Vietnam War

Overview

A precise timeline of the Vietnam War is difficult to determine. Some consider the Vietnam War to have been a continuous conflict beginning with the French attempt to reestablish colonial control in 1946 and continuing until the fall of Saigon in 1975. Others divide the conflict into two separate wars, the First Indochina War between the French and the Viet Minh and the Second Indochina War between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and its American allies. Many experts consider the Vietnam War to have just been one front in the larger Cold War.

Related Topics:
1946 - 1975 - First Indochina War - Viet Minh - North Vietnam - South Vietnam - Cold War

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The First Indochina War may be said to have begun in 1946 with the writing of the Vietnamese constitution and to have ended in 1954 with the Geneva Peace Accord.The American involvement in the conflict is less distinct. The United States had supported Vietnamese guerillas against the Japanese during World War II, and provided aid to the French in the early 1950s. An American military presence was established in South Vietnam following the 1954 Peace Accord. As American advisors were drawn into battles between North and South Vietnamese forces the American involvement escalated.

Related Topics:
First Indochina War - 1946 - 1954 - Geneva Peace Accord - World War II - 1950s

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Many Americans view the Vietnam War as beginning with the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in 1964.

Related Topics:
Gulf of Tonkin Incident - 1964

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The ground war was fought in South Vietnam and the border areas of Cambodia and Laos (see Secret War). The air war was fought there and in the strategic bombing (see Operation Rolling Thunder) of North Vietnam. Commando raids or secret operations were conducted by U.S or South Vietnamese forces in the north but there was never any full-scale ground fighting north of the 17th parallel (For more details of the events during the war, see: Timeline of the Vietnam War.)

Related Topics:
Cambodia - Laos - Secret War - Strategic bombing - Operation Rolling Thunder - Timeline of the Vietnam War

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A coalition of forces fought for South Vietnam, including its army the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (or ARVN), the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Participation by the South Korean military was financed by the United States, but Australia and New Zealand fully funded their own involvement. Other countries normally allied with the United States in the Cold War, including the United Kingdom and Canada, did not participate in the war militarily, although a few of their citizens volunteered to join the U.S. forces and Canada led peace talks between the two countries for years. The Spanish government sent a small group of military medical personnel from 1966 to 1971.

Related Topics:
Coalition - Army of the Republic of Vietnam - United States - South Korea - Thailand - Australia - New Zealand - Philippines - United Kingdom - Canada - Citizen - Spanish - 1966 - 1971

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The North Vietnamese government directed the fighting against that of South Vietnam, using forces including their People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN, better known to Americans as the NVA) and the guerrilla forces of the National Liberation Front, better known as the Viet Cong. The U.S.S.R. provided military and financial aid, along with diplomatic support to the North Vietnamese as did the People's Republic of China. Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and North Korea provided minor assistance through provision of supplies and armor. North Vietnamese pilots and other specialized members of the PAVN often received training in the USSR or in North Korea, as did many of their Southern counterparts in Arizona or Hawaii.

Related Topics:
People's Army of Vietnam - Guerrilla - National Liberation Front - Viet Cong - Diplomatic support - People's Republic of China - Czechoslovakia - East Germany - North Korea - Arizona - Hawaii

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