Vietnam War

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina... Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea – referred to in Vietnam as the East Sea – to the east. With an estimated 90.5 million inhabitants as of 2011, Vietnam is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The Vietnamese became independent from Imperial China in 938 AD, following the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive Vietnamese royal dynasties flourished as the nation expanded geographically and politically into Southeast Asia, until the Indochina Peninsula was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving Vietnam divided politically into two countries.
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South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and... later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon. The terms "South Vietnam" and "North Vietnam" became common usage in 1954 at the time of the Geneva Conference, which partitioned Vietnam into communist and non-communist zones at the 17th parallel. South Vietnam was a ally of the United States during the Vietnam War. South Vietnam's origins can be traced to the French colony of Cochinchina, a subdivision of French Indochina, which consisted of the southern third of Vietnam. After World War II, the Vietminh, led by Ho Chi Minh, proclaimed Vietnamese independence in Hanoi. In 1949, non-communist Vietnamese politicians formed a rival government in Saigon led by former emperor Bao Dai. Bao Dai was deposed by Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in 1955, who proclaimed himself president after a fraudulent referendum. After Diem was deposed in a military coup in 1963, there was a series of short-lived military governments. General Nguyen Van Thieu led the country from 1967 until 1975.
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The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition... between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States and its NATO allies. Both sides possessed nuclear weapons, and because their use would probably guarantee their mutual assured destruction the chief military forces never engaged in a major battle with each other. The nuclear deterrent kept the war 'cold.' The conflict was expressed through military coalitions, strategic conventional force deployments, extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable, proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, conventional and nuclear arms races, appeals to neutral nations, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race. The antagonistic behaviour that both sides displayed towards their enemy resulted in many crises which risked mutual annihilation in a nuclear exchange.
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The 1970s, pronounced "the Nineteen Seventies", was the decade that started on January 1, 1970, and ended on December 31, 1979. In the Western world,... social progressive values that began in the 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and political and economic liberty of women, continued to grow. The hippie culture, which started in the latter half of the 1960s, waned by the early 1970s and faded towards the middle part of the decade, which involved opposition to the Vietnam War, opposition to nuclear weapons, the advocacy of world peace, and hostility to the authority of government and big business. The environmentalist movement began to increase dramatically in this period. Industrialized countries, except Japan, experienced an economic recession due to an oil crisis caused by oil embargoes by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.
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The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century. The 1960s... term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe. This "cultural decade" is more loosely defined than the actual decade, beginning around 1963 and ending around 1974. In the United States, "the Sixties", as they are known in popular culture, is a term used by historians, journalists, and other objective academics; in some cases nostalgically to describe the counterculture and social revolution near the end of the decade; and pejoratively to describe the era as one of irresponsible excess and flamboyance. The decade was also labeled the Swinging Sixties because of the fall or relaxation of some social taboos especially relating to sexism and racism that occurred during this time. The 1960s have become synonymous with the new, radical, and subversive events and trends of the period, which continued to develop in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and beyond.
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The Battle of Xa Cam My was a battle of the Vietnam War fought over two days from April 11–12, 1966. Originally planned as a U.S. search and... destroy mission intended to lure out the "crack" Viet Cong D800 Battalion, Charlie Company soon found itself fighting for survival in the rubber plantations of Xa Cam My, approximately 42 miles east of Saigon. During this battle 134 men of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division were ambushed by the Viet Cong. Operation Abilene was aimed at the local Viet Cong D800 Battalion, it involved units of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, New Zealand artillery and the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Major General William E. DePuy, as commander of the 1st Infantry Division, planned to lure out the Viet Cong unit by using Charlie Company as a bait. Once the Viet Cong attacked the isolated company, DePuy planned to rush in other rifle companies to destroy the enemy. The operation began on April 10, 1966, with soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division moving into positions between Saigon and Vung Tau in search of the elusive Viet Cong D800 Battalion.
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The Battle of Hill 881 was a battle during the Vietnam War between the People's Army of Vietnam and United States Marines. Conducted in the I Corps... Tactical Zone it became known as "the Hill Fights", involving Hill 881 North , Hill 881 South , and Hill 861 ..The Hill designation in this case actually refers to a "hill mass" or a collection of ridges and saddles, the numbers to the elevation the highest point of the hill masses in meters. The first contact made with the NVA occurred on Hill 861 when 5 American Marine forward observers were ambushed in a bamboo, 4 of which were killed by gunfire. After this contact, two companies of Marines advanced on the hill 861, encountering heavy fire from entrenched NVA positions, constant mortar barrages on potential landing zones prevented evacuation of wounded and fog cut off most air support.
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The Battle of Kham Duc was a major battle of the Vietnam War, also known in Vietnam as the American War. The event occurred in Quang Tin Province ,... South Vietnam, between May 10 and May 12, 1968. During the Tet Offensive of 1968, the Vietnam People's Army 2nd Division tried to capture Da Nang but their attacks were quickly blunted by elements of the U.S. 1st Marine Division, the Americal Division, and the Korean Brigade that were guarding the city. North Vietnamese General Chu Huy Man then decided to disengage from the fight in the outskirts of the city, and pull the 2nd Division into the mountains where they could rest, rebuild, and prepare for the next major operation. Kham Duc, a small district in the north of Quang Tin, was selected as the next target for the VPA 2nd Division. Following the defeat of the North Vietnamese in Da Nang, U.S. military intelligence agencies in I Corps Tactical Zone were confused by the movements of the North Vietnamese 2nd Division, because they could not track down the mysterious enemy unit. During March and April, U.S.
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The Battle of Nam Dong was fought on July 5 until the next day on in 1964, when the Viet Cong and PAVN attacked the Nam Dong CIDG camp in an attempt... to overrun it. Nam Dong is situated 32 miles west of Da Nang in a valley near the Laotian border; it was manned by South Vietnamese personnel with American and Australian advisers, and served as a major thorn in the side of local Vietcong militants. The Viet Cong struck at the camp at 2:30AM to achieve the element of surprise, and reached the outer perimeter where South Vietnamese special forces managed to hold out. The battle lasted for five hours when the Viet Cong decided to abort the mission, fleeing into the jungle at sunrise. At 9:45AM six USMC helicopters arrived to extract the special forces. At the end of the battle, a total of 372 allies held off deadly attacks against 900 NVA and Vietcong, often pinning Viet Cong groups in the narrow cliffs leading into the valley, where they were easily targeted by artillery. Captain R. C.
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