The Vietnam War (1 ноя 1955 г. – 30 апр 1975 г.)

Описание:

After Vietnam won independence from France in 1954, U.S. president Eisenhower refused to sign the Geneva Accords that temporarily divided the country into a Communist north and an anticommunist south. When the South Vietnamese government declined to hold free elections that would unify the two zones, Eisenhower provided the south with military aid to combat guerrilla insurgents in South Vietnam who were supported by the Communist north. Kennedy and especially President Johnson increased America’s involvement.

The undeclared war eventually divided the U.S. Many supported the defense against communism at first, but an antiwar movement believed that the U.S. was fighting an immoral and imperialistic war against a small country. Huge protests in October 1965 spread to western Europe.

In January 1968, the Vietcong, an army of Communist insurgents and guerrilla fighters located in South Vietnam, staged the first comprehensive attack on major South Vietnamese cities, the Tet Offensive. This signaled the war was far from over, and U.S. citizens grew weary and pressured their leaders to stop the fighting.

New president Nixon sought to gradually disengage America from Vietnam. He intensified the bombing campaign against the north, opened peace talks, and pursued a policy of “Vietnamization” designed to give the South Vietnamese responsibility for the war and reduce the U.S. presence. He reached a peace agreement with North Vietnam and the Vietcong that allowed the remaining American forces to complete their withdrawal and gave the U.S. the right to resume bombing if the accords were broken. Fighting declined in South Vietnam.

U.S. Congress refused any American military response when North Vietnam launched an invasion against South Vietnamese armies. In July 1976, North and South Vietnam were unified under a Communist regime.

The Vietnam War increased counterculture and radicalized it. Massive anti-war demonstrations took place, then supported colonial independence movements, demanded an end to the nuclear arms race, and called for world peace and liberation from social conventions of any kind.

Добавлено на ленту времени:

Дата: