The Vietnam War lasted 20 long years. It became the most brutal and bloody military conflict of the Cold War, which involved several...

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10.04.2018 14:00

The Vietnam War lasted 20 long years. It became the most brutal and bloody military conflict of the Cold War, involving several countries of the world. Over the entire period of the armed confrontation, the small country lost almost four million civilians and about one and a half million soldiers on both sides.

Prerequisites for the conflict

If we talk briefly about the Vietnam War, this conflict is called the Second Indochina War. At some point, the internal confrontation between North and South grew into a confrontation between the Western bloc SEATO, which supported the southerners, and the USSR and the PRC, which supported North Vietnam. The Vietnamese situation also affected neighboring countries - Cambodia and Laos did not escape civil war.

First, the civil war began in southern Vietnam. The prerequisites and reasons for the war in Vietnam can be called the reluctance of the country's population to live under the influence of the French. In the second half of the 19th century, Vietnam belonged to the French colonial empire.

When the First World War ended, the country experienced a growth in national self-awareness of the population, which was manifested in the organization of a large number of underground circles that championed the independence of Vietnam. At that time, several armed uprisings occurred throughout the country.

In China, the League for the Independence of Vietnam - Viet Minh - was created, uniting all sympathizers with the idea of ​​liberation. Then the Viet Minh were led by Ho Chi Minh, and the League acquired a clear communist orientation.

Briefly speaking about the reasons for the war in Vietnam, they were as follows. After the end of World War II in 1954, the entire Vietnamese territory was divided along the length of the 17th parallel. At the same time, North Vietnam was controlled by the Viet Minh, and South Vietnam was under the control of the French.

The victory of the Communists in China (PRC) made the United States nervous and begin its intervention in the internal politics of Vietnam on the side of the French-controlled South. The US government, which regarded the PRC as a threat, believed that Red China would soon want to increase its influence in Vietnam, but the US could not allow this.

It was assumed that in 1956 Vietnam would unite into a single state, but the French South did not want to become under the control of the communist North, which was the main reason for the war in Vietnam.

Beginning of the war and early period

So, it was not possible to unify the country painlessly. The war in Vietnam was inevitable. The communist North decided to take over the southern part of the country by force.

The Vietnam War began with several terrorist attacks against Southern officials. And 1960 was the year of the creation of the world-famous organization Viet Cong, or the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NSLF), which united all the numerous groups fighting against the South.

While briefly describing the causes and results of the Vietnam War, it is impossible to omit some of the most significant events of this brutal confrontation. In 1961, the American army did not take part in the clashes, but the successful and daring actions of the Viet Cong strained the United States, which transferred the first regular army units to South Vietnam. Here they train South Vietnamese soldiers and assist them in planning attacks.

The first serious military clash occurred only in 1963, when the Viet Cong partisans defeated the South Vietnamese army at the Battle of Ap Bac. After this defeat, a political coup occurred in which the ruler of the South, Diem, was killed.

The Viet Cong strengthened their positions by transferring a significant part of their guerrillas to the southern territories. The number of American soldiers also grew. If in 1959 there were 800 soldiers, then in 1964 the war in Vietnam continued with the size of the American army in the South reaching 25,000 troops.

United States intervention

The Vietnam War continued. The fierce resistance of the North Vietnamese guerrillas was aided by the country's geographic and climatic features. Dense jungles, mountainous terrain, alternating seasons of rain and incredible heat significantly complicated the actions of American soldiers and made it easier for the Viet Cong guerrillas, for whom these natural disasters were familiar.

Vietnam War 1965-1974 was already carried out with the full-scale intervention of the US Army. At the beginning of 1965, in February, the Viet Cong attacked American military installations. After this brazen act, American President Lyndon Johnson announced his readiness to launch a retaliatory strike, which was carried out during Operation Burning Spear - a brutal carpet bombing of Vietnamese territory by American aircraft.

Later, in March 1965, the US Army carried out another bombing operation, the largest since World War II, called “Rolling Thunder.” At this time, the size of the American army grew to 180,000 troops. But this is not the limit. Over the next three years there were already about 540,000.

But the first battle in which US Army soldiers entered took place in August 1965. Operation Starlight ended in complete victory for the Americans, who killed approximately 600 Viet Cong.

After this, the American army decided to use the “search and destroy” strategy, when US soldiers considered their main task to be the detection of partisans and their complete destruction.

Frequent forced military clashes with the Viet Cong in the mountainous territories of South Vietnam exhausted American soldiers. In 1967, at the Battle of Dacto, the US Marines and the 173rd Airborne Brigade suffered terrible losses, although they managed to hold off the guerrillas and prevent the capture of the city.

Between 1953 and 1975, the United States spent a staggering amount of money on the Vietnam War—$168 million. This has led to America's massive federal budget deficit.

Tet battle

During the Vietnam War, American troops were recruited entirely through volunteers and a limited draft. President L. Johnson refused the partial mobilization and call-up of reservists, so by 1967 the human reserves of the American army were exhausted.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam War continued. In mid-1967, the military leadership of North Vietnam began planning a large-scale offensive in the south in order to turn the tide of hostilities. The Viet Cong wanted to create the preconditions for the Americans to begin to withdraw their troops from Vietnam and overthrow the government of Nguyen Van Thieu.

The United States was aware of these preparations, but the Viet Cong offensive came as a complete surprise to them. The northern army and guerrillas went on the offensive on Tet Day (Vietnamese New Year), when any military action is prohibited.

On January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese army launched massive attacks throughout the South, including major cities. Many attacks were repulsed, but the South lost the city of Hue. Only in March was this offensive stopped.

During the 45 days of the North's offensive, the Americans lost 150,000 soldiers, more than 2,000 helicopters and airplanes, more than 5,000 pieces of military equipment and about 200 ships.

At the same time, America was waging an air war against the DRV (Democratic Republic of Vietnam). About a thousand aircraft took part in the carpet bombings, which during the period from 1964 to 1973. flew more than 2 million combat missions and dropped approximately 8 million bombs in Vietnam.

But the American soldiers miscalculated here too. North Vietnam evacuated its population from all major cities, hiding people in the mountains and jungles. The Soviet Union supplied the northerners with supersonic fighters, air defense systems, radio equipment and helped them master it all. Thanks to this, the Vietnamese managed to destroy about 4,000 US aircraft throughout the years of the conflict.

The battle of Hue, when the South Vietnamese army wanted to recapture the city, was the bloodiest in the entire history of this war.

The Tet Offensive caused a wave of protests among the US population against the Vietnam War. Then many began to consider it senseless and cruel. No one expected that the Vietnamese communist army would be able to organize an operation of such a scale.

US troop withdrawal

In November 1968, after the newly elected US President R. Nixon took office, who during the election race promised America would end the war with Vietnam, there was hope that the Americans would eventually remove their troops from Indochina.

The US war in Vietnam was a shameful stain on America's reputation. In 1969, at the People's Congress of South Vietnam, the proclamation of a republic (RSV) was announced. The guerrillas became the People's Armed Forces (PAFSE). This outcome forced the US government to sit down at the negotiating table and stop the bombing.

America, under the Nixon presidency, gradually reduced its presence in the Vietnam War, and when 1971 began, more than 200,000 troops were withdrawn from South Vietnam. Saigon's army, on the contrary, was increased to 1,100 thousand soldiers. Almost all of the Americans' more or less heavy weapons were left in South Vietnam.

At the beginning of 1973, namely on January 27, the Paris Agreement was concluded to end the war in Vietnam. The United States ordered the complete removal of its military bases from the designated territories and the withdrawal of both troops and military personnel. In addition, a complete exchange of prisoners of war was to take place.

The final stage of the war

For the United States, the result of the Vietnam War after the Paris Agreement was the 10,000 advisers left to the southerners and 4 billion US dollars in financial support provided throughout 1974 and 1975.

Between 1973 and 1974 The Popular Liberation Front resumed hostilities with renewed vigor. The southerners, who had suffered serious losses in the spring of 1975, could only defend Saigon. It was all over in April 1975 after Operation Ho Chi Minh. Deprived of American support, the army of the South was defeated. In 1976, both parts of Vietnam were united to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Participation in the conflict between the USSR and China

Military, political and economic assistance from the USSR to North Vietnam played a significant role in the outcome of the war. Supplies from the Soviet Union took place through the port of Haiphong, which transported equipment and ammunition, tanks and heavy weapons to the Viet Cong. Experienced Soviet military specialists who trained the Viet Cong were actively involved as consultants.

China was also interested and helped the northerners by supplying food, weapons, and trucks. In addition, Chinese troops numbering up to 50 thousand people were sent to North Vietnam to restore roads, both automobile and railway.

Consequences of the Vietnam War

The years of bloody war in Vietnam claimed millions of lives, most of which were civilians in North and South Vietnam. The environment has also suffered greatly. The south of the country was thickly flooded with American defoliants, as a result many trees died. The North, after many years of US bombing, was in ruins, and napalm burned out a significant part of the Vietnamese jungle.

During the war, chemical weapons were used, which could not but affect the environmental situation. After the withdrawal of US troops, American veterans of this terrible war suffered from mental disorders and many different diseases that were caused by the use of dioxin, which is part of Agent orange. There were a huge number of suicides among American veterans, although official data on this was never published.

Speaking about the causes and results of the war in Vietnam, it is necessary to note another sad fact. Many representatives of the American political elite participated in this conflict, but this fact only causes negative emotions among the population of the United States.

Research conducted by political scientists at that time showed that a participant in the Vietnam conflict had no chance of becoming president of the United States, since the average voter of those times was strongly opposed to the Vietnam War.

War crimes

Results of the Vietnam War 1965-1974. disappointing. The cruelty of this worldwide massacre is undeniable. Among the war crimes of the Vietnam conflict are the following:

• The use of reagent orange (“orange”), which is a mixture of defoliants and herbicides to destroy tropical forests.
• Incident at Hill 192. A young Vietnamese girl named Phan Thi Mao was kidnapped, raped, and then killed by a group of American soldiers. After the trial of these soldiers, the incident became known immediately.
• The Binh Hoa massacre by South Korean troops. The victims were old people, children and women.
• The Dac Son massacre occurred in 1967, when Montagnard refugees were attacked by communist guerrillas for refusing to return to their former place of residence and unwillingness to provide recruits for the war, their spontaneous rebellion was brutally suppressed with flamethrowers. Then 252 civilians died.
• Operation Ranch Hand, during which vegetation was destroyed over a long period of time in South Vietnam and Laos in order to detect guerrillas.
• The US environmental war against Vietnam using chemical agents, which claimed millions of civilian lives and caused irreparable damage to the country's ecology. In addition to the 72 million liters of Orange sprayed over Vietnam, the US Army used 44 million liters of a substance containing tatrachlorodibenzodioxine. When this substance enters the human body, it is persistent and causes severe diseases of the blood, liver and other organs.
• Massacres in Song My, Hami, Hue.
• Torture of US prisoners of war.

Among others, there were other reasons for the Vietnam War of 1965-1974. The initiator of the war was the United States with its desire to subjugate the world. During the conflict, about 14 million tons of various explosives were detonated on Vietnamese territory - more than during the two previous world wars.

The first of the main reasons was to prevent the spread of communist ideology in the world. And the second is, of course, money. Several large corporations in the United States made a good fortune from the sale of weapons, but for ordinary citizens the official reason given for America's involvement in the war in Indochina was the need to spread global democracy.

Strategic acquisitions

Below is a brief summary of the results of the Vietnam War from the point of view of strategic acquisitions. During the long war, the Americans had to create a powerful structure for the maintenance and repair of military equipment. Repair complexes were located in South Korea, Taiwan, Okinawa and Honshu. The Sagama Tank Repair Plant alone saved the US Treasury approximately $18 million.

All this could allow the American army to enter into any military conflict in the Asia-Pacific region without worrying about the safety of military equipment, which could be restored and used again in battle in a short time.

Vietnam-China War

Some historians believe that this war was started by the Chinese in order to remove parts of the Vietnamese army from Chinese-controlled Kampuchea, while simultaneously punishing the Vietnamese for interfering in Chinese politics in Southeast Asia. In addition, China, which was in confrontation with the Union, needed a reason to abandon the 1950 agreement on cooperation with the USSR, signed in 1950. And they succeeded. In April 1979, the agreement was terminated.

The war between China and Vietnam began in 1979 and lasted only a month. On March 2, the Soviet leadership announced its readiness to intervene in the conflict on the side of Vietnam, having previously demonstrated military power in exercises near the Chinese border. At this time, the Chinese embassy was expelled from Moscow and sent home by train. During this trip, Chinese diplomats witnessed the transfer of Soviet troops towards the Far East and Mongolia.

The USSR openly supported Vietnam, and China, led by Deng Xiaoping, sharply curtailed the war, never deciding on a full-scale conflict with Vietnam, behind which stood the Soviet Union.

Speaking briefly about the causes and results of the Vietnam War, we can conclude that no goals can justify the senseless bloodshed of innocents, especially if the war was designed for a handful of rich people who want to line their pockets even tighter.

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Vietnam War

Between 1861 and 1867 France installed in Indochina its colonial power. This was part of the pan-European imperialist policy of that time. In Indochina ( Laos, Cambodia, And Vietnam) the French introduced Catholicism to the local population, and among the converts from the upper class who spoke French, they chose allies who helped them rule the colonies.

In 1940, Japanese troops occupied Indochina. In 1941 Ho Chi Minh created a communist organization for national liberation - Viet Minh , which throughout World War II waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. During this period, Ho Chi Minh collaborated widely with foreign ministries USA, who helped the Viet Minh with weapons and ammunition. Ho Chi Minh viewed the United States as a model of a state liberated from colonial oppression. In September 1945, he declared the independence of Vietnam and wrote to the President Truman letter asking for support. But at the end of the war, the political situation changed, France was an ally of the United States, and this appeal was ignored. But French forces, in an attempt to re-establish colonial power, returned to Indochina. Ho Chi Minh started a war with them.

There were several reasons why the United States did not recognize Vietnam's independence. Firstly, this is of course the strategic importance of the region, protecting from the southwest Philippines And Japanese islands. The State Department believed that it would be much easier to control these territories if they were under the colonial rule of French allies than to negotiate with the national governments of independent states. Especially considering that Ho Chi Minh was considered a communist. This was the second important reason. At that time, after the victory in 1949 of the communist Mao Zedong V China over American protégé Chiang Kai Shek, and the latter’s flight to the island Taiwan, the threats of “Asian communism” were feared like fire, regardless of their faces and past merits. It should also be said about the moral support of the allies. France suffered national humiliation in World War II; a small victorious campaign was needed to restore a sense of pride. Taking all this into account, the United States recognized the puppet government of the emperor Bao Dai, and helped the French with weapons, military advisers and heavy equipment. During the 4 years of war from 1950 to 1954, the US government spent more than $2 billion on military aid.

In 1954, the French fortified area Dien Bien Phu fell Administration Eisenhower I was deciding what to do. Chairman of the Joint Staff Committee and Vice President Richard Nixon they advised the use of massive bombing, with tactical nuclear charges, if necessary. Secretary of State John Foster Dallas offered to enlist support United Kingdom, but the British government was reluctant to intervene for a variety of reasons. Congress would not support unilateral US intervention. Eisenhower was very careful, he remembered that in Korea managed to achieve only a draw result. The French no longer wanted to fight.

In 1954, the Geneva Agreements were signed. The Soviet Union, Taiwan, Great Britain, France, China, Laos, Cambodia, Bao Dai and Ho Chi Minh signed an agreement recognizing the independence of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Vietnam was divided along the 17th parallel; general elections were scheduled for 1956, which were to be held under international supervision and decide the issue of unifying the country. Military forces were to be disbanded, joining military alliances and organizing military bases of other states was prohibited for both sides. An international commission, consisting of India, Poland and Canada, was supposed to monitor the implementation of the agreement. The US did not attend the conference because it refused to recognize the Chinese government.

Division along the demilitarized zone has become a political fact. Those close to the French colonial regime and opponents of Ho Chi Minh settled south of this line, while sympathizers moved to the north.

The United States provided significant assistance South Vietnam. The Central Intelligence Agency sent its agents there to conduct secret operations, including sabotage, directed against the northern troops.

The US supported the government Ngo Dinh Diema, representing an aristocratic minority professing Catholicism. In 1954, he held a national referendum on the territory of South Vietnam; according to official data, 98% of the votes were cast in favor of declaring an independent Republic of Vietnam. However, the Diem government understood that in the event of general elections Ho Chi Minh would win, so in 1955, with the support of the US State Department, it tore up the Geneva Agreements. Help from the United States was not limited to political statements; in the period 1955-1961 it amounted to over a billion dollars. Military advisers trained army units and police, humanitarian aid was delivered, and new agricultural technologies were introduced. In fear of losing local support, Ngo Dinh Diem canceled local elections, preferring to appoint city and provincial heads personally. Those who openly opposed his regime were thrown into prison, opposition publications and newspapers were banned.

In response, rebel groups formed in 1957 and began terrorist activities. The movement grew, and in 1959 it established contact with the northerners, who began supplying weapons to the southern communists. In 1960, on the territory of South Vietnam, the National Liberation Front was formed - Vietcong. All this created pressure on the United States, forcing the State Department to decide how far it could go in supporting an undemocratic and unpopular regime.

The president Kennedy decides not to abandon Ngo Dinh Diem and sends more and more military advisers and special units. Economic assistance is also growing. In 1963, the number of American troops in South Vietnam reached 16,700 people, whose direct duties did not include participation in hostilities, although this could not stop some of them. The United States and South Vietnam jointly developed a strategic program to combat the guerrilla movement by destroying villages believed to support them. Diem also launched operations against actively protesting Buddhists, who made up the majority of the country's population, but were discriminated against by the Catholic elite. This led to the self-immolation of several monks who tried to attract public attention in this way. The political and public outcry around the world was so serious that the United States began to doubt the advisability of further supporting the Diem regime. At the same time, fears that in response he might negotiate with the northerners predetermined the non-intervention of the United States in the military coup organized by the South Vietnamese generals, which resulted in the overthrow and execution of Ngo Dinh Diem.

Lyndon Johnson, who became US President after Kennedy's assassination, further increased economic and military aid to South Vietnam. He believed that the honor of the United States was at stake. At the beginning of 1964, the Viet Cong controlled almost half of the country's agricultural areas. The United States launched a secret bombing campaign against Laos, through which the Viet Cong communicated with the North. On August 2, 1964, an American destroyer was attacked by North Vietnamese boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Maddox , which, apparently, violated the territorial waters of the northerners. President Johnson hid the whole truth and reported to Congress that Maddox became a victim of the unjustified aggression of North Vietnam. On August 7, the indignant Congress voted 466 votes in favor and none against and adopted Tonkin resolution, giving the president the right to respond to this attack using any means. This legalized the start of the war. However, when Congress repealed the resolution in 1970, the United States continued to fight.

In February 1965, the Viet Cong attacked a military airfield. Pleiku, which resulted in the deaths of American citizens. In response, the US Air Force launched its first bombing attack on North Vietnam. Subsequently, these attacks became permanent. During the Vietnam War, the United States dropped more bombs on Indochina than were dropped during the entire Second World War by all participating countries combined.

The South Vietnamese army suffered massive defections to the Viet Cong and could not provide serious support, so Johnson constantly increased the American contingent in Vietnam. At the end of 1965, there were 184,000 American troops there, in 1966 there were already 385,000, and the peak occurred in 1969, at that time there were 543,000 American troops in Vietnam.

The war led to great losses. A difficult test was the feeling that the most developed state in the world, using the latest technologies, large masses of soldiers, massive bombings under the slogan “let’s bomb them down to stone age levels”, defoliants that have destroyed vegetation on a significant part of the country, despite all this, it is still losing the war. Moreover, he is losing it to the “savages” who failed to even build an industrial society. Vietnam was considered a small war by the US government, so no additional ages were drafted, and young recruits, averaging 19 years old, were sent to the war. The law set a maximum of one year for service in Vietnam, which led to soldiers counting down days to avoid risky missions in order to return home. Interracial conflicts, which escalated at that time in the United States itself, had a much lower degree of intensity in the armed forces. But the availability of opium and heroin led to a massive spread of drug addiction among military personnel. In case of injury, the chances of survival for American soldiers were the highest in the entire military history, thanks to the use of helicopters to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield, but this did not help, the morale of the troops was rapidly declining.

In early 1966, Democratic Senator William Fulbright began holding special hearings dedicated to the war. Over the course of these hearings, the senator uncovered truths hidden from the rest of the public, and eventually became a vocal critic of the war.

President Johnson realized that the United States needed to begin peace negotiations, and in late 1968 Averil Harriman led the American mission aimed at ending the conflict peacefully. At the same time, Johnson announced that he would not stand as a candidate in the next elections, thus his personal position would not interfere with the negotiations.

In November 1968, North Vietnam responded to the start of the Paris negotiations by withdrawing 22 of its 25 military units from the northern provinces of South Vietnam. However, the US Air Force continued massive bombing, despite the negotiations, and the withdrawal of troops ceased. South Vietnam tried to disrupt the negotiations, fearing that without US support it would not be able to achieve even a draw. Its delegates arrived only 5 weeks after the start of negotiations, when representatives of North Vietnam and the United States already had a package of agreements, and immediately put forward impossible demands that canceled out all the work done.

Meanwhile, new presidential elections were held in the United States, which were won by a Republican Richard Nixon. In July 1969, he announced that the United States' policies around the world would change dramatically, no longer claiming to be the world's overseer and trying to solve problems in every corner of the planet. He also claimed to have a secret plan to end the Vietnam War. This was well received by the American public, who were tired of the war and believed that America was trying to do too much at once, spreading its efforts and not solving its problems at home. However, already in 1971, Nixon warned of the dangers of “insufficient intervention” and clarified that his doctrine concerned mainly the Asian part of the world.

Nixon's secret plan was to shift the brunt of the fight to the South Vietnamese military, which would have to fight its own civil war. Process Vietnamization The war led to a reduction in the American contingent in Vietnam from 543,000 in 1969 to 60,000 in 1972. This made it possible to reduce losses of American forces. Such a small contingent also required fewer young recruits, which had a positive effect on sentiment within the United States.

However, in fact, Nixon significantly expanded military operations. He took advantage of military advice that his predecessor had rejected. The Prince of Cambodia was overthrown in 1970. Sihanuk, probably as a result of a CIA sting operation. This led to the power of right-wing radicals led by General Lon Nolom, which began to fight North Vietnamese troops moving through its territory. On April 30, 1970, Nixon gave the secret order to invade Cambodia. Although this war was considered a state secret, it was not for anyone, and immediately caused a wave of anti-war protests throughout the United States. For a whole year, activists of the anti-war movements did not take action, satisfied with the decrease in the US share of participation in the war, but after the invasion of Cambodia they declared themselves with renewed vigor. In April and May 1970, more than one and a half million students across the country began protesting. State governors called in the National Guard to maintain order, but this only worsened the situation, and several students were shot dead as a result of the clashes. The shooting of students in the center of the United States, at home, as many believed, divided the nation into sympathizers and those who thought it served them right. The intensity of passions only increased, threatening to develop into something more terrible. At this time, concerned about the situation, Congress raised the question of the legality of the invasion of Cambodia, and also repealed the Tonkin Resolution, thus depriving the White House administration of legal grounds for continuing the war.

Under such circumstances, Nixon's plan to invade Laos was rejected by Congress, and American troops were withdrawn from Cambodia. South Vietnamese troops tried to achieve victory in Cambodia and Laos on their own, but even the powerful support of the American Air Force could not save them from defeat.

The withdrawal of American troops forced Nixon to look for a solution in the massive use of aviation and navy. In 1970 alone, American bombers dropped more than 3.3 million tons of bombs on Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. This was more than the last 5 years combined. Nixon believed he could bomb the Viet Cong bases and supply lines, while simultaneously destroying North Vietnamese industry and cutting off access to their ports. This was supposed to weaken the armed forces and make it impossible for them to continue the fight. But when the Viet Cong responded to the all-out bombing with a new offensive in the spring of 1972, Nixon realized that the war was lost.

Throughout 1969-1971, Henry Kissinger conducted secret negotiations with representatives of North Vietnam. The United States offered a ceasefire in exchange for political guarantees and the preservation of the regime of the South Vietnamese president Thieu. Nixon considered Thieu one of the five greatest politicians in the world, and supported him tooth and nail, even in the 1971 presidential election, which was so fraudulent that all other candidates withdrew.

In 1972, shortly before the US presidential election, Nixon announced a ceasefire had been reached. The war ended in 1973. Nixon resigned in 1974 and was unable to influence developments in South Vietnam, where the North Army took full control of the country in 1975.

This war was very costly. More than one and a half million people died, including 58,000 American citizens. Millions were left crippled. More than 500,000 people became refugees. Between 1965 and 1971, the US spent $120 billion on direct military spending alone. Related expenses exceeded 400 billion. An even higher price was paid by the American military, who considered themselves invincible, and, with difficulty, realized the fact that this was not so. And the consequences of a deep wound in American psychology cannot be assessed.

It was a long war, but not as long as the war on drugs, or the war on terrorism, which promises to be eternal.

With the end of the Second World War, when it seemed to everyone that the long-awaited and long-lasting peace should now come, another serious force appeared on the political arena - the people's liberation movement. If in Europe the end of hostilities grew into a political confrontation between two systems, then in the rest of the world the end of the world war became a signal for the intensification of the anti-colonial movement. In Asia, the struggle of the colonies for self-determination took on an acute form, giving impetus to a new round of confrontation between the West and the East. A civil war was raging in China, and conflict was flaring up on the Korean Peninsula. Acute military-political confrontation also affected French Indochina, where Vietnam sought to gain independence after the war.

Further events first took the form of a guerrilla struggle between pro-communist forces and French colonial troops. The conflict then escalated into a full-scale war that engulfed all of Indochina, taking the form of direct armed intervention with the participation of the United States. Over time, the Vietnam War became one of the bloodiest and longest military conflicts of the Cold War period, lasting 20 long years. The war engulfed all of Indochina, bringing destruction, death and suffering to its people. The consequences of American participation in the war were fully felt not only by Vietnam, but by the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia. Prolonged military operations and the results of the armed confrontation determined the future fate of the huge and densely populated region. Having first defeated the French and broken the chains of colonial oppression, the Vietnamese had to fight one of the most powerful armies in the world over the next 8 years.

The entire military conflict can be divided into three stages, each of which differs in the scale and intensity of military operations and forms of armed struggle:

• the period of guerrilla warfare in South Vietnam (1957-1965);
• direct intervention of the US Army against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1965-1973);
• Vietnamization of the conflict, withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam (1973-1975).

It is worth noting that each of the stages, under certain circumstances, could be the last, but external and third-party factors constantly appeared that contributed to the growth of the conflict. Even before the immediate entry of the US Army into hostilities as one of the parties to the conflict, an attempt was made to unravel the military-political knot peacefully. However, the attempts were unsuccessful. This was reflected in the principled positions of the parties to the conflict, who did not want to make any concessions.

The failure of the negotiation process resulted in protracted military aggression by the leading world power against a small country. For eight whole years, the American army tried to destroy the first socialist state in Indochina, throwing armadas of planes and ships against the army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This is the first time since World War II that the United States has assembled such a huge military force in one place. The number of American troops in 1968, at the height of the fighting, reached 540 thousand people. Such a huge military contingent was not only unable to inflict a final defeat on the semi-partisan army of the communist government of the North, but was also forced to leave the territory of the long-suffering war. More than 2.5 million American soldiers and officers passed through the crucible of the war in Indochina. Costs of a war waged by the Americans 10 thousand km away. from the territory of the United States itself amounted to a colossal figure - $352 billion.

Having failed to achieve the necessary results, the Americans lost the geopolitical duel with the countries of the socialist camp, which is why the United States does not like to talk about the war in Vietnam, even today, when 42 years have passed since the end of the war.

Background to the Vietnam War

Back in the summer of 1940, when, after the defeat of the French army in Europe, the Japanese hastened to capture French Indochina, the first resistance groups began to appear on Vietnamese territory. The leader of the Vietnamese communists, Ho Chi Minh, led the fight against the Japanese invaders, proclaiming a course for the complete liberation of the countries of Indochina from Japanese domination. The American government, despite the difference in ideology, then declared full support for the Viet Minh movement. Communist partisan detachments, which were called nationalists overseas, began to receive military and financial assistance from the States. The main goal of the Americans at that time was to use every opportunity to destabilize the situation in the territories occupied by Japan.

The complete history of the Vietnam War calls this period the moment of formation of the communist regime in Vietnam. Immediately after the end of World War II, the pro-communist Viet Minh movement became the main military-political force in Vietnam, bringing a lot of trouble to its former patrons. First, the French, and later the Americans, former allies, were forced to fight this national liberation movement in the region by all means. The consequences of the struggle radically changed not only the balance of power in Southeast Asia, but also radically affected other participants in the confrontation.

The main events began to develop rapidly after the surrender of Japan. Armed troops of Vietnamese communists captured Hanoi and the northern regions of the country, after which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed in the liberated territory. The French, who were trying with all their might to keep their former colonies in their imperial orbit, could in no way agree with this development of events. The French introduced an expeditionary force into North Vietnam, again returning the entire territory of the country under their control. From that moment on, all the military-political institutions of the DRV went illegal, and a guerrilla war broke out in the country with the French colonial army. Initially, the partisan units were armed with guns and machine guns, which they received as trophies from the Japanese occupation army. Subsequently, more modern weapons began to enter the country through China.

It is important to note that France, despite its imperial ambitions, could not at that time independently maintain control over its vast overseas possessions. The actions of the occupying forces were of a limited local nature. Without American help, France could no longer keep the huge region in its sphere of influence. For the United States, participation in the military conflict on the side of France meant maintaining this region under the control of Western democracies.

The consequences of the guerrilla war in Vietnam were very important for Americans. If the French colonial army had gained the upper hand, the situation in Southeast Asia would have become controllable for the United States and its allies. Having lost the confrontation with pro-communist forces in Vietnam, the United States could lose its dominant role throughout the Pacific region. In the context of a global confrontation with the USSR and in the face of the growing strength of communist China, the Americans could not allow the emergence of a socialist state in Indochina.

Unwittingly, America, because of its geopolitical ambitions, was drawn into another, the second after the Korean War, major armed conflict. After the defeat of the French troops and unsuccessful peace negotiations in Geneva, the United States assumed the main burden of military operations in this region. Already at that time, the United States paid more than 80% of military expenses from its own treasury. By preventing the unification of the country on the basis of the Geneva agreements, in opposition to the Ho Chi Minh regime in the north, the United States contributed to the proclamation of a puppet regime, the Republic of Vietnam, in the south of the country under its control. From this moment on, further escalation of the conflict in a purely military manner became inevitable. The 17th parallel became the border between the two Vietnamese states. In the North, communists were in power. In the South, in areas controlled by the French administration and the American army, a military dictatorship of a puppet regime was established.

The Vietnam War - The American View of Things

The struggle between North and South for the unification of the country became extremely fierce. This was facilitated by military-technical support from overseas for the South Vietnamese regime. The number of military advisers in the country in 1964 was already more than 23 thousand people. Together with advisers, major types of weapons were constantly supplied to Saigon. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was technically and politically supported by the Soviet Union and communist China. The civil armed confrontation smoothly flowed into a global confrontation between superpowers supported by their allies. The chronicles of those years are full of headlines about how the Viet Cong guerrillas confronted the heavily armed army of South Vietnam.

Despite the serious military support of the South Vietnamese regime, the Viet Cong guerrilla units and the DRV army managed to achieve significant successes. By 1964, almost 70% of South Vietnam was controlled by communist forces. To avoid the collapse of its ally, the US decided at the highest level to launch a full-scale intervention in the country.

The Americans used a very dubious excuse to launch the operation. For this purpose, an attack by torpedo boats of the DRV Navy on the US Navy destroyer Medox was invented. The collision of ships of the opposing sides, later called the “Tonkin Incident,” occurred on August 2, 1964. After this, the US Air Force launched the first missile and bomb attacks on coastal and civilian targets in North Vietnam. From that moment on, the Vietnam War became a full-fledged international conflict, in which the armed forces of various states participated, and active combat operations were carried out on land, in the air and at sea. In terms of the intensity of the fighting, the size of the territories used and the number of military contingents, this war became the most massive and bloody in modern history.

The Americans decided to use air raids to force the North Vietnamese government to stop supplying weapons and assistance to the rebels in the South. The army, meanwhile, would have to cut off the rebel supply lines in the area of ​​the 17th parallel, block and then destroy the units of the South Vietnamese Liberation Army.

To bomb military targets on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Americans used mainly tactical and naval aviation based at the airfields of South Vietnam and the aircraft carriers of the 7th Fleet. Later, B-52 strategic bombers were sent to help front-line aviation, which began carpet bombing the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the areas bordering the demarcation line.

In the spring of 1965, the participation of American troops on land began. At first, the Marines tried to take control of the border between the Vietnamese states, then the US Army Marines began to take regular part in identifying and destroying bases and supply lines of partisan forces.

The number of American troops was constantly increasing. Already in the winter of 1968, there was almost half a million American army on the territory of South Vietnam, not counting naval units. Almost 1/3 of the entire American army took part in the hostilities. Almost half of all US Air Force tactical aircraft took part in the raids. Not only the Marine Corps was actively used, but also Army Aviation, which took on the main function of fire support. A third of all attack aircraft carriers of the US Navy took part in organizing and ensuring regular raids on Vietnamese cities and villages.

Since 1966, the Americans have headed towards the globalization of the conflict. From that moment on, support for the US Armed Forces in the fight against the Viet Cong and the DRV army was provided by Australia and South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, members of the SEATO military-political bloc.

Results of the military conflict

The communists of North Vietnam were supported by the USSR and the People's Republic of China. Thanks to the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems from the Soviet Union, it was possible to significantly limit the freedom of activity of American aviation. Military advisers from the Soviet Union and China actively contributed to raising the military power of the DRV army, which ultimately managed to turn the tide of hostilities in its favor. In total, North Vietnam received gratuitous loans from the USSR in the amount of 340 million rubles during the war years. This not only helped keep the communist regime afloat, but also became the basis for the DRV units and Viet Cong units to go on the offensive.

Seeing the futility of military participation in the conflict, the Americans began to look for ways out of the deadlock. During the negotiations held in Paris, agreements were reached to stop the bombing of the cities of North Vietnam in exchange for the cessation of the actions of the armed forces of the liberation army of South Vietnam.

The coming to power of President Nixon's administration in the United States gave hope for a subsequent peaceful resolution of the conflict. The course was chosen for the subsequent Vietnamization of the conflict. From that moment on, the Vietnam War was to become a civilian armed conflict again. At the same time, the American armed forces continued to provide active support to the army of South Vietnam, and aviation only increased the intensity of bombing the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. At the final stage of the war, the Americans began to use chemical munitions to fight partisans. The consequences of the carpet bombing of the jungle with chemical bombs and napalm are still observed today. The number of American troops was reduced by almost half, and all weapons were transferred to the South Vietnamese armed forces.

Despite this, under pressure from the American public, American participation in the war continued to be curtailed. In 1973, a peace agreement was signed in Paris, ending the direct involvement of the US Army in this conflict. For the Americans, this war became the bloodiest in history. Over the 8 years of participation in hostilities, the US Army lost 58 thousand people. More than 300 thousand wounded soldiers returned to America. The losses of military equipment and military equipment were a colossal figure. The number of aircraft and helicopters shot down by the Air Force and Navy alone amounted to more than 9 thousand aircraft.

After American troops left the battlefield, the North Vietnamese army went on the offensive. In the spring of 1975, units of the DRV defeated the remnants of the South Vietnamese army and entered Saigon. Victory in the war cost the people of Vietnam dearly. Over the entire 20 years of armed confrontation, only 4 million civilians died, not counting the number of fighters of partisan formations and military personnel of the armies of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Vietnam War- one of the largest military conflicts of the second half of the 20th century, which left a noticeable mark on culture and occupies a significant place in the modern history of the United States and Vietnam.

The war began as a civil war in South Vietnam; later they interfered with it Northern Vietnam and the United States with the support of several other countries. Thus, on the one hand, the war was fought for the reunification of the two parts of Vietnam and the creation of a single state with communist ideology, and on the other, for maintaining the division of the country and the independence of South Vietnam. As events unfolded, the Vietnam War became intertwined with the parallel civil wars in Laos and Cambodia. All fighting in Southeast Asia from the late 1950s until 1975 is known as the Second Indochina War.

Chronology of the Vietnam War.

1954
May 7, 1954 - occupation of the French command post of Dien Bien Phu by Vietnamese troops; The French side gives the order for a ceasefire. As a result of the battle that lasted for 55 days, the French lost 3 thousand people killed and 8 thousand wounded. Significantly greater damage was inflicted on the Viet Minh forces: 8 and 12 thousand wounded and killed, respectively, but regardless of this, the French decision to continue the war was shaken.
1959
The creation of a special unit of the North Vietnamese Army (559th Group) specifically to organize a supply route from North Vietnam to Viet Cong forces in the south. With the consent of the Cambodian prince, the 559th group developed the simplest route along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border with forays into Vietnamese territory along its entire length (Ho Chi Minh Trail).
1961
Second floor. 1961 - Kennedy orders increased assistance to the South Vietnamese government in the fight against guerrillas. This implied the supply of new equipment, as well as the arrival of more than 3 thousand military advisers and service personnel.
December 11, 1961 - About 4 hundred Americans arrived in South Vietnam: pilots and various aviation specialists.
1962
January 12, 1962 - helicopters piloted by American pilots transferred 1 thousand soldiers to the south of Vietnam to destroy the NLF stronghold near Saigon (Operation Chopper). This was the beginning of hostilities by the Americans.
Beginning of 1962 - Operation Ranchhand began, the purpose of which was to clear vegetation adjacent to roads to reduce the risk of enemy ambushes. As hostilities progressed, the scope of the operation increased. The dioxin-containing herbicide Agent Orange was sprayed over vast forested areas. Guerrilla trails were revealed and crops were destroyed.
1963
January 2, 1963 - in one of the villages, the 514th Viet Cong battalion and local guerrilla forces ambushed the South Vietnamese 7th Division. At first, the Viet Cong were not inferior to the enemy's technical advantage - about 400 southerners were killed or wounded, and three American advisers also died.
1964
April - June 1964: Massive reinforcement of US air forces in Southeast Asia. The departure of two aircraft carriers from the Vietnamese coast in connection with the enemy offensive in Laos.
June 30, 1964 - on the evening of this day, South Vietnamese saboteurs attacked two small northern islands located in the Gulf of Tonkin. The American destroyer Maddox (a small vessel crammed with electronics) was 123 miles to the south with orders to electronically misinform the enemy about a false air attack so that he would divert his ships from the target.
04 August 1964 - Captain Maddox's report states that his ship has come under fire and an attack cannot be avoided in the near future. Despite his subsequent statement that there was no attack at all, six hours after the initial information was received, Johnson orders a retaliation operation. American bombers strike two naval bases and destroy most of the fuel supplies. During this attack, the Americans lost two aircraft.
August 7, 1964 - The American Congress passes the Tonkin Resolution, which gives the President the authority to take any action to protect Southeast Asia.
October 1964: China, North Vietnam's neighbor and ally, conducts a successful atomic bomb test.
November 1, 1964 - two days before the US presidential election, Viet Cong artillery shelled the Bien Ho air base near Saigon. 4 Americans were killed and 76 more were wounded; 5 B-57 bombers were also destroyed and 15 more were damaged.
1965
01 January - 07 February 1965: North Vietnamese troops launched a series of attacks on the southern border, temporarily capturing the village of Binh Gi, located only 40 miles from Saigon. As a result, two hundred South Vietnamese soldiers died, as well as five American advisers.
February 07, 1965 - the main US air force, located in the central foothills of South Vietnam, was attacked by an NLF sabotage landing, as a result of which 9 people were killed and over 70 were injured. This incident was followed by the immediate reaction of the American President, who ordered the US Navy to strike military targets in North Vietnam.
February 10, 1965 - A bomb explodes at the Khi Non hotel by the Viet Cong. As a result, 23 American-born employees died.
February 13, 1965 - Presidential approval of Operation Rolling Thunder - an offensive accompanied by a long bombardment of the enemy. Its goal was to end support for the Viet Cong in the southern territories.
02 March 1965 - the first bomb raids of the Operation, following a series of numerous delays.
April 3, 1965 - the beginning of the American campaign against the North Vietnamese transport system: within a month, bridges, roads and railway junctions, vehicle depots and base warehouses were systematically destroyed by the US Navy and Air Force.
April 7, 1965 - The United States made an offer of economic assistance to S. Vietnam in exchange for peace, but this offer was rejected. Two weeks later, the American president increased the US military presence in Vietnam to 60 thousand people. Troops from Korea and Australia arrived in Vietnam as international support.
May 11, 1965 - Two and a half thousand Viet Cong soldiers attack Song Bi, the South Vietnamese provincial capital and, after two days of bloody fighting both inside and around the city, retreat.
June 10, 1965 - Viet Cong expelled from Dong Xai (South Vietnamese headquarters and military camp of US Special Forces) after American air attacks.
June 27, 1965 - General Westmoreland begins an offensive ground operation northwest of Saigon.
August 17, 1965 - according to a soldier who deserted from the 1st Viet Cong regiment, it becomes obvious that an attack on the US naval base at Chu Lai cannot be avoided - so, the Americans implement Operation Starlite, which became the first large-scale battle of the Vietnam War. Using various types of troops - ground, naval and air forces - the Americans won a landslide victory, losing 45 killed and over 200 wounded, while enemy losses amounted to about 700 people.
September-October 1965: Following an attack on Play Mei (a special forces camp) by the North Vietnamese, the 1st Air Brigade "deploys formation" against enemy forces located in the immediate vicinity of the camp. As a result of this, the Battle of La Dranga took place. For 35 days, US troops pursued and engaged the 32nd, 33rd and 66th North Vietnamese regiments until the enemy returned to their bases in Cambodia.
November 17, 1965 - The remnants of the 66th North Vietnamese Regiment advance east of Play Mei and ambush an American battalion, which was not helped by either reinforcements or the competent distribution of firepower. By the end of the battle, American casualties amounted to 60% wounded, while every third soldier was killed.
1966
January 8, 1966 - Operation Crimp begins. About 8,000 people took part in this - the largest - Vietnamese military operation by the United States. The goal of the campaign was to capture the Viet Cong headquarters in the Saigon area, which was believed to be in the Chhu Chhi area. Despite the fact that the mentioned territory was virtually wiped off the face of the earth and was subject to constant patrolling, the operation was a failure, because... there was not the slightest hint of the presence of any Viet Cong base in the area at all.
February 1966 - throughout the month, US troops conducted four operations with the goal of finding and destroying the enemy during a direct collision with him.
March 05, 1966 - The 272nd Regiment of the Viet Cong 9th Division attacked the battalion of the 3rd American Brigade in Lo Que. Successful US air strikes forced the attackers to retreat. Two days later, a Viet Cong unit attacked the US 1st Brigade and a battalion of the 173rd Airborne Regiment; but the attack failed thanks to American artillery.
April - May 1966: Operation Birmingham, during which the Americans, supported by an impressive amount of air and ground equipment, cleared the area north of Saigon. A series of small-scale skirmishes with the enemy resulted in only 100 Viet Cong deaths. Most of the battles were provoked by the North Vietnamese side, which proved its elusiveness based on the results of the battles.
Late May - June 1966: In late May, the North Vietnamese 324th Division crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and encountered an American naval battalion. At Dong Ha, the North Vietnamese army took on the largest battle of the entire war. Most of the 3rd Naval Division (about 5 thousand people from five battalions) moved north. In Operation Hastings, the sailors were supported by South Vietnamese troops, US Navy heavy artillery, and military aircraft, which resulted in pushing the enemy out of the DMZ within three weeks.
June 30, 1966 - on Route 13, which connected Vietnam with the Cambodian border, American troops were attacked by the Viet Cong: only air support and artillery helped the Americans avoid complete defeat.
July 1966 - About 1,300 North Vietnamese soldiers were killed in the bloody battle of Con Tien.
October 1966 - The 9th North Vietnamese Division, having recovered from the events of July, prepares for another offensive. Losses in manpower and equipment were compensated for by reinforcements and supplies from North Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
September 14, 1966 - a new operation codenamed Attleboro, in which the US 196th Brigade, together with 22 thousand South Vietnamese soldiers, began an active search and destruction of the enemy in the territory of Tay Ninh province. At the same time, the location of the supplies of the 9th North Vietnamese Division was revealed, but open conflict did not follow again. The operation ended six weeks later; The American side lost 150 people, while the Viet Cong lost over 1,000 soldiers killed.
End of 1966 - by the end of 1966, the American presence in Vietnam reached 385 thousand people, as well as 60 thousand sailors based on the shore. Over the course of the year, over 6 thousand people were killed and about 30 thousand wounded. For comparison, the enemy suffered manpower losses of 61 thousand people; however, be that as it may, by the end of the year the number of his troops exceeded 280 thousand people.
1967
January - May 1967: two North Vietnamese divisions, operating from the territory of the DMZ, dividing North and South Vietnam, began to bomb American bases located south of the DMZ, incl. Khe San, Cam Lo, Dong Ha, Con Tien and Gio Lin.
January 08, 1967 - Operation Cedar Falls begins, the goal of which was to oust North Vietnamese forces from the Iron Triangle (an area of ​​60 square miles located between the Saigon River and Route 13. About 16 thousand American soldiers and 14 thousand soldiers The South Vietnamese Army was brought into the Triangle without encountering the expected large-scale resistance, enemy supplies were captured, and a total of 72 people were killed during the 19-day operation (mostly due to numerous booby traps and snipers appearing literally out of nowhere). The Viet Cong lost about 720 people killed.
February 21, 1967 - 240 helicopters operating over Tai Ning province took part in the largest air assault (Operation Junction City); This operation set itself the task of destroying enemy bases and headquarters on the territory of South Vietnam, stationed in Combat Zone “C” north of Saigon. About 30 thousand American soldiers took part in the operation, as well as about 5 thousand South Vietnamese soldiers. The duration of the operation was 72 days. The Americans again succeeded in capturing large quantities of supplies, equipment and weapons without any large-scale battles with the enemy.
April 24, 1967 - attacks on North Vietnamese airfields begin; The Americans caused enormous damage to enemy roads and structures. By the end of the year, all northern MIG bases were hit, with the exception of just one.
May 1967 - desperate air battles over Hanoi and Hai Phong. The Americans' successes included 26 downed bombers, which reduced the enemy's air power by about half.
Late May 1967 - in the mountains of South Vietnam, the Americans intercepted enemy units moving inland from Cambodian territory. Hundreds of northern soldiers were killed over nine days of prolonged fighting.
Autumn 1967 - the development of the “Tet strategy” takes place in Hanoi. Arrest of 200 officials opposing this strategy.
1968
Mid-January 1968 - a grouping of units of three Viet Cong divisions near the naval base in Khe San (a small territory in the north-west of South Vietnam). The feared enemy forces forced the US command to assume the threat of a large-scale offensive in the northern provinces.
January 21, 1968 - at 5.30 a.m. a fire attack began on the naval base located in Khe San, immediately killing 18 people and injuring 40. The attack lasted two days.
January 30-31, 1968 - on the day of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet holiday), the Americans launched a series of attacks throughout South Vietnam: in more than 100 cities, subversive saboteurs, supported by troops, intensified. By the end of the urban fighting, some 37,000 Viet Cong had been killed and many more had been wounded or captured. The result of these events was more than half a million civilian refugees. Most of the battle-hardened Viet Cong, political figures and secret service representatives were wounded; As for the partisans, for them the holiday completely turned into a disaster. This event seriously shook public opinion in the States, despite the fact that the Americans themselves lost only 2.5 thousand people killed.
February 23, 1968 - shelling of the naval base and its outposts in Khe San; the number of shells used was unprecedentedly high (over 1300 units). Local shelters were fortified to counter the 82mm used by the enemy. shells.
March 06, 1968 - while naval forces were preparing to repel a massive enemy assault, the North Vietnamese retreated into the jungle surrounding Khe San and did not show themselves for the next three weeks.
March 11, 1968 - Americans carried out large-scale cleansing operations around Saigon and other territories of South Vietnam.
March 16, 1968 - massacre of civilians in the village of My Lai (about two hundred people). Despite the fact that only one of the participants in that massacre was actually found guilty of war crimes, the entire American army fully experienced the “recoil” of that terrible tragedy. Although extremely rare, cases such as this serve the army disservice, nullifying all civic activity carried out by army units and individual soldiers, and also raise age-old questions about the code of conduct in war.
March 22, 1968 - massive fire attack on Khe San. Over a thousand shells hit the territory of the base - about a hundred per hour; At the same time, local electronic devices noted the movements of North Vietnamese troops in the surrounding area. The American response to the attack was a massive bombing of the enemy.
April 8, 1968 - The result of Operation Pegasus carried out by the Americans was the final capture of Route 9, which put an end to the siege of Khe San. Lasting for 77 days, the Battle of Khe San became the largest battle of the Vietnam War. The official death toll on the North Vietnamese side was over 1,600 people, incl. two completely destroyed divisions. However, beyond those officially stated, there may have been thousands of enemy soldiers wounded or killed as a result of air raids.
June 1968 - the presence of a powerful, highly mobile American army on the territory of Khe San and the absence of any threat to the local base from the enemy prompted General Westmoreland to decide to dismantle it.
November 01, 1968 - After three and a half years, Operation Rolling Thunder came to an end. Its implementation cost the United States 900 downed aircraft, 818 missing or dead pilots, and hundreds of captured pilots. About 120 Vietnamese aircraft were damaged in air battles (including those shot down by mistake). According to American estimates, 180 thousand North Vietnamese civilians were killed. There were also casualties among the Chinese participants in the conflict - among them, about 20 thousand people were injured or killed.
1969
January 1969 - Richard Nixon assumed the presidency of the United States. Speaking about the “Vietnamese problem,” he promised to achieve “a peace worthy of [the American nation]” and intended to conduct successful negotiations on the withdrawal of American troops (numbering about half a million soldiers) from the conflict territory in the interests of South Vietnam.
February 1969 - Despite government restrictions, Nixon approved Operation Menu, which consisted of bombing North Vietnamese Viet Cong bases in Cambodia. Over the next four years, American aircraft dropped over half a million tons of bombs on the territory of this country.
February 22, 1969 - During a large-scale attack by enemy assault groups and artillery on American bases throughout South Vietnam, 1,140 Americans were killed. At the same time, South Vietnamese cities were attacked. Despite the fact that all of South Vietnam was engulfed in the flames of war, the most brutal battle took place near Saigon. Be that as it may, American artillery, operating in conjunction with aviation, managed to suppress the offensive launched by the enemy.
April 1969 - the number of deaths during the Vietnam conflict exceeded the same figure (33,629 people) during the Korean War.
June 08, 1969 - Nixon met with the President of South Vietnam (Nguyen Van Thieu) on the Coral Islands (Midway); During the meeting, the American president made a statement calling for the immediate withdrawal of 25,000 soldiers in Vietnam.
1970
April 29, 1970 - South Vietnamese forces attack and dislodge Viet Cong bases from Cambodia. Two days later, an attack by American troops took place (numbering 30 thousand people, including three divisions). The "cleansing" of Cambodia took 60 days: the location of Viet Cong bases in the North Vietnamese jungle was revealed. The Americans “requisitioned” 28,500 weapons, over 16 million small ammunition and 14 million pounds of rice. Despite the fact that the enemy managed to retreat across the Mekong River, he suffered significant losses (over 10 thousand people).
1971
08 February 1971 - Operation Lam Son 719: Three South Vietnamese divisions arrived in Laos to attack two main enemy bases and were caught in a trap. Over the next month, more than 9,000 South Vietnamese were killed or wounded; Over 2/3 of ground combat equipment, as well as hundreds of American aircraft and helicopters, were disabled.
Summer 1971 - despite the ban on the use of dioxin by the US Department of Agriculture back in 1968. Spraying of dioxin-containing substances (Agent Orange) in Vietnam continued until 1971. In South Vietnam, Operation Ranchhand used 11 million gallons of Agent Orange, containing a total of 240 pounds of dioxin, effectively turning over 1/7 of the country into desert.
1972
January 1, 1972 - Over the previous two years, two-thirds of US troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. At the beginning of 1972 There were only 133 thousand Americans left in the country (South Vietnam). The burdens of the ground war now lay almost entirely on the shoulders of the southerners, whose armed forces numbered over 1 million people.
March 30, 1972 - massive artillery shelling of South Vietnamese positions across the DMZ. More than 20 thousand Viet Cong crossed the DMZ, forcing the retreat of South Vietnamese units who tried unsuccessfully to defend themselves. According to intelligence data, an attack on the positions of Southeast Asia was expected from the north, but not from the demilitarized territories.
April 1, 1972 - North Vietnamese soldiers advance towards the city of Hue, defended by a South Vietnamese division and a US naval division. However, by April 9, the attackers were forced to suspend the assault and replenish their strength.
April 13, 1972 - Thanks to the support of tanks, North Vietnamese troops took control of the northern part of the city. But, despite this, 4 thousand soldiers of Southeast Asia, supported by elite aviation units, continued to defend themselves and fiercely counterattack. The power of the American B-52 bombers was also on their side. A month later, Viet Cong troops left the city.
April 27, 1972 - Two weeks after their first attack, NVA fighters advanced towards the city of Quang Tri, forcing the South Vietnamese division to retreat. By the 29th, the Viet Cong captured Dong Ha and, by May 1, Quang Tri.
July 19, 1972 - Thanks to US air support, the South Vietnamese began attempting to retake Binh Dinh Province and its cities. The battles lasted until September 15, by which time Quang Tri had turned into shapeless ruins. One way or another, the NVA fighters retained control of the northern part of the province.
December 13, 1972 - failure of peace negotiations between the North Vietnamese and American sides in Paris.
December 18, 1972 - by order of the president, a new “bombing campaign” began against the NVA. Operation Linebacker Two lasted 12 days, including a three-day period of continuous bombing by 120 B-52 aircraft. The attacks were carried out on military airfields, transport targets and warehouses located in Hanoi, Hai Phong and their environs. The bomb tonnage used by the Americans in this operation exceeded 20 thousand tons; They lost 26 aircraft, the loss in manpower amounted to 93 people (killed, missing or captured). Acknowledged North Vietnamese casualties range between 1,300 and 1,600 dead.
1973
January 8, 1973 - resumption of the "Paris" peace negotiations between North Vietnam and the United States.
January 27, 1973 - a ceasefire was signed by the warring parties participating in the Vietnam War.
March 1973 - The last American soldiers left Vietnamese lands, although military advisers and sailors who were protecting local American installations remained. The official end of the war for the United States. Of the more than 3 million Americans who took part in the war, almost 58 thousand died and over 1 thousand people were missing. About 150 thousand Americans were seriously injured.
1974
January 1974 - Despite the fact that the NVA lacked the capabilities to carry out a large-scale offensive, it captured key southern territories.
August 9, 1974 - Nixon's resignation - South Vietnam lost the main representative of its interests in the highest political circles of the United States.
December 26, 1974 - capture of Dong Xai by the 7th North Vietnamese Army Division
1975
January 6, 1975 - NVA captured the city of Hok Long and the entire surrounding province, which was, in fact, a disaster for their southern neighbors, as well as a violation of the Paris Peace Agreement. However, there was no proper reaction from the United States.
March 01, 1975 - a powerful offensive on the territory of the central mountain range of South Vietnam; the losses of the southerners during their chaotic retreat amounted to 60 thousand soldiers.
All of March 1975 - during its next attack on the cities of Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang, the NVA deployed 100 thousand soldiers. The support of eight fully equipped regiments ensured her success in capturing Quang Tri Province.
March 25, 1972 - The third largest South Vietnamese city of Quang Tri is captured by the NVA.
Beginning of April 1972 - in five weeks of its military campaign, the NVA achieved impressive successes, capturing twelve provinces (over 8 million inhabitants). The Southerners lost their best units, more than a third of their personnel and approximately half of their weapons.
April 29, 1972 - the beginning of mass airlifts: in 18 hours, over 1 thousand American citizens and almost 7 thousand refugees left Saigon on US planes.
April 30, 1972 - at 4.30 in the morning, two American sailors were killed during a missile attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Airport - these were the last US casualties of the war. At dawn, the last representatives of the naval forces from the security of the American embassy left the country. Just a few hours later, the embassy was searched; NVA tanks entered Saigon, marking the end of the war.
Chairman of the Presidium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation N.N. Kolesnik

Results of the war

During the war years, the Americans rained down 14 million tons of bombs and shells on the long-suffering land of Vietnam, poured thousands of tons of toxic substances, burned tens of thousands of hectares of jungle and thousands of villages with napalm and herbicides. More than 3 million Vietnamese died in the war, more than half of them were civilians, 9 million
Vietnamese became refugees. The enormous human and material losses caused by this war are irreparable; the demographic, genetic and environmental consequences are irreparable.
On the American side, more than 56.7 thousand people senselessly died in Vietnam, approximately 2,300 military personnel went missing, more than 800 thousand returned wounded, maimed and sick, more than half of the 2.4 million people. who went through Vietnam, returned home spiritually broken and morally devastated and are still experiencing the so-called “post-Vietnam syndrome.” Studies conducted in the United States among Vietnam War veterans showed that for every physical loss in a combat situation, there were at least five casualties in the post-war period.
From August 1964 to December 1972, 4,118 American aircraft were shot down over North Vietnam by Vietnamese air defense and air forces, incl. 1293 sold by Soviet missiles.
In total, the United States spent 352 billion dollars on waging this shameful war.
According to the former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin, our assistance to Vietnam during the war cost 1.5 million rubles. in a day.
For the period from 1953 to 1991. USSR assistance to Vietnam amounted to 15.7 billion dollars.
From April 1965 to December 1974 The Soviet Union supplied Vietnam with 95 SA-75M anti-aircraft missile systems, 7,658 missiles for them, over 500 aircraft, 120 helicopters, more than 5 thousand anti-aircraft guns and 2 thousand tanks.
During this period, 6,359 Soviet officers and generals and more than 4.5 thousand soldiers and sergeants of conscript service took part in hostilities in Vietnam, while 13 people (according to some sources, 16 people) were killed or died from their wounds and illnesses.
For courage and heroism shown in the battles in Vietnam, 2,190 military personnel were awarded Soviet military orders and medals, incl. 7 people were nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but for reasons of the political situation of that time, the Order of Lenin was awarded to them without the gold stars of the Hero. In addition, more than 7 thousand Soviet military specialists were awarded Vietnamese orders and medals.
(Chairman of the Presidium of the Association of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation N.N. Kolesnik)

“I just tremble for my country when I think that God is just,”
US President Thomas Jefferson

In the second half of the 19th century, Vietnam became a colony of France. The growth of national consciousness after the First World War led to the creation in 1941 in China of the League for the Independence of Vietnam or Viet Minh, a military-political organization that united all opponents of French power.

The main positions were occupied by supporters of communist views under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. During World War II, he actively collaborated with the United States, which helped the Viet Minh with weapons and ammunition to fight the Japanese. After the surrender of Japan, Ho Chi Minh captured Hanoi and other major cities of the country, proclaiming the formation of the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, France did not agree with this and transferred an expeditionary force to Indochina, starting a colonial war in December 1946. The French army could not cope with the partisans alone, and since 1950 the United States came to their aid. The main reason for their intervention was the strategic importance of the region, guarding the Japanese Islands and the Philippines from the southwest. The Americans felt that it would be easier to control these territories if they were under the rule of the French allies.

The war continued for the next four years and by 1954, after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the situation became almost hopeless. By this time, the United States had already paid more than 80% of the costs of this war. Vice President Richard Nixon recommended the use of tactical nuclear bombing. But in July 1954, the Geneva Agreement was concluded, according to which the territory of Vietnam was temporarily divided along the 17th parallel (where there was a demilitarized zone) into North Vietnam (under the control of the Viet Minh) and South Vietnam (under the rule of the French, who almost immediately granted it independence ).

In 1960, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon took part in the battle for the White House in the United States. At this time, the fight against communism was considered good form, and therefore the candidate whose program to combat the “Red Menace” was more decisive won. Following the adoption of communism in China, the US government viewed any developments in Vietnam as part of communist expansion. This could not be allowed, and therefore, after the Geneva agreements, the United States decided to completely replace France in Vietnam. With American support, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem proclaimed himself the first president of the Republic of Vietnam. His reign represented tyranny in one of its worst forms. Only relatives were appointed to government positions, whom the people hated even more than the president himself. Those who opposed the regime were put in prison, freedom of speech was prohibited. It’s unlikely that America would have liked this, but you can’t close your eyes to anything for the sake of your only ally in Vietnam.

As one American diplomat said: “Ngo Dinh Diem is certainly a son of a bitch, but he is OUR son of a bitch!”

It was only a matter of time before underground resistance units, even those not supported by the North, appeared on the territory of South Vietnam. However, the United States saw only the machinations of the communists in everything. Further tightening of measures only led to the fact that in December 1960, all South Vietnamese underground groups united into the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, called the Viet Cong in the West. Now North Vietnam began to support the partisans. In response, the US increased military assistance to Diem. In December 1961, the first regular units of the US Armed Forces arrived in the country - two helicopter companies designed to increase the mobility of government troops. American advisers trained South Vietnamese soldiers and planned combat operations. The John Kennedy administration wanted to demonstrate to Khrushchev its determination to destroy the “communist infection” and its readiness to protect its allies. The conflict grew and soon became one of the hottest flashpoints of the Cold War between the two powers. For the US, the loss of South Vietnam meant the loss of Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, posing a threat to Australia. When it became clear that Diem was not able to effectively fight the partisans, the American intelligence services, with the help of South Vietnamese generals, organized a coup. On November 2, 1963, Ngo Dinh Diem was killed along with his brother. Over the next two years, as a result of the struggle for power, another coup occurred every few months, which allowed the partisans to expand the captured territories. At the same time, US President John Kennedy was assassinated, and many fans of “conspiracy theories” see this as his desire to end the war in Vietnam peacefully, which someone really didn’t like. This version is plausible, in light of the fact that the first document that Lyndon Johnson signed as the new president was sending additional troops to Vietnam. Although on the eve of the presidential elections he was nominated as a “peace candidate,” which influenced his landslide victory. The number of American soldiers in South Vietnam rose from 760 in 1959 to 23,300 in 1964.

On August 2, 1964, two American destroyers, Maddox and Turner Joy, were attacked by North Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin. A couple of days later, in the midst of confusion among the Yankee command, the destroyer Maddox announced a second attack. And although the ship's crew soon denied the information, intelligence announced the interception of messages in which the North Vietnamese admitted to the attack. The US Congress, with 466 votes in favor and no votes against, passed the Tonkin Resolution, giving the President the right to respond to this attack by any means. This marked the beginning of the war. Lyndon Johnson ordered airstrikes against North Vietnamese naval installations (Operation Pierce Arrow). Surprisingly, the decision to invade Vietnam was made only by civilian leadership: Congress, the President, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. The Pentagon responded with little enthusiasm to the decision to “resolve the conflict” in Southeast Asia.

Colin Powell, a young officer at the time, said: “Our military was afraid to tell the civilian leadership that this method of war led to a guaranteed loss.”
American analyst Michael Desch wrote: “Unconditional obedience of the military to civilian authorities leads, firstly, to the loss of their authority, and secondly, it frees the hands of official Washington for further adventures, similar to the Vietnam one.”

Most recently, a statement was made public in the United States by independent researcher Matthew Eid, specializing in the National Security Agency (the US intelligence agency for electronic intelligence and counterintelligence), that key intelligence information about the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964, which served as the reason for the US invasion of Vietnam, was falsified . The basis was a report by NSA staff historian Robert Hayniock, compiled in 2001 and declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (passed by Congress in 1966). The report suggests that NSA officers made an unintentional mistake in translating information obtained as a result of radio interception. Senior officers, who almost immediately discovered the mistake, decided to hide it by correcting all the necessary documents so that they indicated the reality of the attack on the Americans. High-ranking officials repeatedly referred to these false data in their speeches.

Robert McNamara said: “I think it is wrong to think that Johnson wanted war. However, we believed that we had evidence that North Vietnam was escalating the conflict.”

And this is not the last falsification of intelligence data by the leadership of the NSA. The war in Iraq was based on unconfirmed information on the “uranium dossier”. However, many historians believe that even without the incident in the Gulf of Tonkin, the United States would still have found a reason to take military action. Lyndon Johnson believed that America was obliged to defend its honor, impose a new round of the arms race on our country, unite the nation, and distract its citizens from internal problems.

When new presidential elections were held in the United States in 1969, Richard Nixon declared that the foreign policy of the United States would change dramatically. The United States will no longer pretend to be the overseer and try to solve problems in all corners of the planet. He reported a secret plan to end the battles in Vietnam. This was well received by the war-weary American public, and Nixon won the election. However, in reality, the secret plan consisted of the massive use of aviation and navy. In 1970 alone, American bombers dropped more bombs on Vietnam than in the last five years combined.

And here we should mention another party interested in the war - US corporations that manufacture ammunition. More than 14 million tons of explosives were detonated in the Vietnam War, which is several times more than during World War II in all theaters of combat. Bombs, including high-tonnage and now banned fragment bombs, leveled entire villages, and the fire of napalm and phosphorus burned hectares of forest. Dioxin, the most toxic substance ever created by man, was sprayed over Vietnam in an amount of more than 400 kilograms. Chemists believe that 80 grams added to New York's water supply is enough to turn it into a dead city. These weapons have continued to kill for forty years, affecting the modern generation of Vietnamese. The profits of US military corporations amounted to many billions of dollars. And they were not at all interested in a quick victory for the American army. It is no coincidence that the most developed state in the world, using the latest technologies, large masses of soldiers, winning all its battles, still could not win the war.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said this: “We are moving toward a softer fascism, not a Hitler-type fascism—a loss of civil liberties where corporations are in charge and the government is in bed with big business.”

In 1967, the International War Crimes Tribunal held two sessions to hear evidence about the conduct of the Vietnam War. It follows from their verdict that the United States bears full responsibility for the use of force and for the crime against peace, violating the established provisions of international law.

“In front of the huts,” recalls a former US soldier, “old men stood or squatted in the dust at the threshold. Their life was so simple, it was all spent in this village and the fields surrounding it. What do they think about strangers invading their village? How can they understand the constant movement of helicopters cutting through their blue sky; tanks and half-tracks, armed patrols padding through their rice paddies where they till the soil?

US Armed Forces Vietnam War

The "Vietnam War" or "Vietnam War" is the Second Indochina War between Vietnam and the United States. It began around 1961 and ended on April 30, 1975. In Vietnam itself, this war is called the Liberation War, and sometimes the American War. The Vietnam War is often seen as the peak of the Cold War between the Soviet bloc and China, on the one hand, and the United States and some of its allies, on the other. In America, the Vietnam War is considered its darkest spot. In the history of Vietnam, this war is perhaps the most heroic and tragic page.
The Vietnam War was both a civil war between various political forces in Vietnam and an armed struggle against American occupation.

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