President ] coined the term "]" to describe the reluctance of the American public and politicians to support military interventions abroad. US polling in 1978 revealed nearly 72% of Americans believed the war was "fundamentally wrong and immoral."<ref name="Hagopian" />{{Rp|10}} Six months after the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder, ] found 60% of Americans did not believe that sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake in September 1965, and only 24% believed it was. Subsequent polling did not find that a plurality of Americans believed that sending troops was a mistake until October 1967, and did not find a majority believing it was until August 1968, during the third phase of the Tet Offensive. Thereafter, Gallup found majorities believing sending troops was a mistake through the signing of the Peace Accords in January 1973, when 60% believed sending troops was a mistake, and retrospective polls by Gallup between 1990 and 2000, found 69-74% of Americans believed sending troops was a mistake.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Newport|first1=Frank|last2=Carroll|first2=Joseph|date=August 24, 2005|title=Iraq Versus Vietnam: A Comparison of Public Opinion|publisher=Gallup, Inc.|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/18097/iraq-versus-vietnam-comparison-public-opinion.aspx|access-date=May 8, 2024|archive-date=9 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509004839/https://news.gallup.com/poll/18097/Iraq-Versus-Vietnam-Comparison-Public-Opinion.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The ], concerning the fate of US service personnel listed as ], persisted for years afterwards. The costs loom large in American consciousness; a 1990 poll showed the public incorrectly believed more Americans died in Vietnam than World War II.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 May 2001 |title=Victory in Europe 56 Years Ago |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/1552/Victory-Europe-Years-Ago.aspx |publisher=Gallup News Service |access-date=2 January 2015 |archive-date=4 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104162059/http://www.gallup.com/poll/1552/Victory-Europe-Years-Ago.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
Between 1965 and 1975, the United States spent $111 billion on the war ($686 billion in FY2008 dollars).<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/108054.pdf
|title=CRS Report to Congress : Costs of Major U.S. Wars
|author=Stephen Daggett
|date=24 July 2008
|publisher=Foreign press center, US Department of State
}} (Order Code RS22926, see table on page 2/5).</ref> This resulted in a large federal budget deficit. The war demonstrated that no power, not even a superpower, has unlimited strength and resources. But perhaps most significantly, the Vietnam War illustrated that political will, as much as material might, is a decisive factor in the outcome of conflicts.


====Financial cost====
More than 3 million Americans served in Vietnam. By war's end, 58,193 soldiers were killed, more than 150,000 were wounded, and at least 21,000 were permanently disabled.<ref>. Digital History.</ref> Approximately 830,000 Vietnam veterans suffered symptoms of ]. An estimated 125,000 Americans fled to Canada to avoid the Vietnam draft,<ref>. ABC News. November 19, 2005. Retrieved 2010-02-26.</ref> and approximately 50,000 American servicemen deserted.<ref>. Pacific News Service. June 28, 2005.</ref> In 1977, United States President ] granted a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all Vietnam-era ]s.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/carter_proclamation.htm |title = Proclamation 4483: Granting Pardon for Violations of the Selective Service Act |accessdate = 2008-06-11}} By The President Of The United States Of America, ''A Proclamation Granting Pardon For Violations Of The Selective Services Act, 4 August 1964 To 28 March 1973.'' 21 January 1977.</ref> The ], concerning the fate of U.S. service personnel listed as ], would persist for many years after the war's conclusion.
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="width: 35%;"
|+US expenditures in South Vietnam (1953–74)<br />Direct costs only<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dacy |first=Douglas |url=https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/108054.pdf |title=Foreign aid, war, and economic development: South Vietnam 1955–1975 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-521-30327-9 |page=242}}</ref>
|-
! Military costs || Military aid || Economic aid|| Total || Total (2015 dollars)
|-
| $111&nbsp;billion || $16&nbsp;billion || $7&nbsp;billion || $135&nbsp;billion || $1&nbsp;trillion
|}


Between 1953 and 1975, the US was estimated to have spent $168&nbsp;billion on the war (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|0.168|1964|r=1}} trillion in {{Inflation/year|US}}).<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 January 2014 |title=How Much Did The Vietnam War Cost? |language=en-US |work=The Vietnam War |url=https://thevietnamwar.info/how-much-vietnam-war-cost/ |access-date=17 May 2018}}</ref> This resulted in a large ]. Other figures point to $139&nbsp;billion from 1965 to 1974 (not inflation-adjusted), 10 times all education spending in the US, and 50 times more than housing and community development spending within that period.<ref name="CQ">{{Cite web |title=CQ Almanac Online Edition |url=https://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal75-1213988#H2_1 |access-date=14 June 2018 |website=library.cqpress.com}}</ref> It was stated that war-spending could have paid off every mortgage in the US, with money leftover.<ref name=CQ/> {{As of|2013}}, the US government pays Vietnam veterans and their families more than $22&nbsp;billion a year in war-related claims.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 March 2013 |title=US still making payments to relatives of Civil War veterans, analysis finds |work=Fox News |agency=] |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/us-still-making-payments-to-relatives-of-civil-war-veterans-analysis-finds}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jim Lobe |date=30 March 2013 |title=Iraq, Afghanistan Wars Will Cost U.S. 4–6 Trillion Dollars: Report |agency=] |url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/03/iraq-afghanistan-wars-will-cost-u-s-4-6-trillion-dollars-report/}}</ref>
===Chemical defoliation===
{{Refimprovesect|date=February 2008}}
One of the most controversial aspects of the U.S. military effort in Southeast Asia was the widespread use of chemical ]s between 1961 and 1971. They were used to ] large parts of the countryside. These chemicals continue to change the landscape, cause diseases and birth defects, and poison the food chain.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www1.va.gov/Agentorange/ |title = Agent Orange Home |accessdate = 2008-06-11}}</ref>


====Impact on the U.S. military====
Early in the American military effort it was decided that since the enemy were hiding their activities under triple-canopy jungle, a useful first step might be to defoliate certain areas. This was especially true of growth surrounding bases (both large and small) in what became known as ]. Corporations like ] and ] were given the task of developing herbicides for this purpose.
{{See also|Vietnam War resisters in Canada|Vietnam War resisters in Sweden}}


]
The defoliants, which were distributed in drums marked with color-coded bands, included the "]"—], ], ], ], ], and, most famously, ], which included ] as a by-product of its manufacture. About 12 million gallons (45,000,000&nbsp;L) of Agent Orange were sprayed over Southeast Asia during the American involvement. A prime area of Ranch Hand operations was in the ], where the U.S. Navy patrol boats were vulnerable to attack from the undergrowth at the water's edge.
More than 3&nbsp;million Americans served in the war, 1.5&nbsp;million of whom saw combat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Echoes of Combat: The Vietnam War in American Memory |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/fredturner/cgi-bin/drupal/?q=node/7 |publisher=Stanford University |access-date=29 May 2011 |archive-date=8 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508201447/http://www.stanford.edu/group/fredturner/cgi-bin/drupal/?q=node%2F7 |url-status=dead }}</ref> James Westheider wrote that "At the height of American involvement in 1968, for example, 543,000 American military personnel were stationed in Vietnam, but only 80,000 were considered combat troops."{{Sfn|Westheider|2007|p=78}} Conscription in the US existed since World War II, but ended in 1973.<ref name=bbmdst>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rjoTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6104%2C3785258 |newspaper=The Bulletin |location=Bend, Oregon |agency=UPI |title=Military draft system stopped |date=January 27, 1973 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=mdebld>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_6ojAAAAIBAJ&pg=5837%2C1959488 |newspaper=The Times-News |location=Hendersonville, North Carolina |agency=Associated Press |title=Military draft ended by Laird |date=January 27, 1973 |page=1 }}</ref>


58,220 American soldiers were killed,<ref name="USd&w" group="A" /> more than 150,000 wounded, and at least 21,000 permanently disabled.<ref name="DigitalHistory">{{Cite web |title=The War's Costs |url=http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=513 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505035502/http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=513 |archive-date=5 May 2008 |access-date=3 November 2019 |publisher=Digital History}}</ref> The average age of US troops killed was 23.<ref>Combat Area Casualty File, November 1993. (The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, i.e. The Wall), Center for Electronic Records, National Archives, Washington, DC</ref> According to Dale Kueter, "Of those killed in combat, 86% were white, 13% were black..."<ref name="Kueter">{{Cite book |last=Kueter |first=Dale |title=Vietnam Sons: For Some, the War Never Ended |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4259-6931-8}}</ref> Approximately 830,000 veterans, 15%, suffered ].<ref name="DigitalHistory" /> This unprecedented number was because the military had routinely provided heavy psychoactive drugs to servicemen, which left them unable to process trauma.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=8 April 2016 |title=The Drugs That Built a Super Soldier: During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Military Plied Its Servicemen with Speed, Steroids, and Painkillers to Help Them Handle Extended Combat |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/04/the-drugs-that-built-a-super-soldier/477183/ |magazine=The Atlantic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520145751/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/04/the-drugs-that-built-a-super-soldier/477183/|archive-date=May 20, 2023}}</ref> Drug use, racial tensions, and the growing incidence of fragging—attempting to kill unpopular officers with grenades or other weapons—created problems for the military and impacted its capability to undertake operations.<ref name="Lepre">{{Cite book |last=Lepre |first=George |title=Fragging: Why U.S. Soldiers Assaulted their Officers in Vietnam |publisher=Texas Tech University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-89672-715-1}}</ref>{{Rp|44–47}} 125,000 Americans left for Canada to avoid the draft,<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 2005 |title=War Resisters Remain in Canada with No Regrets |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1325339 |access-date=26 February 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312063551/https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=1325339|archive-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref> and approximately 50,000 servicemen deserted.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 June 2005 |title=Vietnam War Resisters in Canada Open Arms to U.S. Military Deserters |url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=24009b4dc8fe8dadcfa96c37bce9dea6 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812205654/http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=24009b4dc8fe8dadcfa96c37bce9dea6 |archive-date=12 August 2014 |access-date=12 August 2014 |publisher=Pacific News Service}}</ref> In 1977, President ] granted an unconditional pardon to all Vietnam-era ] with ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 January 1977 |title=Proclamation 4483: Granting Pardon for Violations of the Selective Service Act, August 4, 1964 To March 38, 1973 |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/carter_proclamation.htm |access-date=11 June 2008|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404185642/https://www.justice.gov/pardon/proclamation-4483-granting-pardon-violations-selective-service-act|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>
]s in the ], South Vietnam]]
In 1961 and 1962, the Kennedy administration authorized the use of chemicals to destroy rice crops. Between 1961 and 1967, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 20 million U.S. gallons (75,700,000&nbsp;L) of concentrated herbicides over 6 million acres (24,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of crops and trees, affecting an estimated 13% of South Vietnam's land. In 1965, 42% of all herbicide was sprayed over food crops. Another purpose of herbicide use was to drive civilian populations into RVN-controlled areas.<ref>''Anatomy of a War'' by ], ISBN 1-56584-218-9 pp. 144–145.</ref>


The war called into question army doctrine. Marine general ] criticized Westmoreland's attrition strategy, calling it "wasteful of American lives{{Nbsp}}... with small likelihood of a successful outcome."<ref name=Buzzano/> Doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces. There was found to be considerable flaws and dishonesty by commanders, due to promotions being tied to the body count system touted by Westmoreland and McNamara.<ref name=Mohr/> Secretary of Defense McNamara wrote to President Johnson his doubts: "The picture of the world's greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring 1,000 noncombatants a week, while trying to pound a tiny backward nation into submission on an issue whose merits are hotly disputed, is not a pretty one."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Scheer |first=Robert |date=8 July 2009 |title=McNamara's Evil Lives On |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/mcnamaras-evil-lives/ |magazine=The Nation |issn=0027-8378 |access-date=28 February 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404185636/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/mcnamaras-evil-lives/|archive-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref>
As of 2006, the Vietnamese government estimates that there are over 4,000,000 victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam, although the United States government denies any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and the Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard.<ref>.</ref>


===Effects of U.S. chemical defoliation===
The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ] in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Although there has been much discussion over whether the use of these defoliants constituted a violation of the laws of war, the defoliants were not considered weapons, since exposure to them did not lead to immediate death or incapacitation.
{{Further|Environmental impact of the Vietnam War}}
]s in the ], South Vietnam, 1969]]
One of the most controversial aspects of the US military effort, was the widespread use of chemical ]s between 1961 and 1971. 20 million gallons of toxic herbicides (like ]) were sprayed on 6 million acres of forests and crops by the air force.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Westing |first=Arthur H. |url={{GBurl|id=4SfwtAEACAAJ}} |title=Herbicides in War: The Long-term Ecological and Human Consequences |date=1984 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |pages=5ff}}</ref> They were used to ] large parts of the countryside to prevent the Viet Cong from being able to hide weaponry and encampments under the foliage, and deprive them of food. Defoliation was used to clear sensitive areas, including base perimeters and possible ambush sites along roads and canals. More than 20% of South Vietnam's forests and 3% of its cultivated land was sprayed at least once. 90% of herbicide use was directed at forest defoliation.<ref name=Lewy/>{{Rp|263}} The chemicals used continue to change the landscape, cause diseases and birth defects, and poison the food chain.<ref>{{Harvnb|Palmer|2007}}; {{Harvnb|Stone|2007}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first=Lynne |last=Peeples |date=10 July 2013 |title=Veterans Sick From Agent Orange-Poisoned Planes Still Seek Justice |work=] |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/agent-orange-vietnam-veterans_n_3572598.html |access-date=4 September 2013}}</ref> US military records have listed figures including the destruction of 20% of the jungles of South Vietnam and 20-36% of the ] forests.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Diane N. |url=http://college.holycross.edu/faculty/dnfox/pdf/chemical_politics.pdf |chapter=Chemical Politics and the Hazards of Modern Warfare: Agent Orange |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100727144516/http://college.holycross.edu/faculty/dnfox/pdf/chemical_politics.pdf|archive-date=2010-07-27 |title=Synthetic Planet: Chemical Politics and the Hazards of Modern Life |editor-last=Monica |editor-first=Casper |date=2003 |publisher=Routledge Press}}</ref> The environmental destruction caused was described by Swedish Prime Minister ], lawyers, historians and other academics as an ].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Zierler |first=David |title=The invention of ecocide: agent orange, Vietnam, and the scientists who changed the way we think about the environment |date=2011 |publisher=Univ. of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-3827-9 |location=Athens, Georgia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-18 |title=How Imperative Is It To Consider Ecocide As An International Crime? |url=https://www.ijllr.com/post/how-imperative-is-it-to-consider-ecocide-as-an-international-crime |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=IJLLR}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Falk |first=Richard A. |date=1973 |title=Environmental Warfare and Ecocide — Facts, Appraisal, and Proposals |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44480206 |journal=Bulletin of Peace Proposals |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=80–96 |doi=10.1177/096701067300400105 |jstor=44480206 |s2cid=144885326 |issn=0007-5035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 February 2022 |last=Cassandra |first=Bianca |title=Industrial disasters from Bhopal to present day: why the proposal to make 'ecocide' an international offence is persuasive |url=https://theleaflet.in/industrial-disasters-from-bhopal-to-present-day-why-the-proposal-to-make-ecocide-an-international-offence-is-persuasive/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=The Leaflet |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |first=Giovanni |last=Chiarini |date=1 April 2022 |title=Ecocide: From the Vietnam War to International Criminal Jurisdiction? Procedural Issues In-Between Environmental Science, Climate Change, and Law |ssrn=4072727 |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4072727 |journal=Cork Online Law Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-07 |title='Ecocide' movement pushes for a new international crime: Environmental destruction |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ecocide-movement-pushes-new-international-crime-environmental-destruction-n1263142 |access-date=2023-06-21 |website=NBC News}}</ref>


Agent Orange and similar chemical substances used by the US have caused many deaths and injuries in the intervening years, including among the US Air Force crews that handled them. Scientific reports have concluded that refugees exposed to chemical sprays while in South Vietnam continued to experience pain in the eyes and skin as well as gastrointestinal upsets. In one study, 92% of participants suffered incessant fatigue; others reported ]s.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Rose |first1=Hilary A. |last2=Rose |first2=Stephen P. |year=1972 |title=Chemical Spraying as Reported by Refugees from South Vietnam |url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.177.4050.710 |magazine=Science |volume=177 |issue=4050 |pages=710–712 |doi=10.1126/science.177.4050.710}}</ref> Analysis of studies on the association between Agent Orange and birth defects, have found a statistically significant correlation such that having a parent who was exposed to Agent Orange at any point, will increase one's likelihood of possessing or acting as a genetic carrier of birth defects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ngo Anh |first1=D. |first2=Richard |last2=Taylor |first3=Christine L. |last3=Roberts |first4=Tuan V. |last4=Nguyen |date=13 February 2006 |title=Association between Agent Orange and Birth Defects: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis |journal=International Journal of Epidemiology |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=1220–1230 |doi=10.1093/ije/dyl038 |pmid=16543362 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The most common deformity appears to be ]. There is substantial evidence that birth defects carry on for three generations or more.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Charles |last1=Ornstein |first2=Hannah |last2=Fresques |first3=Mike |last3=Hixenbaugh |date=16 December 2016 |title=The Children of Agent Orange |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/the-children-of-agent-orange |access-date=23 February 2018 |website=ProPublica}}</ref> In 2012, the US and Vietnam began a cooperative cleaning toxic chemicals on ], marking the first time Washington has been involved in cleaning up Agent Orange in Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 August 2012 |title=U.S. starts its first Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-vietnam-usa-agentorange-idUSBRE87803K20120809}}</ref>
===Casualties===
{{Main|Vietnam War casualties}}
]
The number of military and civilian deaths from 1959 to 1975 is debated. Some reports fail to include the members of South Vietnamese forces killed in the final campaign, or the Royal Lao Armed Forces, thousands of Laotian and Thai irregulars, or Laotian civilians who all perished in the conflict. They do not include the tens of thousands of Cambodians killed during the civil war or the estimated one and one-half to two million that perished in the ] that followed ] victory, or the fate of Laotian Royals and civilians after the ] assumed complete power in ].


], 2004]]
In 1995, the Vietnamese government reported that its military forces, including the NLF, suffered 1.1 million dead and 600,000 wounded during Hanoi's conflict with the United States. Civilian deaths were put at two million in the North and South, and economic ] were expected. Hanoi concealed the figures during the war to avoid demoralizing the population.<ref>{{Citation
|url=http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950404/04040331.htm
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20071222122211/http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp950404/04040331.htm
|archivedate=2007-12-22
|title=Vietanm says1.1 Million died Fighting for North
|date=4 April 1995
|publisher=The Virginian-Pilot quoting the Ledger-Star}}{{copyvio link|date=October 2008}}(archived from on 22 December 2007).</ref> Estimates of civilian deaths caused by American bombing in ] range from 52,000<ref> in , University of Hawaii.</ref> to 182,000.<ref>.</ref> The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war.<ref>. Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref>


Vietnamese victims affected by Agent Orange attempted a class action lawsuit against ] and other US chemical manufacturers, but a ] dismissed their case.<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|2005|p=380}}<br />In his 234-page judgment, the judge observed: "Despite the fact that Congress and the President were fully advised of a substantial belief that the herbicide spraying in Vietnam was a violation of international law, they acted on their view that it was not a violation at the time."</ref> They appealed, but the dismissal was cemented in 2008 by an ].<ref>{{Harvnb|Crook|2008}}.</ref> {{As of|2006}}, the Vietnamese government estimated there were over 4,000,000 victims of ] poisoning in Vietnam, although the US government denies any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam, dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Anthony |last=Faiola |date=13 November 2006 |title=In Vietnam, Old Foes Take Aim at War's Toxic Legacy |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/12/AR2006111201065.html |access-date=8 September 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711142514/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/12/AR2006111201065.html|archive-date=July 11, 2007}}</ref>
==Popular culture==

{{See also|Vietnam War in film|Vietnam War in games}}
The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] as, "presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administration |first=US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health |title=VA.gov {{!}} Veterans Affairs |url=https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/index.asp |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=www.publichealth.va.gov |language=en}}</ref> Spina bifida is the sole birth defect in children of veterans, recognized as being caused by exposure to Agent Orange.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Veterans' Diseases Associated with Agent Orange |url=http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509191150/http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp |archive-date=9 May 2010 |access-date=4 September 2013 |publisher=]}}</ref>
The Vietnam War has been featured heavily in television, film, video games, and literature. The war also influenced a generation of musicians and songwriters. The band ] recorded ] in 1965, and it became one of the most influential anti-Vietnam protest anthems. The musical '']'' focuses on the end of the war and its aftermath. In cinema, noted films that have shaped the popular conception of the war include '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', and the '']'' films. It was represented on television by the series '']''. Anti-war artwork was another genre of popular culture, one of the most iconic images of the era was the '']'' poster.

===In popular culture===
{{Main|List of Vietnam War films}}
]. The original statue was demolished in April 1975]]

The war has featured extensively in television, film, video games, music and literature. In Vietnam, a notable film set during Operation Linebacker II was '']'' (1974) depicting war-time life. Another notable work was the diary of Đặng Thùy Trâm, a North Vietnamese doctor who enlisted in the Southern battlefield, and was killed aged 27 by US forces near ]. Her diaries were published in Vietnam as ''Đặng Thùy Trâm's Diary'' (''Last Night I Dreamed of Peace''), where it became a bestseller and was made into a film '']''. In Vietnam, the diary has been compared to '']'', and both are used in literary education.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 December 2014 |title=Amsterdam Mayor visits Hanoi-Amsterdam High School |work=VOV Online Newspaper |url=http://english.vov.vn/society/amsterdam-mayor-visits-hanoiamsterdam-high-school-284797.vov |url-status=dead |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428231359/https://english.vov.vn/society/amsterdam-mayor-visits-hanoiamsterdam-high-school-284797.vov |archive-date=28 April 2019}}</ref>

One of the first major films based on the war was ]'s pro-war '']'' (1968). Further cinematic representations were released during the 1970s and 1980s, the most noteworthy examples being ]'s '']'' (1978), ]'s '']'' (1979), ]'s '']'' (1986) and ]'s '']'' (1987). Other films include '']'' (1987), '']'' (1989), '']'' (1989), '']'' (1994), '']'' (2002), and '']'' (2007).<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}

The war influenced a generation of musicians and songwriters in Vietnam, the US, and elsewhere, both pro/anti-war and pro/anti-communist, with the ] having identified 5,000+ songs referencing the conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brummer |first=Justin |title=The Vietnam War: A History in Song |url=https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/vietnam-war-history-song |access-date=6 August 2021 |website=History Today}}</ref> The band ] recorded '']'' in 1965, and it became one of the most influential protest anthems.<ref name=Tucker/>{{Rp|}}

====Myths==== <!-- Redirect target of ] and ] -->
{{See also|Myth of the spat-on Vietnam veteran|Vietnam stab-in-the-back myth}}
Myths play a role in the ] of the war, and have become part of the ]. Discussion of myth has focused on US experiences, but changing myths of war have played a role in Vietnamese and Australian historiography. Scholarship has focused on "myth-busting",<ref name="Milam">{{Cite book |last=Milam |first=Ron |title=Not A Gentleman's War: An Inside View of Junior Officers in the Vietnam War |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8078-3712-2}}</ref>{{Rp|373}} attacking orthodox and revisionist schools of American historiography, and challenging myths about American society and soldiery in the war.<ref name="Milam" />{{Rp|373}}

Kuzmarov in ''The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs'' challenges the popular and Hollywood narrative that US soldiers were heavy drug users,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kuzmarov |first=Jeremy |title=The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs |publisher=Univ of Massachusetts Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-55849-705-4 |pages=}}</ref> in particular the notion that the My Lai massacre was caused by drug use.<ref name=Milam/>{{Rp|373}} According to Kuzmarov, Nixon is primarily responsible for creating the drug myth.<ref name=Milam/>{{Rp|374}} Michael Allen in ''Until The Last Man Comes Home'' accuses Nixon of mythmaking, by exploiting the plight of the ] to allow the government to appear caring, as the war was increasingly considered lost.<ref name=Milam/>{{Rp|376}} Allen's analysis ties the position of potential missing Americans, or prisoners into post-war politics and presidential elections, including the ] controversy.<ref name=Milam/>{{Rp|376–377}}

===Commemoration===

On 25 May 2012, President ] issued a ] of the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Office of the Press Secretary |author-link=White House Office of the Press Secretary |date=25 May 2017 |title=Presidential Proclamation Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War |language=en |work=] |publisher=] |location=] |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/25/presidential-proclamation-commemoration-50th-anniversary-vietnam-war |access-date=13 November 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409031608/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/25/presidential-proclamation-commemoration-50th-anniversary-vietnam-war|archive-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=25 May 2012 |title=Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War |work=] |publisher=] |location=] |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/06/01/2012-13514/commemoration-of-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-vietnam-war |access-date=11 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114040944/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/06/01/2012-13514/commemoration-of-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-vietnam-war |archive-date=14 November 2017}} </ref> On 10 November 2017, President ] issued an additional ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dwyer |first=Devin |date=10 November 2017 |title=Trump marks Veterans Day with commemoration in Vietnam |work=] |publisher=] |location=] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/trump-marks-veterans-day-commemoration-vietnam/story?id=51057690 |access-date=13 November 2017|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410051710/https://abcnews.go.com/International/trump-marks-veterans-day-commemoration-vietnam/story?id=51057690|archive-date=April 10, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 November 2017 |title=Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War |work=] |publisher=] |location=] |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/11/17/2017-25164/commemoration-of-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-vietnam-war |access-date=20 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117170703/https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/11/17/2017-25164/commemoration-of-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-vietnam-war |archive-date=17 November 2017}} ()</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
{{Main|Outline of the Vietnam War}} {{Portal|Vietnam|1960s|1970s}}
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==Notes== ==Annotations==
{{Reflist|group="A"}}


== References ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{Anchor|Notes}}
The references for this article are grouped in three sections.
* ]: references for the in-line, numbered superscript references contained within the article.
* ]: the main works used to build the content of the article, but not referenced as in-line citations.
* ]: additional works used to build the article


==References== === Citations ===
{{Reflist}}
{{Ibid|date=March 2010}}
===Bibliography===
;Primary sources
{{refbegin|colwidth=60em}}
*Anonymous. ''.'' infamous quote from unidentified U.S. officer, illustrating the illogic which is sometime part of war.
*Carter, Jimmy. '', 4 August 1964 To 28 March 1973'' (21 January 1977)
*Central Intelligence Agency. "," ''CIA World Factbook''
*BBC News: On this Day in 1975: Saigon surrenders
*Praeger, "America at War since 1945"
*Church, George. TIME. 24 June 2001
*Kolko, Gabriel
*Eisenhower, Dwight D. ''Mandate for Change.'' (1963) a presidential political memoir
*Ho, Chi Minh. "Vietnam Declaration of Independence," ''Selected Works.'' (1960–1962) selected writings
*''Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy.'' (1961)
*''International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos.'' (1962)
*LeMay, General Curtis E. and Kantor, MacKinlay. ''Mission with LeMay'' (1965) autobiography of controversial former Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
*Kissinger, United States Secretary of State Henry A.
*{{cite book |ref=harv|last=Li|first=Xiaobing | authorlink = | title = A history of the modern Chinese Army|edition=2007|year=2007| publisher = ]| isbn= 0813124387 }} <small>- Total pages: 413 </small>
*McMahon, Robert J. ''Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and Essays'' (1995) textbook
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*McCain, John. '']'' (1999) describes the ], including as a naval aviator and POW during Vietnam War
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*]. ''Was Kennedy Planning to Pull out of Vietnam?'' (1964) oral history for the John F. Kennedy Library, tape V, reel 1.
*{{cite book |ref=harv|last=Moïse|first=Edwin E.| authorlink = | title = Tonkin Gulf and the escalation of the Vietnam War|edition=1996|year=1996| publisher = UNC Press| isbn= 0807823007 }} <small>- Total pages: 304 </small>
*Myers, Thomas. ''Walking Point: American Narratives of Vietnam'' (1988)
*Major General Spurgeon Neel. ''Medical Support of the U.S. Army in Vietnam 1965–1970'' (Department of the Army 1991) official medical history;
*Roosevelt, Franklin D. "Franklin Roosevelt Memorandum to Cordell Hull." (1995) in ''Major Problems in American Foreign Policy''
*''Public Papers of the Presidents, 1965'' (1966) official documents of U.S. presidents.
*Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr.''Robert Kennedy and His Times.'' (1978) a first hand account of the Kennedy administration by one of his principle advisors
*Sinhanouk, Prince Norodom. "Cambodia Neutral: The Dictates of Necessity." ''Foreign Affairs.'' (1958) describes the geopolitical situation of Cambodia
*Sorley, Lewis, ''A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam'' (1999), based upon still classified tape-recorded meetings of top level US commanders in Vietnam, ISBN 0-15-601309-6
*Sun Tzu. ''The Art of War.'' (1963), ancient military treatise
*Tang, Truong Nhu. ''A Vietcong Memoir'' (1985), revealing account by senior NLF official
*Terry, Wallace, ed. ''Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans'' (1984)
*The landmark series Vietnam: A Television History, first broadcast in 1983, is a special presentation of the award-winning PBS history series, American Experience.
*''The Pentagon Papers'' (Gravel ed. 5 vol 1971); combination of narrative and secret documents compiled by Pentagon.
*U.S. Department of State. ''Foreign Relations of the United States'' (multivolume collection of official secret documents) ; ; ; ;
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*Vann, John Paul Lt. Colonel, U.S. Army, DFC, DSC, advisor to the ARVN 7th Division, early critic of the conduct of the war.
{{refend}}


=== Works cited ===
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*Baker, Kevin. "Stabbed in the Back! The past and future of a right-wing myth," ''Harper's Magazine'' (June, 2006) {{cite web|url = http://www.harpers.org/archive/2006/06/0081080 |title = Stabbed in the back! The past and future of a right-wing myth (Harper's Magazine) |accessdate = 2008-06-11}}
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*Duiker, William J. ''The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam'' (1996).
* {{Cite book |last=Westheider |first=James E. |title=The Vietnam War |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-313-33755-0 |location=Westport, CN}}
*Duncanson, Dennis J. ''Government and Revolution in Vietnam'' (1968).
* {{Cite book |last=Willbanks |first=James H. |title=The Tet Offensive: A Concise History |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-231-12841-4}}
*Fincher, Ernest Barksdale, ''The Vietnam War'' (1980).
* {{Cite book |last=Willbanks |first=James H. |title=Vietnam War almanac |publisher=Infobase Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-8160-7102-9}}
*Ford, Harold P. ''CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes, 1962–1968.'' (1998).
* {{Cite book |last=Willbanks |first=James H. |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/28613 |title=A Raid Too Far: Operation Lam Son 719 and Vietnamization in Laos |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-62349-117-8}}
*Gerdes, Louise I. ed. ''Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War'' (2005).
* {{Cite book |last=Woodruff |first=Mark |title=Unheralded Victory: The Defeat of The Viet Cong and The North Vietnamese |publisher=] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-89141-866-5 |location=Arlington, VA}}
*Gettleman, Marvin E.; Franklin, Jane; Young, Marilyn ''Vietnam and America: A Documented History.'' (1995).
{{Refend}}
*Hammond, William. ''Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1962–1968'' (1987); ''Public Affairs: The Military and the Media, 1068–1973'' (1995). full-scale history of the war by U.S. Army; much broader than title suggests.
*Herring, George C''. America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975'' (4th ed 2001), most widely used short history.
*Hitchens, Christopher. ''The Vietnam Syndrome''.
*{{cite book |ref=harv|last=Karnow|first=Stanley | authorlink = Stanley Karnow| title = Vietnam: a history|edition=1991|year=1991| publisher = ]| isbn= 0670842184 }} <small>- Total pages: 768 </small>;popular history by a former foreign correspondent; strong on Saigon's plans.
*Kutler, Stanley ed. ''Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War'' (1996).
*Leepson, Marc ed. ''Dictionary of the Vietnam War'' (1999) New York: Webster's New World.
*Lewy, Guenter. ''America in Vietnam'' (1978), defends U.S. actions.
*McMahon, Robert J. ''Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and Essays'' (1995) textbook.
*McNamara, Robert, James Blight, Robert Brigham, Thomas Biersteker, Herbert Schandler, ''Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy'', (Public Affairs, 1999).
*{{cite book|last=McNeill |first=Ian |coauthors= |title=To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=St Leonards |year=1993 |edition= |isbn=1863732829}}
*Moise, Edwin E. ''Historical Dictionary of the Vietnam War'' (2002).
*Moss, George D. ''Vietnam'' (4th ed 2002) textbook.
*Moyar, Mark. ''Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965,'' (Cambridge University Press; 412 pages; 2006). A revisionist history that challenges the notion that U.S. involvement in Vietnam was misguided; defends the validity of the domino theory and disputes the notion that Ho Chi Minh was, at heart, a nationalist who would eventually turn against his Communist Chinese allies.
*Nulty, Bernard.''The Vietnam War'' (1998) New York: Barnes and Noble.
*Palmer, Bruce, Jr. ''The Twenty-Five Year War'' (1984), narrative military history by a senior U.S. general.
*Schell, Jonathan. ''The Time of Illusion'' (1976).
*Schulzinger, Robert D. ''A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam, 1941–1975'' (1997).
*Spector, Ronald. ''After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam'' (1992), very broad coverage of 1968.
*Tucker, Spencer. ed. ''Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War'' (1998) 3 vol. reference set; also one-volume abridgement (2001).
*Witz, James J. ''The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure in War'' (1991).
*Young, Marilyn, B. ''The Vietnam Wars: 1945–1990.'' (1991).
*Xiaoming, Zhang. "China's 1979 War With Vietnam: A Reassessment," ''China Quarterly.'' Issue no. 184, (December, 2005) {{cite web |url = http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=358806 |title = CJO - Abstract - China's 1979 War with Vietnam: A Reassessment |accessdate = 2008-06-11}}
{{refend}}


===Main sources===
;Further reading
{{Refbegin|40em|indent=yes}}
{{refbegin}}
* Central Intelligence Agency. "". '']''.
*Summers, Harry G. , Presidio press (1982), ISBN 0-89141-563-7 (225 pages)
* {{Cite web |title=Cora Weiss Collection |url=http://guides.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/content.php?pid=227219&sid=1880539 |department=Special Collections – Lloyd Sealy Library: Manuscript Collections |publisher=]}} Materials related to war resistance and peace activism movements during the Vietnam War.
*Summers, Harry G. , Lightning Source Inc, (2002), ISBN 1-4102-0419-7 (152 pages)
* ''Foreign Relations of the United States''
{{refend}}
** {{Cite book |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v01 |title=Volume I, Vietnam 1964 |others=General Editor: John P. Glennon |year=1992 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn=0-16-032358-4 |editor-last=Keefer |editor-first=Edward C. |editor-last2=Sampson |editor-first2=Charles S. |via=Office of the Historian}}
** {{Cite book |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v02 |title=Volume II, Vietnam January–June 1965 |others=General Editor: Glenn W. LaFantasie |year=1996 |isbn=0-16-045126-4 |editor-last=Humphrey |editor-first=David C. |editor-last2=Landa |editor-first2=Ronald D. |editor-last3=Smith |editor-first3=Louis J. |via=Office of the Historian}}
** {{Cite book |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v03 |title=Volume III, Vietnam June–December 1965 |others=General Editor: Glenn W. LaFantasie |year=1996 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn=0-16-045129-9 |editor-last=Humphrey |editor-first=David C. |editor-last2=Keefer |editor-first2=Edward C. |editor-last3=Smith |editor-first3=Louis J. |via=Office of the Historian}}
** {{Cite book |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v04 |title=Volume IV, Vietnam 1966 |others=General Editor: David S. Patterson |year=1998 |isbn=0-16-048812-5 |editor-last=Humphrey |editor-first=David C. |via=Office of the Historian}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ho |first=Chi Minh |title=Selected Works |date=1960–1962 |chapter=Vietnam Declaration of Independence}}
* {{Cite book |last1=LeMay |first1=Curtis E. |title=Mission with LeMay |last2=Kantor |first2=MacKinlay |year=1965}} Autobiography of controversial former Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.
* {{Cite book |last=O'Connell |first=Kim A. |title=Primary Source Accounts of the Vietnam War |publisher=MyReportLinks.com |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-59845-001-9 |location=Berkeley Heights, NJ}}
* {{Cite book |last=McCain |first=John |title=Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir |title-link=Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir |year=1999 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=0-06-095786-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Marshall |first=Kathryn |title=In the Combat Zone: An Oral History of American Women in Vietnam, 1966–1975 |year=1987 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=0-316-54707-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Myers |first=Thomas |title=Walking Point: American Narratives of Vietnam |year=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-505351-6}}
* {{Cite book |title=Pentagon Papers |title-link=Pentagon Papers |publisher=Beacon Press |year=1971 |edition=Gravel |location=Boston}} 5 volumes.<br />{{Cite book |title=Volume 1 |pages=1–52 |chapter=Chapter I, Background to the Crisis, 1940–50 |access-date=9 September 2006 |chapter-url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/pent1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818075800/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pentagon/pent1.html |archive-date=18 August 2018 |url-status=dead |via=International Relations Department, Mount Holyoke College}} Combination of narrative and secret documents compiled by Pentagon.
* ''Public Papers of the Presidents, 1965'' (1966). Official documents of U.S. presidents.
* {{Cite book |last=Schlesinger |first=Arthur M. Jr. |title=Robert Kennedy and His Times |year=1978}} A first-hand account of the Kennedy administration by one of his principal advisors.
* {{Cite journal |last=Sinhanouk |first=Prince Norodom |year=1958 |title=Cambodia Neutral: The Dictates of Necessity |journal=Foreign Affairs}} Describes the geopolitical situation of Cambodia.
* ''United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense''. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1971, 12 volumes.
* {{Cite AV media |title=Vietnam: A Television History |date=1983 |publisher=PBS |series=American Experience |title-link=Vietnam: A Television History}}
{{Refend}}


==External links== ===Additional sources===
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
{{sisterlinks|Vietnam War}}
* {{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=David L. |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780231114929 |title=Columbia Guide to the Vietnam War |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-231-11492-9 |location=New York}}
* – Texas Tech University
* Angio, Joe. ''Nixon a Presidency Revealed'' (2007) ] television documentary
* the official history of the United States Army
* {{Cite book |last=Appy |first=Christian G. |title=Vietnam: The Definitive Oral History, Told from All Sides |publisher=Ebury Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-09-191011-2 |location=London |author-link=Christian G. Appy}}
* comprehensive timeline of the Vietnam War
* {{Cite book |last=Asselin |first=Pierre |title=Vietnam's American War: A New History |year=2024 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/vietnams-american-war/034EEB484F83DC3976982F33AB5B8C51 |isbn=9781009229302}}
*
* Baker, Kevin. "Stabbed in the Back! The past and future of a right-wing myth", '']'' (June 2006) {{Cite web |title=Stabbed in the back! The past and future of a right-wing myth (Harper's Magazine) |url=http://www.harpers.org/archive/2006/06/0081080 |access-date=11 June 2008}}
*
* {{Cite book |last=Berman |first=Larry |url=https://archive.org/details/lyndonjohnsonswa00berm |title=Lyndon Johnson's War: The Road to Stalemate in Vietnam |publisher=] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-393-02636-8 |location=New York}}
* PBS interactive site
* {{Cite book |last=Blaufarb |first=Douglas S. |title=The Counterinsurgency Era: U.S. Doctrine and Performance, 1950 to the Present |publisher=] |year=1977 |isbn=978-0-02-903700-3 |location=New York}}
* covers online and published resources
* Blaufarb Douglas S. ''The Counterinsurgency Era'' (1977). A history of the Kennedy Administration's involvement in South Vietnam.
*
* Brigham, Robert K. ''Battlefield Vietnam: A Brief History''. A PBS interactive website.
*
* {{Cite book |last=Brocheux |first=Pierre |url=https://archive.org/details/hochiminhbiograp00broc/page/198 |title=Ho Chi Minh: a biography |publisher=] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-85062-9 |page=}}
*
* {{Cite magazine |last=Buckley |first=Kevin |date=19 June 1972 |title=Pacification's Deadly Price |url=http://chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/Vietnam/buckley.html |magazine=] |access-date=5 August 2008}}
*
* {{Cite book |last=Carney |first=Timothy |title=Cambodia, 1975–1978: Rendezvous with Death |publisher=] |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-691-07807-6 |editor-last=Karl D. Jackson |location=Princeton, NJ |pages=13–35 |chapter=The Unexpected Victory}}
*
* {{Cite book |title=A Short History of South-East Asia |year=2006 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-470-82181-7 |editor-last=Church |editor-first=Peter}}
* primary sources on U.S. involvement
* {{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Chester L. |url=https://archive.org/details/lostcrusadeameri00coop |title=The Lost Crusade: America in Vietnam |year=1970 |publisher=Dodd, Mead |isbn=978-0-396-06241-7 |url-access=registration}} a Washington insider's memoir of events.
* in Open-Content project *, by Derek, Mitchell
* {{Cite book |last=Courtwright |first=David T. |title=Sky as Frontier: Adventure, Aviation, and Empire |publisher=] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-58544-384-0 |location=College Station}}
* with supporting documents, maps, and photos
* {{Cite book |last=Crump |first=Laurien |title=The Warsaw Pact Reconsidered: International Relations in Eastern Europe, 1955–1969 |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-315-73254-1 |location=Oxon}}
* Speech by the former Minister of Information of the Republic of Vietnam.
* {{Cite book |last=Dennis |first=Peter |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History |publisher=Oxford University Press Australia & New Zealand |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-551784-2 |edition=2nd |location=Melbourne |display-authors=etal}}
*
* {{Cite web |last=DoD |date=6 November 1998 |title=Name of Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon to be added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial |url=http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=1902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020044326/http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=1902 |archive-date=20 October 2013 |publisher=]}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dror |first=Olga |title=Making Two Vietnams: War and Youth Identities, 1965–1975 |year=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/making-two-vietnams/BE086D9C1DA355B33EDBABC1C628701A |isbn=9781108556163}}
* {{Cite book |last=Duiker |first=William J. |title=The Communist Road to Power in Vietnam |publisher=] |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-89158-794-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Duncanson |first=Dennis J. |title=Government and Revolution in Vietnam |publisher=] |year=1968 |oclc=411221}}
* {{Cite book |last=Etcheson |first=Craig |title=After the Killing Fields: Lessons from the Cambodian Genocide |publisher=Praeger |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-275-98513-4 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fall |first=Bernard B. |title=The Two Viet-Nams: A Political and Military Analysis |publisher=] |year=1967 |isbn=978-0-9991417-9-3 |edition=2nd |location=New York |author-link=Bernard B. Fall}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fincher |first=Ernest Barksdale |title=The Vietnam War |year=1980}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ford |first=Harold P. |title=CIA and the Vietnam Policymakers: Three Episodes, 1962–1968 |year=1998 |oclc=39333058}}
* {{Cite book |title=Examining Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War |publisher=Greenhaven Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7377-2531-5 |editor-last=Gerdes |editor-first=Louise I.}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Gettleman |first1=Marvin E. |title=Vietnam and America: A Documented History |last2=Franklin |first2=Jane |last3=Young |first3=Marilyn |year=1995}}
* {{Cite book |last=Greiner |first=Bernd |title=War Without Fronts: The USA in Vietnam |publisher=Vintage Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-09-953259-0 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Healy |first=Gene |title=The Cult of the Presidency: America's Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power |publisher=Cato Institute |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-933995-19-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Herring |first=George C. |title=America's Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950–1975 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-07-253618-8 |edition=4th |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Hitchens |first=Christopher |title=The Vietnam Syndrome}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Michael P. |title=Where We Were in Vietnam |publisher=Hellgate Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-55571-625-7 |location=Oregon}}
* {{Cite book |last=Khong |first=Yuen Foong |url=https://archive.org/details/analogiesatwarko00khon |title=Analogies at War: Korea, Munich, Dien Bien Phu, and the Vietnam Decisions of 1965 |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-691-07846-5 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kiernan |first=Ben |title=The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia Under the Khmer Rouge |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-300-14434-5 |edition=3rd |location=New Haven, CN |author-link=Ben Kiernan}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Kiernan |first1=Ben |last2=Owen |first2=Taylor |author-mask=3 |title=Bombs over Cambodia |url=http://www.yale.edu/cgp/Walrus_CambodiaBombing_OCT06.pdf |journal=] |date=14 June 2024 |issue=October 2006 |pages=62–69}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kolko |first=Gabriel |url=https://archive.org/details/anatomyofwarviet00kolk |title=Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the United States, and the Modern Historical Experience |publisher=Pantheon Books |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-394-74761-3 |location=New York |author-link=Gabriel Kolko |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kort |first=Michael G. |author-link=Michael Kort |title=The Vietnam War Reexamined |year=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/vietnam-war-reexamined/038E514896A0745CBF02F4A1CE848939 |isbn=9781107110199}}
* {{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-13-276932-7 |editor-last=Kutler |editor-first=Stanley I. |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lawrence |first=A.T. |title=Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant |publisher=McFarland |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7864-4517-2 |location=Jefferson, NC}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Mark Atwood |title=The Vietnam War: A Concise International History |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-531465-6}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewy |first=Guenter |url=https://archive.org/details/americainvietnam00lewy |title=America in Vietnam |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-19-502732-7 |location=New York |author-link=Guenter Lewy}}
* {{Cite book |last=Logevall |first=Fredrik |title=The Origins of the Vietnam War |publisher=Longman |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-582-31918-9 |location=Harlow |author-link=Fredrik Logevall}}
* {{Cite book |last=Logevall |first=Fredrik |title=The Cambridge History of the Cold War, Volume II: Crises and Détente |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-83720-0 |editor-last=Melvyn P. Leffler |location=Cambridge |pages=281–304 |chapter=The Indochina wars and the Cold War, 1945–1975 |author-mask=3 |editor-last2=Odd Arne Westad}}
* {{Cite book |last1=McGibbon |first1=Ian |title=The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History |last2=ed |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-19-558376-2 |location=Auckland}}
* {{Cite book |last=McMahon |first=Robert J. |title=Major Problems in the History of the Vietnam War: Documents and Essays |year=1995}}
* {{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=Ian |title=To Long Tan: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War 1950–1966 |publisher=] |year=1993 |isbn=978-1-86373-282-6 |location=St Leonards}}
* {{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Edward |title=Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam |year=2013 |publisher=Harvard University Press |url=https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674072985 |isbn=9780674072985 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Milne |first=David |title=America's Rasputin: Walt Rostow and the Vietnam War |publisher=Hill & Wang |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-374-10386-6 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moïse |first=Edwin E. |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780807823002 |title=Tonkin Gulf and the Escalation of the Vietnam War |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-8078-2300-2 |location=Chapel Hill, N C|author-link=Edwin E. Moise}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moïse |first=Edwin E. |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000mois |title=Historical Dictionary of the Vietnam War |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8108-4183-3 |location=Lanham, MD |author-mask=3 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Moss |first=George D. |title=Vietnam |year=2002 |edition=4th}} textbook.
* {{Cite book |last=Moyar |first=Mark |title=Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954–1965 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-86911-9 |location=New York |author-link=Mark Moyar}}
* {{Cite book |last=Neale |first=Jonathan |title=The American War: Vietnam, 1960–1975 |publisher=Bookmarks |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-898876-67-0 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Neel |first=Spurgeon |title=Medical Support of the U.S. Army in Vietnam 1965–1970 |publisher=Department of the Army |year=1991 |author-link=Spurgeon Neel}} official medical history
* {{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Deborah |url=https://archive.org/details/warbehindmevietn00nels_0 |title=The War Behind Me: Vietnam Veterans Confront the Truth about U.S. War Crimes |publisher=Basic Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-465-00527-7 |location=Philadelphia, PA}}
* {{Cite book |last=Nguyen |first=Duy Lap |title=The Unimagined Community: Imperialism and Culture in South Vietnam |date=2020 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-1-5261-4396-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Oberdorfer |first=Don |title=Tet! The Turning Point in the Vietnam War |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8018-6703-3 |location=Baltimore, MD |author-link=Don Oberdorfer |orig-year=1971}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Obermeyer |first1=Ziad |last2=Murray |first2=Christopher J.L. |last3=Gakidou |first3=Emmanuela |year=2008 |title=Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme |journal=] |volume=336 |issue=7659 |pages=1482–1486 |doi=10.1136/bmj.a137 |pmc=2440905 |pmid=18566045}}
* {{Cite book |last=Palmer |first=Bruce Jr. |title=The Twenty-Five Year War |year=1984}} Narrative military history by a senior U.S. general.
* {{Cite book |last=Palmer |first=Dave R. |url=https://archive.org/details/summonsoftrumpet00palm |title=Summons of Trumpet: U.S.–Vietnam in Perspective |publisher=] |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-89141-550-3 |location=Novato, CA |author-link=Dave Richard Palmer |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robbins |first=Mary Susannah |title=Against the Vietnam War: Writings by Activists |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7425-5914-1 |location=Lanham, MD}}
* {{Cite book |last=Roberts III |first=Mervyn Edwin |title=The Psychological War for Vietnam, 1960–1968 |year=2018}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schandler |first=Herbert Y. |url=https://archive.org/details/americainvietnam0000scha |title=America in Vietnam: The War That Couldn't Be Won |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7425-6697-2 |location=Lanham, MD |url-access=registration}}
* Schell, Jonathan. ''The Time of Illusion'' (1976).
* Schulzinger, Robert D. ''A Time for War: The United States and Vietnam, 1941–1975'' (1997).
* {{Cite book |last=Sheehan |first=Neil |title=A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam |title-link=A Bright Shining Lie |publisher=Vintage |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-679-72414-8 |location=New York |author-link=Neil Sheehan}}
* Sorley, Lewis, ''A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam'' (1999), based upon still classified tape-recorded meetings of top level US commanders in Vietnam, {{ISBN|0-15-601309-6}}
* Spector, Ronald. ''After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam'' (1992), very broad coverage of 1968.
* {{Cite book |last=Stanton |first=Shelby L. |title=Vietnam order of battle |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-8117-0071-9 |edition=}}
* {{Cite book |last=Stuart-Fox |first=Martin |title=A History of Laos |title-link=History of Laos |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-521-59235-2 |location=Cambridge |author-link=Martin Stuart-Fox}}
* Summers, Harry G. , Presidio press (1982), {{ISBN|0-89141-563-7}} (225 pages)
* {{Cite book |last=Thayer |first=Thomas C. |title=War Without Fronts: The American Experience in Vietnam |publisher=] |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-8133-7132-0 |location=Boulder, CO}}
* Tucker, Spencer. ed. ''Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War'' (1998) 3 vol. reference set; also one-volume abridgement (2001).
* {{Cite book |last=Thayer |first=Thomas C. |title=Vietnam |publisher=] |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-85728-921-3 |location=London |author-mask=3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tran |first=Nu-Anh |title=Disunion: Anticommunist Nationalism and the Making of the Republic of Vietnam |year=2022 |publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press |url=https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/disunion-anticommunist-nationalism-and-the-making-of-the-republic-of-vietnam/ |isbn=9780824887865 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |title=The Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social, and Military History |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-85109-960-3 |orig-year=1998}}
* {{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Robert F. |title=Vietnamese Communism: Its Origins and Development |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-8179-6431-3 |location=Stanford, CA}}
* {{Cite book |last=Turse |first=Nick |title=Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam |publisher=Metropolitan Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-8050-8691-1 |location=New York |author-link=Nick Turse}}
* {{Cite book |last=Young |first=Marilyn B. |url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamwars194510000youn |title=The Vietnam Wars, 1945–1990 |publisher=] |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-06-092107-1 |location=New York |author-link=Marilyn B. Young |url-access=registration}}
* Xiaoming, Zhang. "China's 1979 War With Vietnam: A Reassessment", ''China Quarterly.'' Issue no. 184, (December 2005) {{Cite journal |last=Zhang |first=Xiaoming |year=2005 |title=CJO – Abstract – China's 1979 War with Vietnam: A Reassessment |journal=The China Quarterly |volume=184 |pages=851 |doi=10.1017/S0305741005000536 |s2cid=154831743}}
{{Refend}}


===Historiography===
<!--spacing, please do not remove-->
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Appy|first=Christian G. |title=Vietnam : The Definitive Oral History told from All Sides |date=2006|publisher=Ebury |isbn=978-0-0919-1011-2|location=London|oclc=1302551584|url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamdefinitiv0000appy}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Hall |first=Simon |date=September 2009 |title=Scholarly Battles over the Vietnam War |journal=Historical Journal |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=813–829 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X09990185 |s2cid=161303298}}
* Olson, James Stuart, ed. ''The Vietnam War: Handbook of the literature and research'' (Greenwood, 1993) .
* {{cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Edward |last2=Vu |first2=Tuong |date=2009 |title=The Vietnam War as a Vietnamese War: Agency and Society in the Study of the Second Indochina War |journal=Journal of Vietnamese Studies |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=1–16 |doi=10.1525/vs.2009.4.3.1 }}
* {{cite book |last=Kort |first=Michael G. |title=The Vietnam War Reexamined |date=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1107110199 |chapter=The Vietnam War in History |pages=6–36 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/vietnam-war-reexamined/vietnam-war-in-history/8FB0A214DB45CE266D2390721852B9F1 }}


{{Cold War}} {{Refend}}

{{Vietnam in the 20th century}}
==External links==
{{Sister project links|d=Q8740|n=no|species=no|voy=no|s=no|b=Modern History/Vietnam War}}
* Video produced by the ] Series ]
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813005227/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/vietnam.htm |date=13 August 2012}} primary sources on U.S. involvement
* from the
*
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430050258/http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2FVHP&CISOPTR=5558&CISOBOX=1&REC=1 |date=30 April 2011}}
*
* in Open-Content project
* the official history of the United States Army
* at The History Channel
*
* comprehensive timeline of the Vietnam War
* &nbsp;– Texas Tech University
* – ]
* , University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, ]

{{Vietnam War|state=expanded}}
{{Vietnam War graphical timeline}} {{Vietnam War graphical timeline}}
{{Vietnam in the 20th century}}
{{American conflicts}}
{{PRC conflicts}} {{Cold War}}
{{Russian Conflicts}} {{Authority control}}
{{United States topics}}


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Revision as of 04:01, 24 December 2024

War in Southeast Asia from 1955 to 1975 "Second Indochina War" redirects here. For the war between India and China, see Nathu La and Cho La clashes. For a full history of wars in Vietnam, see List of wars involving Vietnam. For the documentary television series, see The Vietnam War (TV series).

This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (November 2024)
Vietnam War
Part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War in Asia
Clockwise from top left:
Date1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975
(19 years, 5 months and 29 days)
Location
Result North Vietnamese victory
Territorial
changes		 Reunification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength

≈860,000 (1967)

  • North Vietnam:
    690,000 (1966, including PAVN and Viet Cong)
  • Viet Cong:
    ~200,000 (estimated, 1968)
  • China:
    170,000 (1968)
    320,000 total
  • Khmer Rouge:
    70,000 (1972)
  • Pathet Lao:
    48,000 (1970)
  • Soviet Union: ~3,000
  • North Korea: 200

≈1,420,000 (1968)

  • South Vietnam:
    850,000 (1968)
    1,500,000 (1974–1975)
  • United States:
    2,709,918 serving in Vietnam total
    Peak: 543,000 (April 1969)
  • Khmer Republic:
    200,000 (1973)
  • Laos:
    72,000 (Royal Army and Hmong militia)
  • South Korea:
    48,000 per year (1965–1973, 320,000 total)
  • Thailand: 32,000 per year (1965–1973)
    (in Vietnam and Laos)
  • Australia: 50,190 total
    (Peak: 8,300 combat troops)
  • New Zealand: Peak: 552 in 1968
  • Philippines: 2,061
  • Spain: 100–130 total
    (Peak: 30 medical troops and advisors)
Casualties and losses
  • North Vietnam & Viet Cong
    30,000–182,000 civilian dead
    849,018 military dead (per Vietnam; 1/3 non-combat deaths)
    666,000–950,765 dead
    (US estimated 1964–1974)
    232,000+ military missing (per Vietnam)
    600,000+ military wounded
  • Khmer Rouge: Unknown
  • Laos Pathet Lao: Unknown
  •  China: ~1,100 dead and 4,200 wounded
  •  Soviet Union: 16 dead
  •  North Korea: 14 dead

Total military dead/missing:
≈1,100,000
Total military wounded:
≈604,200
(excluding GRUNK/Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao)

  •  South Vietnam:
    195,000–430,000 civilian dead
    Military dead: 313,000 (total)
    • 254,256 combat deaths (between 1960 and 1974)

    1,170,000 military wounded
    ≈ 1,000,000 captured
  •  United States:
    58,281 dead (47,434 from combat)
    303,644 wounded (including 150,341 not requiring hospital care)
  •  Laos: 15,000 army dead
  • Khmer Republic: Unknown
  • South Korea: 5,099 dead; 10,962 wounded; 4 missing
  •  Australia: 521 dead; 3,129 wounded
  •  Thailand: 351 dead
  •  New Zealand: 37 dead
  •  Taiwan: 25 dead
    17 captured
  • Philippines: 9 dead; 64 wounded
Total military dead:
333,620 (1960–1974) – 392,364 (total)
Total military wounded:
≈1,340,000+
(excluding FARK and FANK)
Total military captured:
est. 1,000,000+
  • Vietnamese civilian dead: 405,000–2,000,000
  • Vietnamese total dead: 966,000–3,010,000
  • Cambodian Civil War dead: 275,000–310,000
  • Laotian Civil War dead: 20,000–62,000
  • Non-Indochinese military dead: 65,494
  • Total dead: 1,326,494–3,447,494
  • For more information see Vietnam War casualties and Aircraft losses of the Vietnam War
FULRO fought an insurgency against both South Vietnam and North Vietnam with the Viet Cong and was supported by Cambodia for much of the war.
Indochina Wars

Second

Third

Military engagements during the Vietnam War
Guerrilla phase

American intervention 1965

1966

1967

Tet Offensive and aftermath

Vietnamization 1969–1971

1972

Post-Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974)

Spring 1975

Air operations

Naval operations

Lists of allied operations

Mass killings during the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. Direct US military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel: the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos, establishing the Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem was killed in a US-backed military coup, which added to the south's instability.

Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by the end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive, which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare. Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon, began a policy of "Vietnamization" from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion, escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until the 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976.

The war exacted enormous human cost: estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians, 20,000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and the larger Indochina refugee crisis, which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide. The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide, while conflict between them and the unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. In response, China invaded Vietnam, with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome, a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal, contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s.

Names

Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War is the most commonly used title in English. It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia, the Vietnam Conflict, and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ (lit. 'Resistance War against America'). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save the Nation. It is sometimes called the American War.

Background

Main articles: French conquest of Vietnam and French Indochina

Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung, established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930, a Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union. The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam.

Japanese occupation of Indochina

Main articles: French Indochina in World War II and 1940–1946 in French Indochina
Viet Minh flag, which later became the flag of North Vietnam, prototype of the national flag of contemporary Vietnam

In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany. French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh, returned to Vietnam to establish the Viet Minh, an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies, namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China. Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Atrocities committed by the Japanese against the Vietnamese people led many to join the resistance, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt continued to support Vietnamese resistance throughout the war, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship after the war was over.

In March 1945, Japan, losing the war, overthrew the French government in Indochina, establishing the Empire of Vietnam and installing Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại as its figurehead leader. Following the surrender of Japan in August, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution, overthrowing the Japanese-backed state and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On 2 September, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on 23 September, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of the country.

First Indochina War

Main articles: First Indochina War and War in Vietnam (1945–1946)
Bảo Đại (right) as the "supreme advisor" to the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam led by president Hồ Chí Minh (left), 1 June 1946

Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War. On 12 March 1947, US president Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine, an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon, led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of the Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union.

Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating a Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war.

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

Main articles: Battle of Dien Bien Phu and Operation Vulture

During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and the US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons, though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called "hawk", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but the British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success.

On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference, they negotiated a ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Transition period

Main articles: 1954 Geneva Conference, Operation Passage to Freedom, Land reform in Vietnam, Land reform in North Vietnam, and 1954 in Vietnam
The 1954 Geneva Conference

At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel. Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between the two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles, who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency, then initiated a psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs.

During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $93 million relocation program, which involved the French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and the PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam.

Anti-Bảo Đại, pro-French representatives of the State of Vietnam national assembly, Saigon, 1955

Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners.

The south, meanwhile, constituted the State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng, who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under the supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954:

I have never talked or corresponded with a person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for.

Ba Cut, commander of the Hòa Hảo religious movement, in Can Tho Military Court 1956

According to the Pentagon Papers, which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with the ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement.

From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt. The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon. As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists.

In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended a more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections".

The domino theory, which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow, was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration. John F. Kennedy, then a senator, said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam: "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam."

Diệm era, 1954–1963

Main articles: Ngo Dinh Diem and War in Vietnam (1954–1959)

Rule

U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles greet President Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam in Washington, 8 May 1957

A devout Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist, and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of the country to the Virgin Mary.

In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in the process. According to Gabriel Kolko, 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners.

In May 1957, Diệm undertook a 10-day state visit to the US. President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative.

Insurgency in the South, 1954–1960

Main articles: Viet Cong and War in Vietnam (1959–1963)

Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in the Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to "wildcat" activities separate from the other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September.

In September 1960, COSVN, North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered a coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia, and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of the GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret.

Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought the landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government".

North Vietnamese involvement

See also: North Vietnamese invasion of Laos and Ho Chi Minh trail

In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive the insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near the demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam.

The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail, at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along the border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963.

Kennedy's escalation, 1961–1963

Main articles: War in Vietnam (1959–1963) and Strategic Hamlet Program
President Kennedy's news conference of 23 March 1961

In the 1960 U.S. presidential election, Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later, the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war.

The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between the pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after the Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place."

Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in the long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis.

President Kennedy meeting with Secretary of Defense McNamara, in June 1962

One major issue Kennedy raised was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as the Green Berets, would be effective in a "brush fire" war in Vietnam.

Kennedy advisors Maxwell Taylor and Walt Rostow recommended US troops be sent to South Vietnam disguised as flood relief workers. Kennedy rejected the idea but increased military assistance. In April 1962, John Kenneth Galbraith warned Kennedy of the "danger we shall replace the French as a colonial force in the area and bleed as the French did." Eisenhower put 900 advisors in Vietnam, and by November 1963, Kennedy had put 16,000 military personnel there.

The Strategic Hamlet Program was initiated in late 1961. This joint U.S.–South Vietnamese program attempted to resettle the rural population into fortified villages. It was implemented in early 1962 and involved some forced relocation and segregation of rural South Vietnamese, into new communities where the peasantry would be isolated from the VC. It was hoped these new communities would provide security for the peasants and strengthen the tie between them and the central government. However, by November 1963 the program had waned, and it ended in 1964. In July 1962, 14 nations, including China, South Vietnam, the Soviet Union, North Vietnam, and the US, signed an agreement promising to respect Laos' neutrality.

Ousting and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm

Main article: Arrest and assassination of Ngô Đình Diệm See also: United States in the Vietnam War, Krulak Mendenhall mission, McNamara Taylor mission, and 1963 South Vietnamese coup

The inept performance of the ARVN was exemplified by failed actions such as the Battle of Ấp Bắc on 2 January 1963, in which the VC won a battle against a much larger and better-equipped South Vietnamese force, many of whose officers seemed reluctant even to engage in combat. The ARVN lost 83 soldiers and 5 US helicopters, serving to ferry troops shot down by VC forces, while the VC lost only 18 soldiers. The ARVN forces were led by Diệm's most trusted general, Huỳnh Văn Cao. Cao was a Catholic, promoted due to religion and fidelity rather than skill, and his main job was to preserve his forces to stave off coups. Policymakers in Washington began to conclude Diệm was incapable of defeating the communists and might even make a deal with Ho Chi Minh. He seemed concerned only with fending off coups and had become paranoid after attempts in 1960 and 1962, which he partly attributed to US encouragement. As Robert F. Kennedy noted, "Diệm wouldn't make even the slightest concessions. He was difficult to reason with ..." Historian James Gibson summed up the situation:

Strategic hamlets had failed ... The South Vietnamese regime was incapable of winning the peasantry because of its class base among landlords. Indeed, there was no longer a 'regime' in the sense of a relatively stable political alliance and functioning bureaucracy. Instead, civil government and military operations had virtually ceased. The National Liberation Front had made great progress and was close to declaring provisional revolutionary governments in large areas.

Discontent with Diệm's policies exploded in May 1963, following the Huế Phật Đản shootings of nine Buddhists protesting the ban on displaying the Buddhist flag on Vesak, Buddha's birthday. This resulted in mass protests -the Buddhist crisis- against discriminatory policies that gave privileges to Catholics over the Buddhist majority. Diệm's elder brother Ngô Đình Thục was the Archbishop of Huế and aggressively blurred the separation between church and state. Thuc's anniversary celebrations occurred shortly before Vesak had been bankrolled by the government, and Vatican flags were displayed prominently. There had been reports of Catholic paramilitaries demolishing Buddhist pagodas throughout Diệm's rule. Diệm refused to make concessions to the Buddhist majority or take responsibility for the deaths. On 21 August 1963, the ARVN Special Forces of Colonel Lê Quang Tung, loyal to Diệm's younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu, raided pagodas, causing widespread destruction and leaving a death toll into the hundreds.

ARVN forces capture a Viet Cong

US officials began discussing regime change during the middle of 1963. The United States Department of State wanted to encourage a coup, while the Pentagon favored Diệm. Chief among the proposed changes was removal of Diệm's younger brother Nhu, who controlled the secret police and special forces, and was seen as being behind the Buddhist repression and the architect of the Ngô family's rule. This proposal was conveyed to the US embassy in Saigon in Cable 243. The CIA contacted generals planning to remove Diệm, and told them the US would not oppose such a move, nor punish them by cutting off aid. Diệm was overthrown and then executed, along with his brother, on 2 November 1963. When Kennedy was informed, Maxwell Taylor remembered he "rushed from the room with a look of shock and dismay on his face." Kennedy had not anticipated Diệm's murder. The U.S. ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, invited the coup leaders to the embassy and congratulated them. Lodge informed Kennedy that "the prospects now are for a shorter war". Kennedy wrote Lodge a letter congratulating him for "a fine job".

Following the coup, chaos ensued. Hanoi took advantage and increased its support for the VC. South Vietnam entered extreme political instability, as one military government toppled another in quick succession. Increasingly, each new regime was viewed by the communists as a puppet of the Americans; whatever the failings of Diệm, his credentials as a nationalist had been impeccable. US advisors were embedded at every level of the South Vietnamese armed forces. They were however criticized for ignoring the political nature of the insurgency. The Kennedy administration sought to refocus US efforts on pacification – which in this case was defined as countering the growing threat of insurgency – and "winning the hearts and minds" of the population. Military leadership in Washington, however, was hostile to any role for U.S. advisors other than troop training. General Paul Harkins, the commander of U.S. forces in South Vietnam, confidently predicted victory by Christmas 1963. The CIA was less optimistic, however, warning that "the Viet Cong by and large retain de facto control of much of the countryside and have steadily increased the overall intensity of the effort".

Paramilitary officers from the CIA's Special Activities Division trained and led Hmong tribesmen in Laos and into Vietnam. The indigenous forces were in the tens of thousands and conducted direct action missions, led by paramilitary officers, against the Communist Pathet Lao forces and their North Vietnamese supporters. The CIA ran the Phoenix Program and participated in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MAC-V SOG).

Gulf of Tonkin and Johnson's escalation, 1963–1969

Main article: Joint warfare in South Vietnam, 1963–1969 Further information: United States in the Vietnam War § Americanization, January 1964 South Vietnamese coup, September 1964 South Vietnamese coup attempt, December 1964 South Vietnamese coup, and 1965 South Vietnamese coup

Kennedy was assassinated on 22 November 1963. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson had not been heavily involved with policy toward Vietnam; however, upon becoming president, he immediately focused it. On 24 November 1963, he said, "the battle against communism ... must be joined ... with strength and determination." Johnson knew he had inherited a deteriorating situation in South Vietnam, but adhered to the widely accepted domino argument for defending the South: Should they retreat or appease, either action would imperil other nations. Findings from RAND's Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Project bolstered his confidence that an air war would weaken the insurgency. Some argue the policy of North Vietnam was not to topple other non-communist governments in South East Asia.

The military revolutionary council, meeting in lieu of a strong South Vietnamese leader, had 12 members. It was headed by General Dương Văn Minh, whom journalist Stanley Karnow, recalled as "a model of lethargy". Lodge cabled home about Minh: "Will he be strong enough to get on top of things?" Minh's regime was overthrown in January 1964 by General Nguyễn Khánh. There was persistent instability in the military: several coups—not all successful—occurred in a short period of time.

Gulf of Tonkin incident

Main article: Gulf of Tonkin incident Further information: Credibility gap
A U.S. B-66 Destroyer and four F-105 Thunderchiefs dropping bombs on North Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder

On 2 August 1964, USS Maddox, on an intelligence mission along North Vietnam's coast, fired upon and damaged torpedo boats approaching it in the Gulf of Tonkin. A second attack was reported two days later on USS Turner Joy and Maddox. The circumstances were murky. Johnson commented to Undersecretary of State George Ball that "those sailors out there may have been shooting at flying fish." An NSA publication declassified in 2005 revealed there was no attack on 4 August.

The second "attack" led to retaliatory airstrikes, and prompted Congress to approve the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on 7 August 1964. The resolution granted the president power "to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression" and Johnson relied on this as giving him authority to expand the war. Johnson pledged he was not "committing American boys to fighting a war that I think ought to be fought by the boys of Asia to help protect their own land".

The National Security Council recommended a three-stage escalation of the bombing of North Vietnam. Following an attack on a U.S. Army base on 7 February 1965, airstrikes were initiated, while Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin was on a state visit to North Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder and Operation Arc Light expanded aerial bombardment and ground support operations. The bombing campaign, which lasted three years, was intended to force North Vietnam to cease its support for the VC by threatening to destroy North Vietnamese air defenses and infrastructure. It was additionally aimed at bolstering South Vietnamese morale. Between March 1965 and November 1968, Rolling Thunder deluged the north with a million tons of missiles, rockets and bombs.

Bombing of Laos

Main article: Laotian Civil War

Bombing was not restricted to North Vietnam. Other aerial campaigns, targeted different parts of the VC and PAVN infrastructure. These included the Ho Chi Minh Trail through Laos and Cambodia. The ostensibly neutral Laos had become the scene of a civil war, pitting the Laotian government backed by the US, against the Pathet Lao and its North Vietnamese allies.

Massive aerial bombardment against the Pathet Lao and PAVN forces was carried out by the US to prevent the collapse of the Royal central government, and deny use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Between 1964 and 1973, the U.S. dropped two million tons of bombs on Laos, nearly equal to the 2.1 million tons of bombs it dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in history, relative to its population.

The objective of stopping North Vietnam and the VC was never reached. The Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force Curtis LeMay, however, had long advocated saturation bombing in Vietnam and wrote of the communists that "we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age".

The 1964 offensive

ARVN Forces and a US Advisor inspect a downed helicopter, Battle of Dong Xoai, June 1965

Following the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Hanoi anticipated the arrival of US troops and began expanding the VC, as well as sending increasing numbers of PAVN personnel southwards. They were outfitting the VC forces and standardizing their equipment with AK-47 rifles and other supplies, as well as forming the 9th Division. "From a strength of approximately 5,000 at the start of 1959 the Viet Cong's ranks grew to about 100,000 at the end of 1964 ... Between 1961 and 1964 the Army's strength rose from about 850,000 to nearly a million men." U.S. troop numbers deployed to Vietnam during the same period were much lower: 2,000 in 1961, rising to 16,500 in 1964. The use of captured equipment decreased, while greater numbers of ammunition and supplies were required to maintain regular units. Group 559 was tasked with expanding the Ho Chi Minh Trail, in light of the bombardment by US warplanes. The war had shifted into the final, conventional phase of Hanoi's three-stage protracted warfare model. The VC was now tasked with destroying the ARVN and capturing and holding areas; however, it was not yet strong enough to assault major towns and cities.

In December 1964, ARVN forces suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Bình Giã, in a battle both sides viewed as a watershed. Previously, the VC had utilized hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. At Binh Gia, however, they defeated a strong ARVN force in a conventional battle and remained in the field for four days. Tellingly, South Vietnamese forces were again defeated in June 1965 at the Battle of Đồng Xoài.

American ground war

See also: Buddhist Uprising
A Marine from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, moves a suspected Viet Cong during a search and clear operation held by the battalion 15 miles (24 km) west of Da Nang Air Base, 1965.

On 8 March 1965, 3,500 U.S. Marines were landed near Da Nang, South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the American ground war. U.S. public opinion overwhelmingly supported the deployment. The Marines' initial assignment was defense of Da Nang Air Base. The first deployment was increased to nearly 200,000 by December. U.S. military had long been schooled in offensive warfare. Regardless of political policies, U.S. commanders were institutionally and psychologically unsuited to a defensive mission.

General William Westmoreland informed Admiral U. S. Grant Sharp Jr., commander of U.S. Pacific forces, that the situation was critical, "I am convinced that U.S. troops with their energy, mobility, and firepower can successfully take the fight to the NLF (Viet Cong)". With this recommendation, Westmoreland was advocating an aggressive departure from America's defensive posture and the sidelining of the South Vietnamese. By ignoring ARVN units, the U.S. commitment became open-ended. Westmoreland outlined a three-point plan to win the war:

  • Phase 1. Commitment of U.S. and allied forces necessary to halt the losing trend by the end of 1965.
  • Phase 2. U.S. and allied forces mount major offensive actions to seize the initiative to destroy guerrilla and organized enemy forces. This phase would end when the enemy had been worn down and driven back from major populated areas.
  • Phase 3. If the enemy persisted, a period of 12–18 months following Phase 2 would be required for final destruction of enemy forces remaining in remote base areas.

The plan was approved by Johnson and marked a profound departure from the insistence that South Vietnam was responsible for defeating the VC. Westmoreland predicted victory by the end of 1967. Johnson did not communicate this change in strategy to the media. Instead he emphasized continuity. The change in policy depended on matching the North Vietnamese and VC in a contest of attrition and morale. The opponents were locked in a cycle of escalation. Westmoreland and McNamara touted the body count system for gauging victory, a metric that would prove flawed.

Peasants suspected of being Viet Cong under detention of U.S. Army, 1966

The American buildup transformed the South Vietnamese economy and had a profound effect on society. South Vietnam was inundated with manufactured goods. Washington encouraged its SEATO allies to contribute troops; Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and the Philippines agreed to do so. South Korea would ask to join the Many Flags program in return for economic compensation. Major allies, however, notably NATO countries Canada and the UK, declined troop requests.

The U.S. and its allies mounted complex search and destroy operations. In November 1965, the U.S. engaged in its first major battle with the PAVN, the Battle of Ia Drang. The operation was the first large scale helicopter air assault by the U.S., and first to employ Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers in support. These tactics continued in 1966–67, however, the PAVN/VC insurgents remained elusive and demonstrated tactical flexibility. By 1967, the war had generated large-scale internal refugees, 2 million in South Vietnam, with 125,000 people evacuated and rendered homeless during Operation Masher alone, which was the largest search and destroy operation to that point. Operation Masher would have negligible impact, however, as the PAVN/VC returned to the province just four months after it ended. Despite major operations, which the VC and PAVN would typically evade, the war was characterized by smaller-unit contacts or engagements. The VC and PAVN would initiate 90% of large firefights, and thus the PAVN/VC would retain strategic initiative despite overwhelming US force and fire-power deployment. The PAVN and Viet Cong had developed strategies capable of countering US military doctrines and tactics: see NLF and PAVN battle tactics.

Meanwhile, the political situation in South Vietnam began to stabilize with the arrival of prime minister Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and figurehead chief of state, General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, in mid-1965 at the head of a junta. In 1967, Thieu became president with Ky as his deputy, after rigged elections. Although they were nominally a civilian government, Kỳ was supposed to maintain real power through a behind-the-scenes military body. However, Thiệu outmanoeuvred and sidelined Kỳ. Thiệu was accused of murdering Kỳ loyalists through contrived military accidents. Thiệu remained president until 1975, having won a one-candidate election in 1971.

Johnson employed a "policy of minimum candor" with the media. Military information officers sought to manage coverage by emphasizing stories that portrayed progress. This policy damaged the public trust in official pronouncements. As coverage of the war and the Pentagon diverged, a so-called credibility gap developed. Despite Johnson and Westmoreland publicly proclaiming victory and Westmoreland stating the "end is coming into view", internal reports in the Pentagon Papers indicate that VC forces retained strategic initiative and controlled their losses. VC attacks against static US positions accounted for 30% of engagements, VC/PAVN ambushes and encirclements for 23%, American ambushes against VC/PAVN forces for 9%, and American forces attacking Viet Cong emplacements only 5%.

Types of Engagements, From Department of Defence Study 1967
TYPE OF ENGAGEMENTS IN COMBAT NARRATIVES Percentage of

Total Engagements

Notes
Hot Landing Zone. VC/PAVN Attacks U.S. Troops As They Deploy 13 Planned VC/PAVN Attacks

Are 66% Of All Engagements

Planned VC/PAVN Attack Against US Defensive Perimeter 30
VC/PAVN Ambushes or Encircles A Moving US Unit 23
Unplanned US Attacks On A VC/PAVN Defensive Perimeter,

Engagement A Virtual Surprise To US Commanders

13 Defensive Posts Being Well Concealed

or VC/PAVN Alerted or Anticipated

Planned US Attack Against Known

VC/PAVN Defensive Perimeter

5 Planned US Attacks Against

VC/PAVN Represent 14%

Of All Engagements

U.S. Forces Ambushes Moving VC/PAVN Units 9
Chance Engagement, Neither Side Planned 7

Tet Offensive and its aftermath

Main articles: Tet Offensive and United States news media and the Vietnam War
Viet Cong before departing to participate in the Tet Offensive around Saigon-Gia Dinh
ARVN forces assault a stronghold in the Mekong Delta

In late 1967, the PAVN lured American forces into the hinterlands at Đắk Tô and at the Marine Khe Sanh combat base, where the U.S. fought The Hill Fights. These were part of a diversionary strategy meant to draw US forces towards the Central Highlands. Preparations were underway for the Tet Offensive, with the intention of Văn Tiến Dũng forces to launch "direct attacks on the American and puppet nerve centers—Saigon, Huế, Danang, all the cities, towns and main bases ..." Le Duan sought to placate critics of the stalemate by planning a decisive victory. He reasoned this could be achieved through sparking an uprising within the towns and cities, along with mass defections among ARVN units, who were on leave during the truce period.

The Tet Offensive began on 30 January 1968, as over 100 cities were attacked by over 85,000 VC/PAVN troops, including assaults on military installations, headquarters, and government buildings, including the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were shocked by the scale, intensity and deliberative planning, as infiltration of personnel and weapons into the cities was accomplished covertly; the offensive constituted an intelligence failure on the scale of Pearl Harbor. Most cities were recaptured within weeks, except the former imperial capital Huế, which PAVN/VC troops held on for 26 days. They executed approximately 2,800 unarmed Huế civilians and foreigners they considered to be spies. In the following Battle of Huế American forces employed massive firepower that left 80% of the city in ruins. At Quảng Trị City, the ARVN Airborne Division, the 1st Division and a regiment of the US 1st Cavalry Division managed to hold out and overcome an assault intended to capture the city. In Saigon, VC/PAVN fighters had captured areas in and around the city, attacking key installations before US and ARVN forces dislodged them after three weeks. During one battle, Peter Arnett reported an infantry commander saying of the Battle of Bến Tre that "it became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."

The ruins of a section of Saigon, in the Cholon neighborhood, following fierce fighting between ARVN forces and Viet Cong Main Force battalions

During the first month of the offensive, 1,100 Americans and other allied troops, 2,100 ARVN and 14,000 civilians were killed. After two months, nearly 5,000 ARVN and over 4,000 U.S. forces had been killed and 45,820 wounded. The U.S. claimed 17,000 PAVN/VC had been killed and 15,000 wounded. A month later a second offensive known as the May Offensive was launched; it demonstrated the VC were still capable of carrying out orchestrated nationwide offensives. Two months later a third offensive was launched, Phase III Offensive. PAVN records of their losses across all three offensives was 45,267 killed and 111,179 total casualties. It had become the bloodiest year up to then. The failure to spark a general uprising and lack of defections among the ARVN units meant both war goals of Hanoi had fallen flat at enormous cost.

Prior to Tet, in November 1967, Westmoreland had spearheaded a public relations drive for the Johnson administration to bolster flagging public support. In a speech to the National Press Club he said a point had been reached "where the end comes into view." Thus, the public was shocked and confused when Westmoreland's predictions were trumped by the Tet Offensive. Public approval of his performance dropped from 48% to 36%, and endorsement for the war fell from 40% to 26%." The public and media began to turn against Johnson as the offensives contradicted claims of progress.

At one point in 1968, Westmoreland considered the use of nuclear weapons in a contingency plan codenamed Fracture Jaw, which was abandoned when it became known to the White House. Westmoreland requested 200,000 additional troops, which was leaked to the media, and the fallout combined with intelligence failures caused him to be removed from command in March 1968, succeeded by his deputy Creighton Abrams.

On 10 May 1968, peace talks began between the US and North Vietnam in Paris. Negotiations stagnated for five months, until Johnson gave orders to halt the bombing of North Vietnam. Hanoi realized it could not achieve a "total victory" and employed a strategy known as "talking while fighting, fighting while talking", in which offensives would occur concurrently with negotiations.

Johnson declined to run for re-election as his approval rating slumped from 48% to 36%. His escalation of the war divided Americans, cost 30,000 American lives by that point and was regarded to have destroyed his presidency. Refusal to send more troops was seen as Johnson's admission that the war was lost. As McNamara said, "the dangerous illusion of victory by the United States was therefore dead."

Vietnam was a major political issue during the United States presidential election in 1968. The election was won by Republican Richard Nixon who claimed to have a secret plan to end the war.

Vietnamization (1969–1972)

Nuclear threats and diplomacy

Nixon began troop withdrawals in 1969. His plan to build up the ARVN so it could take over the defense of South Vietnam became known as "Vietnamization". As the PAVN/VC recovered from their 1968 losses and avoided contact, Abrams conducted operations aimed at disrupting logistics, with better use of firepower and more cooperation with the ARVN. In October 1969, Nixon had ordered B-52s loaded with nuclear weapons to race to the border of Soviet airspace to convince the Soviet Union, in accord with the madman theory, he was capable of anything to end the Vietnam War. Nixon had sought détente with the Soviet Union and rapprochement with China, which decreased tensions and led to nuclear arms reductions. However, the Soviets continued to supply the North Vietnamese.

Hanoi's war strategy

Propaganda leaflet urging the defection of Viet Cong and North Vietnamese to the side of the Republic of Vietnam

On 2 September 1969, Ho Chi Minh died aged 79. The failure of the 1968 Tet Offensive to spark a popular uprising in the south caused a shift in Hanoi's war strategy, and the Giáp-Chinh "Northern-First" faction regained control over military affairs from the Lê Duẩn-Hoàng Văn Thái "Southern-First" faction. An unconventional victory was sidelined in favor of a conventional victory through conquest. Large-scale offensives were rolled back in favor of small-unit and sapper attacks as well as targeting the pacification and Vietnamization strategy. Following Tet, the PAVN had transformed from a light-infantry, limited mobility force into a high-mobile and mechanized combined arms force. By 1970, over 70% of communist troops in the south were northerners, and southern-dominated VC units no longer existed.

U.S. domestic controversies

The anti-war movement was gaining strength in the US. Nixon appealed to the "silent majority" who he said supported the war without showing it. But revelations of the 1968 My Lai Massacre, in which a US Army unit raped and killed civilians, and the 1969 "Green Beret Affair", where eight Special Forces soldiers, were arrested for the murder of a suspected double agent, provoked national and international outrage.

In 1971, the Pentagon Papers were leaked to The New York Times. The top-secret history of US involvement in Vietnam, commissioned by the Department of Defense, detailed public deceptions on the part of the government. The Supreme Court ruled its publication was legal.

Collapsing U.S. morale

Further information: G.I. movement

Following the Tet Offensive and decreasing support among the US public, US forces began a period of morale collapse, and disobedience. At home, desertion rates quadrupled from 1966 levels. Among the enlisted, only 2.5% chose infantry combat positions in 1969–70. ROTC enrollment decreased from 191,749 in 1966 to 72,459 by 1971, and reached a low of 33,220 in 1974, depriving US forces of much-needed military leadership.

Open refusal to engage in patrols or carry out orders emerged, with a notable case of an entire company refusing orders to carry out operations. Unit cohesion began to dissipate and focused on minimizing contact with the PAVN/VC. A practice known as "sand-bagging" started, where units ordered to patrol would go into the country-side, find a site out of view from superiors and radio in false coordinates and unit reports. Drug usage increased among US forces, 30% regularly used marijuana, while a House subcommittee found 10% regularly used high-grade heroin. From 1969 on, search-and-destroy operations became referred to as "search and avoid" operations, falsifying battle reports while avoiding guerrillas. 900 fragging and suspected fragging incidents were investigated, most occurring between 1969 and 1971. In 1969, field-performance was characterized by lowered morale, lack of motivation, and poor leadership. The significant decline in US morale was demonstrated by the Battle of FSB Mary Ann in March 1971, in which a sapper attack inflicted serious losses on the U.S. defenders. Westmoreland, no longer in command but tasked with investigation of the failure, cited a dereliction of duty, lax defensive postures and lack of officers in charge.

On the collapse of morale, historian Shelby Stanton wrote:

In the last years of the Army's retreat, its remaining forces were relegated to static security. The American Army's decline was readily apparent in this final stage. Racial incidents, drug abuse, combat disobedience, and crime reflected growing idleness, resentment, and frustration ... the fatal handicaps of faulty campaign strategy, incomplete wartime preparation, and the tardy, superficial attempts at Vietnamization. An entire American army was sacrificed on the battlefield of Vietnam.

ARVN taking the lead and U.S. ground force withdrawal

ARVN and US Special Forces, September 1968

Beginning in 1969, American troops were withdrawn from border areas where most of the fighting took place and redeployed along the coast and interior. US casualties in 1970 were less than half of 1969, after being relegated to less active combat. While US forces were redeployed, the ARVN took over combat operations, with casualties double US casualties in 1969, and more than triple US ones in 1970. In the post-Tet environment, membership in the South Vietnamese Regional Force and Popular Force militias grew, and they were now more capable of providing village security, which the Americans had not accomplished.

In 1970, Nixon announced the withdrawal of an additional 150,000 American troops, reducing US numbers to 265,500. By 1970, VC forces were no longer southern-majority, nearly 70% of units were northerners. Between 1969 and 1971 the VC and some PAVN units had reverted to small unit tactics typical of 1967 and prior, instead of nationwide offensives. In 1971, Australia and New Zealand withdrew their soldiers and US troops were further reduced to 196,700, with a deadline to remove another 45,000 troops by February 1972. The US reduced support troops, and in March 1971 the 5th Special Forces Group, the first American unit deployed to South Vietnam, withdrew.

Cambodia

Main articles: Operation Menu, Operation Freedom Deal, and Cambodian Civil War
An alleged Viet Cong captured during an attack on an American outpost near the Cambodian border is interrogated.

Prince Norodom Sihanouk had proclaimed Cambodia neutral since 1955, but permitted the PAVN/VC to use the port of Sihanoukville and the Sihanouk Trail. In March 1969 Nixon launched a secret bombing campaign, called Operation Menu, against communist sanctuaries along the Cambodia/Vietnam border. Only five high-ranking congressional officials were informed.

In March 1970, Sihanouk was deposed by his pro-American prime minister Lon Nol, who demanded North Vietnamese troops leave Cambodia or face military action. Nol began rounding up Vietnamese civilians in Cambodia into internment camps and massacring them, provoking reactions from the North and South Vietnamese governments. In April–May 1970, North Vietnam invaded Cambodia at the request of the Khmer Rouge, following negotiations with deputy leader Nuon Chea. Nguyen Co Thach recalls: "Nuon Chea has asked for help and we have liberated five provinces of Cambodia in ten days." US and ARVN forces launched the Cambodian Campaign in May to attack PAVN/VC bases. A counter-offensive in 1971, as part of Operation Chenla II by the PAVN, would recapture most of the border areas and decimate most of Nol's forces.

The US incursion into Cambodia sparked nationwide U.S. protests as Nixon had promised to deescalate American involvement. Four students were killed by National Guardsmen in May 1970 during a protest at Kent State University, which provoked further public outrage. The reaction by the administration was seen as callous, reinvigorating the declining anti-war movement. The US Air Force continued to bomb Cambodia in support of the Cambodian government as part of Operation Freedom Deal.

Laos

Main articles: Operation Commando Hunt, Laotian Civil War, and Operation Lam Son 719

Building on the success of ARVN units in Cambodia, and further testing the Vietnamization program, the ARVN were tasked with Operation Lam Son 719 in February 1971, the first major ground operation to attack the Ho Chi Minh Trail, at the crossroad of Tchepone. This offensive was the first time the PAVN would field-test its combined arms force. The first few days were a success, but momentum slowed after fierce resistance. Thiệu had halted the general advance, leaving PAVN armored divisions able to surround them.

Thieu ordered air assault troops to capture Tchepone and withdraw, despite facing four-times larger numbers. During the withdrawal, the PAVN counterattack had forced a panicked rout. Half of the ARVN troops were either captured or killed, half of the ARVN/US support helicopters were downed and the operation was considered a fiasco, demonstrating operational deficiencies within the ARVN. Nixon and Thieu had sought to use to showcase victory simply by capturing Tchepone, and it was spun off as an "operational success".

Easter Offensive and Paris Peace Accords (1972)

Soviet advisers inspecting the debris of a B-52 downed in the vicinity of Hanoi

Vietnamization was again tested by the Easter Offensive of 1972, a conventional PAVN invasion of South Vietnam. The PAVN overran the northern provinces and attacked from Cambodia, threatening to cut the country in half. US troop withdrawals continued, but American airpower responded, beginning Operation Linebacker, and the offensive was halted. The US Navy also initiated Operation Pocket Money in May, an aerial mining campaign in Haiphong Harbor that prevented North Vietnam's allies from resupplying it with weapons and aid by sea.

The war was central to the 1972 U.S. presidential election as Nixon's opponent, George McGovern, campaigned on immediate withdrawal. Nixon's Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, had continued secret negotiations with North Vietnam's Lê Đức Thọ and in October 1972 reached an agreement. Thiệu demanded changes to the peace accord upon its discovery, and when North Vietnam went public with the details, the Nixon administration claimed they were attempting to embarrass the president. The negotiations became deadlocked when Hanoi demanded changes. To show his support for South Vietnam and force Hanoi back to the negotiating table, Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, a bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong in December 1972. Nixon pressured Thiệu to accept the agreement or face military action.

On 15 January 1973, all US combat activities were suspended. Lê Đức Thọ and Henry Kissinger, along with the PRG Foreign Minister Nguyễn Thị Bình and a reluctant Thiệu, signed the Paris Peace Accords on 27 January 1973. This ended direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, created a ceasefire between North Vietnam/PRG and South Vietnam, guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam under the Geneva Conference of 1954, called for elections or a political settlement between the PRG and South Vietnam, allowed 200,000 communist troops to remain in the south, and agreed to a POW exchange. There was a 60-day period for the withdrawal of US forces. "This article", noted Peter Church, "proved ... to be the only one of the Paris Agreements which was fully carried out." All US forces personnel were withdrawn by March 1973.

U.S. exit and final campaigns (1973–1975)

American POWs recently released from North Vietnamese prison camps, 1973

In the lead-up to the ceasefire on 28 January, both sides attempted to maximize land and population under their control in a campaign known as the War of the flags. Fighting continued after the ceasefire, without US participation, and throughout the year. North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying troops in the South but only to replace expended material. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kissinger and Thọ, but Thọ declined it saying true peace did not yet exist.

On 15 March 1973, Nixon implied the US would intervene militarily if the North launched a full offensive, and Secretary of Defense Schlesinger re-affirmed this during his June confirmation hearings. Public and congressional reaction to Nixon's statement was unfavorable, prompting the Senate to pass the Case–Church Amendment to prohibit any intervention.

Northern leaders expected the ceasefire terms would favor their side, but Saigon, bolstered by a surge of US aid just before the ceasefire went into effect, began to roll them back. The North responded with a new strategy hammered out in meetings in Hanoi in March 1973, according to the memoirs of Trần Văn Trà. With US bombings suspended, work on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and other logistical structures could proceed. Logistics would be upgraded until the North was in a position to launch a massive invasion of the South, projected for the 1975–76 dry season. Trà calculated this date would be Hanoi's last opportunity to strike, before Saigon's army could be fully trained. The PAVN resumed offensive operations when the dry season began in 1973, and by January 1974 had recaptured territory it lost during the previous dry season.

Memorial commemorating the 1974 Buon Me Thuot campaign, depicting a Montagnard of the Central Highlands, a NVA soldier and a T-54 tank

Within South Vietnam, the departure of the US and the global recession after the 1973 oil crisis hurt an economy partly dependent on US financial support and troop presence. After clashes that left 55 ARVN soldiers dead, Thiệu announced on 4 January 1974, that the war had restarted and the Peace Accords were no longer in effect. There were over 25,000 South Vietnamese casualties during the ceasefire period. Gerald Ford took over as US president in August 1974, and Congress cut financial aid to South Vietnam from $1 billion a year to $700 million. Congress voted in restrictions on funding to be phased in through 1975 and then total cutoff in 1976.

The success of the 1973–1974 dry season offensive inspired Trà to return to Hanoi in October 1974 and plead for a larger offensive the next dry season. This time, Trà could travel on a drivable highway with fueling stops, a vast change from when the Ho Chi Minh Trail was a dangerous mountain trek. Giáp, the North Vietnamese defense minister, was reluctant to approve Trà's plan since a larger offensive might provoke US reaction and interfere with the big push planned for 1976. Trà appealed to Giáp's superior, Lê Duẩn, who approved it. Trà's plan called for a limited offensive from Cambodia into Phước Long Province. The strike was designed to solve logistical problems, gauge the reaction of South Vietnamese forces, and determine whether the US would return. On 13 December 1974, PAVN forces attacked Phước Long. Phuoc Binh fell on 6 January 1975. Ford desperately asked Congress for funds to assist and re-supply the South before it was overrun. Congress refused. The fall of Phuoc Binh and lack of American response left the South Vietnamese elite demoralized.

The speed of this success led the Politburo to reassess its strategy. It decided operations in the Central Highlands would be turned over to General Văn Tiến Dũng and that Pleiku should be seized, if possible. Dũng said to Lê Duẩn: "Never have we had military and political conditions so perfect or a strategic advantage as great as we have now." At the start of 1975, the South Vietnamese had three times as much artillery and twice as many tanks and armored vehicles as the PAVN. However, heightened oil prices meant many assets could not be leveraged. Moreover, the rushed nature of Vietnamization, intended to cover the US retreat, resulted in a lack of spare parts, ground-crew, and maintenance personnel, which rendered most of it inoperable.

Campaign 275

See also: 1975 spring offensive, Battle of Ban Me Thuot, and Hue–Da Nang Campaign
The capture of Hue, March 1975

On 10 March 1975, Dũng launched Campaign 275, a limited offensive into the Central Highlands, supported by tanks and heavy artillery. The target was Ban Ma Thuột; if the town could be taken, the provincial capital Pleiku and the road to the coast, would be exposed for a campaign in 1976. The ARVN proved incapable of resisting the onslaught, and its forces collapsed. Again, Hanoi was surprised by the speed of their success. Dung urged the Politburo to allow him to seize Pleiku immediately and turn his attention to Kon Tum. He argued that with two months of good weather until onset of the monsoon, it would be irresponsible not to take advantage.

Thiệu, a former general, ordered the abandonment of the Central Highlands and less defensible positions in a rushed policy described as "light at the top, heavy at the bottom". While the bulk of ARVN forces attempted to flee, isolated units fought desperately. ARVN general Phu abandoned Pleiku and Kon Tum and retreated toward the coast, in what became known as the "convoy of tears". On 20 March, Thiệu reversed himself and ordered Huế, Vietnam's third-largest city, be held at all costs, and then changed policy several times. As the PAVN launched their attack, panic set in, and ARVN resistance withered. On 22 March, the PAVN attacked Huế. Civilians flooded the airport and docks hoping for escape. As resistance in Huế collapsed, PAVN rockets rained down on Da Nang and its airport. By 28 March 35,000 PAVN troops were poised to attack the suburbs. By 30 March 100,000 leaderless ARVN troops surrendered as the PAVN marched through Da Nang. With the fall of the city, the defense of the Central Highlands and Northern provinces ended.

Final North Vietnamese offensive

Further information on the final North Vietnamese offensive: Ho Chi Minh Campaign

With the north half of the country under their control, the Politburo ordered Dũng to launch the final offensive against Saigon. The operational plan for the Ho Chi Minh Campaign called for Saigon's capture before 1 May. Hanoi wished to avoid the coming monsoon and prevent redeployment of ARVN forces defending the capital. PAVN forces, their morale boosted by their recent victories, rolled on, taking Nha Trang, Cam Ranh and Da Lat.

On 7 April, three PAVN divisions attacked Xuân Lộc, 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Saigon. For two weeks, fighting raged as the ARVN defenders made a last stand to try to block PAVN advance. On 21 April, however, the exhausted garrison was ordered to withdraw towards Saigon. An embittered and tearful Thiệu resigned, declaring that the US had betrayed South Vietnam. In a scathing attack, he suggested Kissinger had tricked him into signing the Paris peace agreement, promising military aid that failed to materialize. Having transferred power to Trần Văn Hương on 21 April, he left for Taiwan. After having appealed unsuccessfully to Congress for $722 million in emergency aid for South Vietnam, Ford gave a televised speech on 23 April, declaring an end to the War and US aid.

By the end of April, the ARVN had collapsed except in the Mekong Delta. Refugees streamed southward, ahead of the main PAVN onslaught. By 27 April, 100,000 PAVN troops encircled Saigon. The city was defended by about 30,000 ARVN troops. To hasten a collapse and foment panic, the PAVN shelled Tan Son Nhut Airport and forced its closure. With the runways closed, large numbers of civilians had no way out.

Fall of Saigon

Main articles: Fall of Saigon and Operation Frequent Wind
Victorious PAVN troops at the Presidential Palace, Saigon

Chaos and panic broke out as South Vietnamese officials and civilians scrambled to leave. Martial law was declared. American helicopters began evacuating South Vietnamese, US and foreign nationals from Tan Son Nhut and the U.S. embassy compound. Operation Frequent Wind had been delayed until the last possible moment, because of Ambassador Graham Martin's belief Saigon could be held and a political settlement reached. Frequent Wind was the largest helicopter evacuation in history. It began on 29 April, in an atmosphere of desperation, as hysterical crowds of Vietnamese vied for limited space. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as PAVN tanks breached defenses near Saigon. In the early morning of 30 April, the last US Marines evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds.

On 30 April 1975, PAVN troops entered Saigon and overcame all resistance, capturing key buildings and installations. Tanks from the 2nd Corps crashed through the gates of the Independence Palace and the VC flag was raised above it. President Dương Văn Minh, who had succeeded Huong two days earlier, surrendered to Lieutenant colonel Bùi Văn Tùng, political commissar of the 203rd Tank Brigade. Minh was then escorted to Radio Saigon to announce the surrender declaration. The statement was on air at 2:30 pm.

Opposition to U.S. involvement

Main articles: Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War and Protests of 1968 See also: Russell Tribunal, Fulbright Hearings, and Chicago Seven
The March on the Pentagon, 21 October 1967, an anti-war demonstration organized by the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam

During the course of the war a large segment of Americans became opposed to U.S. involvement. In January 1967, only 32% of Americans thought the US had made a mistake in sending troops. Public opinion steadily turned against the war following 1967 and by 1970 only a third believed the U.S. had not made a mistake by sending troops.

Early opposition to US involvement drew its inspiration from the Geneva Conference of 1954. American support of Diệm in refusing elections was seen as thwarting the democracy America claimed to support. Kennedy, while senator, opposed involvement. It is possible to specify groups who led the anti-war movement at its peak in the late 1960s and the reasons why. Many young people protested because they were being drafted, while others were against because the anti-war movement grew popular among the counterculture. Some advocates within the peace movement advocated a unilateral withdrawal of forces. Opposition to the war tended to unite groups opposed to U.S. anti-communism and imperialism, and for those involved with the New Left. Others, such as Stephen Spiro, opposed the war based on the theory of Just War. Some wanted to show solidarity with the people of Vietnam, such as Norman Morrison emulating Thích Quảng Đức.

High-profile opposition to the war increasingly turned to mass protests to shift public opinion. Riots broke out at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. After reports of American military abuses, such as the My Lai Massacre, brought attention and support to the anti-war movement, some veterans joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War. On 15 October 1969, the Vietnam Moratorium attracted millions of Americans. The fatal shooting of four students at Kent State University in 1970 led to nationwide university protests. Anti-war protests declined after the Paris Peace Accords and the end of the draft in January 1973, and the withdrawal of American troops.

Involvement of other countries

Main article: International participation in the Vietnam War

Pro-Hanoi

People's Republic of China

See also: China in the Vietnam War

China provided significant support for North Vietnam when the US started to intervene, including financial aid and the deployment of hundreds of thousands of military personnel in support roles. China said its military and economic aid to North Vietnam totaled $20 billion ($160 billion adjusted for 2022 prices) during the Vietnam War; included were 5 million tons of food to North Vietnam (equivalent to a year's food production), accounting for 10–15% of their food supply by the 1970s.

In the summer of 1962, Mao Zedong agreed to supply Hanoi with 90,000 rifles and guns free of charge, and starting in 1965, China began sending anti-aircraft units and engineering battalions, to repair the damage caused by American bombing. They helped man anti-aircraft batteries, rebuild roads and railroads, transport supplies, and perform other engineering works. This freed PAVN units for combat. China sent 320,000 troops and annual arms shipments worth $180 million. China claims to have caused 38% of American air losses in the war. China also began financing the Khmer Rouge as a counterweight to North Vietnam. China "armed and trained" the Khmer Rouge during the civil war, and continued to aid them afterward.

Soviet Union

For further reading, see Bibliography of the post-Stalinist Soviet Union
Soviet anti-air instructors and North Vietnamese crewmen in the spring of 1965 at an anti-aircraft training center in Vietnam

The Soviet Union supplied North Vietnam with medical supplies, arms, tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery, anti-aircraft missiles and other military equipment. Soviet crews fired Soviet-made surface-to-air missiles at US aircraft in 1965. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russian officials acknowledged that the USSR had stationed up to 3,000 troops in Vietnam.

According to Russian sources, between 1953 and 1991, the hardware donated by the Soviet Union included: 2,000 tanks; 1,700 APCs; 7,000 artillery guns; over 5,000 anti-aircraft guns; 158 surface-to-air missile launchers; and 120 helicopters. In total, the Soviets sent North Vietnam annual arms shipments worth $450 million. From July 1965 to the end of 1974, fighting in Vietnam was observed by some 6,500 officers and generals, as well as more than 4,500 soldiers and sergeants of the Soviet Armed Forces, amounting to 11,000 military personnel. The KGB helped develop the signals intelligence capabilities of the North Vietnamese.

Pro-Saigon

See also: Southeast Asia Treaty Organization and Many Flags

As South Vietnam was formally part of a military alliance with the US, Australia, New Zealand, France, the UK, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines, the alliance was invoked during the war. The UK, France and Pakistan declined to participate, and South Korea, Taiwan, and Spain were non-treaty participants.

United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races

Main articles: United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races and FULRO insurgency

The ethnic minority peoples of South Vietnam, like the Montagnards in the Central Highlands, the Hindu and Muslim Cham, and the Buddhist Khmer Krom, were actively recruited in the war. There was a strategy of recruitment and favorable treatment of Montagnard tribes for the VC, as they were pivotal for control of infiltration routes. Some groups split off and formed the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races (FULRO) to fight for autonomy or independence. FULRO fought against the South Vietnamese and VC, later fighting against the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam, after the fall of South Vietnam.

During the war, South Vietnamese president Diem began a program to settle ethnic Vietnamese Kinh on Montagnard lands in the Central Highlands region. This provoked a backlash from the Montagnards, some joining the VC as a result. The Cambodians under pro-China Sihanouk and pro-American Lon Nol, supported their fellow co-ethnic Khmer Krom in South Vietnam, following an anti-ethnic Vietnamese policy. Following Vietnamization, many Montagnard groups and fighters were incorporated into the South Vietnamese Rangers as border sentries.

War crimes

Main articles: List of war crimes § 1955–1975: Vietnam War, and List of massacres in Vietnam

Many war crimes took place, by both sides, including: rape, massacres of civilians, bombings of civilian targets, terrorism, torture, and murder of prisoners of war. Additional common crimes included theft, arson, and the destruction of property not warranted by military necessity.

South Vietnamese, Korean and American

See also: United States war crimes § Vietnam War, Winter Soldier Investigation, Vietnam War Crimes Working Group, and Tiger Force
Victims of the My Lai massacre

In 1966, the Russell Tribunal was organized by a number of public figures opposed to the war led by Bertrand Russell in an effort to apply the precepts of international law to the actions of the United States and its allies in Vietnam. The tribunal found the US and its allies guilty of acts of aggression, use of weapons forbidden by the laws of war, bombardment of targets of a purely civilian character, mistreatment of prisoners, and genocide. Though the tribunal's lack of juridical authority meant its findings were largely ignored by the United States and other governments, the hearings contributed to a growing body of evidence and documentation which established the factual basis for a counter-narrative to the United States' justifications for the war and inspired future hearings, tribunals and legal investigations.

In 1968, the Vietnam War Crimes Working Group (VWCWG) was established by the Pentagon task force set up in the wake of the My Lai Massacre, to ascertain the veracity of emerging claims of US war crimes. Of the war crimes reported to military authorities, sworn statements by witnesses and status reports indicated 320 incidents had a factual basis. The substantiated cases included seven massacres between 1967 and 1971 in which at least 137 civilians were killed; 78 further attacks targeting non-combatants resulting in at least 57 deaths, 56 wounded and 15 sexually assaulted; and 141 cases of US soldiers torturing civilian detainees, or prisoners of war with fists, sticks, bats, water or electric shock. Journalists since have documented overlooked and uninvestigated war crimes, involving every active army division, including atrocities committed by Tiger Force. R. J. Rummel estimated that American forces committed around 5,500 democidal killings between 1960 and 1972.

US forces established free-fire zones to prevent VC fighters from sheltering in South Vietnamese villages. Such practice, which involved the assumption that anyone appearing in the designated zones was an enemy combatant that could be freely targeted by weapons, was regarded by journalist Lewis Simons as "a severe violation of the laws of war". Nick Turse argues that a relentless drive toward higher body counts, widespread use of free-fire zones, rules of engagement where civilians who ran from soldiers or helicopters could be viewed as VC and disdain for Vietnamese civilians, led to massive civilian casualties and war crimes inflicted by US troops. One example cited by Turse is Operation Speedy Express, which was described by John Paul Vann as, in effect, "many Mỹ Lais". A report by Newsweek magazine suggested that at least 5,000 civilians may have been killed during six months of the operation, and there were 748 recovered weapons and an official US military body count of 10,889 enemy combatants killed.

"The Terror of War" by Nick Ut, which won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography, showing a nine-year-old girl running down a road after being severely burned by napalm.

Rummel estimated that 39,000 were killed by South Vietnam during the Diem-era in democide; for 1964–75, Rummel estimated 50,000 people were killed in democide. Thus, the total for 1954 to 1975 is about 80,000 deaths caused by South Vietnam. Benjamin Valentino estimates 110,000–310,000 deaths as a "possible case" of "counter-guerrilla mass killings" by US and South Vietnamese forces. The Phoenix Program, coordinated by the CIA and involving US and South Vietnamese security forces, was aimed at destroying the political infrastructure of the VC. The program killed 26,000 to 41,000 people, with an unknown number being innocent civilians.

Torture and ill-treatment were frequently applied by the South Vietnamese to POWs, as well as civilian prisoners. During their visit to the Con Son Prison in 1970, US congressmen Augustus Hawkins and William R. Anderson witnessed detainees either confined in minute "tiger cages" or chained to their cells, and provided with poor-quality food. American doctors inspecting the prison found many inmates suffering symptoms resulting from forced immobility and torture. During their visits to US detention facilities in 1968 and 1969, the International Red Cross recorded many cases of torture and inhumane treatment before the captives were handed over to South Vietnamese authorities. Torture was conducted by the South Vietnamese government in collusion with the CIA.

South Korean forces were accused of war crimes. One documented event was the Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre where the 2nd Marine Brigade reportedly killed between 69 and 79 civilians on 12 February 1968 in Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất village, Điện Bàn District. South Korean forces are accused of perpetrating other massacres: Bình Hòa massacre, Binh Tai Massacre and Hà My massacre.

North Vietnamese and Viet Cong

Main article: Viet Cong and People's Army of Vietnam use of terror in the Vietnam War See also: Cambodian Civil War § War Crimes
Interment of victims of the Huế Massacre

Ami Pedahzur has written that "the overall volume and lethality of Viet Cong terrorism rivals or exceeds all but a handful of terrorist campaigns waged over the last third of the twentieth century", based on the definition of terrorists as a non-state actor, and examining targeted killings and civilian deaths which are estimated at over 18,000 from 1966 to 1969. The US Department of Defense estimates the VC/PAVN had conducted 36,000 murders and 58,000 kidnappings from 1967 to 1972, c. 1973. Benjamin Valentino attributes 45,000–80,000 "terrorist mass killings" to the VC. Statistics for 1968–1972 suggest "about 80 percent of the terrorist victims were ordinary civilians and only about 20 percent were government officials, policemen, members of the self-defence forces or pacification cadres." VC tactics included frequent mortaring of civilians in refugee camps, and placing of mines on highways frequented by villagers taking goods to urban markets. Some mines were set only to go off after heavy vehicle passage, causing slaughter aboard packed civilian buses.

Notable VC atrocities include the massacre of over 3,000 unarmed civilians at Huế during the Tet Offensive and the killing of 252 civilians during the Đắk Sơn massacre. 155,000 refugees fleeing the final North Vietnamese Spring Offensive were reported to have been killed, or abducted, on the road to Tuy Hòa in 1975. PAVN/VC troops killed 164,000 civilians in democide between 1954 and 1975 in South Vietnam. North Vietnam was known for its abusive treatment of American POWs, most notably in Hỏa Lò Prison (the Hanoi Hilton), where torture was employed to extract confessions.

Women

Main article: Women in the Vietnam War
A nurse treats a Vietnamese child, 1967

Women were active in a large variety of roles, making significant impacts and the war having significant impacts on them. Several million Vietnamese women served in the military and in militias, particularly in the VC, with the slogan "when war comes, even the women must fight" being widely used. These women made vital contributions on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, espionage, medical care, logistical and administrative work, and sometimes direct combat. Women workers took on more roles in the economy and Vietnam saw an increase in women's rights. In Vietnam and elsewhere, women emerged as leaders of anti-war peace campaigns and made significant contributions to war journalism.

However, women still faced significant levels of discrimination during and were often targets of sexual violence and war crimes. Post-war, some Vietnamese women veterans faced difficulty reintegrating into society and having their contributions recognised, as well as advances in women's rights failing to be sustained. Portrayals of the war have been criticised for their depictions of women, both for overlooking the role women played and reducing Vietnamese women to racist stereotypes. Women are at the forefront of campaigns to deal with the war's aftermath, such as the long-terms effect of Agent Orange use and the Lai Đại Hàn.

Black servicemen

Main article: Military history of African Americans in the Vietnam War
A wounded African-American soldier being carried away, 1968

The experience of African-American military personnel has received significant attention. The site "African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War" compiles examples, as does the work of journalist Wallace Terry whose book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans, includes observations about the impact on the black community and black servicemen. He notes: the higher proportion of combat casualties among African-American servicemen than other races, the shift toward and different attitudes of black military volunteers and conscripts, the discrimination encountered by black servicemen "on the battlefield in decorations, promotion and duty assignments", as well as having to endure "the racial insults, cross-burnings and Confederate flags of their white comrades"—and the experiences faced by black soldiers stateside, during the war and after withdrawal.

Civil rights leaders protested the disproportionate casualties and overrepresentation in hazardous duty, experienced by African American servicemen, prompting reforms that were implemented beginning in 1967. As a result, by the war's completion in 1975, black casualties had declined to 13% of US combat deaths, approximately equal to percentage of draft-eligible black men, though still slightly higher than the 10% who served in the military.

Weapons

Main article: Weapons of the Vietnam War
Guerrillas assemble shells and rockets delivered along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Nearly all US-allied forces were armed with US weapons including the M1 Garand, M1 carbine, M14 rifle, and M16 rifle. The Australian and New Zealand forces employed the 7.62 mm L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle, with occasional use of the M16 rifle.

The PAVN/VC, although having inherited US, French, and Japanese weapons from World War II and the First Indochina War, were largely armed and supplied by China, the Soviet Union, and its Warsaw Pact allies. Some weapons—notably anti-personnel explosives, the K-50M, and "home-made" versions of the RPG-2—were manufactured in North Vietnam. By 1969 the US Army had identified 40 rifle/carbine types, 22 machine gun types, 17 types of mortar, 20 recoilless rifle or rocket launcher types, nine types of antitank weapons, and 14 anti-aircraft artillery weapons used by ground troops on all sides. Also in use, mostly by anti-communist forces, were 24 types of armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery, and 26 types of field artillery and rocket launchers.

Extent of U.S. bombings

See also: Operation Rolling Thunder, Operation Menu, Operation Freedom Deal, and CIA activities in Laos

The US dropped over 7 million tons of bombs on Indochina during the war, more than triple the 2.1 million tons it dropped on Europe and Asia during World War II, and more than ten times the amount during the Korean War. 500 thousand tons were dropped on Cambodia, 1 million tons on North Vietnam, and 4 million tons on South Vietnam. On a per person basis, the 2 million tons dropped on Laos make it the most heavily bombed country in history; The New York Times noted this was "nearly a ton for every person in Laos." Due to the particularly heavy impact of cluster bombs, Laos was a strong advocate of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to ban the weapons, and was host to its first meeting in 2010.

Former US Air Force official Earl Tilford recounted "repeated bombing runs of a lake in central Cambodia. The B-52s literally dropped their payloads in the lake." The Air Force ran many missions like this to secure additional funding during budget negotiations, so the tonnage expended does not directly correlate with the resulting damage.

Casualties

Main article: Vietnam War casualties See also: Vietnam War body count controversy
Military deaths (1955–1975)
Year U.S. South Vietnam
1956–1959 4 n.a.
1960 5 2,223
1961 16 4,004
1962 53 4,457
1963 122 5,665
1964 216 7,457
1965 1,928 11,242
1966 6,350 11,953
1967 11,363 12,716
1968 16,899 27,915
1969 11,780 21,833
1970 6,173 23,346
1971 2,414 22,738
1972 759 39,587
1973 68 27,901
1974 1 31,219
1975 62 n.a.
After 1975 7 n.a.
Total 58,220 >254,256

Estimates of casualties vary, with one source suggesting up to 3.8 million violent war deaths in Vietnam for 1955 to 2002. A demographic study calculated 791,000–1,141,000 war-related deaths during the war for all of Vietnam, for military and civilians. Between 195,000 and 430,000 South Vietnamese civilians died in the war. Extrapolating from a 1969 US intelligence report, Guenter Lewy estimated 65,000 North Vietnamese civilians died. Estimates of civilian deaths caused by American bombing of North Vietnam range from 30,000 to 182,000. A 1975 US Senate subcommittee estimated 1.4 million South Vietnamese civilians casualties during the war, including 415,000 deaths. The military of South Vietnam suffered an estimated 254,256 killed between 1960 and 1974, and additional deaths from 1954 to 1959 and in 1975. Other estimates point to higher figures of 313,000 casualties.

The official US Department of Defense figure for PAVN/VC killed in Vietnam from 1965 to 1974 was 950,765. Officials believed these body count figures need to be deflated by 30 percent. Guenter Lewy asserts that one-third of the reported "enemy" killed may have been civilians, concluding that the actual number of deaths of PAVN/VC military forces was probably closer to 444,000.

According to figures released by the Vietnamese government there were 849,018 confirmed military deaths on the PAVN/VC side. The Vietnamese government released its estimate of war deaths for the more lengthy period of 1955 to 1975. This figure includes battle deaths of Vietnamese soldiers in the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars, in which the PAVN was a major participant. Non-combat deaths account for 30-40% of these. However, the figures do not include deaths of South Vietnamese and allied soldiers. These do not include the estimated 300,000–500,000 PAVN/VC missing in action. Vietnamese government figures estimate 1.1 million dead and 300,000 missing from 1945 to 1979, with approximately 849,000 dead and 232,000 missing from 1960 to 1975.

US reports of "enemy KIA", referred to as body count, were thought to have been subject to "falsification and glorification", and a true estimate of PAVN/VC combat deaths is difficult to assess, as US victories were assessed by having a "greater kill ratio". It was difficult to distinguish between civilians and military personnel in the VC, as many were part-time guerrillas or impressed laborers who did not wear uniforms and civilians killed were sometimes written off as enemy killed, because high enemy casualties was directly tied to promotions and commendation.

Between 275,000 and 310,000 Cambodians were estimated to have died, including between 50,000 and 150,000 combatants and civilians from US bombings. 20,000–62,000 Laotians died, and 58,281 U.S. military personnel were killed, of which 1,584 are still listed as missing as of March 2021.

Aftermath

In Southeast Asia

In Vietnam

Further information: Re-education camp (Vietnam) and Mayaguez incident
B-52 wreckage in Huu Tiep Lake, Hanoi. Downed during Operation Linebacker II, its remains have been turned into a war monument.

On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Despite speculation that the victorious North Vietnamese would, in Nixon's words, "massacre the civilians there by the millions," no mass executions took place.

Vietnamese refugees fleeing Vietnam, 1984

However many South Vietnamese were sent to re-education camps where they endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labor. According to Amnesty International, this figure varied depending on different observers: "... "50,000 to 80,000" (Le Monde, April 1978), "150,000" (Reuters from Bien Hoa, November 1977), "150,000 to 200,000" (The Washington Post, December 1978), and "300,000" (Agence France Presse from Hanoi, February 1978)." Such variations are because "Some estimates may include not only detainees but also people sent from the cities to the countryside." According to a native observer, 443,360 people had to register for a period in re-education camps in Saigon alone, and while some were released after a few days, others stayed for more than a decade. Between 1975 and 1980, more than 1 million northerners migrated south, to regions formerly in the Republic of Vietnam, while, as part of the New Economic Zones program, around 750,000 to over 1 million southerners were moved mostly to mountainous forested areas. Gabriel García Márquez, a Nobel Prize winning writer, described South Vietnam as a "False paradise" after the war, when he visited in 1980:

The cost of this delirium was stupefying: 360,000 people mutilated, a million widows, 500,000 prostitutes, 500,000 drug addicts, a million tuberculous and more than a million soldiers of the old regime, impossible to rehabilitate into a new society. Ten percent of the population of Ho Chi Minh City was suffering from serious venereal diseases when the war ended, and there were 4 million illiterates throughout the South.

The US used its security council veto to block Vietnam's UN recognition three times, an obstacle to it receiving international aid.

Laos and Cambodia

By 1975, the North Vietnamese had lost influence over the Khmer Rouge. Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, fell to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975. Under Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge would kill 1–3 million Cambodians out of a population of around 8 million, in one of the bloodiest genocides ever.

The relationship between Vietnam and Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) escalated after the end of the war. In response to the Khmer Rouge taking over Phu Quoc and Tho Chu, and the belief they were responsible for the disappearance of 500 Vietnamese natives on Tho Chu, Vietnam launched a counterattack to take back these islands. After failed attempts to negotiate, Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea in 1978 and ousted the Khmer Rouge, who were being supported by China, in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War. In response, China invaded Vietnam in 1979. The two countries fought a border war: the Sino-Vietnamese War. From 1978 to 1979, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat as refugees or were deported.

The Pathet Lao overthrew the monarchy of Laos in December 1975, establishing the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The change in regime was "quite peaceful, a sort of Asiatic 'velvet revolution'"—although 30,000 former officials were sent to reeducation camps, often enduring harsh conditions.

Unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance, mostly from US bombing, continues to kill people, and has rendered much land hazardous and impossible to cultivate. Ordnance has killed 42,000 people since the war ended. In Laos, 80 million bombs failed to explode and still remain. Unexploded ordnance has killed or injured over 20,000 Laotians since the war and about 50 people are killed or maimed annually. It is estimated the explosives buried will not be removed entirely for centuries.

Refugee crisis

Main articles: Indochina refugee crisis and Vietnamese boat people

Over 3 million people left Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in the Indochina refugee crisis after 1975. Most Asian countries were unwilling to accept them, many of whom fled by boat and were known as boat people. Between 1975 and 1998, an estimated 1.2 million refugees from Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries resettled in the US, while Canada, Australia, and France resettled over 500,000, China accepted 250,000 people. Laos experienced the largest refugee flight proportionally, 300,000 out of a population of 3 million crossed the border into Thailand. Included among their ranks were "about 90%" of Laos' "intellectuals, technicians, and officials." An estimated 200,000 to 400,000 Vietnamese boat people died at sea, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In the United States

Main article: United States in the Vietnam War
A young Marine private waits on the beach during the Marine landing, Da Nang, 3 August 1965

Failure of US goals is often placed at different institutions and levels. Some have suggested it was due to political failures of leadership. Others point to a failure of military doctrine. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara stated that "the achievement of a military victory by U.S. forces in Vietnam was indeed a dangerous illusion." The inability to bring Hanoi to the bargaining table by bombing illustrated another US miscalculation, and the limitations of military abilities in achieving political goals. Army Chief of Staff Harold Keith Johnson noted, "if anything came out of Vietnam, it was that air power couldn't do the job." General William Westmoreland admitted bombing had been ineffective, saying he doubted "that the North Vietnamese would have relented." Kissinger wrote in a memo to President Ford that "in terms of military tactics ... our armed forces are not suited to this kind of war. Even the Special Forces who had been designed for it could not prevail." Hanoi had persistently sought unification since the Geneva Accords, and the effects of US bombing had negligible impact on North Vietnam's goals. US bombing mobilized people throughout North Vietnam and international support, due to the perception of a superpower attempting to bomb a significantly smaller, agrarian society into submission.

In the post-war era, Americans struggled to absorb the lessons of the military intervention. President Ronald Reagan coined the term "Vietnam Syndrome" to describe the reluctance of the American public and politicians to support military interventions abroad. US polling in 1978 revealed nearly 72% of Americans believed the war was "fundamentally wrong and immoral." Six months after the beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder, Gallup, Inc. found 60% of Americans did not believe that sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake in September 1965, and only 24% believed it was. Subsequent polling did not find that a plurality of Americans believed that sending troops was a mistake until October 1967, and did not find a majority believing it was until August 1968, during the third phase of the Tet Offensive. Thereafter, Gallup found majorities believing sending troops was a mistake through the signing of the Peace Accords in January 1973, when 60% believed sending troops was a mistake, and retrospective polls by Gallup between 1990 and 2000, found 69-74% of Americans believed sending troops was a mistake. The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, concerning the fate of US service personnel listed as missing in action, persisted for years afterwards. The costs loom large in American consciousness; a 1990 poll showed the public incorrectly believed more Americans died in Vietnam than World War II.

Financial cost

US expenditures in South Vietnam (1953–74)
Direct costs only
Military costs Military aid Economic aid Total Total (2015 dollars)
$111 billion $16 billion $7 billion $135 billion $1 trillion

Between 1953 and 1975, the US was estimated to have spent $168 billion on the war (equivalent to $1.7 trillion in 2023). This resulted in a large budget deficit. Other figures point to $139 billion from 1965 to 1974 (not inflation-adjusted), 10 times all education spending in the US, and 50 times more than housing and community development spending within that period. It was stated that war-spending could have paid off every mortgage in the US, with money leftover. As of 2013, the US government pays Vietnam veterans and their families more than $22 billion a year in war-related claims.

Impact on the U.S. military

See also: Vietnam War resisters in Canada and Vietnam War resisters in Sweden
A marine gets his wounds treated during operations in Huế City, in 1968

More than 3 million Americans served in the war, 1.5 million of whom saw combat. James Westheider wrote that "At the height of American involvement in 1968, for example, 543,000 American military personnel were stationed in Vietnam, but only 80,000 were considered combat troops." Conscription in the US existed since World War II, but ended in 1973.

58,220 American soldiers were killed, more than 150,000 wounded, and at least 21,000 permanently disabled. The average age of US troops killed was 23. According to Dale Kueter, "Of those killed in combat, 86% were white, 13% were black..." Approximately 830,000 veterans, 15%, suffered posttraumatic stress disorder. This unprecedented number was because the military had routinely provided heavy psychoactive drugs to servicemen, which left them unable to process trauma. Drug use, racial tensions, and the growing incidence of fragging—attempting to kill unpopular officers with grenades or other weapons—created problems for the military and impacted its capability to undertake operations. 125,000 Americans left for Canada to avoid the draft, and approximately 50,000 servicemen deserted. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter granted an unconditional pardon to all Vietnam-era draft evaders with Proclamation 4483.

The war called into question army doctrine. Marine general Victor H. Krulak criticized Westmoreland's attrition strategy, calling it "wasteful of American lives ... with small likelihood of a successful outcome." Doubts surfaced about the ability of the military to train foreign forces. There was found to be considerable flaws and dishonesty by commanders, due to promotions being tied to the body count system touted by Westmoreland and McNamara. Secretary of Defense McNamara wrote to President Johnson his doubts: "The picture of the world's greatest superpower killing or seriously injuring 1,000 noncombatants a week, while trying to pound a tiny backward nation into submission on an issue whose merits are hotly disputed, is not a pretty one."

Effects of U.S. chemical defoliation

Further information: Environmental impact of the Vietnam War
U.S. helicopter spraying chemical defoliants in the Mekong Delta, South Vietnam, 1969

One of the most controversial aspects of the US military effort, was the widespread use of chemical defoliants between 1961 and 1971. 20 million gallons of toxic herbicides (like Agent Orange) were sprayed on 6 million acres of forests and crops by the air force. They were used to defoliate large parts of the countryside to prevent the Viet Cong from being able to hide weaponry and encampments under the foliage, and deprive them of food. Defoliation was used to clear sensitive areas, including base perimeters and possible ambush sites along roads and canals. More than 20% of South Vietnam's forests and 3% of its cultivated land was sprayed at least once. 90% of herbicide use was directed at forest defoliation. The chemicals used continue to change the landscape, cause diseases and birth defects, and poison the food chain. US military records have listed figures including the destruction of 20% of the jungles of South Vietnam and 20-36% of the mangrove forests. The environmental destruction caused was described by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, lawyers, historians and other academics as an ecocide.

Agent Orange and similar chemical substances used by the US have caused many deaths and injuries in the intervening years, including among the US Air Force crews that handled them. Scientific reports have concluded that refugees exposed to chemical sprays while in South Vietnam continued to experience pain in the eyes and skin as well as gastrointestinal upsets. In one study, 92% of participants suffered incessant fatigue; others reported monstrous births. Analysis of studies on the association between Agent Orange and birth defects, have found a statistically significant correlation such that having a parent who was exposed to Agent Orange at any point, will increase one's likelihood of possessing or acting as a genetic carrier of birth defects. The most common deformity appears to be spina bifida. There is substantial evidence that birth defects carry on for three generations or more. In 2012, the US and Vietnam began a cooperative cleaning toxic chemicals on Danang International Airport, marking the first time Washington has been involved in cleaning up Agent Orange in Vietnam.

Handicapped children in Vietnam, most of them victims of Agent Orange, 2004

Vietnamese victims affected by Agent Orange attempted a class action lawsuit against Dow Chemical and other US chemical manufacturers, but a US District Court dismissed their case. They appealed, but the dismissal was cemented in 2008 by an appeals court. As of 2006, the Vietnamese government estimated there were over 4,000,000 victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam, although the US government denies any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and Vietnamese victims of dioxin poisoning. In some areas of southern Vietnam, dioxin levels remain at over 100 times the accepted international standard.

The U.S. Veterans Administration has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, Diabetes mellitus type 2, B-cell lymphomas, soft-tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy as, "presumptive diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during military service." Spina bifida is the sole birth defect in children of veterans, recognized as being caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

In popular culture

Main article: List of Vietnam War films
Stone plaque with photo of the "Thương tiếc" (Mourning Soldier) statue, originally, installed at the Republic of Vietnam National Military Cemetery. The original statue was demolished in April 1975

The war has featured extensively in television, film, video games, music and literature. In Vietnam, a notable film set during Operation Linebacker II was Girl from Hanoi (1974) depicting war-time life. Another notable work was the diary of Đặng Thùy Trâm, a North Vietnamese doctor who enlisted in the Southern battlefield, and was killed aged 27 by US forces near Quảng Ngãi. Her diaries were published in Vietnam as Đặng Thùy Trâm's Diary (Last Night I Dreamed of Peace), where it became a bestseller and was made into a film Don't Burn. In Vietnam, the diary has been compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, and both are used in literary education.

One of the first major films based on the war was John Wayne's pro-war The Green Berets (1968). Further cinematic representations were released during the 1970s and 1980s, the most noteworthy examples being Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter (1978), Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), Oliver Stone's Platoon (1986) and Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). Other films include Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Casualties of War (1989), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Forrest Gump (1994), We Were Soldiers (2002), and Rescue Dawn (2007).

The war influenced a generation of musicians and songwriters in Vietnam, the US, and elsewhere, both pro/anti-war and pro/anti-communist, with the Vietnam War Song Project having identified 5,000+ songs referencing the conflict. The band Country Joe and the Fish recorded The "Fish" Cheer/I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag in 1965, and it became one of the most influential protest anthems.

Myths

See also: Myth of the spat-on Vietnam veteran and Vietnam stab-in-the-back myth

Myths play a role in the historiography of the war, and have become part of the culture of the United States. Discussion of myth has focused on US experiences, but changing myths of war have played a role in Vietnamese and Australian historiography. Scholarship has focused on "myth-busting", attacking orthodox and revisionist schools of American historiography, and challenging myths about American society and soldiery in the war.

Kuzmarov in The Myth of the Addicted Army: Vietnam and the Modern War on Drugs challenges the popular and Hollywood narrative that US soldiers were heavy drug users, in particular the notion that the My Lai massacre was caused by drug use. According to Kuzmarov, Nixon is primarily responsible for creating the drug myth. Michael Allen in Until The Last Man Comes Home accuses Nixon of mythmaking, by exploiting the plight of the National League of POW/MIA Families to allow the government to appear caring, as the war was increasingly considered lost. Allen's analysis ties the position of potential missing Americans, or prisoners into post-war politics and presidential elections, including the Swift boat controversy.

Commemoration

On 25 May 2012, President Barack Obama issued a proclamation of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War. On 10 November 2017, President Donald Trump issued an additional proclamation commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War.

See also

Annotations

  1. ^ Due to the early presence of US troops in Vietnam, the start date of the Vietnam War is a matter of debate. In 1998, after a high-level review by the Department of Defense (DoD) and through the efforts of Richard B. Fitzgibbon's family, the start date of the Vietnam War according to the US government was officially changed to 1 November 1955. US government reports currently cite 1 November 1955 as the commencement date of the "Vietnam Conflict", because this date marked when the US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Indochina (deployed to Southeast Asia under President Truman) was reorganized into country-specific units and MAAG Vietnam was established. Other start dates include when Hanoi authorized Viet Cong forces in South Vietnam to begin a low-level insurgency in December 1956, whereas some view 26 September 1959, when the first battle occurred between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese army, as the start date.
  2. 1955–1963
  3. 1963–1969
  4. 1964–1968
  5. According to Hanoi's official history, the Viet Cong was a branch of the People's Army of Vietnam.
  6. Upper figure initial estimate, later thought to be inflated by at least 30% (lower figure)
  7. ^ The figures of 58,220 and 303,644 for US deaths and wounded come from the Department of Defense Statistical Information Analysis Division (SIAD), Defense Manpower Data Center, as well as from a Department of Veterans fact sheet dated May 2010; the total is 153,303 WIA excluding 150,341 persons not requiring hospital care the CRS (Congressional Research Service) Report for Congress, American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics, dated 26 February 2010, and the book Crucible Vietnam: Memoir of an Infantry Lieutenant. Some other sources give different figures (e.g. the 2005/2006 documentary Heart of Darkness: The Vietnam War Chronicles 1945–1975 cited elsewhere in this article gives a figure of 58,159 US deaths, and the 2007 book Vietnam Sons gives a figure of 58,226)
  8. Prior to this, the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indochina (with an authorized strength of 128 men) was set up in September 1950 with a mission to oversee the use and distribution of US military equipment by the French and their allies.
  9. Shortly after the assassination of Kennedy, when McGeorge Bundy called Johnson on the phone, Johnson responded: "Goddammit, Bundy. I've told you that when I want you I'll call you."
  10. On 8 March 1965 the first American combat troops, the Third Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division, began landing in Vietnam to protect the Da Nang Air Base.
  11. They were: Senators John C. Stennis (MS) and Richard B. Russell Jr. (GA) and Representatives Lucius Mendel Rivers (SC), Gerald R. Ford (MI) and Leslie C. Arends (IL). Arends and Ford were leaders of the Republican minority and the other three were Democrats on either the Armed Services or Appropriations committees.
  12. A study by Jacqueline Desbarats and Karl D. Jackson estimated that 65,000 South Vietnamese were executed for political reasons between 1975 and 1983, based on a survey of 615 Vietnamese refugees who claimed to have personally witnessed 47 executions. However, "their methodology was reviewed and criticized as invalid by authors Gareth Porter and James Roberts." Sixteen of the 47 names used to extrapolate this "bloodbath" were duplicates; this extremely high duplication rate (34%) strongly suggests Desbarats and Jackson were drawing from a small number of total executions. Rather than arguing that this duplication rate proves there were very few executions in post-war Vietnam, Porter and Roberts suggest it is an artifact of the self-selected nature of the participants in the Desbarats-Jackson study, as the authors followed subjects' recommendations on other refugees to interview. Nevertheless, there exist unverified reports of mass executions.

References

The references for this article are grouped in three sections.

  • Citations: references for the in-line, numbered superscript references contained within the article.
  • Main sources: the main works used to build the content of the article, but not referenced as in-line citations.
  • Additional sources: additional works used to build the article

Citations

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Works cited

Main sources

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Additional sources

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