The Vietnam War started in 1955 and occurred between two parts of Vietnam – North, and South. When North Vietnam received support from China and the Soviet Union, South Vietnam was in the commonwealth with the United States.
As Vietnam got involved in the Cold War, its territory became a battlefield for the Soviet Union and the United States since they fought for dominance on the international scene. By the end of the military conflict, Vietnam found itself in ruins.
Anyhow, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The conflict in Vietnam broke out for certain reasons. Here are 6 events that served the Vietnam War as its catalyst.
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French Indochina was founded in 1877 and consisted of Cochin-China, Tonkin, Annam, and Cambodia. With the foundation of French Indochina, Vietnam got into the list of French colonies.
During the Second World War, Japanese forces entered the territory of Vietnam and occupied it. For a while, Indochina has lost its control over Vietnam.
When France and Japan confronted each other, Ho Chi Minh, the communist leader, formed an independence movement in Vietnam. In 1941 he established the Vietnamese Independence League known as the Viet Minh. In 1945 he declared Vietnam independent.
The climax of the French and Viet Minh confrontation came in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. It ended in victory for Viet Minh under the leadership of Vo Nguyen Ziap. The four-month siege put an end to French rule in Vietnam.
According to the Geneva Conventions signed in 1954, Vietnam was divided into two parts along the 17th parallel. North Vietnam belonged to Ho Chi Minh and the communist government he had established. South Vietnam was under the jurisdiction of emperor Bao Dai. Two years later the elections were scheduled to unify Vietnam. The United States opposed it out of fear of Communists’ victory.
The difference of ideologies laid down in North and South Vietnam became the root cause of civil conflict in Vietnam.
The division of Vietnam occurred in the Cold War – the peak of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Since the creation of the People’s Republic of China and its accession to the Soviet Union, the Communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam was accepted.
The United States, on the contrary, promised to protect countries threatened by communist forces. It claimed the success of communism will turn out a domino effect that will bury down Southeast Asia.
After Bao Dai, Ngo Dinh Diem, the Catholic nationalist, came on board. He was popular among Americans with the strong anti-communist attitude that helped him to rise.
Nevertheless, protests caused by Diem’s preference for the Catholic minority broke out throughout South Vietnam. In 1963 there were Buddhist demonstrations where eight demonstrators were killed by officials.
In retaliation, a Buddhist monk, Tich Quang Duc, burned himself in the middle of Saigon. It started a “Buddhist crisis” that encouraged other monks to sacrifice themselves. There was no reason left for the U.S. to believe in Diem.
Later, there was a military coup in South Vietnam supported by the United States. During this cope, Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu, were assassinated.
This event marked the official entry of the U.S. into the Vietnam War.
On August 2, 1964, the U.S. military ship “Maddox” collided with three Soviet North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Maddox’s captain claimed to have fired several “warning” shots. The response from torpedoes was immediate.
On August 7, the House of Representatives and Senate passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. It gave President Lyndon Johnson the right to repel any armed attack on United States forces and to prevent any further aggression. America’s war in Vietnam has officially begun.
It was a brief description of the conditions that caused the Vietnam War, which lasted for over 18 years. If you are interested in the topic, the cheap coursework writing service can help you in finding information and writing a research or term paper.
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