The Vietnam War: The Second Indochina War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was the longest amount of time that the United States armed forces were deployed in hostile combat. This war began on November 1st 1955, and took place in the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The cause for the war to begin was conflict between the governments of North and South Vietnam. Altogether this war lasted around a staggering twenty years, and in the end the outnumbered communist government of North Vietnam prevailed victorious. Indochina, referred to as the Indian and Chinese cultural influences on the countries of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This region was the heart of the combat zone for the first and second Indochina wars. In the time period between 1858 and 1893 …show more content…
When the Japanese surrendered and left the country it was split between the Vietnam and the French. Eventually the leader of Vietnam’s democracy, Ho Chi Minh, declared that Vietnam was now its own independent country. This caused a war to erupt between the followers of Ho Chi Minh and the followers of the French. This conflict was known as the First Indochina War. After the French lost their high ground in this war, they were pushed out of the country. After the French were pushed out Vietnam was divided into today’s North and South Vietnam. The communists controlled North Vietnam, and the people who still supported the French controlled South Vietnam. North Vietnam was significantly more powerful than South Vietnam. This caused some of the south’s supporters to turn against South …show more content…
These tactics were all listed under their strategy of guerrilla warfare. These groups of Vietcong were split up among the different sections of countryside in South Vietnam. These small groups were able to hold the countryside’s by themselves. While the Vietcong held the outskirts, and less populated areas of South Vietnam, the North Vietnam government forces dealt with the majorly populated central areas. The United States saw this conflict between North and South Vietnam happening. They had been helping countries that were threatened by communism since the Cold War. The U.S. thought that if they let the communists take over South Vietnam then countries surrounding Vietnam would become communist countries too. This theory of communism takeover was classified as the “Domino Theory.” In the beginning of the war the country of Vietnam was divided into North and South Vietnam. The north was driven to war by their goal of wanting to reunite the country and turn the government to communism. The south was driven to war by their desire to avoid the communism takeover. North Vietnam was supported by other communist countries such as the Soviet Union and China. South Vietnam was supported by countries against communism such as the United States, South Korea, Australia, and Thailand. Since neither North or South Vietnam confronted each other directly during combat, this war is considered to be a proxy