Vietnam War of Weapons

Background information

The most commonly used dates for the conflict are 1959-1975. This period begins with North Vietnam's first guerilla attacks against the South and ends with the fall of Saigon. American ground forces were directly involved in the war between 1965 and 1973.

In August 1964, a US warship was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Following this attack, Congress passed the Southeast Asia Resolution which allowed President Lyndon Johnson to conduct military operations in the region without a declaration of war. On March 2, 1965, US aircraft began bombing targets in Vietnam and the first troops arrived. Commanded by General William Westmoreland, US troops won victories over Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces around Chu Lai and in the Ia Drang Valley that summer. Americanization of the Vietnam War

Following these defeats, the North Vietnamese avoided fighting conventional battles and focused on engaging US troops in small unit actions in the sweltering jungles of South Vietnam. In January 1968, the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong launched the massive Tet Offensive. Beginning with an assault on US Marines at Khe Sanh, the offensive included attacks by the Viet Cong on cities throughout South Vietnam. Though the North Vietnamese were beaten back with heavy casualties, Tet shook the confidence of the American people and media who had thought the war was going well.

The Tet Offensive
As a result of Tet, President Lyndon Johnson opted not to run for reelection and was succeeded by Richard Nixon. Nixon's plan for ending US involvement was to build up the ARVN so that they could fight the war themselves. As this process of “Vietnamization” began, US troops started to return home. The mistrust of the government that had begun after Tet worsened with the release of news about US soldiers massacring civilians at My Lai (1969), the invasion of Cambodia (1970), and the leaking of the Pentagon Papers (1971). Vietnamization of the Vietnam War

The withdrawal of US troops continued and more responsibility was passed to the ARVN, which continued to prove ineffective in combat, often relying on American support to stave off defeat. On January 27, 1974, a peace accord was signed in Paris ending the conflict. By March of that year, American combat troops had left the country. After a brief period of peace, North Vietnam recommenced hostilities in late 1974. Pushing through ARVN forces with ease, they captured the Saigon on April 30, 1975, forcing South Vietnam’s surrender and reuniting the country. The End of the Vietnam War

United States: 58,119 killed, 153,303 wounded, 1,948 missing in action
South Vietnam 230,000 killed and 1,169,763 wounded (estimated)
North Vietnam 1,100,000 killed in action (estimated) and an unknown number of wounded

Summary

The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the Geneva Accords. Vietnam had been split into two, with a communist government in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem. Ho launched a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of uniting the country under communist rule. The United States, seeking to stop the spread of communism, trained the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to help combat the guerillas. These resulted in a war, known generally as the Vietnam War.

Evaluation

While differences in political views may result in conflicts, it is still now the case of many disagreements in many countries. One example would be in Korea, where there is a division of the North and South korea with different political stand. Efforts have been made in recent years to bridge the gap between the 2 countries, but with little results. The two countries even had to have a third party(other countries) to help them settle the differences between them.

The differences in political views can be traced back to the history of the respective region. The history of the country determines the way the country is governed today. However, given if the government/ruler decides to change the way he runs the country, it can still be made to work, together with the support of the citizens. One example is in Singapore, where she changes her government ruling system ever since she gained independence

All in all, despite the differences that exist between the 2 countries, we must always note that we cannot afford to have war and conflicts all the time. Living in such a small world, where all of us are interconnected and largely dependent on one another, it is important to maintain stability and peace. I this way, we can focus more on dealing with climatic issues and economic development, which are now the more crucial issue in a modern world.