It was a major shock to the entire nation, affected each individual and the entire generation as a whole, and despite the fact that it ended almost forty years ago, it still determines the course of Vietnam's development.
Generally speaking, the war was both a civil war, fought by the country's opposing political parties, and a fight against the American occupiers who had seized power in the south.
Starting in the early 60s, it gradually acquired a protracted character, and actually ended only in 1975, on April 30, when the South Vietnamese troops finally surrendered the city of Saigon.
It all started with the fact that after the liberation of Vietnam from French rule in 1955, the country split into two parts - the North under the control of the Communist Party, the independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the South, which was called the Republic of Vietnam. Under the Geneva Agreement, the whole country was supposed to determine a new leader and unite through popular presidential elections, but the current president of the southern part of the country, Ngo Dinh Diem, rejected the decision to hold a referendum in the south.
In response, one of the leaders of the Communist Party in the north created the National Liberation Fund of South Vietnam (Viet Cong), which served as an impetus for the start of a guerrilla war, the purpose of which was to overthrow Ngo Dinh Diem.
The civil war unleashed next, and the American side gradually became involved in it, supporting the friendly South Vietnamese regime and providing assistance to the president.
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In the early 60s, the United States had already sent its troops to the territory of South Vietnam and began full-scale military operations. One of the main reasons is to stop the spread of communism in Asia; at that time, the fight against the "red threat" in general was extremely relevant among American politicians.
The Americans deployed huge military resources and methodically demonstrated the full power of modern military equipment day after day: the marines, tactical air force combat aircraft, attack aircraft carriers, aircraft, army aviation and strategic bombers were involved.
The patriots of South Vietnam countered the tactics of the Americans with their effective method of fighting - they widely used a system of underground tunnels and strongholds in the most important regions.
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An excellent example of tunnels, which are currently open to tourists, is the legendary Cu Chi network. In its heyday, the tunnel system in this area alone reached 250 km in length and stretched from the Cambodian border to South Vietnam. This network was located at several levels of depth and included countless secret entrances, living quarters, warehouses, weapons workshops, field hospitals, command centers and food stations.
By visiting this landmark, located near Ho Chi Minh City, one can understand how much perseverance and courage was required from the Vietnamese people in order to remain faithful to their ideals for many years and fight for them in such inhuman conditions.
What measures did the Americans not resort to in order to discover the tunnels! The vast territory of the jungle was cleared by bulldozers, the fields were treated with chemicals, defoliants were sprayed over the area, and the vegetation was set on fire with gasoline and napalm - despite all this, the Viet Cong struck with their heroism, remained steadfast and offered stubborn resistance at all stages of the war. Living and fighting in terrible conditions, they would rather die in battle than surrender.
The Americans suffered heavy losses, as the underground passages allowed the guerrillas to launch attacks wherever the tunnels ran. In addition, the Viet Cong resorted to military operations at night, which prevented the enemy from using aircraft and artillery in full force.
When the secret of the underground tunnels was finally revealed, the opponents began to use "underground rats" - soldiers from the Philippines and Korea, undersized and specially trained, against whom the security systems did not work, and then set in motion shepherd dogs trained to find the location of hidden entrances by smell . The guerrillas began to use pepper to throw the dogs off the trail, and even began to wash themselves with American soap, the smell of which caused the animals to associate with a friend.
Many people died, both from the side of Vietnam and from America, but the unity and national spirit gradually led the occupied country to victory.
Cu Chi villages have received numerous honorary awards, distinctions and government accolades, and many have received the title of "Hero Village". On the territory of the district there is the Cu Chi Military History Museum, which can be reached from Ho Chi Minh City by bus or taxi.
The support of China and the USSR played a colossal role in the victory of Vietnam. Moreover, if the former provided mainly economic assistance and manpower, then the USSR supplied its most advanced weapons. About 95 Dvina air defense systems and more than 7.5 thousand missiles for them were allocated to fight the Americans; aircraft, small arms, ammunition and military equipment were supplied free of charge. According to A.N. Kosygin, assistance to Vietnam cost 1.5 million rubles every day. Soviet workers at numerous rallies angrily protested the American occupation, a broad movement unfolded in the country under the slogans: "Hands off Vietnam!", "Peace to Vietnam!" etc.
On the side of the Vietnamese, there were also terrain features that made it possible to deploy an effective guerrilla movement, they set booby traps in the forest and hid in trees, which was unfamiliar to the US military. Impenetrable jungles, tropics, swamps, unusual heat - all this did not contribute to the success of the Americans, in addition, the army did not have the military spirit to fight for so long in a foreign country for foreign ideals. The soldiers did not understand why this whole war was being waged, which was going on far from home, they did not understand how such a small state could threaten America itself.
Population polls conducted by the United States in the fall of 1967 showed that the majority of Americans opposed the war. In the future, due to the growth of losses, support for the government by US residents will increasingly fall. The war becomes extremely unpopular, a strong protest movement develops, various rallies are held for the speedy end of the war.
However, in any war there are people who, no matter how scary it sounds, it is beneficial. For military corporations, and for the entire military-industrial complex of the United States as a whole, the war brought huge profits - for them, Vietnam became a kind of training ground where they could try out the latest weapons, including chemical and biological weapons, and practice using napalm. Therefore, corporations in every possible way advocated the continuation of the war and, having great political influence, made it more and more destructive.
The period of the war, despite the defeat of the American side, became a tragic page in the history of Vietnam, which suffered irreparable losses. The population mourned the two million victims, of which one and a half were in the south of the country; more than a million children were orphaned; a million hectares of land was littered with dioxins; more than half of the forests were on the verge of destruction; hundreds of hectares of rice fields were razed to the ground; three thousand schools, five hundred temples and pagodas, 250 hospitals, 1,500 medical centers and maternity homes were destroyed.
Even now, unexploded mines and shells still threaten the lives of the Vietnamese, and at least a thousand explosions rumble every year in the country, where more bombs were dropped than on other states during the entire Second World War. As a result of the use of chemicals, the ecological balance of Vietnam has seriously changed, only 18 out of 150 bird species remained in the affected areas.
To understand what military operations meant for Vietnam, you need to see firsthand the exhibits left over from that time - captured military equipment, helicopters, unexploded ordnance, attack aircraft and tanks. Visit the Military History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City if possible. The exhibition is located in several buildings and includes a large number of photographs, as well as objects from the battlefields, torture instruments and prison cells.
It became one of the most important events of the Cold War period. Its course and results largely predetermined the further development of events throughout Southeast Asia.
The armed struggle in Indochina lasted for more than 14 years, from the end of 1960 to April 30, 1975. Direct US military intervention in the affairs of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam continued for more than eight years. Military operations also took place in a number of regions of Laos and Cambodia.
In March 1965, 3,500 marines were landed in Da Nang, and in February 1968, US troops in Vietnam already numbered 543,000 people and a large number of military equipment, which accounted for 30% of the combat strength of the US Army, 30% of army aviation helicopters, about 40% tactical aircraft, almost 13% of attack aircraft carriers and 66% of marines. After the conference in Honolulu in February 1966, the heads of the US allies in the SEATO bloc sent troops to South Vietnam: South Korea - 49 thousand people, Thailand - 13.5 thousand, Australia - 8 thousand, the Philippines - 2 thousand and New Zealand - 350 people.
The USSR and China took the side of North Vietnam, providing it with extensive economic, technical and military assistance. By 1965 alone, the DRV received 340 million rubles from the Soviet Union free of charge or in the form of loans. Weapons, ammunition and other materiel were supplied to the VNA. Soviet military specialists helped VNA soldiers to master military equipment.
In 1965-1666, the American-Saigon troops (over 650 thousand people) launched a major offensive with the aim of capturing the cities of Pleiku, Kontum, dissecting the forces of the NLF, pressing them to the borders of Laos and Cambodia and destroying them. At the same time, they widely used incendiary means, chemical and biological weapons. However, SE AO thwarted the enemy offensive by launching active operations in various regions of South Vietnam, including those adjacent to Saigon.
With the beginning of the dry season of 1966-1967, the American command launched a second major offensive. Parts of the SA SE, skillfully maneuvering, escaped from blows, suddenly attacked the enemy from the flanks and rear, making extensive use of night operations, underground tunnels, communications and shelters. Under the blows of the SA SE, the American-Saigon troops were forced to go on the defensive, although by the end of 1967 their total number already exceeded 1.3 million people. At the end of January 1968, the NLF armed forces themselves went on the general offensive. It involved 10 infantry divisions, several separate regiments, a large number of battalions and companies of regular troops, partisan detachments (up to 300 thousand people), as well as the local population - about one million fighters in total. Attacks were simultaneously made on 43 of the largest cities in South Vietnam, including Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), 30 of the most important air bases and airfields. As a result of the 45-day offensive, the enemy lost more than 150 thousand people, 2,200 aircraft and helicopters, 5,250 military vehicles, 233 ships were sunk and damaged.
In the same period, the American command launched a large-scale "air war" against the DRV. Up to 1,000 warplanes delivered massive strikes against DRV targets. In 1964-1973, over two million sorties were made over its territory, 7.7 million tons of bombs were dropped. But the bet on the "air war" failed. The government of the DRV carried out a mass evacuation of the population of cities into the jungle and shelters created in the mountains. The Armed Forces of the DRV, having mastered supersonic fighters, anti-aircraft missile systems, radio equipment received from the USSR, created a reliable air defense system of the country, which destroyed up to four thousand American aircraft by the end of 1972.
In June 1969, the People's Congress of South Vietnam proclaimed the formation of the Republic of South Vietnam (RSV). The South Vietnamese Defense Army in February 1968 was transformed into the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NVSO SE).
Major defeats in South Vietnam and the failure of the "air war" forced the US government in May 1968 to begin negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the Vietnamese problem and to agree to an end to the bombing and shelling of the territory of the Republic of South Vietnam.
Since the summer of 1969, the US administration has set a course for "Vietnamization", or "de-Americanization", of the war in South Vietnam. By the end of 1970, 210,000 American soldiers and officers had been withdrawn from South Vietnam, and the size of the Saigon army had been increased to 1.1 million. The United States transferred almost all the heavy weapons of the withdrawn American troops to it.
In January 1973, the US government signed an agreement to end the Vietnam War (the Paris Agreement), which provided for the complete withdrawal of US troops and military personnel from South Vietnam, the dismantling of US military bases, and the mutual return of prisoners of war and detained foreign civilians.
Up to 2.6 million American soldiers and officers participated in the Vietnam War, equipped with a large amount of the most modern military equipment. US spending on the war reached $352 billion. During its course, the American army lost 60,000 people killed and over 300,000 wounded, about 9,000 aircraft and helicopters, and a large amount of other military equipment. After the withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam, over 10,000 American military advisers remained in Saigon under the guise of "civilians". US military assistance to the Saigon regime in 1974-1975 amounted to more than four billion dollars.
In 1973-1974, the Saigon army intensified the fighting. Its troops regularly carried out a large number of so-called "pacification operations", the Air Force systematically bombarded areas in the zone of control of the government of the Republic of South Ossetia. At the end of March 1975, the command of the army of the Republic of Vietnam concentrated all remaining forces for the defense of Saigon. In April 1975, as a result of the lightning-fast Operation Ho Chi Minh, North Vietnamese troops defeated the South Vietnamese army, which was left without allies, and captured all of South Vietnam.
The successful completion of the war in Vietnam made it possible in 1976 to unite the DRV and the RSE into a single state - the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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Fighting during the Vietnam War
In the spring of 1954, a meeting was convened in Geneva to discuss the conditions for ending the war in Indochina (1946-1954), which was attended, on the one hand, by representatives of the national liberation forces and the Communists of Vietnam, and on the other, by the French colonial government and its supporters. The meeting opened on May 7, the day the French military base at Dien Bien Phu fell. The meeting was attended by representatives of France, Great Britain, the USA, the USSR, China, Cambodia, Laos, as well as the Vietnamese government of Bao Dai, supported by the French, and the government of the Viet Minh (League for the struggle for the independence of Vietnam), headed by Ho Chi Minh. On July 21, a ceasefire agreement was reached, providing for the withdrawal of French troops from Indochina.
The main points of the agreement on Vietnam provided for: 1) the temporary division of the country into two parts approximately along the 17th parallel and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between them; 2) a ban on the buildup of armaments in both parts of the country; 3) creation of an international control commission consisting of representatives of India, Poland and Canada; 4) holding on July 20, 1956, general elections to the parliament of a united Vietnam. The United States and the Bao Dai government refused to sign the agreement, but the American side assured that it would not resort to forceful methods to disrupt it. Bao Dai declared that the Western powers had betrayed his interests, but it was clear that, under pressure from the USSR and China, the Viet Minh made much more concessions than could be expected from him, given his military victory.
After the French left, the Ho Chi Minh government quickly consolidated its hold on North Vietnam. In South Vietnam, the French were replaced by the United States, which viewed South Vietnam as the main link in the security system in the region. The American doctrine of "dominoes" assumed that if South Vietnam became communist, then all the neighboring states of Southeast Asia would fall under the control of the communists.
Indochina. War and Peace
Ngo Dinh Diem, a well-known nationalist figure with a high reputation in the United States, became the Prime Minister of South Vietnam. At first, Ngo Dinh Diem's position was very precarious due to strife among his supporters, due to the clash of interests of the religious and political sects that dominated various regions of the country, and also because of the long-standing antagonism between the southerners, the inhabitants of Central Vietnam and, as a rule, more educated and politically active northerners. Diem succeeded in consolidating his power by the end of 1955, splitting the camps of opponents by force of arms, suppressing the resistance of various sects, developing a public works program, and beginning a limited land reform. After that, the prime minister held a referendum, removed Bao Dai from power and proclaimed himself head of state. However, since the late 1950s, economic stagnation began to grow in the country, repression, corruption, and discrimination against Buddhists and southerners intensified. Nevertheless, the United States continued to provide the government of Ngo Dinh Diem with all possible support.
In 1956, Ngo Dinh Diem, with the tacit support of the United States, refused to hold a national referendum on the question of the country's reunification. Convinced that the peaceful unification of the country has no prospects, the Vietnamese nationalist and communist forces launched an insurgency in rural areas of South Vietnam. The political leadership of the movement was carried out from North Vietnam, and in practice the rebels were led by former members of the Viet Minh, who remained after the division of the country in South Vietnam and went underground. After the beginning of the uprising, southerners joined him, who fled to the north after 1954 and underwent political and military training there. Well versed in local conditions, knowing people and even linguistic dialects, the rebels tried to enlist the support of the peasants by promising them land (Ngo Dinh Diem's limited land reform did not have the desired effect) and appealing to their national feelings.
Vietnamese guerrillas on the march
In December 1960, as it became apparent that the Ngo Dinh Diem regime was gradually losing control of the countryside, North Vietnam announced that the rebels were uniting in the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam (NLF), a communist-led coalition that included various religious, nationalist, and social factions. . The armed wing of the NLF, known as the National Liberation Army, consisted of local militia, provincial military units, and elite shock battalions. The South Vietnamese government called these forces the Viet Cong (using this term to refer to all Vietnamese communists). The political program of the NLF was to replace the Ngo Dinh Diem regime with a democratic government, carry out agrarian reform, pursue South Vietnam's policy of neutrality in the international arena, and finally unite the country through the negotiation process.
In 1961, the Viet Cong controlled a large area of South Vietnam and could almost at any time block traffic on the roads of the country. American military advisers were convinced that a large-scale invasion from the north, as was the case in Korea, should be expected, and they recommended that Ngo Dinh Diem create a regular army with an extensive command and control system, equip it with heavy weapons and artillery. But such an army was unable to effectively resist the swift attacks of the guerrillas. Thus, the maintenance of security in rural areas fell on the shoulders of a poorly trained and poorly armed national police, which, moreover, often managed to infiltrate the guerrillas. Another serious problem was the massive flow of weapons into the hands of the Viet Cong, either during the fighting or through defectors.
D.F. Kennedy holds a meeting on the situation in Southeast Asia. March 1961
The rapid weakening of the positions of the South Vietnamese government forced the United States to provide him with additional military assistance in 1961, which made it possible in 1962 to temporarily improve the situation. To support military operations, Ngo Dinh Diem launched a "strategic villages" program that included building defensive structures in the villages, training local self-defense units to repel Viet Cong attacks before the arrival of government troops, and turning them into centers of health, secondary education and agricultural training . It was assumed that in the end the peasants would stop supplying food to the partisans and supplying them with recruits and information. However, the social situation of the peasants almost did not change for the better, so the government was unable to protect the “strategic villages” from partisan attacks, and corrupt officials often robbed the rural population.
In 1963, in the face of the intensification of the militant Buddhist opposition and under American pressure to change the political course, Ngo Dinh Diem was removed as a result of the first of a series of military coups. His successors focused on strengthening security, primarily in the Saigon area, but by 1964 the central government more or less controlled only 8 of the 45 South Vietnamese provinces, and the Viet Cong pressed government troops in almost all other parts of the country. Although thousands of Viet Cong dead were officially reported, the number of partisans, taking into account only their permanent contingent, was estimated at 35 thousand people. In addition, these regular guerrilla forces were believed to be supported by armed detachments numbering ca. 80 thousand people, whose members worked on the land during the day and fought at night. Moreover, there were approx. 100 thousand active supporters of the Viet Cong, who carried out important reconnaissance missions and organized the supply of military units with food and weapons. Among the population of South Vietnam as a whole there was an increase in sentiment in favor of ending the war, but there was also growing dissatisfaction with the corruption of the regime, its inability to provide security and a basic set of services.
On August 2, 1964, the USS Maddox, which was patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin, approached the coast of North Vietnam and was allegedly attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats. Two days later, under unclear circumstances, another attack was carried out. As a response, President L. Johnson ordered the American air force to strike at the naval installations of North Vietnam. Johnson used these attacks as a pretext to get Congress to pass a resolution in support of his actions, which later served as a mandate for undeclared war.
The history of our civilization is full of bloody wars and tragedies. People still do not know how to live in peace on one small planet lost in cold space. War is increasingly becoming an instrument of enrichment for some at the expense of the grief and misfortune of others. In the twentieth century, the assertion that force rules the world was once again confirmed.
In early September, in the year of the final surrender of fascism, the creation of the second people's state in Asia, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, was proclaimed. The power in the country was in the hands of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh, which radically changed the geopolitical situation in the region. However, the Europeans did not intend to leave their colonies, and soon a new bloody war broke out. British troops under the leadership of General Gracie created favorable conditions for the return of the French colonists instead of the promised help to expel the Japanese aggressors. The Allies openly violated the provisions of the Atlantic Charter, which stated that all countries that fought against fascism would receive their long-awaited freedom. Soon, French troops landed on the territory of Vietnam in order to restore their former influence in the region. However, Vietnam by this time was experiencing an incredible rise in national spirit, and the French met with fierce resistance.
At the initiative of the Soviet Union, at the end of April 1954, a document was signed in Geneva recognizing the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as restoring peace in the region. As a result, two parts of the country were formed, separated by a conditional border: North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, and South, headed by Ngo Dinh Diem. If Ho Chi Minh was a leader with real authority among the local population, supported by the countries of the socialist camp, then Diem turned out to be an ordinary puppet of the West. Soon, Diem lost even the appearance of popularity among the people, and a guerrilla war broke out in South Vietnam. The democratic elections scheduled by the Geneva Act turned out to be completely unprofitable for the Europeans, since it became clear that Ho Chi Minh's victory was predetermined. It should be noted that the communists from the DRV played an important role in the development of the partisan movement. Soon the United States intervened in the conflict, but the lightning-fast conquest of the country did not take place.
The southern part of Vietnam was almost completely covered with impenetrable jungle, in which the partisans successfully hid. Military operations, customary and effective in Europe, were not applicable here, the communist North provided significant support to the rebels. After the Tonkin Incident, the US Air Force bombed North Vietnam. Black phantoms were sent to Hanoi and, exerting a psychological impact on the population, destroyed mainly military facilities. The air defense system in the underdeveloped country was almost completely absent, and the Americans quickly felt their impunity.
Help from the USSR followed immediately. To be more precise, Soviet support for the young people's state was carried out a year before the famous meeting in 1965, however, large-scale deliveries of military equipment began after the official decision was made and the issues of transportation through China were settled. In addition to weapons, Soviet military and civilian specialists, as well as correspondents, went to Vietnam. In the famous movie "Rambo", American directors cover the fierce battles between the "hero" and notorious thugs from the "Russian special forces". This work concentrates all the fear of the Soviet soldiers, who, according to US politicians, fought with their valiant half-million army. So, given that the number of military from the USSR who arrived in Hanoi was only six thousand officers and about four thousand privates, it becomes clear how exaggerated such stories are.
In fact, only officers and privates were present on the territory of North Vietnam, called to train local military personnel in the management of Soviet equipment and weapons. Contrary to the expectations of the Americans, who predicted the appearance of the first results of such training only in a year, the Vietnamese entered into a confrontation after only two months. Perhaps such an unexpected and unpleasant circumstance for the American command gave rise to suspicions that Soviet pilots, and not at all local soldiers, were on the side of the enemy. Legends of Bolsheviks with machine guns hiding in the impenetrable jungle and attacking American civilians in Vietnam are still popular in the States today. If you believe these stories, then we can conclude that only ten or eleven thousand Soviet soldiers were able to defeat the half-million American army, and this is really incredible. The role of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese in this approach is not at all clear.
However, it cannot be denied that the Americans had reason not to trust the assurances of the USSR about the exclusively advisory mission of military specialists. The fact is that the majority of the population of North Vietnam was illiterate. The vast majority were starving, people were exhausted, so ordinary fighters did not even have a minimum margin of endurance and strength. Young men could only endure ten minutes of combat with the enemy. There was no need to talk about skill in the field of piloting on modern machines. Despite all of the above factors, during the first year of confrontation with North Vietnam, a significant part of American military aircraft was destroyed. MiGs outperformed the legendary phantoms in maneuverability, so they successfully evaded pursuit after the attack. Anti-aircraft systems, thanks to which most of the American bombers were shot down, were difficult to eliminate, since they were located under the cover of dense tropical forests. In addition, intelligence worked successfully, reporting fighter sorties in advance.
The first months of work of the Soviet rocket scientists turned out to be extremely tense. Completely different climatic conditions, unfamiliar diseases, annoying insects have become far from the main problem in fulfilling the task. The training of the Vietnamese comrades, who did not understand the Russian language at all, took place through a demonstration, with the involvement of translators, who were often in short supply. However, Soviet specialists did not participate directly in the battles, since there were very few of them, and they were too valuable. According to the testimony of direct participants, they did not even have their own weapons.
North Vietnamese PT-76, shot down in the battle near the Benhat special forces camp. March 1969
The American command strictly forbade shelling Soviet ships and transport, since such actions could provoke the outbreak of the Third World War, however, it was the Soviet military-economic machine that turned out to be opposed to the Americans. Two thousand tanks, seven hundred light and maneuverable aircraft, seven thousand mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters and much more were supplied by the USSR as gratuitous friendly assistance to Vietnam. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, later assessed by the enemy as impenetrable for any type of fighter, was built at the expense of the USSR, by the forces of Soviet specialists. The armament of the belligerent state took place in the most difficult conditions of constant bombing and open robbery by China. Over 10,000 Vietnamese were sent to the Soviet Union for military training and training in handling modern Soviet technology. According to various estimates, the support of friendly Vietnam cost the USSR budget from one and a half to two million dollars daily.
There is an opinion that the Soviets sent obsolete weapons to help the belligerents. In refutation, one can cite an interview with the chairman of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Vietnam Veterans Nikolai Kolesnik, a direct participant and eyewitness to the events under study. According to him, modern MiG-21 vehicles were put into service, as well as Dvina anti-aircraft guns, the shells of which, according to the Americans, turned out to be the deadliest on earth at that time. Kolesnik also notes the high qualification of military specialists, and the incredible perseverance of the Vietnamese in learning and striving to master the science of management as quickly as possible.
Despite the fact that the US authorities were well aware of the provision of military assistance to North Vietnam, all specialists, including the military, were required to wear only civilian clothes, their documents were kept at the embassy, and they learned about the final destination of their business trip at the last moment. Secrecy requirements were maintained until the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from the country, and the exact numbers and names of the participants are not known to this day.
Relations between the USSR and Vietnam were based on the conditions of "unequal friendship". The Union was interested in spreading its influence in the region, which is why it provided such generous and disinterested assistance. Vietnam, on the other hand, cooperated with the Soviets solely for reasons of profit, successfully speculating on the position of a country fighting for independence and freedom. Sometimes help was not asked, but demanded. In addition, direct participants often describe cases of provocations by the Vietnamese authorities.
International relations with this tropical country are being built today by Russia as the immediate legal successor of the Union. The political situation is developing in different ways, but the local population has retained a sense of gratitude for the Russian soldiers, and the heroes of that secret war are still proud of participating in it.
Documentary investigation. Russian secrets of the Vietnam War
About 6360 Soviet officers worked in Vietnam as military advisers - they allegedly only helped repel American air raids with the support of air defense missile systems. Officially, 13 people were declared dead. Every day of this nine-year war cost the USSR 2 million dollars.
The Americans knew very well where the Soviet camps were located, so until there were active hostilities, they were tolerant of the Russians. Occasionally, leaflets were dropped from flying planes indicating the time of the bombing and suggesting that the Russians leave the danger zone. The feeling of complete impunity ended with the shock of the Americans on July 25, 1964. It was the first battle of Soviet anti-aircraft gunners with American aircraft. On this day, three aircraft were destroyed near Hanoi by three missiles. The Americans experienced such horror that they did not fly for two weeks. The Vietnamese shamelessly speculated on help from the USSR and even jeopardized Soviet ships.
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The common name for the "Vietnam War" or "Vietnam War" is the Second Indochina War, in which the main belligerents were the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the United States.
For reference: The First Indochina War - France's war for the preservation of its colonies in Indochina in 1946-1954.
The Vietnam War 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 agreements 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, a new stage of the Vietnam War began. On this day, the US Navy destroyer Maddox 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 of the DRV were also bombed. Thus the war spread to North Vietnam. From this period, the USSR joined the war in the form of military-technical assistance to the DRV.
The allies of the United States 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. In the second half of the 60s, some South Korean units (for example, the Blue Dragon brigade) turned out to be the most cruel towards the local population.
On the other hand, only the North Vietnamese army of the VNA (Vietnamese People's Army) and the NLF fought. On the territory of North Vietnam 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
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 objects. 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 aircraft 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 set a course for 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 recapture 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.
The ending
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.
Vietnamese and Russian veterans of the Vietnam War
In April 1975, as a result of the lightning 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 (ARVN) and the US Army in South Vietnam was sharply negative (ARVN surpassed the Americans in 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 came to the conclusion that it was impossible to win the Vietnam War, but at the same time they “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).
Military and economic assistance to the DRV from China ranged from $14 billion to $21 billion, from the USSR - from $8 billion to $15 billion. There was also assistance from Eastern European countries, which at that time were part of the Soviet bloc.
Political and economic reasons
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 need for 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 the USSR would take 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, and 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 using surface-to-air missiles against US aircraft that bombed 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. They had two incidents. 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 at the port of Kamfa on the ship "Turkestan" of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, which was transporting various cargoes to North Vietnam. 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 proven guilty of 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". The American media wrote about an increased percentage of suicides among Vietnam War veterans in relation to the US average. But official data on this subject was not published.
Representatives of the American political elite fought in Vietnam: former Secretary of State John Kerry, many senators at different times, including John McCain, presidential candidate Al Gore. At the same time, shortly after returning from Vietnam to the United States, Kerry participated in the anti-war movement.
One of the former presidents, George W. Bush, escaped Vietnam as he served in the National Guard at the time. His campaign opponents portrayed this as a way of evading duty. However, this fact of the biography rather indirectly served him well. Some American political scientists have concluded that any participant in the Vietnam War, regardless of his qualities, has no chance of becoming president - the voter's negative image of this war has become so entrenched.
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.