The Vietnam War

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As we all know there are no winners in a war, just more or less losers. Everyone involved in a war suffer of financial loss, physical and mental pressure. One of the evidence of this is the Vietnam War. It all started in the end of the 19th century. Trough this time the country Vietnam was falling because of many struggles, it was rather easy for France to occupy Vietnam, it become a colony ruled by France. But France mismanages their colony and poverty started to exist more and more. Year 1902 Vietnam was united with their two neighbor-countries Laos and Cambodia to the Indo Chinese union. The reason that it occurred, was that Laos and Cambodia also were colonies under France rule. France wanted to reach the raw materials witch existed in these three countries. The Vietnamese lived under really tough circumstances. The Frenchmen forced the Vietnamese workers to work for barely nothing. They worked hard in mines and in plantation fields.

In the Second World War Japan took control over Vietnam. But they didn’t take the country by themselv, they let France remain and rule the country. Under this occupation more than one and a half million Vietnamese people died in hunger. The Vietnamese strongly protested and as the Second World War ended in 1945 the state Vietnam called out their democratic self government in the hands of Ho chi Minh. In 1946 Vietnam and France once again started to battle because France refused to accept the fact that Ho chi Minh had called out the democratic republic.


As the war in Saigon (Vietnam) went well for France, the military commander in Vietnam started with the Guerilla Tactics. That was very successful, because of all the stalkers and mines that were waiting in the unknown jungle. They lay and attacked from behind. This broke down the French army strongly. This type of tactics was even used later in the war with America. The soldiers were at all time forced to watch every single step they took. I have seen this in Saigon with my own eyes. I seen their hiding places and their traps These are really smartly done, I was standing there in the jungle and looking for one of those hiding places where they had been hiding, but I couldn’t see it, then a guide told me, I was astonished, I really was so surprised, but even more frightened by the traps, they were so terrible and actually I was a bit afraid that I would step on one witch they hadn’t found. The place wich I visited was one of the places were the Vietnamese and Americans struggled. I also visited the Vietnam memorial museum and the only thing I have to say is that it is terrible.



The Vietnamese had struggled for their independence from France through the First Indochina War. When France realized that it was in possible for them to win the war they gave up and signed the Geneva agreement in 1954. Wich meant that France could take their troupes and return home again. Now when Vietnam had won the Indochina war you might think it should be a country without war and complaint, when they now had reached their goal toward freedom. But that didn’t work, because of the facts that Vietnam is a country with many opinions. To avoid rebellion and civil war the country was divided into North and South Vietnam. The north became communist. This was also agreed by the two parts in the Geneva agreement.


North Vietnam wanted the south to get communist as well, and in 1960 the South Vietnamese Guerilla Motion formed FNL because they were threaded by North Vietnam, they wanted the power so they could make them communistic. When US got to hear of the threats that North Vietnam were going into South Vietnam US started sending military advisers, material and military troupes. Because of the statement, witch is called Truman doctrine US should help the countries wich can be facing communist this was Seattle in 1947. The president in US had no doubt about the domino theory, if one falls, everybody falls. And he was sure that if South Vietnam would fall the whole South-east-Asia would be lost.

When South Vietnam had fallen US had to fight the war themselves. In 1968 the military soldiers were counted up to one half million. US bombed North Vietnam and tried to destroy FNL in South Vietnam, by destroying areas that were controlled by the guerillas. They used chemical weapons, and that’s when the world opinion got really critical towards US.

After heavy losses there was not much for USA to do. In late seventies the Americans started to return home again. In1972 the Paris treaty was signed by the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the FNL. They had signed that they immediately should stop fire, The American troupes were supposed to leave the land in 60 days, prisoners of the war should be exchanged and much more stuff witch had an affect on the Vietnamese politics.



The 29th of mars in the year of 1973 all American troupes were out of South Vietnam. But once again the war took place, this time US didn’t want to interfere, the American people were already angry enough. North Vietnam didn’t get any help from neither Soviet Union nor Japan by destroying South Vietnam. Now there was only the South Vietnams army who alone had to stand against the army of North Vietnam. At first they did it well, but when the new modern equipment needed expensive ammunition and fuel they couldn’t stand the costs and they fled in panic. The North Vietnamese could walk the whole way into Saigon wich they took over.

After thirty years of war and many victims it was now over.


The Vietnamese has had it tough and terrible trough the times, because of all the wars and the colonizing from the west world, and I believe if there hadn’t been so many wars. Vietnam maybe wouldn’t be a developing country today and they would have better economics, because in spit of all the wars, Vietnam is a country with much materials and technical progress.


• North Vietnam wanted South Vietnam to be communist; they got help from the Soviet Union and kina.

• America supported South Vietnam because of the trumandoctrine.

• The surrounding world protested against the United States bombings of North Vietnam and the use of chemical weapons.

• 1973 US left south Vietnam and only supported the south Vietnamese with money and military equipment, South Vietnam had to stand against north Vietnam them self, it ended with south Vietnam loosing the war and Vietnam becoming one country.

• The war didn’t effect on the politic manufacture as expected, If you ignore the economics, Vietnam today is communistic


My comment on this war is just, terrible and I feel that this war just took more lifes than it did any good, but by the way, I believe that there comes no war without failure and suffering. If you see this happening from the eyes of America, the basic idea was good, they didn’t want the South Vietnam to fall, because if they would fall everybody would fall, and that was correct, that was what happened, south and North Vietnam become Vietnam a communist state and the neighbor countries did fall to. I agree that “Truman doctrine” is a goo...