Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War, also known as the American War and the Second Indochina War, was a war between 1961 and 1975 in Vietnam. The Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), which was greatly influenced by the USA and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) fought. The war was part of the Cold War. South Korea, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines cooperated with South Vietnam and the Americans, and the USSR and China supported the communists in North Vietnam.

Earlier France had dominated the Vietnam region. The Vietnam War grew out of the long conflict between France and Vietnam. The first part of the Vietnam War started in 1946 when the French tried to take control of the small country. The USA sent 2.5 billion dollars in army supplies to help the French, later were beaten in 1954. In July 1954, after one hundred years of colonial rule, a defeated France was forced to leave Vietnam. In the summer of 1954, the France and the Vietnamese signed The Geneva Peace Accord. After this first part of the war, the country was split in two: North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

The USA sent soldiers to South Vietnam to help them defend themselves from the North Vietnamese. The North Vietnamese wanted to overthrow the South Vietnamese government and take control of the whole country for communism.

In 1973, American combat involvement ended. The war ended with the Liberation of Sàigòn on May 1 1975, when the last American troops left. North and South Vietnam were officially reunified on July 2 1976 as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

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The herbicide Agent Orange has left a lasting legacy on Vietnam

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Vietnam War