Following World War 2 communist country’s lead by China recognized the Vietminh’s democratic republic of Vietnam as the official government of North Vietnam, whilst other nations recognized the French-backed, South Vietnamese Government, With emperor Bao Dai as its ruler. With the outbreak of the Korean war in the early 1950’s governments believed that Indochina was a direct expansionism of Communism by the Soviet Union.
The Vietminh government begun forming a regular army assisted by Chinese military advises and by 1954 had become a well equipped and powerful force.
The US government spent $1 Billion in support of the French military to combat the Vietminh army. The French were ill equipped to fight the North Vietnamese army and the battle of Dien Bien Phu which the french lost marked the end of French involvement in Indochina, the country was temporaily divided at the 17th parallel, under the terms of the Geneva convention civilians were allowed to move freely between the two states, the Geneva Convention also allowed for free election to be held in the country but the president of South Vietnam feared communist victory. In the north Vietminh, established a communist state, in the South emperor Bao Dai former French and Japanese puppet formed a government. The Chinese also withdrew from Vietnam around the same time.
The United States government feared if Vietnam became communist other nations in south east Asia would also fall under communist control. North Vietnamese troops begun entering South Vietnam along with their Vietcong allies, (south Vietnamese communist gorilleas) thus begun the Vietnam war, the south Vietnamese army was out numbered and unable to stop their military advances the US government became involved in the late 1950’s and early 1960s, Finally committing combat troops in 1964.
Despite Americas overwhelming military superiority they were unable to stop the north Vietnamese, suffering heavy casualtie’s, the fear was that the Soviet Union would build military bases in Vietnam giving them a foot hold in south east Asia. The North Vietnamese army fought a traditional war committing large forces to open conflicts with the US and their Allies, whilst the Vietcong fought a gorilla war against South Vietnam, the United States and its Allies relied heavily on their air superiority, and overwhelming military might.
By the early 1970’s the Vietnam warbecame increasingly unpopular in America, the American government begun withdrawing from the conflict by 1975 all American tropps had left Soulth East Asia. North Vietnam completed their invasion of Soulth Vietnam taking over the country and to this day are the ruling power. Renaming the capitial Saigon Ho Chi Minh City. Further Reading: Map of Vietnam War, Vietnam War Facts.