The beginning of the history of Vietnam can be considered period of the last stages of the Late Neolithic and the beginning of the Bronze Age, when in the Red River basin there was a mixture of tribes that came from the basin of the Chinese Yangtze River and proto-Malay tribes related to the Polynesians.
The documented history of Vietnam begins in the 3rd millennium BC. e. Hung Vuong (King Hung) founded the proto-state Van Lang by the name of the largest tribe at that time and laid the foundation for the first Vietnamese Hong Bang dynasty. The Vanlang state occupied the territories of North Vietnam and South China almost to Hong Kong. Phong Chau was its capital. The Hong Bang dynasty had 18 Hung kings who ruled until the 3rd century BC.
The inhabitants of Wanlang were engaged in rice cultivation, breeding of buffaloes and pigs, construction of dams, and various crafts.
In the 5-2 centuries BC. on the territory of Vietnam has reached a significant development bronze age culture, which became known as Dong Son.
Having replaced the Hungs, in the 3rd century BC. at the head of the Vietnamese states with the name Au Lak stood up Thuk Phan, who received the throne name of An Duong Vyong. The fortress of Koloa became the capital of Aulak. Its ruins are located near Hanoi. The Au Lak state was located mainly in what is now North Vietnam and the northern part of Central Vietnam. It got its name from the name of the Au Viet tribe, which overthrew the Hung dynasty.
In the middle part of Vietnam in the 2nd century AD. arose kingdom of Champa (Tyampa) with Hindu culture. It existed until the 14th century, when it became a vassal of the Vietnamese Annam.
The territories south of Champa were part of the Khmer state of Funan.
Vietnam Wars with China
Throughout its history, Vietnam has had to fight many times with China or wage a long struggle for liberation. Already from 110 BC to 938 AD, Vietnam was under Chinese occupation. In 544, the Vietnamese managed to expel the Chinese governor from the country. However, in 603, the territory of Vietnam was again conquered by the Chinese Sui dynasty.
In 939, the country was finally liberated from almost a thousand years of Chinese domination. In 1069, a single Vietnamese state, Dai Viet (Great Viet), was formed.
In the 12th century, Dai Viet waged wars with China in the north and with Cambodia in the south, as a result of which they significantly expanded their borders.
In 1257-1288. Mongolian troops invaded the country three times, but were repulsed by the Dai Viet army.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the Vietnamese again had to fight with China. The peak of the struggle of the Vietnamese people against the Chinese feudal lords was in 1428.
Also linked to this story page beautiful legend. In 1385-1433. lived a simple fisherman Le Loy, who was destined to become the organizer and leader of the struggle against the Chinese feudal lords, the founder of the royal dynasty of Le. Once Le Loy was fishing in a lake in the city of Hanoi and suddenly saw a huge turtle emerge from its depths to the surface. She held a golden sword in her mouth. Le Loi took the sword from the turtle and organized an uprising against the enslavers, which ended in the victory of the Vietnamese. The people proclaimed him king.
Once, already being king, Le Loy sailed on the same lake with his retinue. Suddenly, the sword that was with him slipped out and fell overboard, and a turtle surfaced from the depths and carried the sword away.
Everyone saw this as a sign from above: the sword was handed to him only to save the homeland, and when the goal was achieved, to hide it away from sin.
In fact, Le Loi came from a feudal family from the province of Than Hoa. In 1418, he raised an uprising against the Chinese Ming dynasty that had captured Vietnam. The loss of the sword in the lake actually took place in the presence of a huge tortoise that emerged from the depths at the moment when the sword fell into the water. The lake was then named Ho Hoan Kiem, which means Lake of the Returned Sword. It is located in the central part of the Vietnamese capital and a large turtle still lives in it, which is being monitored by scientists.
Penetration of European colonialists into Vietnam
The 16th century can be called a new era in the history of Vietnam, which characterized by its Europeanization. At this time, European Catholic missionaries begin to penetrate Vietnam and convert the Vietnamese to the Catholic faith, paving the way for the subsequent direct colonization of the country. They achieved the greatest success in the south of Vietnam.
In the 17th century, the Vietnamese state was weakened by continuous internal wars.
In 1771-1802. happened a large peasant anti-feudal movement "Taishon uprising". In the course of it, social reforms, activities in the socio-economic field and culture were carried out, which contributed to the unification of the country and the strengthening of the centralized state. As a result of internal contradictions, the rule of the Tayshons ceased to exist and the monarchy was restored. The last royal Nguyen dynasty in the history of Vietnam came to power. In 1802, the capital of Vietnam was moved to the city of Hue.
In 1858, the Franco-Spanish squadron occupied the port city of Da Nang. In 1859 the French took Saigon. The war continued until June 1862, after which the emperor ceded the three eastern provinces of Cochin to the French. In 1867, the French additionally annexed three western provinces of Cochinchina and formed the colony of Cochinchina.
1883-1884 - new French invasion and their conquest of all of Vietnam.
1887 - French Indochina is formed on the territory of Vietnam and Cambodia.
1940-1945 - Japan occupied Vietnam during World War II, but left the French colonial administration there. On March 9, 1945, Japan formally declared Vietnam an independent country. Emperor Bao Dai was declared head of state.
Vietnamese struggle for independence
At the end of the summer of 1945, Japan, which occupies Vietnam, is defeated in the 2nd World War. Happening in Vietnam August Revolution and abdication the last Emperor Bao Dai. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) is proclaimed, led by the first president, Ho Chi Minh.
The August Revolution took place with great support from the people. Before her, half of the land belonged to a few families of landowners. Millions of peasant families did not have not only their own land, but even their homes. The famine of 1945 claimed almost a third of the population.
1946 - the beginning of the French war against the DRV in order to regain its power in Vietnam and restore the colonial regime.
1954 - the defeat of the French troops in the Dien Bien Phu area. Geneva agreements between the DRV and France to end the war. A demarcation line was drawn along the 17th parallel, dividing Vietnam into two parts (the northern part - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the southern part - the Republic of Vietnam). This country adopted a national flag depicting three red stripes on a yellow background, symbolizing the three historical parts of all of Vietnam: northern, or Tonkin, middle, or Annam, southern, or Cochin China. Thus, the government of South Vietnam, in their ambitions and dreams, "appropriated" the rest of Vietnam.
1955 - France and the United States strengthen the Republic of Vietnam. France, through the puppet government of South Vietnam, is trying to maintain its colonial regime, but the influence of the United States gradually prevails and France is losing its positions.
In the mid-1950s, in the North, in the DRV, the collectivization of peasant farms was carried out, often under duress. This causes widespread dissatisfaction among the peasants, unrest begins. The authorities are resorting to large-scale repression and, as a result, are deprived of the deep popular support that was at the beginning of the revolution. Together with the landowners, who owned vast areas of land and brutally exploited hired workers, the regime repressed the owners of medium and small farms, which flourished only due to the intensive work of their families. During the repressive period, unlike the USSR and China there were no "cultural revolutions", temples of various denominations were not selected and not destroyed, the cultural heritage of previous eras was not discarded, continuity continued in historical science.
Vietnamese struggle for independence (Vietnam War)
The commonly accepted name for the "Vietnam War" or "Vietnam War" is Vietnam's Second Indochina War with the United States. It began around 1961 and ended on April 30, 1975. In Vietnam itself, this war is called the Liberation War, and sometimes the American War. The Vietnam War is often seen as the peak of the Cold War between the Soviet bloc and China on the one hand, and the US with some of its allies on the other. In America, the Vietnam War is considered the darkest spot in its history. In the history of Vietnam, this war is perhaps the most heroic and tragic page.
The Vietnam War was both a civil war between various political forces in Vietnam and an armed struggle against the American occupation.
Beginning of the Vietnam War
After 1955, France, as a colonial power, withdraws from Vietnam. Half of the country north of the 17th parallel, or the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, is controlled by the Communist Party of Vietnam, the southern half, or the Republic of Vietnam, by the United States of America, which governs it through puppet South Vietnamese governments.
In 1956, in accordance with the Geneva Accords on Vietnam, a referendum on the reunification of the country was to be held in the country, which further provided for the election of the president throughout Vietnam. However, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem refused to hold a referendum in the South. Then Ho Chi Minh creates the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF) in the South, which starts a guerrilla war to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem and hold general elections. The Americans called the NLF, as well as the government of the DRV, the Viet Cong. The word "Viet Cong" has Chinese roots (Viet Cong Shan) and is translated as "Vietnamese Communist". The United States provides assistance to South Vietnam and is increasingly drawn into the war. In the early 1960s, they brought their contingents into South Vietnam, increasing their numbers every year.
On August 2, 1964, the destroyer began a new phase of the Vietnam War. On this day, the USS Maddox aircraft carrier approached the coast of North Vietnam and was allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. So far, it is not clear whether there was an attack or not. On the part of the Americans, there was no evidence of damage to the aircraft carrier from attacks by Vietnamese boats.
As a response, US President L. Johnson ordered the American air force to strike at the naval facilities of North Vietnam. Then other objects in the DRV were also bombed. Thus the war spread to North Vietnam.
The US allies in the Vietnam War were the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN, that is, the Army of the Republic of VietNam), the contingents of Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. On the other hand, only the North Vietnamese army (VNA, that is, the Vietnamese People's Army) and the NLF fought. On the territory of North Vietnam there were military specialists from Ho Chi Minh's allies - the USSR and China, who did not directly participate in the battles, with the exception of the defense of DRV facilities from US military air raids at the initial stage of the war.
Chronicle of the Vietnam War
Localized fighting between the NLF and the US Army took place every day. Major military operations, in which a large number of personnel, weapons and military equipment were involved, were as follows.
In October 1965, the US Army launched a major offensive in South Vietnam against the NLF units. 200 thousand American soldiers, 500 thousand soldiers of the South Vietnamese army, 28 thousand soldiers of the US allies were involved. Supported by 2,300 aircraft and helicopters, 1,400 tanks and 1,200 guns, the offensive developed from the coast to the border with Laos and Cambodia and from Saigon to the Cambodian border. The Americans failed to defeat the main forces of the NLF and hold the territories captured during the offensive.
In the spring of 1966, the next major offensive began. Already 250 thousand American soldiers participated in it. This offensive also did not bring significant results.
The autumn offensive of 1966 was even more extensive and was carried out north of Saigon. It was attended by 410 thousand American, 500 thousand South Vietnamese and 54 thousand soldiers of the allied forces. They were supported by 430 aircraft and helicopters, 2300 large-caliber guns and 3300 tanks and armored personnel carriers. On the other hand, 160,000 NLF and 90,000 VNA soldiers opposed. No more than 70 thousand American soldiers and officers participated directly in the battles, since the rest served in the logistics units. The American army and its allies pushed part of the NLF forces to the border with Cambodia, but most of the Viet Cong managed to avoid defeat.
Similar offensives in 1967 did not lead to decisive results.
1968 was a turning point in the Vietnam War. In early 1968, the NLF conducted a short-term Operation Tet, capturing a number of important installations. Fighting even took place near the US embassy in Saigon. During this operation, the NLF forces suffered heavy losses and, from 1969 to the end of 1971, switched to limited guerrilla warfare tactics. In April 1968, in connection with the significant losses of American aviation over North Vietnam, US President L. Johnson ordered a cessation of bombing, except for a 200-mile zone in the south of the DRV. President R. Nixon took a course towards the "Vietnamization" of the war, that is, the gradual withdrawal of American units and a sharp increase in the combat capability of the South Vietnamese army.
On March 30, 1972, the VNA, with the support of the NLF, launched a large-scale offensive, occupying the capital of the Quang Tri province bordering North Vietnam. In response, the United States resumed massive bombing of North Vietnam. In September 1972, South Vietnamese troops managed to return Quang Tri. At the end of October, the bombing of North Vietnam was stopped, but resumed in December and continued for twelve days almost until the signing of the Paris Peace Accords in January 1973.
End of the Vietnam War
On January 27, 1973, the Paris Accords were signed on a ceasefire in Vietnam. In March 1973, the US finally withdrew its troops from South Vietnam, with the exception of 20,000 military advisers. America continued to provide the South Vietnamese government with huge military, economic and political assistance.
In April 1975, as a result of the lightning-fast Operation Ho Chi Minh, North Vietnamese troops under the command of the legendary General Vo Nguyen Zap defeated the demoralized South Vietnamese army left without allies and captured all of South Vietnam.
In general, the assessment by the world community of the actions of the South Vietnamese army and the United States in South Vietnam was sharply negative because of their cruelty. In Western countries, including the United States, mass anti-war demonstrations were held. The American media in the 70s were no longer on the side of their government and often showed the futility of war. Many conscripts sought because of this to evade service and assignment to Vietnam.
Public protests to a certain extent influenced the position of President Nixon, who decided to withdraw troops from Vietnam, but the main factor was the military and political futility of the further continuation of the war. Nixon and Secretary of State Kissinger concluded that the Vietnam War was unwinnable, but at the same time "turned the arrows" on the Democratic Congress, which formally decided to withdraw troops.
Vietnam War figures
Total US combat losses - 47,378 people, non-combat - 10,799. Wounded - 153,303, missing - 2300.
Approximately 5,000 US Air Force planes were shot down.
The losses of the army of the puppet Republic of Vietnam (US ally) - 254 thousand people.
Combat losses of the Vietnamese People's Army and partisans of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam - more than 1 million 100 thousand people.
Losses of the civilian population of Vietnam - more than 3 million people.
14 million tons of explosives were blown up, which is several times more than during the Second World War in all theaters of operations.
The financial costs of the United States - 350 billion dollars (in the current equivalent - more than 1 trillion dollars).
China's military and economic assistance ranged from $14 billion to $21 billion, the USSR - from $8 billion to $15 billion.
Political and economic causes of the Vietnam War
On the US side, the main stakeholder in the war was the US armaments corporations. Despite the fact that the Vietnam War is considered a local conflict, a lot of ammunition was used in it, for example, 14 million tons of explosives were detonated, which is several times more than during World War II in all theaters of operations. During the years of the Vietnam War, the profits of US military corporations amounted to many billions of dollars. It may seem paradoxical, but the US military corporations, in general, were not interested in a quick victory for the American army in Vietnam.
Indirect confirmation of the negative role of large US corporations in all politics are statements in 2007. one of the Republican presidential candidates, Ron Paul, who stated the following: "We are moving towards fascism not of the Hitler type, but to a softer one - expressed in the loss of civil liberties, when everything is run by corporations and ... the government is in the same bed with big business" .
Ordinary Americans initially believed in the justice of America's participation in the war, seeing it as a fight for democracy. As a result, several million Vietnamese and 57 thousand Americans died, millions of hectares of land were scorched by American napalm.
The American administration explained the political necessity of the US participation in the Vietnam War to the public of their country by the fact that there would supposedly be a "falling domino effect" and after the conquest of South Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh, all the countries of Southeast Asia would pass under the control of the communists one by one. Most likely, the US was planning a "reverse domino". So, they built a nuclear reactor in Dalat for the Ngo Dinh Diem regime for research work, built capital military airfields, introduced their people into various political movements in countries neighboring Vietnam.
The USSR provided assistance to the DRV with weapons, fuel, military advisers, especially in the field of air defense, due to the fact that the confrontation with America was carried out totally, on all continents. Assistance to the DRV was also provided by China, which feared the strengthening of the United States near its southern borders. Despite the fact that the USSR and China at that time were almost enemies, Ho Chi Minh managed to get help from both of them, showing his political art. Ho Chi Minh and his entourage independently developed a strategy for waging war. Soviet specialists provided assistance only at the technical and educational levels.
There was no clear front in the Vietnam War: the South Vietnamese and the United States did not dare to attack North Vietnam, as this would cause the sending of Chinese military contingents to Vietnam, and from the USSR, the adoption of other military measures against the United States. The DRV did not need a front, because the NLF controlled by the North actually surrounded the cities of South Vietnam and at one favorable moment could take them. Despite the guerrilla nature of the war, all types of weapons were used in it, except for nuclear weapons. The fighting took place on land, in the air and at sea. Military intelligence of both sides worked intensively, sabotage attacks were carried out, landings were made. The ships of the US 7th Fleet controlled the entire coast of Vietnam and mined the fairways. A clear front also existed, but not for long - in 1975, when the DRV army launched an offensive to the South.
Direct hostilities between the military of the USA and the USSR in Vietnam
During the Vietnam War, there were separate episodes of direct clashes between the US and the USSR, as well as the deaths of civilians from the USSR. Here are some of them published in the Russian media at different times based on interviews with direct participants in hostilities.
The first battles in the skies of North Vietnam with the use of surface-to-air missiles against US aircraft bombing without declaring war were carried out by Soviet military specialists.
In 1966, the Pentagon, with the approval of the President of the United States and Congress, allowed the commanders of aircraft carrier strike groups (AUGs) to destroy in peacetime Soviet submarines detected within a radius of one hundred miles. In 1968, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-10 in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam for 13 hours imperceptibly at a depth of 50 meters followed under the bottom of the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" and practiced conditional attacks on it with torpedoes and cruise missiles, being at risk of destruction. The Enterprise was the largest aircraft carrier in the US Navy and flew the most bombing missions from North Vietnam. The correspondent N. Cherkashin wrote about this episode of the war in detail in April 2007.
In the South China Sea during the war, the electronic intelligence ships of the Pacific Fleet of the USSR were actively working. There were two incidents with them. In 1969, in the area south of Saigon, the Hydrophone ship was fired upon by South Vietnamese (US ally) patrol boats. There was a fire, part of the equipment was out of order.
In another episode, the Peleng ship was attacked by American bombers. Bombs were dropped on the bow and stern of the ship. There were no casualties or destruction.
On June 2, 1967, American planes fired on the ship "Turkestan" of the Far Eastern Shipping Company in the port of Kamfa. 7 people were injured, two of them died.
As a result of the competent actions of the Soviet representatives of the merchant fleet in Vietnam and the employees of the Foreign Ministry, the Americans were proved their guilt in the death of civilians. The US government has awarded the families of the dead sailors a lifetime benefit payment.
There were cases of damage to other merchant ships.
Effects
The greatest damage in this war was suffered by the civilian population of Vietnam, both its southern and northern parts. South Vietnam was flooded with American defoliants; in northern Vietnam, as a result of many years of bombing by American aircraft, many residents were killed and infrastructure was destroyed.
After the US withdrawal from Vietnam, many American veterans subsequently suffered from mental disorders and various kinds of diseases caused by the use of dioxin contained in "agent orange". Several tens of thousands committed suicide. Representatives of the current American elite fought in Vietnam: Senators John Kerry, McCain (one of the presidential candidates).
Since the end of the war, quite a few films, books and other works of art have been created based on it, most of them in America.
post-war period
1976 - Both parts of the country are merged into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After a long period of numerous wars, a peaceful period of history begins (not counting the conflict with the PRC in 1979).
1979 - a short armed conflict with China on the northern borders of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The conflict arose due to the fact that Vietnam sent its troops into Cambodia to stop the genocide of the Cambodian people by the Cambodian ruler Pol Pot, who was supported by Beijing. The Chinese army numbered 600,000 troops in 44 divisions. In service - 550 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 480 artillery pieces and 1260 heavy mortars. Numerous aviation, concentrated near the city of Pingxiang, the combat fleet, based on the island of Hainan, provided support. A very combat-ready Vietnamese army, which went through the crucible of a ten-year war with the United States and the South Vietnamese regime, managed to push Chinese divisions back into their territory in a month. The Chinese claim that they left on their own, remaining in the disputed territories.
In the late 70s, a crisis began that caused unrest throughout Vietnam, especially in Saigon. Gangs were operating from among the former military personnel of the South Vietnamese army and just criminals. Corruption flourished among officials and party workers, which, against the background of the poverty of the main part of the population, caused general discontent.
In the 1980s, economic aid from the USSR began to decrease.
In 1986, the "doi moi" renewal policy was proclaimed. The proclaimed new economic policy made it possible to open the way to a market economy, but with the preservation of the leading role of the Communist Party. As a result of the fusion of market and planned elements in the economy, Vietnam has managed to achieve visible results in the economy, foreign policy, education, and infrastructure development.
Laquiet, Vanlang
Vanlang map, 500 BC e.
Wanlang was a matriarchal society, similar to other ancient Southeast Asian societies. At excavations in North Vietnam, metal tools of that time were found. The most famous are bronze drums, possibly used in religious ceremonies, on which images of warriors, houses, birds, and animals were engraved in concentric circles.
The people from Wanlang are known as the La Viet.
Much information about the life of that time can be gleaned from ancient legends. The Story of the Banh Tungs is about a prince who wins a culinary tournament and later the throne by inventing rice cakes; this legend reflects the importance of the main part of the then economy, rice growing. "The Story of Zyong" tells the story of a young man who goes to war to save the country. Zyong and his horse wear iron armor, and Zyong himself takes an iron staff, which indicates the presence of developed metallurgy. The magic weapon from the "story of the magic bow" can shoot thousands of arrows, which proves the active use of bows at that time.
Appearance of the Auvietes, Aulac
By the third century BC. e. another group of Viet, the Auviet (甌越), came from the south of what is now China to the Red River Delta (Hongha) and mixed with the Vanlang population. In 258 BC. e. a union state of the Auviets and Lakviets appeared - Aulac. King An duong-vyong built around his capital, Koloa (Vietnamese CổLoa ) , many concentric walls. Skilled aulak archers stood on these walls.
An duong-vyong fell victim to espionage: the Chinese commander Zhao Tuo ( Triệu Đà, cheu da) kidnapped his son Chong Thuy ( Trọng Thủy) after he married the daughter of An Duong Vuong.
Chieu Dynasty, Nam Viet
Map of the Sino-Vietnamese state of Nanyue (Nam Viet).
Dynasty Later Le
In 1428 Le Loi himself became emperor of Dai Viet and founded the Later Le dynasty. Relying on a strong army, his authority as a commander and reforming officials in his environment, he carried out major reforms in the country. Le Nyan Tong, who succeeded him, continued the land reform, as a result, by the end of the 1450s, land ownership in Dai Viet stabilized. The next emperor, Le Thanh Thong, is considered the most successful monarch in the country's history. Le's reforms were supplemented and partly reinforced by the creation of the Thanh Tong Code, "Hongduk". The army and state apparatus received a more harmonious organization, a new administrative reform was carried out, a system of educational institutions and competitive examinations for official positions was established, and a monetary reform was carried out.
In 1471, a carefully prepared military campaign of Dai Viet against Champa took place, culminating in the capture of part of the Cham territories. In 1479-1480, Dai Viet attacked Lan Xang in a similar way, as a result of which Lan Xang fell into vassal dependence on Dai Viet for some time, and its eastern regions became part of the Vietnamese state. At the same time, all the tribes that lived in the mountains to the west of the Viet valleys became tributaries of Dai Viet, and the mountainous regions in the north, which they had long controlled, received the status of provinces; they already had a significant Viet population, although the population of the new areas had not yet completely merged with the Viet.
After the "golden age" of the "Hong-deuk" era, decline came. The beginning of the 16th century was one of the most disastrous periods in the history of the country. Expensive undertakings, extensive wars and an inefficient administrative apparatus ruined the peasants, tax revenues decreased, and the centralized apparatus itself became increasingly weak. The development of agriculture was not given attention, irrigation facilities were in disrepair; instead of dams, idle rulers built palaces. Driven to complete ruin, the peasants raised uprisings. In 1516, one of the largest uprisings in the history of Vietnam began in the province of Quang Ninh, led by the peasant leader Tran Cao. The rebel army led by Chang Kao captured the capital Thanglaung in two attempts. The Le court was forced to flee to Thanh Hoa. The rebels continued to operate until 1521, until they were defeated as a result of a counteroffensive by the faithful of the Le Force dynasty.
Mak dynasty
In 1521-1522, other uprisings were suppressed, but the central government was never able to recover from their powerful blows. In 1527, the feudal faction of Mak Dang Dung, who had been in the military service at the court of Le for many years, defeated his rivals and pushed the legitimate claimants to power in the province of Thanh Hoa. Having proclaimed himself emperor in 1527, Mak Dang Zung sent a mission to China in 1529 with rich gifts and the message that "no one from the house of Le is left and the family of Macs temporarily rules the country and people." Having received the recognition of his dynasty from the Minsk court, Mak Dang Zung passed the throne to his son Mak Dang Zoan, who ruled for 10 years (1530-1540).
Reborn Le Dynasty
Supporters of the Le dynasty, trying to restore their protege to power, sent one mission after another by sea to China asking for help in restoring the legitimate dynasty overthrown by the "usurper Mak". Mak Dang Zaung, in order to avoid an unfavorable development of events, declared that he “puts himself at the mercy of the Ming emperor” and sent a request to China “to conduct an investigation”, and in 1540 he personally appeared at the Namkuan border outpost for trial (at that time the country was ruled his other son is Mac Fook Hai). China took advantage of the situation, and in 1541 issued an investiture recognizing the right of the House of Mac to rule Dai Viet, and declaring Le an ambiguous person whose origin has yet to be proven. However, Vietnam was deprived of the status of a state and declared a governorship ( Annam dothong shi ti) provincial (Guangxi) subordination with the need for the traditional payment of tribute to China.
Soon after the accession of the Macs, their rivals rose to fight them, also striving, under the pretext of restoring the legitimate Le dynasty, to seize power. In the end, Nguyen Kim (a military commander who served under Le) united all opposition groups and, having captured the provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An in 1542, established his power there (formally calling it the “reborn Le dynasty”). In 1545, all power in this region passed to Nguyen Kim's son-in-law, Chinh Kiem. Thus, the country was divided into two parts: the clan of Poppies ( Buck Chieu, "Northern Dynasty") continued to dominate the Bakbo region (Northern Vietnam) with its capital in Thanglaung, the Chiney clan under the cover of the Le dynasty ( Nam Chieu listen), "Southern Dynasty") controlled the Nghe An-Thanh Hoa region. The struggle between these two houses lasted for more than half a century, as a result, the Southern dynasty defeated the Northern dynasty and returned Le to the throne in Thanglaughna in 1592. The Makov dynasty ceased to play a role in the domestic political life of the country, but they continued to enjoy the patronage of China, which kept them in reserve for another three generations. Fearing the open intervention of China, the Chini did not dare to openly overthrow the Le dynasty. China, perfectly aware of who holds the real power, played a complex political game in this region. In 1599, Chin Tung received personal courtesies from China. It is from this moment that the mode that went down in history under the name of edit officially begins] War of Chiney and Nguyen
In 1558, Nguyen Kim's son, Nguyen Hoang, obtained permission from the Le court to manage the Thuan Hoa region, and from 1570, Quang Nam as well. Since that time, this area has become a stronghold of the Nguyen princes, who then set a course for secession from the rest of Vietnam. So by the beginning of the 17th century, two "centers of power" - Nguyen and Chini - took shape. After the death of Nguyen Hoang in 1613, his son tua Shai (Nguyen Phuc Nguyen) began to behave as a completely independent ruler. As a result, relations between the feudal houses of Chiney and Nguyen resulted in an armed conflict that lasted for a significant part of the 17th century. The wars between Chinh and Nguyen dragged on intermittently until 1672, and the Nghean-Botinh region (Hatinh and Quangbinh provinces) became a constant arena of battles. By 1673, both opponents finally ran out of steam and hostilities ceased. The spontaneously formed truce lasted for about a hundred years. The nation turned out to be split, in the national consciousness such concepts as “southerners” and “northerners” arose and entrenched.
Having divided the country, Chini and Nguyen began to strengthen their positions in the held territories in order to turn each of them into a separate independent state. The appeals of the Nguyen to Qing China in 1702 and later with a request for an investiture that would legalize their rule speak of serious claims to independent statehood. When it became clear that Qing China did not support the Nguyen in their quest to legalize de facto independence from Le and Chin, tua Nguyen Phuc Khoat in 1744 declared himself vyongom and made Fusuan (Hue) the capital without regard to Le and China. However, neither Chini nor Nguyen abandoned the most important task - the unification of the country. Both regimes considered themselves part of a single, temporarily divided Dai Viet.
In 1930, at the initiative of the National Party of Vietnam, modeled on the Chinese National Party (Kuomintang), an armed Yenbai uprising broke out in the area northwest of Hanoi. After its suppression, the resistance movement was led by the Communist Party of Indochina, created in 1930 by Ho Chi Minh. During the period when the Popular Front was in power in France, the Vietnamese communists, together with the Trotskyists, expanded their influence, took part in Cochin and Saigon in local government elections. In -1941, the communists led an unsuccessful uprising in the south and organized unrest in the north.
The flourishing country, known to us as Vietnam, was mastered by man in the Paleolithic era. By the end of the III millennium BC. a significant part of the current state turned out to be inhabited by various tribes, in which modern anthropologists see relatives of the current Khmers and inhabitants of the islands of Southeast Asia. At that very time, in the far north, in the lower reaches of the great Chinese Yangtze River, lived a people who were destined not only to take possession of the hot lands of the south, but also to give them their current name. Representatives of this nationality called themselves La Viet. In the middle of the II millennium BC. the Laviet quickly settled on the fertile plains of the Red River Delta. As often happens in history, weaker predecessors were partly forced out and partly assimilated.
Somewhat later, the ancestors of modern Thais came to Vietnam, entrenched in the mountains in the north of the country. The tribes that left under the onslaught of the Laviets to the south eventually gave rise to many peoples of modern Indochina, primarily the Chams (or Tyams).
In 2879 BC a powerful leader (Vuong) named Hung (Hung Vuong) managed to unite the independent La Viet clans into a single tribal union Vanlang. It is believed that it was thanks to him that the state of Vietnam appeared on the world map many centuries later. Although Hung Vuong was more of a military leader than a monarch, he managed to retain power for his offspring, giving rise to many noble families of ancient Vietnam.
In 257 BC Vanlang was defeated by the inhabitants of the north. The leader of the victors, An Duong (most historians consider him a Chinese), created the Au Lac state with its capital in Koloa, a “snail fortress”, in the northern regions of present-day Vietnam. Although the era of Au Lak quickly declined, it is considered the time of the final formation of the statehood and culture of the La Viet. Au Lak soon became part of the Namviet (or Nan Yue) state, which occupied the territory of both modern North Vietnam and vast areas of South China. Interestingly, the capital of Nam Viet was located on the site of the famous southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The power of Nam Viet, which was more than enough to conquer Au Lak, turned out to be insignificant in comparison with the power of the Chinese Han Empire, which easily swallowed up a small southern kingdom at the end of the 3rd century. BC. This event marked the beginning of a long period of complete dependence of Vietnam on its vast northern neighbor. Until the 7th century the area of the former Nam Viet was called Giaoti (in China - Jiaochzhi), and then acquired the well-known historical name Annam, which means "pacified south".
Although at first the Chinese, like the Mongols in Russia, did not interfere in the internal affairs of the conquered people, limiting themselves to the regular collection of tribute, their dominion was accompanied by resistance that did not fade for a minute. It was in those days that the fighting qualities of the Vietnamese were formed, which so struck the aggressors of modern times. Not only men, but also women resisted. Sometimes the fearless Vietnamese even stood at the head of the uprisings. In the 40s. AD the warrior sisters Chyng Chak and Chyng Ni succeeded in expelling the Chinese from the country for three years. Two centuries later, an uprising broke out under the leadership of the heroine Chieu. Alas, the inequality of forces sooner or later doomed all the performances of the Vietnamese to defeat. As a result, by the I-II centuries. AD the country lost the last grains of independence and China began to exert a strong influence on the culture, economy, politics and religion of the conquered country - an influence that is still felt at every turn.
For eight long centuries, Vietnam was under Chinese rule. If the Middle Kingdom at that time was gradually weakening, losing control over its vast territories, then Vietnam, on the contrary, rallied and accumulated strength. In 938, the Vietnamese feudal lord Ngo Kuyen raised an uprising and threw off the hated foreign yoke. The new ruler again proclaimed the capital city of Koloa and restored the spirit and traditions of Vietnamese antiquity at the court. By the 11th century, when the Li dynasty came to power, the country, which changed its name to Dai Viet (Great Viet), was no longer inferior to the most powerful powers of the Far East in terms of development. At this time, the capital of Vietnam for the first time becomes the city of Thang Long - modern Hanoi. By expelling the Chinese, the victors borrow much from their statecraft. As early as 1070, a Confucius temple was erected in Thang Long, a national academy (Khan Lam) was created, and a system of state examinations was introduced according to the Chinese model. In the XII century. Confucianism finally becomes the state religion of Vietnam, while Buddhism and Taoism begin to play the role of folk beliefs. A strengthened state completely restores its lost positions - at the end of the 13th century. it successfully repels the invasion of the Mongols and even expands its possessions by adding the northern mountainous regions and the lands of the southern Chams.
At the beginning of the XV century. the country is once again in deep crisis. Taking advantage of the strife that arose as a result of the unpopular transformations of Emperor Li Ho Kyui, the troops of the Chinese Ming dynasty in 1407 again captured the country. This time, Chinese rule does not last long - after only 20 years, the united nation again drives out enemies. The rebel leader Le Loi proclaims the creation of the Later Le dynasty (1428-1788) and implements reforms that began the "golden age" of medieval Vietnam.
In the 30s. 17th century The state of Dai Viet, formally still headed by the kings of the Le dynasty, split into two rival destinies belonging to the Trinh and Nguyen clans. The top of each clan generously distributed land holdings to their supporters. The amount of land at the disposal of the treasury was rapidly decreasing, while the need for money for military expenses, on the contrary, was growing every day. To solve this problem, the leaders of the clans resorted to the old method - without further ado, they increased the exactions from the population. The result of the ruthless extortion of taxes was a peasant war, known as the "Teishon Rebellion" and broke out in 1771. The rebels were led by three brothers, one of whom, Nguyen Hue, proclaimed himself emperor in 1788. The last king of the Le dynasty was forced to seek help from his "brother" - the militant Chinese emperor Qianlong from the Qing dynasty. He willingly responded to the call, and the Chinese troops again invaded the country, but the Teishons quickly inflicted a crushing defeat on them in the battle near Thang Glong on January 5, 1789. It seemed to everyone that after such a success, the power of the "people's" emperor would be unshakable, but after all three years Nguyen Hue suddenly died. This was immediately taken advantage of by the head of the Nguyen clan, commander Nguyen Phuc Anh. Having gathered their own squads and relying on the help of France, the Nguyen managed to defeat the rebels. In 1804, Nguyen Phuc Anh took the throne name of Gia Long, moved the capital to Hue and became the first emperor of the dynasty, which remained on the throne until 1945.
19th century: Vietnam under French rule
Looking for a way to deal a decisive blow to their opponents, the feudal rulers of Vietnam in the middle of the 17th century. began to resort to the help of Europeans, who could not boast of numbers, but had military technologies unknown to Asians. If the Trinh clan entered into a military alliance with the Dutch, then the Nguyen preferred to take advantage of the support of the French. Their decision turned out to be correct: the Dutch quickly lost interest in Indochinese affairs, and Cheeney was left without "military advisers". The British at that time were too busy conquering India. The French, not feeling pressure from other European competitors, made the Nguyen conclude a very advantageous treaty, which provided for the first territorial acquisitions of France on the peninsula. It happened in 1787, but soon the Great French Revolution broke out, followed by the years of the Napoleonic wars. All these "misunderstandings" made France forget about Eastern affairs for a long time. Once again interested in the "Indochinese question" in the 20s. In the 19th century, Paris realized that there were not enough forces for a full-scale invasion. Over the next 30-plus years, France operated in Vietnam mainly by intrigue, the threads of which were concentrated in the hands of missionaries and all kinds of adventurers. Meanwhile, the Nguyen dynasty, having gained power, did not at all seek to pay generous "dividends" to its overseas allies, leaning out of harm's way to a "closed door" policy. In France, they understood that it was impossible to open these “doors” without guns, and for the time being they took a wait-and-see attitude. Favorable conditions for the invasion developed only by 1858. The successful completion of the 2nd Opium War against China for Europeans, in which France took an active part, allowed Napoleon III to send impressive forces against Vietnam - 2.5 thousand infantrymen on 13 ships armed with the latest technology. Spain also took part in the expedition, putting up one warship and 450 soldiers. On August 31, 1858, the combined forces under the command of Admiral Charles Rigaud de Genoui approached the port of Da Nang. The next day, before the expiration of the ultimatum, the city was taken by storm.
The French invasion from the first days ran into fierce resistance from the imperial troops and the local population. The failures forced the commander to change tactics: instead of fruitless attempts to dismember the country in its central part, he decided to win a foothold in the south. This path gave the conquerors huge advantages, because in the territory they occupied there was the most necessary thing - water and food. The abundance of waterways in the Mekong Delta made it possible to control the country with the help of gunboats, and the key role of the region in rice production made it possible not only to feed its soldiers, but also to put the uncompromising emperor Tu Duc on a “starvation ration”. The next blow was aimed at the Zyadin fortress, not far from which, on the banks of a full-flowing river, there was a conglomerate of 40 settlements - the future Saigon. In February 1859, the invasion troops defeated the Vietnamese troops and captured the fortress. Despite the defeat, the Vietnamese did not lose their presence of mind - they quickly gathered reinforcements and kept the foreigners under siege for three whole years. The fact that in 1860 the French had to fight on two fronts also played into the hands of the patriots: they were forced to transfer part of their expeditionary forces to China, whose authorities also stubbornly refused to obey the will of the West.
In February 1861, French forces concentrated off the coast of Vietnam, including 50 warships and 4,000 troops. infantry corps under the command of Admiral Charne. Under the onslaught of this rati, resistance was broken, and on June 5, 1862, Emperor Tu Duc was forced to conclude an agreement that gave the French three southern provinces of the country - Zyadin, Dinh Tuong and Bien Hoa; an indemnity of $4 million and the right to trade in the ports of Vietnam. In the occupied territories, a colony of French Cochinchina arose with a center in Saigon.
A year later, France asserted its dominance in Cambodia. Three southwestern provinces of Vietnam - Vinh Long, An Giang and Ha Tinh - were sandwiched between French possessions. The rivers that connected the two parts of the French colonial possessions were under the control of Vietnam, which did not suit Paris in any way. Inviting the emperor to voluntarily "cede" three provinces and not having received consent, the French in June 1867 resolved the issue by military means. Huge possessions were in the hands of the colonial authorities, which they disposed of at their own discretion. They organized a system of administrative control headed by the governor. At the same time, on the ground, the French were only at the head of the provinces, and the lower positions - from the prefect to the village headman - were occupied by the Vietnamese. During the first ten years of French rule (from 1860 to 1870), rice exports from the Mekong Delta quadrupled. New ports and shipyards were built, the Indochina Bank was established, and Saigon became a flourishing European city. For the "opponents of progress" in 1862, the famous hard labor prison was built on the island of Condao in the South China Sea ...
Meanwhile, the north of Vietnam, or Tonkin, as the Europeans called it, continued to attract the eyes of newcomers. In annexing these territories, the most important role was played by the entrepreneur-adventurer J. Dupuy, who in 1872 led a trading expedition to the basin of the Red River (Hong Ha). Not forgetting about personal gain, Dupuis had to fulfill a secret assignment from the colonial administration: to ensure the presence of "French interests" in Tonkin and provoke the Vietnamese authorities to hostile actions. The latter gave rise to another military expedition. In October 1873, Major F. Garnier joined Dupuis with a detachment of 180 marines. Reinforced from Cochin China, this small force captured Hanoi and the principal cities of the five provinces within three weeks. At the same time, the crowded city of Ninh Bin surrendered to a detachment of ... 10 people! The reason for such miracles was the large number of opponents of the emperor in the north of the country. Major Garnier himself died in battle, but his expedition became another "eastern victory" for France. In 1874, another treaty was concluded with Vietnam, which allowed France to subjugate all the foreign trade of the "Annamites" to its control and deploy its troops in Tonkin "to protect the consulates." The number of this contingent was constantly increasing and by the beginning of the 1880s. reached such a value that it made it easy to complete the occupation of the country. However, here the French had to face an obstacle - as it turned out, Qing China also claimed a tidbit. Considering North Vietnam as its own "patrimony", Beijing was not afraid to enter into conflict with a powerful European power. The Franco-Chinese war lasted for a year and ended, as you might guess, with the victory of modern European weapons. The new success of France coincided with the death of Emperor Tu Duc. In August 1883, French troops occupied the imperial capital of Hue, and five days later the “Treaty of Arman” was signed, establishing French dominance throughout the country. At the same time, Kochinchina (South Vietnam) remained a colony, and Annam (Central Vietnam) and Tonkin (Northern Vietnam) were declared protectorates, nominally subordinate to the emperors of the Nguyen dynasty. In 1884-1885. agreements were signed between France and China under which Beijing fully recognized French acquisitions and renounced any claims to the lands of Indochina. In 1887, Vietnam and Cambodia were united into the Indochinese Union, and in 1899 Laos was added to it, which became a French protectorate by 1893. Thus, France became the owner of vast Asian possessions. However, she did not have to rest on her laurels for long: in the mountains and jungles of the conquered peninsula, pockets of guerrilla warfare flared up, which escalated into the 20th century. to the national independence movement.
XX century: in the fire of wars and revolutions
At the end of the 19th century, a patriotic movement called Can Vuong - "In Defense of the Emperor" gained great weight in Vietnam. Its participants from among the officials and scientists were peace-loving, moderate in their demands, and saw their ideal in a constitutional monarchy. In the rural outback, on the contrary, there were enough people who were inferior to the city "freethinkers" in education, but who did not miss the opportunity to arrange a plentiful bloodletting of the hated teys ("people of the West", i.e. the French). Hoang Hoa Tham, the leader of the resistance in the Yenthe region, was the most widely known among such daredevils. Companions treated him with great respect and called him De Tham - "Commander Tham". A born military leader and an unsurpassed connoisseur of the area, De Tham for a long time, like a splinter, haunted the French with lightning raids. In 1894, the colonial authorities were forced to offer De Tham something like autonomy, giving him full control over the territory of four volosts. Such a handout did not suit the old partisan, and the jungle war unfolded with renewed vigor, ending only with the death of De Tham in 1913. The comrades-in-arms of the fallen commander, like many other rebels, took refuge in China, where the Qing authorities, wanting to annoy the French, watched to their presence through your fingers.
As in British India, leadership in the Vietnamese liberation movement at the beginning of the 20th century. gradually began to pass into the hands of energetic young people who received a Western education, but did not break away from their people. Many of them were fond of the then fashionable radical political doctrines. Among these "revolutionaries of the new generation" belonged the son of a rural teacher Nguyen Ai Quoc, known throughout the world under the name of Ho Chi Minh. The active political activity of the “father of Vietnamese independence” began in 1922 in Paris, where he created the Intercolonial Union of Colored Peoples, which became the progenitor of the current Communist Party of Vietnam.
By the beginning of 1930, three communist organizations already existed in Vietnam and the border regions of neighboring countries - the Communist Party of Annam, the Communist Party of Indochina and the Communist Union of Indochina. A considerable contribution to the popularity of the "faithful and omnipotent" doctrine in Indochina was played by the Comintern, tirelessly nurturing the cadres of the Vietnamese communists (at the end of the 1920s, more than fifty "Annamites" studied Marxist wisdom in Moscow), on February 3, 1930, a unification meeting was held in Hong Kong a conference of three parties, culminating in the creation of the Communist Party of Vietnam, immediately renamed the Communist Party of Indochina. Although Ho Chi Minh did not participate in the forum, he made a great contribution to the common cause of the Vietnamese communists. With his direct participation in May 1941, a militant organization of the party arose - the League of Struggle for the Independence of Vietnam (Viet Minh). In 1940, Japanese troops entered the territory of Vietnam. Despite this, unlike the Philippines, Malaya and Singapore, French Indochina formally continued to remain under the control of the colonial administration: Tokyo was forced to observe "decency" in relation to Vichy France, which made peace with the countries of the Nazi axis. In March 1945, in an effort to free their hands to organize the “last line of defense”, the Japanese finally removed the French from power in the colony, but their time in Vietnam was coming to an end: on August 15 of the same year, the island empire capitulated. The situation was immediately taken advantage of by the Viet Minh guerrillas, who emerged from the jungle and took control of the entire country in just 11 days. On September 2, 1945, in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the establishment of an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). Less than a month later, French troops began to arrive in Saigon, but active hostilities of the 1st Indochina War did not begin until December of the following year. Both opponents were strong enough, and the scales leaned in one direction or the other. During the first three years of the war, the communists lost control of South Vietnam, where in 1949 a state was established under the leadership of Emperor Bao Dai, a modernist who wore European clothes and married a Christian of humble origin. After the establishment of the communist regime in China, the military assistance of Mao Zedong tipped the scales towards the DRV. France was saved from a quick defeat by the United States, which for the first time openly appeared on the stage of the Indochinese historical drama. Only in June 1954, after the defeat of 13 thousand. army corps near the town of Dien Bien Phu in northwestern Vietnam, the French government agreed to negotiations. The Geneva Peace Agreement divided Vietnam into a special demilitarized zone along the 17th parallel. The agreement provided for the gradual unification of the country, taking into account the interests of the population of the South. Violating the terms of the agreement, the leader of the Saigon nationalists Ngo Dinh Diem in October 1955 proclaimed the creation of an independent Republic of Vietnam south of the 17th parallel, becoming the first president of the new state. The "Saigon regime", rapidly acquiring the features of a dictatorship, already in 1957 found itself in a state of war with numerous guerrilla groups of its opponents. In 1959, Hanoi openly proclaimed a policy of uniting the country by military means and provided the southern partisans with all-round support. Deliveries of weapons from the north went along the famous "Ho Chi Minh trail", laid around the demilitarized zone through the territory of Laos and Cambodia. By the end of 1960, the partisans controlled a third of the territory of the south. They even formed their own government, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, better known as the Viet Cong. Seeing the inability of their president to resist the "Reds", the Saigon military plotted, which ended in 1963 with the overthrow and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem. In an effort to regain positions lost in the fight against the communists, the subsequent leaders of the republic, Duong Van Minh, Nguyen Khanh and Nguyen Van Thieu, relied on American help.
American war
The leaders of the "free world" viewed South Vietnam as an obstacle to the expansion of the sphere of influence of the USSR and the PRC and considered it their duty to maintain the strength of this barrier. In the first years after the French left Asia, US aid to Saigon was expressed mainly in military supplies and financial injections. A few military advisers from across the ocean were engaged in planning operations and provided technical assistance. The first regular units of American aviation were transferred to South Vietnam in 1961. The situation changed dramatically in August 1964 after the mysterious battle between the American destroyer Maddox and North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Without denying the very fact of the collision, Hanoi claimed that the American ship had violated the maritime border of the DRV. The US government, by contrast, portrayed what happened as a treacherous attack that took place in international waters. The reaction followed immediately. On August 5, 1964, American naval aviation for the first time struck the territory of North Vietnam. The main consequence of the "Tonkin Incident" was the resolution of the US Congress, allowing President Lyndon Johnson the direct use of American soldiers in Southeast Asia. After some hesitation, the White House decided to use the received right, and in the spring of 1965 the first two battalions of the American marines went to Vietnam. At the same time, regular bombardments of the territory of the DRV by US aircraft began.
By the end of 1965, the number of American troops fighting in Vietnam exceeded 180 thousand people. In addition to the American, military units of Australia, South Korea and Thailand were deployed in Vietnam. The most combat-ready American units were engaged in the search and destruction of Viet Cong units in the northern provinces of the Republic of Vietnam, as well as along the border of Laos and Cambodia. Other military contingents guarded important sea and air ports, military bases and territories cleared of partisans. In the spring of 1966, the Viet Cong began to receive help from like-minded people. Units of the North Vietnamese army armed with first-class Soviet and Chinese "gifts" began to penetrate into South Vietnam from the territory of the DRV. In response to this, the American command had to urgently create a chain of fortified points along the southern border of the demilitarized zone. During 1965-1967. military operations in Vietnam were becoming more and more "hot" in nature, while cruelty against peaceful peasants was allowed by all participants in the conflict ... Having exchanged quick blows, the opponents retreated to their bases for regrouping, and then everything was repeated with exhausting monotony. The American command was forced to transfer more and more reinforcements to Indochina. Expeditionary force casualties mounted, and U.S. public opinion began to ask the government uncomfortable questions about the advisability of war.
Despite some tactical successes, none of the parties to the conflict managed to gain the upper hand. In January 1968, having concentrated all their forces, the army of the DRV and the Viet Cong delivered a sudden blow to the Americans in several directions at once. The operation, timed to coincide with the lunar New Year's holiday, went down in history as the "New Year Offensive", or "Strike on Tet". Despite the monstrous human losses, the communists achieved important results: the American troops were demoralized, and for the first time in the White House they thought about how to get out of this impassable bloody quagmire. By this time, the international prestige of the United States was crying bitter tears, and anti-war speeches in the country itself threatened to develop into actions of open defiance. When General W. Westmoreland, commander of the American forces in Vietnam, demanded another 200,000 soldiers from Washington, promising to put an end to the bloodless Viet Cong, President L. Johnson refused. On March 31, 1968, the president addressed the country, announcing the cessation of the bombing of the DRV, readiness for peace negotiations and the end of his own political career after the end of his term.
Beginning in 1969, the United States headed for the "Vietnamization" of the war. This meant that from now on the main burden of the fighting was to fall on the shoulders of the Saigon army. Despite this, American troops continued to fight in Vietnam until the beginning of 1973. In 1970, the fire of the war flared up even more, and the fighting spread to the territory of Cambodia and Laos. Gradually, it became clear to everyone that the victory had been lost once and for all. The Viet Cong controlled 4/5 of the territory of the Republic of Vietnam. In the offensive of the North Vietnamese army, which began in the spring of 1972, more than 120 thousand people participated with the support of armored formations. The American command was still trying to influence the situation by resuming the bombing of North Vietnam, but already on January 27, 1973, an agreement was reached in Paris, according to which the United States completed the withdrawal of its troops from Indochina four months later.
The departure of the Americans did not yet mean the end of the war. In the ranks of the South Vietnamese army, there were about a million fighters, and in terms of its firepower, it surpassed the troops of the DRV by seven times. American aid to Saigon in the last two years of its independent existence amounted to $4 billion. Although the troops were withdrawn, 26 thousand American advisers and specialists remained and continued to work on the territory of the country. Despite this, the offensive operation "Ho Chi Minh", launched by the troops of the DRV and the Viet Cong in March 1975, ended with the fall of the Saigon government on April 30th.
The outcome of the long-term civil war was predetermined by the decision of the government of South Vietnam to rely on overseas soldiers. Whatever the Viet Cong was, it won in the eyes of the population in comparison with the regime that let outsiders into the country. The Americans themselves not only treated the culture and traditions of Vietnam without the slightest respect, but also turned the country into a testing ground for new products of their military-industrial complex. All this came at a heavy price. Only the combat losses of American troops in Vietnam amounted to almost 50 thousand people killed, while the wounded numbered in the hundreds of thousands. The war left a deep mark on the historical memory and culture of America. More than three decades after the end of the war, in 2007, about 2,000 US servicemen continued to be considered missing in Indochina...
Postwar years
On April 25, 1975, five days before the fall of Saigon, general elections were held for the National Assembly of a united Vietnam. By the end of the year, the winners managed to carry out the nationalization of banks and large private businesses in South Vietnam. Having achieved the uniformity of the economy in accordance with socialist principles, on July 2, 1976, the authorities officially decided to reunify the country and create the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV). In the same year, the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam was merged with the adjoining city of Tholon into a single agglomeration, named after the leader of the Vietnamese revolution - Ho Chi Minh City.
With the support of the Soviet Union, the new state managed to achieve worldwide recognition. On September 20, 1977, the country became a full member of the UN. Relations with the USSR were formalized in 1978 by the Treaty of Friendship and Partnership. The leadership of the PRC, on the contrary, was extremely dissatisfied with Vietnam, which "changed" Beijing and Moscow and actively interfered in Chinese policy in Southeast Asia. In 1978, the Vietnamese troops occupied a significant part of the territory of Cambodia and overthrew the ruling Khmer Rouge regime, supported by China. In addition, by carrying out socialist transformations in their own country, the Vietnamese communists affected the interests of ethnic Chinese, who traditionally occupied key positions in the field of trade - especially in the South. This led to a mass exodus of Chinese from Vietnam, during which more than 300,000 people left the country.
On the morning of February 17, 1979, units of the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China invaded the border regions of North Vietnam. Easily breaking the resistance of the border guards and local militias, the Chinese troops occupied Lao Cai, Lang Son, Mong Cai and other Vietnamese border cities. A fleeting and very strange war began, during which aviation was not used, diplomatic relations between the warring countries were not interrupted, and their contacts along the party line did not stop. Already on March 5, China announced its "victory" and began the withdrawal of troops, which ended on March 16. Perhaps the Soviet Union played a role in making such a hasty decision, putting strong pressure on Beijing. The choice of sides in the conflict, which received the ironic nickname of the "first socialist war", is still not known for certain. The conflict complicated relations between Vietnam and China for a long ten years. The tension that reigned on the border of the two countries, from time to time resulted in armed clashes. Despite the “pacification” that followed as a result, disagreements still persist between the PRC and Vietnam over the ownership of the islands of the South China Sea.
The authoritarian methods that prevailed in the leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the era of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland, Le Duan (1969 - 1986), led to the fact that in the mid-1980s. The country's economy was in deep crisis. The death of the all-powerful leader and the example of the Soviet "perestroika" prompted the leadership of the Vietnamese Communist Party to proclaim in 1986 the course of "Renewal" (Vietnamese doi moi), which included measures to liberalize the economy. Fortunately for the country, the Vietnamese leaders nevertheless preferred to be guided on the path of transformation not by the Soviet, but by the Chinese experience...
1990s not very favorable to Vietnam. With the collapse of the USSR, the country lost its main support, and integration into the world economy was complicated by the hostile attitude of the United States. However, all the difficulties only stimulated the implementation of reforms, allowing the world to show another "miracle": from a poor totalitarian country, Vietnam suddenly turned into a self-sufficient and rapidly developing power, whose economic growth could not be slowed down even by the devastating Asian crisis of 1997-1998. The new era brought a change in foreign policy priorities: in 1991, ties with Beijing were completely normalized, and three years later, diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the United States were restored. In 1995, Vietnam became a member of the authoritative ASEAN organization, and in 1998, a member of APEC. In 2004, the next summit of the ASEAN member countries was held in Hanoi.
The mixing of the population of Vanlang with the coming Auviets occurred by the 3rd century BC. Already in 258 BC. Aulac, the state of the Lakviets and Auviets, arises. Coloa became the capital.
King An Duong-vyong became a victim of betrayal by his Chinese commander Zhao Tuo: he stole his son, taking the king's daughter as his wife. The Chinese captured Au Lak, calling himself the king of the new state of Nam Viet.
Chinese era
In 111 BC. The Han Chinese overthrow the last monarch of the Chieu Dynasty. Nam Viet was divided into 3 territories: Gyaoti, Kyuutyan, Nyatnam. The Chinese came to power in Vietnam.
Resistance to the new authorities resulted in a series of uprisings. Warrior women also showed themselves: the sisters Chyng Chak and Chyeng Ni expelled the Chinese from their country for three years. This was not the last female-led uprising in Vietnam. The rebellion under the leadership of Chieu, the national heroine, is also inscribed in the history of the country.
However, all resistance, both men and women, were doomed. By 1-2 centuries AD China has robbed Vietnam of the last vestige of independence. For a long 8 centuries, with interruptions, the Chinese ruled the country. Until the 10th century, the capital was the city of Hoaly. Only in 938 Vietnam gains independence thanks to the uprising that was raised by Ngo Cuyen, a Vietnamese feudal lord.
The Li dynasty is on the throne in the country by the 11th century. The state changes its name to Dai Viet (Great Viet) with the capital Thanglong (Hanoi).
The Chinese were expelled, but their "traces" were visible in Vietnam. In 1017, a temple of Confucius was built in the capital, and the national academy Ham Lam was created. In the 12th century, Confucianism was recognized as the state religion.
In the 13th century, the country was already able to repel the invasion of the Mongols into its territories. From 1257 to 1288, the Mongols encroached on the lands of the Vietnamese three times. Vietnam is joined by areas in the mountains, as well as the territory of the southern Chams. The history of the Cham people can be learned by visiting the Cham Museum, opened in Da Nang.
Emperor Lee Ho Kyui led his country into strife and political crisis. China immediately took advantage of the situation, and since 1407 the Ming dynasty rules in Vietnam. After 20 years, a simple fisherman Le Loy leads an uprising against the invaders. A beautiful legend about the “Lake of the Returned Sword” in Hanoi is associated with it (we talked about Hoan Kiem Lake in one of our articles). The Late Le dynasty (1428-1788) comes to power. The "golden age" of medieval Vietnam begins.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Daviet was shaken by the confrontation between the two clans Chin and Nguyen, although the kings from the Le dynasty formally rule. Clan leaders generously distribute land, spend state money, which leads to an increase in exactions from the population. The result of such a reign was the uprising of the Teyshons (1771), led by three brothers. Nguyen Hue, one of them, proclaims himself emperor in 1788.
A king from the Le dynasty asks his brother for help. And his brother was Qianlongu - the emperor from the Chinese Qing dynasty. The Chinese army attacked Vietnam. The decisive battle near Thang Long (1789) brought victory to the Vietnamese and retained the throne of Nguyen Hue. However, after 3 years, the king suddenly dies. Commander Nguyen Phuc Anh gathers an army and, with the support of France, calms down the rebels. In 1804, he sits on the throne, calling himself Gia Long. The capital is moved to the city of Hue. In the same year, the next name of the state was approved - Vietnam. The dynasty ruled Vietnam until 1945.
Thai Hoa, the Palace of Supreme Harmony, was built in 1805. In the palace, the emperor gathered his subjects for state affairs. The imperial throne made of gold, covered with a veil woven with precious threads, is also kept here.
The founder of the first Vietnamese state of Vanlang was King Hung, who, according to legend, was the eldest son of the dragon Lac Long Quan. In total, there were 18 Hung kings in this dynasty.
From Hung Vuong, the famous Chung sisters Chung Chak and Chung Nyi lead a short period of struggle against Chinese occupation at the beginning of the 1st millennium.
The first Hung Vyong is a very revered historical figure. Many Vietnamese cities have streets named after Hung Vuong.
Hanoi First Railway Station
Based on the study of the remains of an ancient man found in 2009 in Laos, scientists concluded that the first people of the modern type came to Indochina from Africa about 63 thousand years ago. Then their further advancement took place - north to China and southeast to Indonesia.
In the period of the last stages of the Late Neolithic and the beginning of the Bronze Age, in the Red River basin, there was a mixture of tribes that formed in the basin of the Chinese Yangtze River and in the south of the Indochina Peninsula.
The documented history of Vietnam begins in the 3rd millennium BC. e. Hung Vuong (King Hung) founded the proto-state Van Lang by the name of the largest tribe at that time and laid the foundation for the first Vietnamese Hong Bang dynasty. The Vanlang state occupied the territories of North Vietnam and South China almost to Hong Kong. Phong Chau was its capital. The Hong Bang dynasty had 18 Hung kings who ruled until the 3rd century BC.
The inhabitants of Wanlang were engaged in rice cultivation, breeding of buffaloes and pigs, construction of dams, and various crafts.
In the 5-2 centuries BC. On the territory of Vietnam, the culture of the Bronze Age, which became known as Dong Son culture, reached significant development.
Having replaced the Hungs, in the 3rd century BC. Thuc Phan, who received the throne name of An Duong Vuong, became the head of the Vietnamese state with the name Au Lak. The fortress of Koloa became the capital of Aulak. Its ruins are located near Hanoi. The Au Lak state was located mainly in what is now North Vietnam and the northern part of Central Vietnam. It got its name from the name of the Au Viet tribe, which overthrew the Hung dynasty.
In the middle part of Vietnam in the 2nd century AD. the kingdom of Champa (Tyampa) arose with a Hindu culture. It existed until the 14th century, when it became a vassal of the Vietnamese Annam.
The territories south of Champa were part of the Khmer state of Funan.
Vietnam Wars with China
Throughout its history, Vietnam has had to fight many times with China or wage a long struggle for liberation. Already from 110 BC to 938 AD, Vietnam was under Chinese occupation. In 544, the Vietnamese managed to expel the Chinese governor from the country. However, in 603, the territory of Vietnam was again conquered by the Chinese Sui dynasty.
In 939, the country was finally liberated from almost a thousand years of Chinese domination. In 1069 a unified Vietnamese
state of Dai Viet (Great Viet).
In the 12th century, Dai Viet waged wars with China in the north and with Cambodia in the south, as a result of which they significantly expanded their borders.
In 1257-1288. Mongolian troops invaded the country three times, but were repulsed by the Dai Viet army.
At the beginning of the 15th century, the Vietnamese again had to fight with China. The peak of the struggle of the Vietnamese people against the Chinese feudal lords was in 1428.
A beautiful legend is also associated with this page of history. In 1385-1433. lived a simple fisherman Le Loy, who was destined to become the organizer and leader of the struggle against the Chinese feudal lords, the founder of the royal dynasty of Le. Once Le Loy was fishing in a lake in the city of Hanoi and suddenly saw a huge turtle emerge from its depths to the surface. She held a golden sword in her mouth. Le Loi took the sword from the turtle and organized an uprising against the enslavers, which ended in the victory of the Vietnamese. The people proclaimed him king.
Once, already being king, Le Loy sailed on the same lake with his retinue. Suddenly, the sword that was with him slipped out and fell overboard, and a turtle surfaced from the depths and carried the sword away.
Everyone saw this as a sign from above: the sword was handed to him only to save the homeland, and when the goal was achieved, to hide it away from sin.
In fact, Le Loi came from a feudal family from the province of Than Hoa. In 1418, he raised an uprising against the seized Vietnam
Chinese Ming Dynasty. The loss of the sword in the lake actually took place in the presence of a huge tortoise that emerged from the depths at the moment when the sword fell into the water. The lake was then named Ho Hoan Kiem, which means Lake of the Returned Sword. It is located in the central part of the Vietnamese capital and a large turtle still lives in it, which is being monitored by scientists. Photos of the lake can be viewed on the Hanoi page.
Penetration of European colonialists into Vietnam
The 16th century can be called a new era in the history of Vietnam, which is characterized by its Europeanization. At this time, European Catholic missionaries begin to penetrate Vietnam and convert the Vietnamese to the Catholic faith, paving the way for the subsequent direct colonization of the country. They achieved the greatest success in the south of Vietnam.
In the 17th century, the Vietnamese state was weakened by continuous internal wars.
In 1771-1802. there was a large peasant anti-feudal movement "Taishon uprising". In the course of it, social reforms were carried out, measures
in the socio-economic field and culture, which contributed to the unification of the country and the strengthening of the centralized state. As a result of internal contradictions, the rule of the Tayshons ceased to exist and the monarchy was restored. The last royal Nguyen dynasty in the history of Vietnam came to power. In 1802, the capital of Vietnam was moved to the city of Hue.
In 1858, the Franco-Spanish squadron occupied the port city of Da Nang. In 1859 the French took Saigon. The war went on
until June 1862, after which the emperor ceded the three eastern provinces of Cochin to the French. In 1867, the French additionally annexed three western provinces of Cochinchina and formed the colony of Cochinchina.
1883-1884 - a new invasion of the French and their conquest of all of Vietnam.
1887 - French Indochina is formed on the territory of Vietnam and Cambodia.
1940-1945 - Japan occupied Vietnam during the Second World War, but left the French colonial administration there. March 9, 1945
Japan formally declared Vietnam an independent country. Emperor Bao Dai was declared head of state.
Vietnamese struggle for independence
At the end of the summer of 1945, Japan, which occupies Vietnam, is defeated in the 2nd World War. In Vietnam, the August Revolution takes place and the abdication of the last emperor, Bao Dai, takes place. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) is proclaimed, led by the first president, Ho Chi Minh.
The August Revolution took place with great support from the people. Before her, half of the land belonged to a few families of landowners. Millions
peasant families did not have not only their own land, but even dwellings. The famine of 1945 claimed almost a third of the population.
1946 - the beginning of the French war against the DRV in order to regain its power in Vietnam and restore the colonial regime.
1954 - the defeat of the French troops in the Dien Bien Phu area. Geneva agreements between the DRV and France to end the war. A demarcation line was drawn along the 17th parallel, dividing Vietnam into two parts (the northern part - the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the southern part - the Republic of Vietnam). This country adopted a national flag depicting three red stripes on a yellow background, symbolizing the three historical parts of all of Vietnam: northern, or Tonkin, middle, or Annam, southern, or Cochin China. Thus, the government of South Vietnam, in their ambitions and dreams, "appropriated" the rest of Vietnam.
1955 - France and the United States strengthen the Republic of Vietnam. France, through the puppet government of South Vietnam, is trying to maintain its colonial regime, but the influence of the United States gradually prevails and France is losing its positions.
In the mid-1950s, in the North, in the DRV, the collectivization of peasant farms was carried out, often under duress. This causes widespread dissatisfaction among the peasants, unrest begins. The authorities are resorting to large-scale repression and, as a result, are deprived of the deep popular support that was at the beginning of the revolution. Together with the landlords, who owned vast areas of land and cruelly exploited hired workers, the regime repressed the owners of medium and small farms, which flourished only due to the intensive work of their families. During the repressive period, unlike the USSR and China, there were no "cultural revolutions", temples of various denominations were not taken away or destroyed, the cultural heritage of previous eras was not discarded, and continuity in historical science continued.
Vietnam War
The Second Indochinese (so-called Vietnam) War is described on the Vietnam War page.
post-war period
1976 - Both parts of the country are merged into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After a long period of numerous wars, a peaceful period of history begins (not counting the conflict with the PRC in 1979).
1979 - a short armed conflict with China on the northern borders of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The conflict arose due to the fact that Vietnam sent its troops into Cambodia to stop the genocide of the Cambodian people by the Cambodian ruler Pol Pot, who was supported by Beijing. The Chinese army numbered 600,000 troops in 44 divisions. In service - 550 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 480 artillery pieces and 1260 heavy mortars. Numerous aviation, concentrated near the city of Pingxiang, the combat fleet, based on the island of Hainan, provided support. A very combat-ready Vietnamese army, which went through the crucible of a ten-year war with the United States and the South Vietnamese regime, managed to push Chinese divisions back into their territory in a month. The Chinese claim that they left on their own, remaining in the disputed territories.
In the late 70s, a crisis began that caused unrest throughout Vietnam, especially in Saigon. Gangs were operating from among the former military personnel of the South Vietnamese army and just criminals. Corruption flourished among officials and party workers, which, against the background of the poverty of the main part of the population, caused general discontent.
In the 1980s, economic aid from the USSR began to decrease.
In 1986, the "doi moi" renewal policy was proclaimed. The proclaimed new economic policy made it possible to open the way to a market economy, but with the preservation of the leading role of the Communist Party. As a result of the fusion of market and planned elements in the economy, Vietnam has managed to achieve visible results in the economy, foreign policy, education, and infrastructure development.