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vietnam war background information
- 1. The Cold War 1945-1989 Vietnam War – background information
- 2. The Vietnam War From the early 1950s until 1975, the USA found itself stuck in the midst of a war in Vietnam in south east Asia.
- 3. The Vietnam War In the years after World War Two ended, the USA and Soviet Union were involved in a Cold War. The sides were divided by their different ideologies: Capitalism (USA) and Communism (USSR).
- 4. The Vietnam War By the 1950s the USA had adopted a policy of containment. They wanted to stop Communism spreading, and feared a ‘domino effect’ of one country becoming Communist, leading to others following.
- 5. The Vietnam War In Europe the USA had taken steps to limit Communism’s influence. The establishment of the Marshall Plan after World War Two helped rebuild Europe, and stop countries becoming Communist.
- 6. The Vietnam War The USA also wanted to stop Communism spreading across the Asian continent too. China – Asia and the world’s biggest country – had turned Communist in 1949, leading to US fears of a further spread.
- 7. The Vietnam War In 1950 the USA sent troops to the Korean War to support the south of Korea, that was under attack from Communist North Korea. The USA was successful in stopping the North taking over Korea.
- 8. The Vietnam War Before World War Two, parts of south east Asia had been controlled by France in an area called Indochina. After the war ended, France were unable to keep control and so gave up their empire.
- 9. The Vietnam War America feared Communist influence in other Asian countries, including Laos and Vietnam. The USA began providing support to the government of South Vietnam, to fight against Communism.
- 10. The Vietnam War At first the USA gave financial support, or military advice. However over the years this support transformed into providing soldiers to actually fight the war against the Communists.
- 11. The Vietnam War American forces were supporting the South Vietnam Army. They were fighting North Vietnam and a rebel Communist group properly called the National Liberation Front, better known as the Vietcong.
- 12. The Vietnam War During the war, around one million Vietnamese people were killed, as well as almost 60,000 US soldiers. The Vietnam War also led to huge anti-war protests across America.
- 13. The Vietnam War Although the USA was a global superpower, they were unable to win the Vietnam War. By the time America abandoned Saigon to the Communists in 1975, the Vietnam War had caused the USA humiliation.
- 14. The Vietnam War Possible reasons for the USA’s failure to win the Vietnam War: • Difficulties faced by the US military • Strengths of North Vietnam • Weaknesses of South Vietnam • Changing public opinion in the US • International isolation of the US