The
Vietnam War:
War with the United States
The
period from 1959-1975 was not really a proper war and had no real defined
front lines. This is due to the fact that the Vietminh were outnumbered
by the continuous arriving American troops. Therefore, North Vietnam resorted
to guerrillas hit and run attacks striking at government outposts and retreating
into the jungle.
American strategies were sending more and more soldiers into the war. Whereas
at first, Congress agreed to this, towards the end of the year 1970, most
Congress members changed from a hawk to a dove, trying to promote peace.
In the United States, the war with Vietnam had turned in to a revolution
of sorts for the millions of youngsters who defied draft orders to enter
the dense jungle fighting.
Due to the conditions of the fight, Americans resorted to the use of Agent
Orange between 1961 to 1974 in order to cut through the dense vegetation.
This chemical is believed to have had a long term effect on the people of
Vietnam, causing a considerable increase in miscarriages and deformities
in children.
Finally, as the war lengthened and support decreased, an agreement was hammered
out in Hanoi to end the conflict. By then, two to three million Indochinese
were killed, and the United States had given up on their intervention strategy
to "contain" Communism.
