Who withdrew troops from Vietnam. Vietnam War - the paradox of history

With the end of the Second World War, when it seemed to everyone that now the long-awaited and long peace should come, another serious force appeared on the political arena - the people's liberation movement. If in Europe the end of hostilities developed into a political confrontation between the two systems, then in the rest of the world the end of the world war became a signal for the activation of the anti-colonial movement. In Asia, the struggle of the colonies for self-determination took on a sharp form, giving impetus to a new round of confrontation between the West and the East. A civil war flared in China, and a conflict flared up on the Korean Peninsula. Acute military-political confrontation also affected French Indochina, where Vietnam sought to gain independence after the war.

Further events first took the form of a guerrilla struggle between the pro-communist forces and the French colonial troops. Further, the conflict escalated into a full-scale war that engulfed the entire Indochina, taking the form of direct armed intervention with the participation of the United States. Over time, the Vietnam War became one of the bloodiest and longest military conflicts of the Cold War period, lasting for a long 20 years. The war engulfed the whole of Indochina, bringing destruction, death and suffering to its peoples. The consequences of American participation in the war were fully felt not only by Vietnam, but by the neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia. Prolonged hostilities and the results of the armed confrontation determined the further fate of the vast and densely populated region. Having first defeated the French and broken the chains of colonial oppression, the Vietnamese had to fight one of the strongest armies in the world over the next 8 years.

The entire military conflict can be divided into three stages, each of which differs in the scale and intensity of hostilities and forms of armed struggle:

• the period of guerrilla warfare in South Vietnam (1957-1965);
• direct intervention of the US Army against the DRV (1965-1973);
• Vietnamization of the conflict, withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam (1973-1975).

It is worth noting that each of the stages, under certain circumstances, could be the last, but external and third-party factors constantly appeared that contributed to the escalation of the conflict. Even before the direct entry of the US Army into hostilities as one of the parties to the conflict, an attempt was made to unravel the military-political knot peacefully. However, the attempts were unsuccessful. The principles of the positions of the parties to the conflict, which did not want to make any concessions, had an effect.

The result of the failure of the negotiation process was the protracted military aggression of the world's leading power against a small country. For eight whole years, the American army tried to destroy the first socialist state in Indochina, throwing armadas of aircraft and ships against the army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The United States for the first time since the Second World War gathered such a huge military force in one place. The number of American troops in 1968, at the height of the fighting, reached 540 thousand people. Such a huge military contingent not only could not inflict a final defeat on the semi-partisan army of the communist government of the North, but was also forced to leave the territory of the long-suffering war. More than 2.5 million American soldiers and officers passed through the crucible of the war in Indochina. The cost of the war, led by the Americans for 10 thousand km. from the very territory of the United States amounted to a colossal figure - 352 billion US dollars.

Having failed to achieve the necessary results, the Americans lost the geopolitical duel with the countries of the socialist bloc, so the United States does not like to talk about the Vietnam War, even today, when 42 years have passed since the end of the war.

Background to the Vietnam War

Back in the summer of 1940, when, after the defeat of the French army in Europe, the Japanese hurried to seize French Indochina, the first resistance units began to appear on the territory of Vietnam. The leader of the Vietnamese communists, Ho Chi Minh, led the fight against the Japanese invaders, proclaiming a course for the complete liberation of the countries of Indochina from Japanese domination. The American government, despite the difference in ideology, then declared its full support for the Viet Minh movement. Communist partisan detachments, who were called nationalists across the ocean, began to receive military and financial assistance from the States. The main goal of the Americans at that time was to use every opportunity to destabilize the situation in the territories occupied by Japan.

The complete history of the Vietnam War calls this period the moment of the formation of the communist regime in Vietnam. Immediately after the end of World War II, the pro-communist Viet Minh movement became the main military and political force in Vietnam, bringing a lot of trouble to its former patrons. First, the French, and later the Americans - former allies, were forced to fight this national liberation movement in the region by all means. The consequences of the struggle radically changed not only the balance of power in Southeast Asia, but also had a profound effect on other participants in the confrontation.

The main events began to develop rapidly after the surrender of Japan. Armed detachments of the Vietnamese communists captured Hanoi and the northern regions of the country, after which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed in the liberated territory. The French, who were trying with all their might to keep their former colonies in their imperial orbit, could in no way agree with such a development of events. The French brought an expeditionary force into North Vietnam, again returning the entire territory of the country under their control. From that moment on, all the military-political institutions of the DRV went underground, and a guerrilla war broke out in the country with the French colonial army. Initially, the partisan detachments were armed with guns and machine guns, inherited as trophies from the Japanese occupation army. In the future, more modern weapons began to enter the country through China.

It is important to note that France, despite its imperial ambitions, could not at that time independently maintain control over vast overseas possessions. The actions of the occupying troops were of a limited local character. Without American help, France could no longer keep a huge region in its sphere of influence. For the United States, participation in the military conflict on the side of France meant keeping the region under the control of Western democracies.

The consequences of the guerrilla war in Vietnam for the Americans were very important. If the French colonial army had gained the upper hand, the situation in Southeast Asia would have become controllable for the United States and its allies. Having lost the confrontation with the pro-communist forces in Vietnam, the United States could lose its dominant role in the entire Pacific region. In the context of a global confrontation with the USSR and in the face of the growing strength of communist China, the Americans could not allow the emergence of a socialist state in Indochina.

Involuntarily, America, due to its geopolitical ambitions, was drawn into another, second after the Korean War, major armed conflict. After the defeat of the French troops and the fruitless peace talks in Geneva, the United States assumed the main burden of conducting military operations in this region. Already at that time, the United States paid more than 80% of military spending from its own treasury. Preventing the unification of the country on the basis of the Geneva Accords, in opposition to the Ho Chi Minh regime in the north, the United States contributed to the proclamation of a puppet regime, the Republic of Vietnam, in the south of the country under its control. From that moment, a further escalation of the conflict in a purely military manner became inevitable. The 17th parallel became the border between the two Vietnamese states. The Communists were in power in the North. In the South, in areas controlled by the French administration and the American army, a military dictatorship of a puppet regime was established.

The Vietnam War - the American way of looking at things

The struggle between the North and the South for the unification of the country took on an extremely fierce character. This was facilitated by the military-technical support of the regime of South Vietnam from across the ocean. The number of military advisers in the country in 1964 was already more than 23 thousand people. Together with advisers, main types of weapons were constantly delivered to Saigon. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam was technically and politically supported by the Soviet Union and communist China. Civilian armed confrontation smoothly flowed into a global confrontation between superpowers supported by their allies. The chronicles of those years are full of headlines about how the Viet Cong guerrillas confront the heavily armed army of South Vietnam.

Despite the serious military support of the South Vietnamese regime, the Viet Cong guerrilla units and the army of the DRV managed to achieve significant success. By 1964, nearly 70% of South Vietnam was controlled by communist forces. To avoid the collapse of its ally, the decision was made at the highest level in the United States to launch a full-scale intervention in the country.

To start the operation, the Americans used a very dubious reason. To do this, an attack by torpedo boats of the Navy of the DRV on the ship of the US Navy, the destroyer Medox, was invented. The collision of ships of the warring parties, later called the "Tonkin Incident", occurred on August 2, 1964. After that, the US Air Force launched the first missile and bomb strikes on coastal and civilian targets in North Vietnam. Since that moment, the Vietnam War has become a full-fledged international conflict, in which the armed forces of various states participated, active hostilities were conducted on land, in the air and at sea. In terms of the intensity of hostilities, the size of the territories used and the number of military contingents, this war has become the most massive and bloody in modern history.

The Americans decided to air raids to force the government of North Vietnam to stop supplying weapons and providing assistance to the rebels in the South. The army, meanwhile, would have to cut off the supply lines of the rebels in the area of ​​the 17th parallel, block and then destroy the detachments of the South Vietnam Liberation Army.

To bombard military installations on the territory of the DRV, the Americans used mainly tactical and naval aviation, based on airfields in South Vietnam and aircraft carriers of the 7th Fleet. Later, B-52 strategic bombers were deployed to help front-line aviation, which began carpet bombing the territory of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the areas bordering the demarcation line.

In the spring of 1965, the participation of American troops on land began. First, the Marines tried to take control of the border between the Vietnamese states, then the US Army Marines began to take regular part in identifying and destroying the bases and supply lines of partisan formations.

The number of American troops constantly increased. Already in the winter of 1968, almost half a million US troops were stationed in South Vietnam, not counting the formations of the Navy. Almost 1/3 of the entire American army took part in the hostilities. Almost half of all US Air Force tactical aviation took part in the raids. Not only the marines were actively used, but also the army aviation, which assumed the main function of fire support. A third of all strike aircraft carriers of the US Navy took part in organizing and supporting regular raids on Vietnamese cities and villages.

Beginning in 1966, the Americans set out to globalize the conflict. From that moment on, the support of the US Armed Forces in the fight against the Viet Cong and the DRV army was supported by Australia and South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, members of the SEATO military-political bloc.

The results of the military conflict

The Communists of North Vietnam were supported by the USSR and the People's Republic of China. Thanks to the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems from the Soviet Union, it was possible to significantly limit the freedom of the American aviation. Military advisers from the Soviet Union and China actively contributed to raising the military power of the army of the DRV, which eventually managed to turn the tide of hostilities in its favor. In total, North Vietnam during the war years received gratuitous loans from the USSR in the amount of 340 million rubles. This not only helped to keep the communist regime afloat, but also became the basis for the transition of the units of the DRV and the Viet Cong detachments to the offensive.

Seeing the futility of military participation in the course of the conflict, the Americans began to look for ways out of the impasse. During the talks held in Paris, agreements were reached to stop the bombing of the cities of North Vietnam in exchange for the cessation of the actions of the armed formations of the liberation army of South Vietnam.

The coming to power in the United States of President Nixon's administration gave hope for a subsequent peaceful settlement of the conflict. A course was chosen for the subsequent Vietnamization of the conflict. The Vietnam War from now on was to become again a civil armed confrontation. At the same time, the American armed forces continued to actively support the army of South Vietnam, and aviation only increased the intensity of the bombing of the territory of the DRV. At the final stage of the war, the Americans began to use chemical munitions to fight partisans. The effects of carpet bombing of the jungle with chemical bombs and napalm are still being celebrated today. The number of American troops was reduced by almost half, and all weapons were transferred to the South Vietnamese armed forces.

Despite this, under pressure from the American public, the curtailment of American participation in the war continued. In 1973, a peace agreement was signed in Paris, ending the direct involvement of the US Army in this conflict. For the Americans, this war was the bloodiest in history. For 8 years of participation in hostilities, the US Army has lost 58 thousand people. More than 300,000 wounded soldiers returned to America. The loss of military equipment and military equipment was a colossal figure. Only the number of downed aircraft and helicopters of the Air Force and Navy amounted to more than 9 thousand vehicles.

After the American troops left the battlefield, the North Vietnamese army went on the offensive. In the spring of 1975, units of the DRV defeated the remnants of the South Vietnamese army and entered Saigon. The victory in the war cost the people of Vietnam dearly. In all 20 years of armed confrontation, only 4 million civilians died, not counting the number of guerrilla fighters and military personnel of the armies of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and South Vietnam.

1. Reasons: 1.1 Confrontation between the US and the USSR in the Cold War. 1.2 National - liberation struggle of the Vietnamese people. Struggle for the unification of the country year- Meeting in Geneva on the question of ending the war in Indochina. Division of Vietnam into north and south

2. Stages of years. (1964 - Incident in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Vietnamese attacked a US Navy ship) - 1973. (escalation of the war, the results - the signing of a peace agreement in January 1973) - 1975 (capture of the south by northern Vietnam)

Operation Tet 1968 Vietnamese offensive across the country. Most of the country is under their control. There are bloody battles. Operation Tet 1968 Vietnamese offensive across the country. Most of the country is under their control. There are bloody battles.

1969 Nixon becomes President of the United States. Announced the phased withdrawal of American troops, Mr. Nixon became the President of the United States. He announced the phased withdrawal of American troops for a year- The number of troops decreased from to a year- The number of troops decreased from to Bet on aviation- massive bombing of North Vietnam. Bet on aviation - massive bombing of North Vietnam.

3. The results of the war Mr. Agreement in Paris on Vietnam. American troops have been withdrawn from the country. The division of the country was preserved (along the 17th parallel) Mr. Operation "Ho Chi Minh", the capture of South Vietnam by the North. Vietnam became a single socialist country. 3.3 US casualties in the war people. 3.4 Losses of Vietnam - more than 2 million people.

Vietnam War- one of the largest military conflicts of the second half of the 20th century, which left a noticeable mark on culture and occupies a significant place in the recent history of the United States and Vietnam.

The war began as a civil war in South Vietnam; subsequently intervened North Vietnam and the United States with the support of several other countries. Thus, on the one hand, the war was fought for the reunification of the two parts of Vietnam and the creation of a single state with a communist ideology, and on the other hand, for maintaining the split of the country and the independence of South Vietnam. As events unfolded, the Vietnam War became intertwined with the parallel civil wars in Laos and Cambodia. All fighting in Southeast Asia from the late 1950s to 1975 is known as the Second Indochina War.

Chronology of the Vietnam War.

1954
May 7, 1954 - the occupation of the French command post Dien Bien Phu by Vietnamese troops; The French side orders a ceasefire. As a result of the battle that lasted for 55 days, the French lost 3 thousand people killed and 8 thousand wounded. Much more damage was inflicted on the Viet Minh forces: 8 and 12 thousand wounded and killed, respectively, but regardless of this, the decision of the French to continue the war was shaken.
1959
Creation of a special unit of the North Vietnamese Army (559th Group) specifically to organize a supply route from North Vietnam to the Viet Cong forces in the south. With the consent of the Cambodian prince, the 559th group developed the simplest route along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border with sorties into Vietnamese territory throughout its entire length (the Ho Chi Minh trail).
1961
Second floor. 1961 - Kennedy orders more aid to the South Vietnamese government in the fight against the guerrillas. This involved the delivery of new equipment, as well as the arrival of more than 3,000 military advisers and service personnel.
December 11, 1961 - about 4 hundred Americans arrived in South Vietnam: pilots and various aviation specialists.
1962
January 12, 1962 - Helicopters piloted by American pilots deployed 1,000 soldiers to the south of Vietnam to destroy the NLF stronghold near Saigon (Operation Chopper). This was the beginning of hostilities by the Americans.
Early 1962 - the beginning of Operation Ranchhand, the purpose of which was to clear the vegetation adjacent to the roads to reduce the risk of enemy ambushes. With the development of hostilities, the scope of the operation increased. Dioxin-containing herbicide "Agent Orange" was sprayed over vast forest areas. Guerrilla trails were exposed and crops were destroyed.
1963
January 2, 1963 - In a village, the 514th Viet Cong Battalion and local guerrilla forces ambushed the South Vietnamese 7th Division. At first, the Viet Cong were not inferior to the technical advantage of the enemy - about 400 southerners were killed or wounded, and three American advisers also died.
1964
April - June 1964: Massive reinforcement of US air forces in Southeast Asia. Departure of two aircraft carriers from the Vietnamese coast in connection with the enemy offensive in Laos.
June 30, 1964 - in the evening of this day, South Vietnamese saboteurs attacked two small northern islands located in the Gulf of Tonkin. The American destroyer Maddox (an electronics-laden small vessel) was 123 miles south with orders to electronically misinform the enemy about a false air attack so that they would divert their ships from the target.
August 04, 1964 - Captain Maddox reports that his ship was under fire and an attack is inevitable in the near future. Despite his subsequent statement that there was no attack in sight, six hours after the receipt of the initial information, Johnson gives the order to organize a retaliation operation. American bombers strike at two naval bases and destroy most of the fuel supplies. During this attack, the Americans lost two aircraft.
August 7, 1964 - The US Congress passes the Tonkin Resolution, giving the president the authority to take any action to protect Southeast Asia.
October 1964: China, a neighbor and ally of North Vietnam, successfully tests an atomic bomb.
November 1, 1964 - Two days before the US presidential election, Viet Cong artillery bombarded Bien Ho air base near Saigon. 4 Americans were killed and 76 more were injured; 5 B-57 bombers were also destroyed and another 15 damaged.
1965
January 01 - February 07, 1965: North Vietnamese troops launched a series of attacks on the southern border, temporarily taking control of the village of Bin Ji, located only 40 miles from Saigon. As a result, two hundred South Vietnamese soldiers were killed, as well as five American advisers.
February 7, 1965 - the main US air force, located in the central foothills of South Vietnam, was attacked by a NLF sabotage landing force, as a result of which 9 people were killed and more than 70 people were injured. This incident is followed by the immediate reaction of the American President, who ordered the US Navy to strike at military targets in North Vietnam.
February 10, 1965 - Bombing of the Khi Non hotel by the Viet Cong. As a result, 23 employees of American origin died.
February 13, 1965 - Presidential approval of Operation Rolling Thunder - an offensive accompanied by a long-term bombardment of the enemy. His goal was to end support for the Viet Cong in the southern territories.
March 2, 1965 - The first bomb raids of the Operation followed a series of numerous delays.
April 3, 1965 - the beginning of the American campaign against the North Vietnamese transport system: within a month, the US Navy and Air Force systematically destroyed bridges, roads and railway interchanges, car parks and base warehouses.
April 7, 1965 - The United States proposed economic assistance to S. Vietnam in exchange for peace, but this proposal was rejected. Two weeks later, the American president increased the US military presence in Vietnam to 60,000. Troops from Korea and Australia arrived in Vietnam as international support.
May 11, 1965 - Two and a half thousand Viet Cong soldiers attack Song Bi - the South Vietnamese provincial administrative center and, after two days of bloody fighting both inside the city and in its environs, retreat.
June 10, 1965 - The expulsion of the Viet Cong from Dong Xai (the South Vietnamese headquarters and military camp of the US Special Forces) after American air attacks.
June 27, 1965 - General Westmoreland launches an offensive ground operation northwest of Saigon.
August 17, 1965 - According to a soldier who deserted from the 1st Viet Cong Regiment, it becomes obvious that an attack on the US naval base in Chu Lai cannot be avoided - thus, the Americans implement Operation Starlite, which became the first large-scale battle of the Vietnam War. Using various types of troops - ground, naval and air forces - the Americans won a landslide victory, losing 45 killed and over 200 wounded, while the enemy's losses amounted to about 700 people.
September-October 1965: After attacking the Plei Mei (special forces camp) by the North Vietnamese, the 1st Air Brigade "deploys formation" against enemy forces in the immediate vicinity of the camp. This resulted in the battle of La Drang. For 35 days, US troops pursued and engaged the 32nd, 33rd, and 66th North Vietnamese Regiments until the enemy returned to their bases in Cambodia.
November 17, 1965 - The remnants of the 66th North Vietnamese Regiment advance east of Play Mei and ambush an American battalion, which was not helped by reinforcements or competent distribution of firepower. By the end of the battle, American losses amounted to 60% of the wounded, while every third soldier was killed.
1966
January 8, 1966 Operation Crimp begins. About 8,000 people took part in this - the largest - Vietnamese military operation of the United States. The goal of the campaign was to capture the Viet Cong headquarters in the Saigon area, which was supposed to be in the Chhu Chhi area. Despite the fact that the mentioned territory was actually wiped off the face of the earth and was subjected to constant patrols, the operation was a failure, because. there was not the slightest hint of the presence of any Viet Cong base in the area at all.
February 1966 - throughout the month, US troops conducted four operations in order to find and destroy the enemy during a direct confrontation with him.
March 05, 1966 - The 272nd Regiment of the Viet Cong 9th Division attacked a battalion of the 3rd US Brigade at Lo Ke. Successful US air action forced the attackers to retreat. Two days later, a Viet Cong unit attacked the US 1st Brigade and a battalion of the 173rd Airborne Regiment; but the offensive failed thanks to American artillery.
April - May 1966: Operation Birmingham, during which the Americans, supported by an impressive amount of air and ground equipment, cleared the territory north of Saigon. As a result of a series of small-scale skirmishes with the enemy, only 100 Viet Cong died. Most of the fighting was provoked by the North Vietnamese side, which proved its elusiveness by the results of the battles.
Late May - June 1966: In late May, the North Vietnamese 324th Division crossed the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and encountered an American naval battalion. At Dong Ha, the North Vietnamese army took the largest battle of the entire war. Most of the 3rd Naval Division (about 5 thousand people from five battalions) moved north. In Operation Hastings, the sailors were supported by South Vietnamese troops, US Navy heavy artillery, and military aircraft, which resulted in the enemy being forced out of the DMZ within three weeks.
June 30, 1966 - on the 13th route (Route 13), which connected Vietnam with the Cambodian border, American troops were attacked by the Viet Cong: only air support and artillery helped the Americans avoid complete defeat.
July 1966 - About 1,300 North Vietnamese soldiers were killed in a bloody battle near Con Tien.
October 1966 - The 9th North Vietnamese division, having recovered from the July events, is preparing for the next offensive. Losses in manpower and equipment were made up by reinforcements and supplies from North Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh trail.
September 14, 1966 - a new operation, codenamed Attleboro, in which the US 196th brigade, together with 22,000 South Vietnamese soldiers, began an active search and destruction of the enemy in the province of Tai Ninh. At the same time, the location of the supplies of the 9th North Vietnamese Division was discovered, but there was no open confrontation again. The operation ended six weeks later; the loss of the American side amounted to 150 people, while the Viet Cong lost over 1,000 soldiers killed.
End of 1966 - by the end of 1966, the American presence in Vietnam reached 385 thousand people, as well as 60 thousand sailors based on the coast. During the year, over 6 thousand people were lost killed, and about 30 thousand were wounded. For comparison, the enemy suffered losses in manpower in the amount of 61 thousand people; however, be that as it may, by the end of the year the number of his troops exceeded 280 thousand people.
1967
January - May 1967: two North Vietnamese divisions operating from the territory of the DMZ, which separated North and South Vietnam, began to bomb the American bases located south of the DMZ, incl. Khe San, Kam Lo, Dong Ha, Kon Tien and Jio Lin.
January 8, 1967 - the beginning of Operation Cedar Falls, the purpose of which was to oust the North Vietnamese forces from the territory of the Iron Triangle (an area of ​​\u200b\u200b60 square miles located between the Saigon River and Route 13 (Route 13). About 16 thousand American soldiers and 14 thousand soldiers The South Vietnamese Army was brought into the Triangle, without meeting the expected large-scale resistance, enemy supplies were captured.In total, during the 19 days of the operation, the Americans lost 72 people killed (mainly due to numerous booby traps and snipers that appeared literally out of nowhere). The Viet Cong lost about 720 people killed.
February 21, 1967 - 240 helicopters took part in the largest air assault (Operation Junction City) operating over the province of Tai Ning; this operation set itself the task of destroying enemy bases and headquarters in South Vietnam, stationed in Combat Zone "C" north of Saigon. About 30 thousand American soldiers took part in the operation, as well as about 5 thousand South Vietnamese soldiers. The duration of the operation was 72 days. The Americans again succeeded in capturing large quantities of supplies, equipment and weapons in the complete absence of large-scale battles with the enemy.
April 24, 1967 - the beginning of attacks on North Vietnamese airfields; The Americans inflicted enormous damage on enemy roads and installations. By the end of the year, all the northern MIG bases were hit, with the exception of just one.
May 1967 - desperate air battles over Hanoi and Haipong. The successes of the Americans include 26 downed bombers, which reduced the enemy's air power by about half.
The end of May 1967 - in the mountains of South Vietnam, the Americans intercepted enemy units moving inland from Cambodian territory. Hundreds of northern soldiers were killed in nine days of prolonged fighting.
Autumn 1967 - Development of the "Tet strategy" takes place in Hanoi. Arrest of 200 officials opposed to the strategy.
1968
Mid-January 1968 - a grouping of units of three Viet Cong divisions near the naval base in Khe San (a small area in the northwest of South Vietnam). The feared enemy forces forced the US command to assume the threat of a large-scale offensive in the northern provinces.
January 21, 1968 - at 5:30 a.m., a fire attack began on a naval base located in Khe San, while 18 people were immediately killed and 40 were injured. The duration of the attack was two days.
January 30-31, 1968 - on the day of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet holiday), the Americans staged a series of attacks throughout South Vietnam: in more than 100 cities, subversive saboteurs supported by troops activated. By the end of the urban fighting, some 37,000 Viet Cong followers had been killed and many more were wounded or captured. The result of these events was more than half a million refugees - civilians. Most of the battle-hardened Viet Cong, politicians and members of the secret service were injured; as for the partisans, for them the holiday turned into a disaster. This event seriously shook public opinion in the United States, despite the fact that the Americans themselves lost only 2.5 thousand people killed.
February 23, 1968 - shelling of the naval base and its outposts in Khe San; the number of shells used in this case was unprecedentedly high (over 1300 units). Local shelters were fortified to counter the 82mm used by the enemy. shells.
March 6, 1968 - while the naval forces were preparing to repel a massive assault on the enemy, the North Vietnamese retreated into the jungle surrounding Khe San and did not show themselves in any way for the next three weeks.
March 11, 1968 - large-scale cleansing by the Americans around Saigon and other territories of South Vietnam.
March 16, 1968 - massacre of civilians in the village of Mi Lai (about two hundred people). Despite the fact that only one of the participants in that massacre was actually found guilty of war crimes, the entire American army fully experienced the "return" from that terrible tragedy. Although extremely rare, cases like this play a disservice to the army, nullifying all civilian activity carried out by army units and individual soldiers, and also raise age-old questions about the code of conduct in war.
March 22, 1968 - massive fire attack on Khe San. More than a thousand shells hit the territory of the base - about a hundred pieces per hour; at the same time, local electronic devices recorded the movements of North Vietnamese troops in the vicinity. The American response to the blow was a massive bombing of the enemy.
April 8, 1968 - The result of the American operation "Pegasus" was the final capture of the 9th route (Route 9), which put an end to the siege of Khe San. The 77-day battle at Khe San was the biggest battle of the Vietnam War. The official death toll from the North Vietnamese side was over 1600 people, incl. two completely destroyed divisions. However, in addition to those officially declared, there may have been thousands of enemy soldiers wounded or killed as a result of air raids.
June 1968 - the presence of a powerful highly mobile American army in the territory of Khe San and the absence of any threat to the local base from the enemy prompted General Westmoreland to decide to dismantle it.
November 01, 1968 - Three and a half years later, Operation Rolling Thunder came to an end. Its implementation cost the United States 900 downed aircraft, 818 missing or dead pilots, as well as hundreds of captured pilots. About 120 Vietnamese aircraft were damaged in air battles (including those shot down by mistake). According to American estimates, 180,000 North Vietnamese civilians were killed. There were casualties among the Chinese participants in the conflict - among them, about 20 thousand people were injured or killed.
1969
January 1969 - Richard Nixon's accession to the presidency of the United States. Speaking of the "Vietnamese problem", he promised to achieve a "peace worthy [of the American nation]" and intended to hold successful negotiations on the withdrawal of American troops (numbering about half a million soldiers) from the conflict territory in the interests of South Vietnam.
February 1969 - Despite government restrictions, Nixon approved Operation Menu to bomb North Vietnamese Viet Cong bases in Cambodia. Over the next four years, more than half a million tons of bombs were dropped on the territory of this country by American aircraft.
February 22, 1969 - During a large-scale attack by enemy assault groups and artillery on American bases throughout South Vietnam, 1,140 Americans were killed. At the same time, South Vietnamese cities were attacked. Despite the fact that the flames of war were engulfed in the whole of South Vietnam, the most brutal battle took place near Saigon. Be that as it may, the American artillery, acting in conjunction with aviation, managed to suppress the offensive launched by the enemy.
April 1969 - the death toll during the Vietnam conflict exceeded that of the Korean War (33,629 people).
June 8, 1969 - Nixon's meeting with the President of South Vietnam (Nguyen Van Thieu) in the Coral Islands (Midway); During the meeting, the American President issued a statement calling for the immediate withdrawal of the 25,000 troops stationed in Vietnam.
1970
April 29, 1970 - South Vietnamese forces attack and drive Viet Cong bases out of Cambodia. Two days later, an attack by American troops (numbering 30 thousand people, including three divisions) took place. The "cleansing" of Cambodia took 60 days: the location of the Viet Cong bases in the North Vietnamese jungle was revealed. The Americans "requisitioned" 28,500 weapons, over 16 million small ammunition and 14 million pounds of rice. Despite the fact that the enemy managed to retreat across the Mekong River, he suffered significant losses (over 10 thousand people).
1971
February 8, 1971 - Operation Lam Son 719: Three South Vietnamese divisions arrived in Laos to attack two main enemy bases and fell into a trap. Over the next month, more than 9,000 South Vietnamese were killed or injured; more than 2/3 units of ground combat equipment were put out of action, as well as hundreds of American aircraft and helicopters.
Summer 1971 - despite the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1968 ban on dioxin use. the spraying of dioxin-containing substances (Agent Orange) in Vietnam continued until 1971. In South Vietnam, Operation Ranchhand used 11 million gallons of Agent Orange, containing a total of 240 pounds of dioxin: over 1/7 of the entire country was effectively turned into a desert.
1972
January 1, 1972 - two-thirds of US troops were withdrawn from Vietnam in the previous two years. At the beginning of 1972 only 133,000 Americans remained in the country (South Vietnam). The hardships of the ground war now lay almost entirely on the shoulders of the southerners, whose armed forces numbered over 1 million people.
March 30, 1972 - massive shelling of South Vietnamese positions through the DMZ. More than 20,000 Viet Cong crossed the DMZ, forcing the retreat of the South Vietnamese units, which unsuccessfully tried to defend themselves. According to intelligence, an attack on the positions of Southeast Asia was expected from the north, but not from the demilitarized territories.
April 1, 1972 - the advance of North Vietnamese soldiers towards the city of Hue, defended by the South Vietnamese division and the US naval division. However, by April 9, the attackers were forced to suspend the assault and resupply.
April 13, 1972 - With the support of tanks, North Vietnamese troops took control of the northern part of the city. But, despite this, 4 thousand Southeast Asian soldiers, supported by elite aviation units, continued to defend themselves and fiercely counterattack. On their side was the power of the American B-52 bombers. A month later, the Viet Cong troops left the city.
April 27, 1972 - two weeks after their first attack, the NVA fighters advanced towards the city of Quang Tri, forcing the South Vietnamese division to retreat. By the 29th, the Viet Cong captured Dong Ha and, by May 1, Kwang Tri.
July 19, 1972 - With US air support, the South Vietnamese began to attempt to recapture Bin Din Province and its cities. The battles lasted until September 15 - by this point, Kwang Tri had turned into shapeless ruins. One way or another, the NVA fighters retained control of the northern part of the province.
December 13, 1972 - failure of peace talks between the North Vietnamese and American sides in Paris.
December 18, 1972 - by order of the President, a new "bomb campaign" against the NVA began. Operation Linebacker Two lasted 12 days, including a three-day period of incessant bombing by 120 B-52 aircraft. The strikes were carried out on military airfields, transport targets and warehouses located in Hanoi, Haipong and their environs. The bomb tonnage used by the Americans in this operation exceeded 20,000 tons; they lost 26 aircraft, losses in manpower amounted to 93 people (killed, missing or captured). The recognized losses in manpower of the North Vietnamese fluctuate between 1300 and 1600 dead.
1973
January 8, 1973 - the resumption of the "Paris" peace talks between North Vietnam and the United States.
January 27, 1973 - the signing of a ceasefire by the belligerents participating in the Vietnam War.
March 1973 - The last American soldiers left the Vietnamese lands, although military advisers and sailors who were protecting local American installations remained. The official end of the war for the United States. Of the more than 3 million Americans who took part in the war, nearly 58,000 died and over 1,000 went missing. About 150,000 Americans were seriously injured.
1974
January 1974 - despite the fact that the NVA lacked the ability to carry out a large-scale offensive, it captured key southern territories.
August 9, 1974 - Nixon's resignation - South Vietnam lost its main representative of its interests in the highest political circles of the United States.
December 26, 1974 - Capture of Dong Xai by the 7th NVA Army Division
1975
January 6, 1975 - the capture of the city of Khok Long and the entire adjacent province by the NVA, which was, in fact, a disaster for their southern neighbors, as well as a fact of violation of the Paris peace agreement. However, there was no proper reaction from the United States.
March 1, 1975 - a powerful offensive on the territory of the central mountain range of South Vietnam; the losses of the southerners during their chaotic retreat amounted to 60 thousand soldiers.
The whole of March 1975 - during its next offensive on the cities of Kwang Tri, Hue and Da Nang, SVA fielded 100 thousand soldiers. The support of eight fully manned regiments ensured her success in capturing the province of Kwang Tri.
March 25, 1972 - The third largest South Vietnamese city of Kwang Tri is captured by the NVA.
Early April 1972 - in five weeks of its military campaign, the NVA achieved impressive success, capturing twelve provinces (over 8 million inhabitants). The southerners, on the other hand, lost their best units, more than a third of the personnel and about half of the weapons.
April 29, 1972 - the beginning of massive airlifts: over 1,000 American citizens and almost 7,000 refugees left Saigon in 18 hours on US aircraft.
April 30, 1972 - at 4:30 am, during a rocket attack on Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport, two American sailors were killed - these were the last victims of the war on the part of the United States. At dawn, the last representatives of the naval forces from the protection of the American embassy left the country. Only a few hours later the embassy was searched; NVA tanks entered Saigon, marking the end of the war.
Chairman of the Presidium of the MOOVVV N.N. Kolesnik

During the years of the war, the Americans dropped 14 million tons of bombs and shells on the long-suffering land of Vietnam, poured thousands of tons of poisonous substances, burned tens of thousands of hectares of jungle and thousands of villages with napalm and herbicides. More than 3 million Vietnamese died in the war, of which more than half were civilians, 9 million
Vietnamese became refugees. The huge human and material losses caused by this war are irreparable, the demographic, genetic and environmental consequences are irreparable.
On the American side, more than 56,700 people were senselessly killed in Vietnam, about 2,300 military personnel were missing, more than 800,000 returned wounded, maimed and sick, more than half of the 2.4 million people. who went through Vietnam, returned home spiritually broken and morally devastated, and are still experiencing the so-called “post-Vietnam syndrome”. Studies conducted in the United States among Vietnam War veterans have shown that for one physical loss in combat there were at least five casualties in the post-war period.
From August 1964 to December 1972, 4118 American aircraft were shot down over North Vietnam by the Vietnamese air defense and air force, incl. 1293 sold by Soviet missiles.
In total, the United States spent 352 billion dollars on this shameful war.
According to the former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin, our assistance to Vietnam during the war cost 1.5 million rubles. in a day.
For the period from 1953 to 1991. Soviet aid to Vietnam amounted to 15.7 billion dollars.
April 1965 to December 1974 The Soviet Union delivered to Vietnam 95 SA-75M anti-aircraft missile systems, 7,658 missiles for them, over 500 aircraft, 120 helicopters, over 5,000 anti-aircraft guns and 2,000 tanks.
During this period, 6359 Soviet officers and generals and more than 4.5 thousand soldiers and sergeants of military service took part in the hostilities in Vietnam, while 13 people died or died from their wounds and diseases (according to some reports, 16 people).
For courage and heroism shown in the battles in Vietnam, 2190 servicemen were awarded Soviet military orders and medals, incl. 7 people were presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but for reasons of the political situation of that time, the Order of Lenin was awarded to them without the golden stars of the Hero. In addition, more than 7,000 Soviet military specialists were awarded Vietnamese orders and medals.
(Chairman of the Presidium of the MOOVVV N.N. Kolesnik)

Officially, the Vietnam War began in August 1964 and continued until 1975 (although direct American intervention ceased two years before the end of the armed clashes). This clash is the best illustration of the instability of relations between the USSR and the United States during the Cold War. Let us analyze the prerequisites, highlight the main events and outcomes of the military conflict that lasted eleven years.

Background of the conflict

The actual root cause of the conflict is the logical desire of the United States to surround the Soviet Union with those states that will be under its control; if not formally, then actually. At the time the clash began, South Korea and Pakistan were already “subdued” in this regard; then the leaders of the United States made an attempt to add North Vietnam to them.

The situation was conducive to active action: at that time, Vietnam was divided into North and South, and a civil war was raging in the country. The South side requested help from the United States. At the same time, the northern side, which was controlled by the Communist Party led by Ho Chi Minh, received the support of the USSR. It is worth noting that openly - officially - the Soviet Union did not enter the war. The Soviet document specialists who arrived in the country in 1965 were civilians; however, more on that later.

Course of events: the beginning of hostilities

On August 2, 1964, an attack was carried out on a US destroyer that was patrolling the territory of the Gulf of Tonkin: North Vietnamese torpedo boats entered the battle; a similar situation recurred on August 4, leading to Lyndon Johnson, then President of the United States, ordering air strikes on naval installations. Whether the boat attacks were real or imaginary is a separate discussion topic that we will leave to professional historians. One way or another, on August 5, an air attack and shelling of the territory of northern Vietnam by ships of the 7th fleet began.

On August 6-7, the "Tonkin Resolution" was adopted, which made hostilities sanctioned. The United States of America, which openly entered into conflict, planned to isolate the North Vietnamese army from the DRV, Laos and Cambodia, creating conditions for its destruction. On February 7, 1965, Operation Flaming Spear was carried out, which was the first global action to destroy important objects of North Vietnam. The attack continued on March 2 - already as part of Operation Rolling Thunder.

Events developed rapidly: soon (in March) about three thousand American marines appeared in Da Nang. Three years later, the number of United States soldiers fighting in Vietnam had risen to 540,000; thousands of units of military equipment (for example, about 40% of the country's tactical aviation military aircraft were sent there). In the 166th, a conference of states that are part of SEATO (US allies) was held, as a result of which about 50 thousand Korean soldiers were introduced, about 14 thousand Australian soldiers, about 8 thousand from Australia and more than two thousand from the Philippines.

The Soviet Union also did not sit idly by: in addition to those sent as civilian specialists in military affairs, the DRV (northern Vietnam) received about 340 million rubles. Weapons, ammunition and other means necessary for the war were supplied.

Development of events

In 1965-1966, a large-scale military operation from South Vietnam took place: more than half a million soldiers tried to capture the cities of Pleiku and Kon Tum using chemical and biological weapons. However, the attack attempt was unsuccessful: the offensive was thwarted. In the period from 1966 to 1967, a second attempt was made on a large-scale offensive, but the active actions of the SA SE (attacks from the flanks and rear, night attacks, underground tunnels, the participation of partisan detachments) stopped this attack as well.

It is worth noting that at the moment more than a million people fought on the US-Saigon side. In 1968, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam moved from defense to offensive, as a result of which about 150 thousand enemy soldiers and more than 7 thousand units of military equipment (cars, helicopters, aircraft, ships) were destroyed.

Throughout the conflict, there were active air attacks from the United States; according to available statistics, more than seven million bombs were dropped during the war. However, such a policy did not lead to success, since the FER government carried out mass evacuations: soldiers and the population hid in the jungle and mountains. Also, thanks to the support of the Soviet Union, the northern side began to use supersonic fighters, modern missile systems and radio equipment, creating a serious air defense system; more than four thousand United States aircraft were destroyed as a result.

Final stage

In 1969, the RSE (Republic of South Vietnam) was created, and in 1969, due to the failure of the bulk of operations, US leaders gradually began to lose ground. By the end of 1970, over 200,000 American soldiers had been withdrawn from Vietnam. In 1973, the United States government decided to sign an agreement on the cessation of hostilities, after which it finally withdrew its troops from the country. Of course, we are talking only about the formal side: under the guise of civilians, thousands of military specialists remained in South Vietnam. According to available statistics, during the years of the war the United States lost about sixty thousand people killed, more than three hundred thousand wounded, as well as a colossal amount of military equipment (for example, more than 9 thousand aircraft and helicopters).

The hostilities continued for several more years. In 1973-1974, South Vietnam went on the offensive again: bombing and other military operations were carried out. The result was set only in 1975, when the Republic of South Vietnam carried out Operation Ho Chi Minh, during which the Saigon army was finally defeated. As a result, the DRV and the RSE were merged into one state - the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

This topic is quite extensive and philosophical. Many works have been written and many opinions expressed on this subject. It will take a long time to retell and list the essence of each of them, therefore this article objectively describes the reasons for the Vietnam War briefly.

Now no one doubts that this war was unleashed by America. Its imperialistic habits with the desire to subjugate the whole world have caused tragedies and unleashing wars in many countries, not only in Vietnam. But it was in the latter that a total of 14 million tons of explosives were blown up, which is more than in two world wars combined!

Today we can safely say that there were two main reasons for the Vietnam War unleashed by the United States:

1. preventing the spread of the "communist plague" on the geographical map (under the guise of North Vietnam, which was supported by the USSR);
2. the desire to get rich of large American corporations, the elite of the "black" business specializing in the sale of weapons.

To mere mortal Americans, the reason for the war between the United States and Vietnam was presented in a very corrected form: according to the official version, it was the need to establish world democracy.

In fact, everything was much more prosaic: the politicians wanted to subjugate communist Vietnam and thereby show the unviability of the communist states, and the business elite to increase their already considerable fortunes several times over.

It's no secret that in the United States these economic and political elites closely interact, with the former having a greater influence on the latter. Together, they only won, and the start of the Vietnam War was not long in coming.

From the USA, a puppet government headed by Ngo Dinh Diem was represented in South Vietnam, through which they tried to dictate their terms. But that didn't work out for long either. Large-scale open war began in 1964. North Vietnam fought as best it could, and partisan detachments operated on the territory controlled by the Americans, which brought a lot of trouble to the Yankees. But despite all the efforts of the Vietnamese, the war did not end as soon as they wanted - only in 1975. And yet ... This war was marked by the victory of Vietnam, which dealt an irreparable blow to the authority of the United States in the world.

But Vietnam suffered no less from it ... The figures on the actual destruction, losses, and murders were simply staggering. But having gone through all the trials, Vietnam managed to defend its right to self-determination, to independently resolve internal issues, to choose its own state system, and, in the end, to sovereignty.

What did America get in the end? Tens of thousands of dead, hundreds of wounded, shame on the whole world, but all this did not concern those who were sitting "on top". “There” everything was justified, since war is always a way to make money, and someone took advantage of it very well.

Ordinary American soldiers were simply hostages of the situation - cut off thousands of kilometers from home, tired and demoralized - they had only one dream: to return home as soon as possible.