The Road To Vietnam

History

The Road to Vietnam,

May 26, 2005

During the years of 1946 through

1954 the French government was battling against The League for the Independence of Vietnam for control over Indochina. The League for the Independence of Vietnam was headed by Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh was a revolutionary leader who strongly opposed the resettling of Indochina by the French Government. At the ending of World War 2 in August 1945 The League for the Independence of Vietnam took control of the capital of Vietnam (Hanoi). When the Vietcong rebels took over the capital they took hostage the Emperor Bao Dai of France. Then on September 2 1945 the French government officially recognized the independence of Vietnam. Although the French government did recognized Vietnam's independence, the French Government and the newly founded Vietnam government could not reach an agreement during the peace talks. In response to the failure of the Peace talks, armed violence erupted between the French and Vietnam governments. The French government then decided to back the former Emperor, Bao Dai in setting up the state of Vietnam, which is now known as South Vietnam. The new capital was Saigon, which is currently known as Ho Chi Minh City. Within a year's time, the United States Government also recognized the South Vietnam Government. In Response to the United States Government policy of assisting any country in the fight for independence and the fight against the spread of Communism, the United States Government sent advisors into South Vietnam to help train the South Vietnamese in the use of U.S. weapons. While this was all occurring, the French and the North Vietnamese governments were building up their forces for battle. Then, during the spring of 1954, the French and North Vietnamese governments collided with the North Vietnamese forces that were attacking the French Fort Dien Bien Phu in northern Vietnam. The battle lasted 55 days with the French ultimately surrendering to the North Vietnamese forces.

By 1961 the peace accords drawn up by France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the U.S., Communist China, Laos and Cambodia, in Geneva was crumbling. The United States seeing this decided to reassert their intentions in Indochina by pledging to the South Vietnamese government to provide the resources that were needed to keep their independence. This Pledge included U.S. economic and military assistance to the Diem government. U.S. troops, consisting of 400 uniformed army personnel, arrived in Saigon in order to operate two helicopter companies. This pledge marked the beginning of the U.S military buildup in South Vietnam and within a year there would be 11,200 soldiers in South Vietnam. By 1965 the North Vietnamese Government began greatly increasing the military supplies to their soldiers who were fighting the South Vietnamese. In response to this the US Government began heavily bombing the North Vietcong supply routes. In response to the US Government continuous bombing the North Vietcong diverted their supply routes to the neighboring country of Laos. By doing this the Vietcong created the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The US Government did not stop their bombing of the North Vietcong supply routes even when the bombers began clashing with the Laos Royal Army. The Ho Chi Minh Trail was the life line for the North Vietcong fighters. Without this trail the Fighters would be cut off from supplies and would not be able to put forth a reasonable military resistance.

On Jan. 31, 1968, the North Vietcong launched a major offensive throughout South Vietnam. It took weeks for U.S. and South Vietnamese troops to retake all of the captured cities, including the former capital of Hue.