The Vietnam Conflict And Its Effects Essay, Research Paper

The Vietnam conflict began in the late nineteenth century. The

French conquered Vietnam and made it a protectorate. For nearly forty

years, Vietnam had not experienced settled peace. The League for the

Independence of Vietnam ( Viet Minh ) was formed in 1941, seeking

independence from the French. On September 2nd,1945, Ho Chi Minh

proclaimed it independent of France. The French opposed their

independence from 1945 to 1954. The first representatives of de

Gualle’s government landed by parachute in Saigon and Hanoi on August

23rd, 1945. The French wanted to reestablish their rule in Vietnam but

were beaten at the battle of Dien Bien Phu on May 7th, 1954. The

French Expeditionary Force tried to prevent the Viet Minh from

entering Laos and Dien Bien Phu was the place chosen to do so. The

French were not very careful and this allowed the Viet Minh to cut off

their airway to Hanoi. After a siege that had lasted for fifty – five

days, the French surrendered. Ho Chi Minh led the war against France

and won.

After the war there was a conference in Geneva where Vietnam was

divided into two parts along the seventeenth parallel. North Vietnam

was mainly Communist and supported Ho Chi Minh, while the south was

supported by the United States and the French were based there. There

was still some Communist rebels within South Vietnam. These were the

Viet Cong. The South Vietnam ruler was Ngo Dinh Diem who was anti –

Communist. At the conference, Laos and Cambodia became independent

states.

North Vietnam wished to unify North and South Vietnam through

military force. Since the United States feared the spread of communism

in Asia, John F. Kennedy provided economic and military aid to South

Vietman to prevent the takeover by North Vietnam. At this time, this

was still a civil war. The United States were not yet officially

involved.

The North Vietnamese resented the little intervention by the

United Sates and so, three Vietnamese torpedo boats fired on the

U.S. destroyer, ” Maddox ” on August 2nd, 1964. The ” Maddox ” had

been in the Gulf of Tonkin ( international waters ), thirty miles off

the coast of Vietnam. On August 3rd, 1964, Johnson gave the right ” to

attack with the objective of destroying attacking forces ” ( Pimlott

1982, 36 ). Retaliation air attacks began on August 3rd. Their aim was

to destroy North Vietnam’s gunboat capability. As two more United

States destroyers were supposedly sunk, more air and sea forces were

sent ( Wicker August 5, 1964, 1 ). Up until now, the U.S. had

refrained from direct combat. This is when the United States formally

entered the Vietman War. The U.S. did this for two reasons. We wished

to maintain the independence of South Vietnam and we had to prove to

allied nations that we would help them resist Communist overtaking. As

Congress was about to vote whether or not to allow the combat to move

into North Vietnam, the North Vietnamese attacked a major U.S. airbase

at Bein Hoa. On February 7th, 1965, Johnson ordered retaliation

bombing on North Vietnam. Rolling Thunder was the name of this

operation. It’s purpose was to put pressure on Hanoi and convince them

that Communism could not and would not win.

At the end of 1965, one hundred and eighty thousand Americans

were in South Vietnam under General William S. Westmoreland

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 12, 361 ). The U.S. mainly depended on

superior firepower and helicopters. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese

depended on surprise attack and concealment.

The United States soldiers realized that the war would last for

many more years and wondered if the U.S. war effort could succeed. At

the end of 1968, The number of American troops in South Vietnam

reached it’s peak of 542, 000 men ( Pimlott 1982, 53 ). The Viet Cong

and North Vietnamese launched a major invasion against the United

States called the Tet offensive from January 30th to February 25th,

1968. At the Khe Sanh U.S. firebase, there was a major ground battle.

There was a siege from January 21st to April 14th. It was thought to

be the ” American Dien Bien Phu “. The United States turned it around

however, with their victory at Hue. By 1969, combat decreased rapidly

and American troops began to return home.

The role of Communism was extremely important in this conflict.

Communism was one of the main reasons of why the United States entered

the war in the first place. The U.S. ” had ” to enter the war to stop

the spread of Communism in Asia since North Vietnam was Communist. If

North Vietnam were to succeed in converting Vietnam into a Communist

country, it could become very powerful and go on to ” pursuade ” other

countries to become Communist. The U.S. believed that Vietnam could

become powerful. They were amazed that France, an Allied power, had

been beaten by the Vietnamese.

North Vietnam was a Communist country. The man who had

proclaimed Vietnam independent, Ho Chi Minh, was a Communist. He was a

Marxist and believed in ” national Communism ” ( Encyclopedia

Britannica, 5, 955). During the war with the French, Ho Chi Minh took

refuge in northern Vietnam and settled there with his followers. He

founded the Indochina Communist Party and the Viet Minh. The Viet Minh

did not become Communist until the 1950’s. He became the president of

North Vietnam from 1945 to 1969. North Vietnam was a poor area and was

cut off from the agricultural benefit of South Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh

was forced to ask assistance from major Communist allies – the Soviet

Union and China. Both aided North Vietnam before and during the war.

The North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam. They wanted to use

military tactics to force unification. The United States did

not allow their unification. The U.S. knew that the Viet Cong and

NorthVietnamese wished to establish one ruling government,

the Communist Party. This led to the Vietnam War and U.S.

intervention.

On January 27th, 1973, South Vietnam Communist forces ( Viet

Cong ), North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States agreed on

many things during peace talks that were held in Paris. The talks had

lasted for over two years before any agreements were made that suited

all of them. The forces involved agreed that U.S. troops would

gradually withdraw from Vietnam and all prisoners of war would be

released. They also agreed that South Vietnam had the right to choose

their own future, whether or not to unite with North Vietnam. North

Vietnamese troops were given the right to remain in South Vietnam

but they could not be reinforced. Nixon was the U.S. president who

finalized the accepted treaty and began to remove United States

troops.

Even after the peace talks, fighting continued between the North

and South Vietnamese. After the majority of American soldiers had

left, North Vietnam went against all that was enforced at the peace

talks. North Vietnam planned a major invasion on the south in 1975 or

1976. By April 30th, 1976, North Vietnamese tanks had occupied Saigon,

the capital of South Vietnam, with no trouble.

On July 2nd, 1976, the country was united as the Socialist

Republic of Vietnam. The capital became Hanoi and it was under

Communist rule. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the

instigator of Communism. The North Vietnamese had won. Forty – seven

thousand Americans were killed in action and three hundred and

thirteen soldiers were wounded, physically as well as mentally. The

war had cost the United States an estimated two hundred billion

dollars ( Encyclopedia Britannica, 12, 361 ). There were two thousand,

two hundred and sixty – one United States servicemen listed as missing

in action ( Time, February 15, 1993, 44 ). The tally is still

incomplete. Some say that this war was fought for nothing. There were

only losses and nothing was gained.

After the war, southern Vietnam’s agriculture, business and

industry were devestated. The newly Communist Vietnam, Laos and

Cambodia became an important South – Asian power. Today, Vietnam

remains under Communist rule. The Vietnamese Communist Party is the

major political party. The State Council Chairman is Vo Chi Chong. The

Prime Minister is Do Muoi.

After the Vietnam war, United States Presidents tried to punish

Vietnam for the losses suffered by their country. They cut off all

trade to Vietnam. Vietnam’s economy was severely damaged. This came

about by the U.S. decision to stop trade and the new efforts to

install a Soviet – style system in the unified country. By 1985, ten

years after it’s ” liberation “, Vietnam had to beg for help from the

Soviet Union ( Time, February 15, 1993, 43 ).

In 1986, the government leaders began an economic plan, doi moi

to get Vietnam back on it’s feet. When aid from the Soviet Union

stopped, the country was able to stand on it’s own. The Vietnamese

veterans don’t regard the Americans as enemies but the government

leaders do. The government fears that if contact with the United

States increases, it might result in a revolution that would destroy

their authority. Meanwhile, even without United States help, Vietnam

is seen to be an important exporter in the future. Japan has already

exported goods to Vietnam and the United States is afraid that they

will soon gain economic control over the entire region.