2017-18_MC_Catalog

MILITARY CONFLICTS

V I E T NAM WAR

THE VIETNAM WAR CONSTITUTES A DEFINING MOMENT IN MODERN HISTORY. Starting from 1945 and lasting to 1975, The war pitted the Communists of Vietnam, supported by China and the USSR, against a number of opponents, including first the French and second the South Vietnamese and Americans, the latter supported by a number of allies. U.S. involvement began when the anti-Communist government of South Vietnam sought American aid, and this grew steadily from technical support, weapons, and equipment to the initial limited involvement of U.S. This opened the floodgates, and in the mid 1960s ever-larger numbers of U.S. troops were poured into South Vietnam as U.S. air power struck at North Vietnam. But the Americans could never fully come to grips with the psychology and tactics of the communists. U.S. forces departed Vietnam in 1973. The USA was free of this commitment, but its failure in the Vietnam War was a body blow to U.S. cohesion and belief in itself.

Origins of theConflict inVietnam 1stEdit.qxp_Layout 1 01/03/2017 09:23 Page 13

Origins of theConflict inVietnam1stEdit.qxp_Layout1 01/03/2017 09:23 Page12

very considerablepsychologicaland emotionalblow to anation accustomed to success,butalready socially and culturally rivenby the anti-warmovement, in themediaas wellasamongmajor segmentsof the Americanpopulation,whichhad played such a significantpart in undermining the resolveof the American forces inSouth-EastAsia. Something in theorderof 1.4 millionmilitarypersonnel,aboutone in17of themAmerican, lost their lives in thewar, and civiliandeaths havebeen estimated variouslyas between 2and 5millionor slightly more for the twoVietnams, towhich have tobeaddedup to 700,000 Cambodian and 50,000Laotian civilians.Thewarwas foughtbetween theDemocraticRepublicofVietnam, generallyknownasNorthVietnam, and theRepublicofVietnam,known asSouthVietnam.The latterwas supportedby theUSA and, atvarious TheOrigins ofConflict in theVietnamWar

VIETNAMWAR

ChapterOne ALONGLEGACY

A lsoknownas theSecond IndochinaWar and theUSWar inVietnam, theVietnamWar lasted from 1965 to theCommunistvictory onApril 30,1975,but is sometimes dated to a start in1959.Of the several othernames associatedwith this conflict, theonemost generallyused is theVietnamWar. It isworthnoting, however, that theappellationSecond IndochinaWar isuseful in contextualizing the conflict in relation to theFirst IndochinaWar that resulted in thedepartureof the French as the colonialpower,and linking theVietnamWarwith the other conflictsbeing fought inSouth- EastAsiaatvarious timesduring this

Words toUnderstand Defoliant: Chemicals applied to plants causing their leaves to drop off, often to remove cover from an enemy inwar. Guerrilla: Apersonwho engages in irregularwarfare, harassing the enemy by sabotage or surprise raids. Indochina: Peninsula in south-easternAsia comprising six countries.

period: thusVietnam,Laos,and Cambodia canbe seen as the theaters inwhicha larger Indochinese conflict was fought,between the endof the

SecondWorldWar in1945and the Communistvictory in 1975. The termVietnamConflict is usedprimarily in theUSA to indicate thatCongressnever formally declaredwaronNorthVietnam,and that inpurely legal terms thepresident madeuseof his constitutionally mandated authority,onmany occasions supplementedby resolutions in theCongress, tohave theUS forces fightwhatwasdescribed asa “police action.” The termVietnamWar is that which ismostgenerallyused in the English-speakingworld,but falsely suggests that itwas foughtwholly LEFT: Vietnam 1949.TheFrench position isoverrun by theVietnamese aftera five-hour fightduring theBattleof PhoRang innorth-easternVietnam. OPPOSITEABOVE: French troopsat the commencementof insurgent action in theTonkinarea in 1947. OPPOSITEBELOW: Frencharmored troops clearing countrysidenearSaigon inOctober1945.

inside the twoVietnams, and so tacitly ignores the fact that the conflict spilledover intoCambodiaandLaos. Finally, the termmostgenerally used inNorthVietnam,and in the unified countryuntil recent times, is theResistanceWaragainst the Americans toSave theNation.This is more apropaganda slogan thana real name, and inmanywaysmirrors the USSR’suseof the termGreat PatrioticWar todescribe itspart in theSecondWorldWar. On the finaldayof thewar, the Communist forcesunderNorth Vietnamese leadership tookSaigon, the capitalof SouthVietnam, evenas the lastUS forceswerebeingpulled outby air tovesselsawaitingoffshore, sealing theNorthVietnamesemilitary victory aftermore than 15yearsof increasinglyopenwarfare.The VietnamWarwas the firstmajor militarydefeat sufferedby theUnited StatesofAmerica,andas suchwasa

12

13

5 VOLUME SET © 2018

Set ISBN ..........978-1-4222-3887-5 Hardcover Set Price ...........$166.35 Hardcover List Price ..............33.27 Multi-User eBook List Price ...42.60

$124.75 (S&L) 24.95 (S&L) 31.95 (S&L)

Full color • Library bound Trim Size: 8 x 9½ • 80 pages Grade Level: 7-12

HBK ISBN E-ISBN

Stalemate: U.S. Public Opinion of the War in Vietnam...............................................-3891-2 -7901-4 The Escalation of American Involvement in the Vietnam War...............................................-3889-9 -7899-4 The Fall of Saigon and The End Of The Vietnam War..................................................-3892-9 -7902-1 The Origins of Conflict in the VietnamWar ................... -3888-2 -7898-7 The U.S. Ground War in Vietnam 1965 – 1973........... -3890-5 -7900-7

Mason Crest , an Imprint of National Highlights | To l l -Fr e e 8 6 6 . 6 2 7 . 2 6 6 5 | F a x 6 1 0 . 5 4 3 . 3 8 7 8 32