The Vietnam War (1955–1975)

The Vietnam War — known in Vietnam as the "American War" (Chiến tranh Mỹ) — is the most traumatic episode of recent history and has forever changed Vietnam, the USA, and global politics.

Division and Escalation

After the Geneva Conference in 1954, Vietnam was divided at the 17th parallel: North Vietnam (communist, under Hồ Chí Minh) and South Vietnam (anti-communist, supported by the USA). The promised nationwide elections never took place — the fear was too great that Hồ Chí Minh would win.

From 1964, the USA massively escalated its involvement: At its peak in 1968, over 500,000 US soldiers were stationed in Vietnam. The bombings of North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder) dropped more bombs than in the entire Second World War.

Key Events

• Tết Offensive (1968): The coordinated attack by the Việt Cộng on over 100 South Vietnamese cities — a military failure, but a PR disaster for the USA that shifted public opinion.
• Mỹ Lai Massacre (1968): American soldiers murdered up to 504 unarmed civilians — women, children, the elderly. The revelation shocked the world.
• Agent Orange: 80 million liters of the defoliant were sprayed over Vietnam. The consequences: millions affected with cancer, deformities, and genetic damage — to this day.
• Fall of Saigon (April 30, 1975): North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Independence Palace in Saigon. The war was over. The USA evacuated the last embassy staff by helicopter from the rooftop — one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.

Numbers

The toll is staggering: 2–3 million Vietnamese (soldiers and civilians), 58,220 US soldiers, and tens of thousands from other countries died. Millions were wounded, traumatized, displaced. The landscape is still littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO) — every year, people die from bombs from the 1960s and 1970s.