We explain what the Vietnam War was, its causes and the groups that fought. Also, its chronology and its consequences.

What was the Vietnam War?
The Vietnam War It was a military conflict that took place between 1955 and 1975 and pitted the South Vietnamese government (supported by the United States) against communist revolutionary forces and North Vietnam.
In 1954, Vietnam was divided into two territories. A communist leader named Ho Chi Mihn ruled in North Vietnam and an authoritarian republic had been established in South Vietnam led by the anti-communist Ngo Dinh Diem, who had the support of the United States.
The communist groups of South Vietnam organized themselves into guerrillas in the National Liberation Front (NLF) (called “Vietcong” by the United States and its allies) and started a fight for the reunification of the country with the support of Ho Chi Mihn's army.
The military conflict lasted twenty years and had different stages. Since 1964, the United States intervened directly in the war with the aim of stopping the communist advance. However, in 1973, he had to withdraw his troops and, in 1975, the communist forces definitively won the war.
The Vietnam War It was one of the most important defeats for the United States. Within the framework of the Cold War (1947-1991), the United States and the Soviet Union competed for control and influence in the world through “satellite wars” (that is, supporting different factions in conflicts in other countries), but without confronting each other directly.
The Vietnam War was widely criticized since the mid-1960s after the media showed some of the massacres carried out by the armies. It is estimated that nearly two million civilians died during the conflict.
The National Liberation Front (FNL) is also known as “Vietcong”, a form that comes from “Vietnam National Congress”. However, this is not the name with which its members identified themselves, but rather the one used by the United States and its South Vietnamese allies to refer to them.
See also: Communism
Causes of the Vietnam War

At the beginning of the 20th century, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were part of Indochina, one of the French colonies in Asia. After the Second World War (1939-1945), Indochinese nationalist groups began their war of independence known as the first Indochina war (1946-1954).
At the end of the war, Indochina was divided into three independent countries: Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In Vietnam, the opposing forces of communism and pro-Western anti-communism defined the temporary division of the country under the commitment to hold a popular referendum in 1956 to define its reunification.
However, in South Vietnam, anti-communist forces carried out a coup d'état and prevented the holding of the elections, with the support of the United States (which wanted to prevent the advance of communism within the framework of the Cold War).
This mobilized the popular uprising and the formation of the FLN (the organization of communist guerrilla groups), which sparked a civil war in South Vietnam. This situation was taken advantage of by North Vietnam to try to reunify the country under a communist government.
Who fought in the Vietnam War?
In the Vietnam War, the communist groups of the FLN and the North Vietnamese army faced the army of the anti-communist government of South Vietnam and American troops.
Furthermore, each side was supported by different foreign forces:
- The FLN and North Vietnam with their allies: the Khmer Rouge (communist army of Cambodia) and the Pathet Lao (communist army of Laos). They also had military support from China, North Korea, Cuba and the Soviet Union.
- The South Vietnamese government with its allies: United States, the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Laos. In addition, they had military support from Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand and Taiwan.
Vietnam War Timeline

Among the main events of the Vietnam War are:
- 1954. Independence of Vietnam and division of the country. Before 1946, the territories of Vietnam were part of the French colony of Indochina. After the first Indochina War (1946-1954), the French colony was divided into different independent states: Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. In Vietnam, clashes between communist forces and pro-Western anti-communist forces left the country divided, under the commitment to hold a referendum in 1956.
- 1955. Ngo Dinh Diem coup d'état. Anti-communist General Ngo Dinh Diem carried out a coup in South Vietnam with the support of the United States and installed a military dictatorship to prevent elections.
- 1959. North Vietnamese intervention. Faced with the growing conflict between the South Vietnamese government and the communist guerrilla forces of the FLN, Ho Chi Mihn began to intervene directly to assist the FLN.
- 1961. Greater intervention by the United States. The president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, decided to increase economic and military support to the anti-communist forces of South Vietnam.
- 1964. Tonkin Incident and total intervention by the United States. The communists had occupied almost 60% of South Vietnam. The United States denounced that North Vietnam had attacked naval forces in the Gulf of Tonkin and announced the direct sending of American troops.
- 1965. American attacks on North Vietnam. The US military carried out a series of massive bombing raids in North Vietnam. The FLN blew up the US Embassy in Saigon.
- 1968. Tet Offensive. The NLF and North Vietnam carried out an offensive against different strategic points and cities in South Vietnam. Although the offensive failed in some of its objectives, it led to a deepening debate in the United States over the country's intervention in the conflict.
- 1969. Change in US military policy. United States President Richard Nixon initiated a military policy he called “Vietnamization.” This policy involved training South Vietnamese troops for the gradual withdrawal of the US army.
- 1970-1971. North American invasion of Cambodia and Laos. The United States carried out the invasion of the kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos (neighbors of Vietnam) with the aim of persecuting local communist forces.
- 1972. Massive bombing of North Vietnam. Nixon ordered Operations Linebacker and Linebacker II, which involved the massive bombing of parts of North Vietnam.
- 1973. Peace between the United States and North Vietnam. After several years of negotiations, the United States government signed a peace agreement in Paris with the communist forces in North Vietnam and the communist armies in South Vietnam. This agreement involved a ceasefire and the withdrawal of American troops. However, the conflict between South Vietnam and North Vietnam continued.
- 1975. North Vietnamese victory. Without military or economic aid from the United States, the South Vietnamese government weakened. In 1975, communist troops won in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
Consequences of the Vietnam War

The main consequences of the Vietnam War were the destruction of much of Vietnam's infrastructure and ecosystem, the reunification of the country under a communist government, and the death of more than three million people. Furthermore, the outcome of the war constituted the United States' greatest defeat in the Cold War.
In summary, among the most important consequences of the Vietnam War are:
- The reunification and reconstruction of Vietnam. The reunified country was renamed the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and was governed by a communist regime. The new government had to face the reconstruction of the country, after twenty years of destruction of the infrastructure, the ecosystem and the lives of the Vietnamese.
- The human cost. The Vietnam War had a great human cost. The exact number of civilian deaths is not known, but it is estimated that they were close to two million. Additionally, more than 350,000 South Vietnamese soldiers, between 750,000 and 1,000,000 North Vietnamese communist soldiers, and 58,000 American soldiers were killed.
- The main defeat of the United States in the Cold War. Western public opinion, and especially American opinion, began to reject US military intervention abroad. In the context of the Cold War, the influence of the United States on the international stage was questioned.
References
- Ackermann, ME, Schroeder, MJ, et al. (2008). Vietnam War. Encyclopedia of World History. The Contemporary World. 1950 to the Present. I returned. Facts on File.
- Van Dijk, R., Gray, W.G., Savranskaya, S., Suri, J., & Zhai, Q. (Eds.). (2013). Vietnam and Vietnam conflict. Encyclopedia of the Cold War. Routledge.
- Spector, R. H. (2023). Vietnam War. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/