The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was a Cold War era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the U.S. and other anti-communist nations.
Vietnam was independent after 100 years of the colonial rule of France. The North Vietnam government was communist and America did not want that to spread to South Vietnam. They feared that if it did spread then it would start a "domino effect", which meant that if the whole of Vietnam converted to communism then the surrounding countries such as Laos would turn communist. Subsequently, it would spread until all of south-eastern Asia was communist. This posed a big threat as if China and India, the two main influences of Asia due to their large population, became communist then there would be no stopping the spread until all of Asia was a big landmass completely devoted to communism. Thus, the whole of Asia could, with one accord, start a “continental war” to destroy other countries such as the destroying the U.S and other democratic nations in Europe. Thus, the American government decided to take first action by trying to stop this from happening.
The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment. However, the North Vietnamese government viewed the war as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S., and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a U.S. “puppet state”.
What started as an attempt to deter North Vietnam from spreading communism around ended as a war consisting mostly of guerrilla warfare which lasted for more than 19 years. The North Vietnamese Army engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large units into battle. The U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery and airstrikes. During this time, it was estimated that more than 2 million Vietnamese were killed and 3 million wounded. Approximately 58,000 Americans were killed in the conflict. U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973 as a result of the Case–Church Amendment passed by the U.S. Congress. The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army marked the end of the Vietnam War, which meant that both the South Vietnamese and the American army lost to the North Vietnamese army. This was a great blow to America, which was considered to be a superpower at that time and was not expected to lose to such a small country like Vietnam.
From this war many lessons are learnt. For example, we can see from the fact that America lost to Vietnam that strength does not prevail. America was a superpower, with high-tech weapons, a strong military army and large wealth. However, they were hit down by a small country which used mainly its army to defeat the U.S. navy and air force. The Vietnamese winning this war also helps us to understand that determination is a key factor in any situation. The Vietnamese were deemed to have no chance to stand against a superpower, but they persevered and managed to defeat them. This, to them is considered a great achievement and a big feat. They also showed loyalty to communism by sacrificing countless people just to maintain their rights and to have a firm hold on their stand that they were communist.
In conclusion, although this war was indeed a bloody and a violent one, but it has taught us, as future generations, many invaluable lessons that would directly or indirectly help us in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment