Vietnam War
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- Category: History: Asian
- Date Submitted: 01/22/2016 07:40 AM
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The Vietnam War was fought between communist North Vietnam and the government of Southern Vietnam. The North was supported by communist countries such as the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union. The South was supported by anti-communist countries, primarily the United States.
The conflict in Vietnam stemmed from the interaction of two major phenomena of the post-WW2 era, decolonisation (dissolution of colonial empires) and the cold war. The rise of nationalism in the colonial areas and the weakness of the European powers combined to destroy the colonial system that had been an established feature of world politics.A change of this magnitude didn't occur smoothly, and in Vietnam it lead to war.
In August 1945, Vietnamese nationalist lead by Ho Chi Minh took the chance to seize the opportunity of Japan’s surrender to proclaim the independence of their country. But the French set out to regain control of Vietnam. Tensions rose and a role broke in November 1946 that would not end until Saigon fell in April 1975
During this time Vietnamese nationalists were engaged in a bloody anti colonial war with France, the cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was evolving into an ideological and power struggle with global dimensions. As such the conjunction of these historical trends explains the internationalisation of the war in Vietnam.
Neither the Soviet Union nor the United States could risk an all-out war against each other, such was the nuclear military might of both. However, when it suited both, they had client states that could carry on the fight for them. In Vietnam, the Americans actually fought – therefore in the Cold War , the USSR could not. However, to support the Communist cause, the Soviet Union armed its fellow Communist state, China, who would, in turn, arm and equip the North Vietnamese who fought the Americans.
The Vietnam War was very much a Cold War conflict, driven by its ideological tensions and geopolitical manoeuvring. From...
The conflict in Vietnam stemmed from the interaction of two major phenomena of the post-WW2 era, decolonisation (dissolution of colonial empires) and the cold war. The rise of nationalism in the colonial areas and the weakness of the European powers combined to destroy the colonial system that had been an established feature of world politics.A change of this magnitude didn't occur smoothly, and in Vietnam it lead to war.
In August 1945, Vietnamese nationalist lead by Ho Chi Minh took the chance to seize the opportunity of Japan’s surrender to proclaim the independence of their country. But the French set out to regain control of Vietnam. Tensions rose and a role broke in November 1946 that would not end until Saigon fell in April 1975
During this time Vietnamese nationalists were engaged in a bloody anti colonial war with France, the cold war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was evolving into an ideological and power struggle with global dimensions. As such the conjunction of these historical trends explains the internationalisation of the war in Vietnam.
Neither the Soviet Union nor the United States could risk an all-out war against each other, such was the nuclear military might of both. However, when it suited both, they had client states that could carry on the fight for them. In Vietnam, the Americans actually fought – therefore in the Cold War , the USSR could not. However, to support the Communist cause, the Soviet Union armed its fellow Communist state, China, who would, in turn, arm and equip the North Vietnamese who fought the Americans.
The Vietnam War was very much a Cold War conflict, driven by its ideological tensions and geopolitical manoeuvring. From...