1 NORTH VS SOUTH The Vietnamese people battled for many years first for independence and then in civil war France had controlled Vietnam from the late 1800s In 1940 Japan conquered the area but allowed French authorities to continue to govern Japan took direct control in 1945 only to have France take it back in 1946 But the Vietnamese were tired of being ruled by other nations They wanted freedom Around this time a new leader rose to power in Vietnam Ho Chi Minh had studied communism He wanted to rule Vietnam using this form of government Ho formed the League for the Independence of Vietnam or Viet Minh in 1941 He proclaimed Vietnam's independence The French opposed In 1946 the First Indochina War began between the Viet Minh and France The Viet Minh won the war in 1954 Peace negotiations split Vietnam in two Ho controlled
Canton CHINA BURMA NORTHY VIETNAM Haiphong HANOI Gulf of LAOS HONG KONG Tonkin Vientiane HAINAN Ben Thu North Vietnam and South Vietnam would remain divided for more than 20 years THAILAND Bangkok CAMBODIA SOUTH VIETNAM Phnom Penh SAIGON Gulf of Siam North Vietnam South Vietnam was in the hands of leader Bao Dai In 1956 Ngo Dinh Diem came to power in the South Diem opposed communism And he feared it would spread from the North The United States also opposed communism Beginning in the 1950s it sent US military advisors to South Vietnam The advisors shared tactics for battling the Viet Minh
US and South Vietnamese troops advance on an NLF camp in 1965 The NLF drew its enemy to isolated rural areas In the meantime some South Vietnamese began supporting the Viet Minh These supporters were called the National Liberation Front NLF Diem called them the Vietcong In August 1964 two US ships reported being attacked by North Vietnam In March 1965 the United States sent 6
soldiers to Vietnam It had officially joined the Vietnam War The war was fought between two sides each made up of several armies US troops battled alongside the South Vietnamese army The NLF Viet Minh and North Vietnamese Army NVA fought against them The US military had to adapt to a new type of warfare during the war The NLF used guerilla warfare US troops were more familiar with conventional warfare US soldiers also had to adapt to Vietnam’s terrain and hot climate The terrain varied from muddy jungles to rugged mountains Soldiers needed special weapons and vehicles that held up in these conditions Guns and tanks were made sturdier to persist in the harsh conditions New forms of chemical weapons helped troops cut through jungle trees In the air fleets of jet fighters gave US and South Vietnamese troops the edge Helicopters also played an important role in the war Soldiers relied on them for transportation as well as offensive support during ground battles These technologies were key in gaining advantage and saving lives during more than ten years of battle 7
