Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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552

Vietnam War

Four times as many bombs

were dropped by the US Air

Force on Vietnam than were

dropped by British and American

bombers on Germany during all

of World War II.

The US Air Force bombed the

jungle with chemicals to strip the

leaves off the trees. Much of

Vietnam is still deforested today.

Troops

The first American military

personnel arrived in Vietnam

during 1961 to advise the south

Vietnamese government. By

1969, there were about 550,000

American troops in Vietnam.

BeTween 1956 And 1975, Vietnam was the scene

of one of the most destructive wars in modern

history. In 1954, Vietnam defeated French colonial

forces and was di vid ed into two coun tries—a

Communist north and a non-Communist south

Vietnam. The Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists)

rebelled against the south Vietnamese government

and, helped by north Vietnam under Ho Chi

Minh, fought to reunite the country. This brought

in the United states, which believed that if Vietnam

fell to the Communists, nearby countries would fall,

too. during the 1960s, the United states poured

troops and money into Vietnam but found itself

in an undeclared war it could not win. despite

intensive bombing and the latest military

technology, the Viet Cong were better equipped

and trained for jungle warfare. Casualties in

Vietnam were appalling, and strong opposition to

the war developed in the United states. A ceasefire

was negotiated, and in 1973 all American troops

were withdrawn. Two years later, north Vietnam

captured saigon, the capital of south Vietnam,

and Vietnam was united as a Communist coun tr y.

VIeTnAM

Vietnam is in southeast Asia.

The war was fought in the

jungles of south Vietnam and

in the skies above north

Vietnam. Viet Cong fighters

received supplies from the

north along the Ho Chi Minh

Trail. At the end of the war,

the country was reunited with

its capital at Hanoi. saigon,

the southern capital, was

renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

desTrUCTIon

The lengthy fighting had a terrible effect on the

people of Vietnam. Their fields were destroyed, their

forests stripped of leaves, and their houses blown up,

leaving them refugees. Thousands were killed,

injured, or maimed.

More than one million South

Vietnamese and between

500,000 and one million North

Vietnamese died in the war;

over 58,000 American service

people lost their lives.

The United States spent

$150 billion on the war;

there are no figures for

what North Vietnam spent.

CosTs

It is unlikely

that the exact cost

of the Vietnam war

will ever be known,

but in terms of lives

lost, money spent,

and bombs

dropped, it was

enor mous. Both

sides suffered huge

casualties and

emerged with

seriously damaged

economies.

Vietnam war

1859 France begins to colonize

Vietnam.

1954 Vietnamese defeat French.

1956 Viet Cong lead rebellion

against south Vietnamese

government.

1961 United states sends

advisers to train south

Vietnamese army.

1964 Gulf of Tonkin clash

between north Vietnamese and

Us naval craft leads to war.

1965 United states begins

bombing of north; first Us

combat troops arrive in south.

1968 Tet (Vietnamese new

Year) offensive by Viet Cong.

1968 American troops massacre

My Lai villagers.

1968 Antiwar protests in the Us.

1973 Ceasefire signed in paris;

American troops leave Vietnam.

1975 Vietnam reunited under

Communist control.

Find out more

Hanoi

NortH

VietNam

Ho Chi

minh trail

SoutH

VietNam

Saigon

Communism

southeast asia

United states, history of

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