The USA dropped almost 2 … Vietnam had been divided into two, with a communist regime in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. U.S. strength The Vietnam War was a conflict between the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, and the South Vietnamese and the United States of America. American leaders viewed North Vietnam, led by communist Ho Chi Minh, as an ideological threat to the surrounding region. Myths about Vietnam War were mostly invented to assure the nation that the war was an American success story. 8Stilwell, Blake. They agreed to hold a general election two years later in 1956, which would seek to unite the country in a democratic manner rather than through warfare. WWII ends. 9Summers, Harry G. Vietnam War Almanac. Notable books include, The Pentagon Papers were a series of documents containing classified information on the progress and status of the war in Vietnam. Low estimates calculate 110,000 combat KIA and a half-million wounded. The number of MIA/POW at the war's end was 2,646, and as of January 2018, 1,601 soldiers remain unaccounted for. The USA fabricated the reason for the attack on a naval ship in Gulf of Tonkin. Vietnam Is A Cultural Mix Of Chinese, French, And Japan The United States military command ordered U.S. soldiers to attack a village believed to be filled with Viet Cong. U.S. military leaders predict American military involvment to end by 1965, and announce military personnel withdrawal. History.com, August 1, 2014. "17 Wild Facts about the Vietnam War." at year's end stands at 536,100. The Geneva Fact: The Vietnam War unleashed thousands of addicts upon the US healthcare and legal systems. The Vietnam War dragged on for a variety of reasons, including the difficult, heavily forested terrain, the guerrilla tactics of the communist forces, and hesitant U.S. leadership restricting the army's options for decisive action. Completed in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, commemorates the soldiers who died or went missing in action during the war. Sadly, the Vietnam War caused devastation and harm for thousands of civilians and soldiers, and continues to be remembered as one of the world’s longest and most deadly wars. One of North Vietnam's most important assets during the war was the "Ho Chi Minh Trail," a network of roads leading from North Vietnam into central South Vietnam, along which they transported soldiers, arms, and supplies to the Viet Cong in the South. First Indonchina War rages for eight years between French and After peace talks in Paris, the fighting in Vietnam continued, until the South surrendered to the communist North in 1975. 10Vietnam War Fast Facts. Vietnam was a colonial possession of France from 1883 until the Vietnamese victory at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu on May 7, 1954. President Nixon suspends military operations on January 15. Conference splits Vietnam along the 17th parallel, into the Northern The Vietnam War. Vietnam protesters often falsely claimed that the draft unfairly targeted minorities. One of the world’s longest conflicts, and still today it’s quite controversial. Southern State of Vietnam, under Bao Dai. Accessed: March 30, 2018. The Vietnamese Communist Party controlled the North. Ho Chi Minh's communist Viet Minh Prior to the Vietnam War, the North of the country was governed by a communist government, while the South was governed separately by a government which sought to align itself further with the West. Fallacy of the Domino Theory President Dwight … Leaders from both the U.S. and South Vietnam died during the war. Deaths in Vietnam War (1954–75) per R. J. Rummel (except where otherwise noted) Low estimate of deaths Middle estimate of deaths High estimate of deaths Notes and comments North Vietnam/Viet Cong military and civilian war dead 533,000: 1,062,000: 1,489,000: includes an estimated 50,000/65,000/70,000 civilians killed by U.S/SVN bombing/shelling: South Vietnam/U.S./South Korea war … April 30, 1975 - South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam as North Vietnamese troops enter Saigon, ENDING the Vietnam conflict. 4Lembcke, Jerry. "The Orphans of Agent Orange: Fifty Years On, Children Suffer from the Horrific Effects of America’s Use of Chemical Weapons during the Vietnam War." As visitors enter the trail, they hear the all too familiar sound associated with this war – a helicopter flying amongst enemy fire. 1-5 Interesting Facts About Vietnam War 1. South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm was assassinated on November 2, 1963, a mere twenty days before President Kennedy was shot in Dallas. Today you are going to find out the real true facts of the Vietnam War. "The Myth of the Spitting Anti-War Protestor." This was partly due to the United States troops withdrawing two years previously, leaving the South too weak to continue on its own with any great strength or power to overcome the enemy. The leader of North Vietnam, Nguyễn Sinh Cung, better known by the pseudonym Ho Chi Minh, was the president of communist North Vietnam from 1954 to 1965. However, a lot of facts and tidbits of information regarding this war never came to the light of the day owing to the extensive loss of life. Vietnam. Emperor Bao Dai. Civilian loss of life was also very heavy, with the lowest estimates around 415,000.Similarly, casualty totals among the VC and NVA and the number of dea… It was fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Of Those Lost. North Vietnamese forces invade South Vietnam. Operation "Junction City." U.S. student protests Since the Northern government wanted to unite the country, the Vietnam War started out as a civil war, seeking to bring the North and South together and create a united Vietnam. Learn about Vietnam War protests, the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the Pentagon Papers and more. However, Vietnamese civilians on both sides of the conflicts were killed, both combatants and civilians. The Vietnam War was one of the longest in the world's history, lasting from 1954 to 1975. Accessed: March 30, 2018. New York Times, October 13, 2017. In 1950, the United States supported the France army by sending aid and supporting the South Vietnamese troops. commit US combat troops. As a result, the United States during the late 1960’s didn’t invade the North or seek to cause further damage through attacks, but rather they focused on South Vietnam and how they could multiply the efforts of the Southern troops. 5"My Lai Massacre." Business Insider, July 23, 2015. Over 500,000 anti-war protestors march in Washington D.C. See the fact file below for more information on the Vietnam War or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Vietnam War worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. The "Tet Offensive" begins on January 30th, a coordinated attack on key By 1995, Vietnam had realized the full scale of civilian harm during the war. 2Greenspan, Jesse. CNN Library, Updated March 27, 2018. They depart at the end of the Lunar Year to report their findings to Ngoc Hoan, The Jade Emperor.27. You will learn something about everything! When the United Nations set the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals, they included an extra goal for Laos – to rid the country of dangerous unexploded items. The village was actually occupied mainly by, The Vietnam War left deeps marks on the American psyche, especially the soldiers, leading to the creation of a number of books and films exploring the war's social and emotional ramifications. Ho Chi Minh died during the war in 1969. There are many interesting facts about the Vietnam War which many people don’t know – let’s explore some of the lesser-known facts about this period of history. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communistallies… 32. Explore our interesting WW I facts to learn how the "Great War" changed the world forever. France colonises the Indochina peninsula and divides Vietnam into More than 3/4 of U.S. soldiers volunteered for the war. Not only was the cost of the war astronomical, the fact that 3 million people died in the war, including 58,000 Americans, is staggering. From the end of the 19 th Century up until the 1940s Vietnam had been a French colony and formed part of French Indochina. Daily Mail, March 13, 2014. © 2021 Fact Retriever LLC. restricts U.S. bombing operations and announces he will not seek re-election. A long war which began in 1955 and didn’t end until 1979, the Vietnam War is one of the most well-known conflicts of recent years. Accessed: March 30, 2018. To what extent U.S. was successful in Vietnam is debatable, and the controversy has given rise to many myths on both sides. The famous story of the photo “Napalm Girl” and how the… War. Many soldiers returning from the war felt they had been betrayed at home by liberals, hippies, and feminists who had undermined U.S. morale and the will to keep fighting, and the government, which had caved to social pressure. The Vietnam war has a long and bloody history. Vietnam War Facts, Stats and Myths Totals. The South "State of Vietnam" is renamed the Republic of The guerrilla warfare that characterized the Vietnam War often resulted in civilian massacres, as it was difficult to distinguish friendly South Vietnamese from the Communist Viet Cong spread throughout the South. However, many US citizens did not approve of the move to invade Laos and Cambodia, promoting protests up and down the country. A 1980 Veterans Administration survey revealed that 82% of U.S. combatants in Vietnam felt that the war had been lost because the U.S. government had hamstrung their efforts, not allowing them to win. 30. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces began a coordinated series of attacks against key South Vietnamese targets on the Vietnamese new year. The number of Americans who died in the Vietnam War is 58,220. Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam war facts: The Vietnam war last for 19 years and all three countries become communist. It is difficult, however, to separate fact from hyperbole in the midst of such social and emotional tumult. Congress repeals the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. three provinces: Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina. New York: Salamander Books, 1996. The Vietnam War was an expensive war that lasted nearly 20 years. The Viet Nimh defeat the French in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. The Vietnam War was primarily between the North and South of Vietnam, but it didn’t end there. About 2 million civilians and 1.3 million soldiers were killed or died during the war. The Geneva Accords, signed in July 1954, effectively divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel (latitude 17° N). 12Zwerdling, Daniel. Accessed: March 30, 2018. 3Itkowitz, Colby. This theory held that if communism took root in one country, it would soon spread to others, in this case, neighboring nations like Laos, Cambodia, and. continue on college campuses around the country. Lizzie enjoys writing about current issues & business. The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the Geneva Accords. Interesting Facts. The Vietnam war … The conflict has deep historical roots, most recently the First Indochina War between the communist North and the French-backed South, and the subsequent splitting of Vietnam into North and South. The Fact Site is the number one source for the most interesting & random facts about animals, celebrities, food, films, games & so much more. The Vietnam War was a conflict between the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, and the South Vietnamese and the United States of America. By the year's end, U.S. military strength in Vietnam is at 23,000. In August of 1964, the U.S. Destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy engaged in a firefight with North Vietnamese submarines. Although international law has many measures and regulations in place to prevent injuries and deaths to civilians, the sad reality is that it is often innocent civilians who pay the price for war.