The Vietnam War

It was the longest military battle in the history of the United States and the major conflict of the Cold War.












Background to the war

In the 19th Century Vietnam became a colony of the French. From 1946 until 1954, the Vietnamese Army (Viet Minh) struggled for their independence from France during the First Indochina War. In 1954, the Geneva accords partitioned the country into two and promised to hold democratic elections and reunite the country.

The leader of South Vietnam refused to hold elections and the United States refused to sign the Geneva agreement. .

In 1955 the leader or South Vietnam launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign. Communists and other anti-government elements were imprisoned, arrested, tortured, or executed.

Since then, they started terrorist attacks and kidnappings.


The War

North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China. The US supported South Vietnam. US intervention was influenced by the Domino theory. They thought if Vietnam became communist, communism would spread to the rest of South East Asia.

The war lasted from 1959 to 1975. The Vietnam War was also referred to as the Second Indochina War. Over 1.4 million military personnel and an estimated 2 million civilians were killed in the war.

End of the War

The war ended with the defeat of South Vietnam.
Although many South Vietnamese units were ready to defend Saigon, the serving president Duong Van Minh ordered a surrender on April 30th, 1975. This spared Saigon from destruction.

Aftermath

North and South Vietnam were unified into a single country.
From the mid-1980s, Vietnam has enjoyed substantial economic growth and some reduction in political repression.

In the meantime…

The Vietnam War became very controversial in the late 1960's and early 70's. Meanwhile, the hippies developed a strong anti-war movement in United States. It was a peaceful movement. Hippies used music to express themselves emotionally, spiritually, and politically. And lots of “Peace Signs” began to appear.
During this horrible war, they tried to promote peace and love and showed the people the unnecessary effects of the conflict.