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Hello, I’m Swoody. Today, I’ll explain the Vietnam War.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (roughly 1955-1975) was a conflict between North and South Vietnam over unification, intensified by US and Soviet intervention, similar to the Korean War.
Vietnam's history includes Chinese influence and fierce resistance against 19th-century European imperialism.
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| Confucius, the Founder of Confucianism |
- Confucian Teaching : Honor your ancestors
- Christian Teaching : Honor God
Confucianism's ancestor reverence clashed with Christianity introduced by Europeans.
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| Opium War (1839–1842) |
Qing China's defeat in the Opium War made Vietnam wary of European powers, leading to anti-Christian policies.
France invaded Vietnam in 1858, using the execution of missionaries as a pretext for territorial expansion under Napoleon III.
Vietnam fell to France, leading to the 1862 Treaty of Saigon ceding territory and allowing Christian missions. France later controlled all of Vietnam by the 1880s.
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| Map Showing French Indochina’s Territorial Evolution; the South Marked “1862–67” Was Ceded in the Treaty of Saigon (Wikipedia) |
Qing China, weakened by internal conflicts, couldn't prevent French colonization of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (French Indochina).
During WWII, Japan occupied French Indochina in 1940, leading to famine in 1945. Ho Chi Minh declared independence in 1945, but France returned, starting the First Indochina War (1946-1954).
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| Bảo Đại |
France aimed to create a capitalist South Vietnam, leading to conflict with the socialist North. The U.S. supported France due to the Cold War and Domino Theory.
The First Indochina War ended with France's defeat and the Geneva Accords splitting Vietnam. The Vietnam War (1955-1975) began with US support for the South against the North's Viet Cong guerrillas.
The Viet Cong used guerrilla tactics and tunnels like Cu Chi, frustrating US forces and leading to escalation, including the fabricated Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Operation Rolling Thunder bombing.
The US used Agent Orange (Operation Ranch Hand) and devastating weapons like napalm, causing immense damage and casualties.
Anti-war protests grew in the US due to war horrors. US troops withdrew after the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, but Saigon fell in 1975, unifying Vietnam as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.