Indochina Wars
Encyclopedia
The Indochina Wars were a series of wars fought in Southeast Asia from 1947 until 1979, between nationalist Vietnamese against French, American, and Chinese forces. The term "Indochina" originally referred to French Indochina
, which included the current states of Vietnam
, Laos
and Cambodia
. In current use, it applies largely to a geographic region, rather than a political area. The four wars were:
of the 16th century, which had resulted in Catholics
forming a converted minority. While Gia Long
tolerated Catholicism, his successors Minh Mạng
and Tự Đức were staunch Confucians, admiring China rather than France. They brutally suppressed Catholicism and attempted to remove French influence, which provoked the Catholic nations of Europe to retaliate. Confucian isolationist policy led the Vietnamese to refuse industrial modernization, so that they were ill-equipped against the French. In August 1858, Napoleon III of France
ordered the landing of French forces at Tourane, (present-day Da Nang
), beginning a colonial occupation that was to last almost a century. By 1884, the French had complete control over the country, which now formed the largest part of French Indochina.
A continuous thread of local resistance began with Hàm Nghi
, then to Phan Dinh Phung
, Phan Boi Chau
and lastly to Ho Chi Minh
, who returned to Vietnam from France and joined the Viet Minh
in 1941. A founding member of the French Communist Party
, Ho Chi Minh had de-emphasised his communist ties and dissolved the Indochinese Communist Party, in order to win trust and gain power. When a famine broke out in 1945, causing 2 million deaths, the Viet Minh arranged a massive relief effort, consequently winning over many people to their nationalist cause. Ho Chi Minh
rose to become the leader of the Vietcong.
When World War II ended, North Vietnam came under the control of Ho Chi Minh. The Japanese surrendered to the Chinese Nationalists in North Vietnam, and the Viet Minh organized the "August Revolution
" uprisings across the country. Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated power to the Viet Minh, on August 25, 1945. In a popular move, Ho Chi Minh made Bảo Đại "supreme adviser" to the Viet Minh-led government in Hanoi
, which asserted its independence on September 2 as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). In 1946, Vietnam had its first constitution
.
In 1948, France tried to regain its colonial control over Vietnam. In South Vietnam, the Japanese had surrendered to British forces, who had supported the Free French in fighting the Viet Minh, along with the armed religious Cao Dai
and Hoa Hao
sects, and the Binh Xuyen
organized crime group. The French re-installed Bảo Đại as head of state of Vietnam, which now comprised central and southern Vietnam. The ensuing war, between the French-controlled South and the independent Communist-allied North, is known as the First Indochina War.
, the Communist North Vietnam
ese, supported by the Communist
powers of the People's Republic of China
and the Soviet Union, fought to gain their independence from the French, supported by the French-loyalist Vietnamese and the United Nations
. This war of independence lasted from December 1946 until July 1954, with most of the fighting taking place in areas surrounding Hanoi
. It ended with the French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
and French withdrawal from Vietnam.
The Second Indochina War, commonly known as the Vietnam War
, pitted the recently-successful Communist Vietnam People's Army
(VPA or PAVN, but also incorrectly known as the North Vietnamese Army or NVA) and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (South Vietnamese NLF guerrilla
fighters allied with the PAVN, known in the Republic of Vietnam as the Viet Cong, meaning 'Vietnamese Communists') against United States troops and the United States-backed ARVN
(South Vietnamese soldiers). Because there was no declaration of war, there is much disagreement as to when the war began, but two events commonly cited are the first arrival of United States advisors in South Vietnam in 1955, and open declaration of United States involvement in 1964. During the War, the North Vietnamese transported most of their supplies via the Ho Chi Minh Trail
(known to the Vietnamese as the Truong Son Trail, after the Truong Son mountains), which ran through Laos and Cambodia. As a result, the areas of these nations bordering Vietnam would see heavy combat during the war.
For the United States, the political and combat goals were ambiguous: success and progress were ill-defined and, along with the large numbers of casualties, the Vietnam War raised moral issues that made the war increasingly unpopular at home. U.S. News reports of the 1968 Tet offensive, especially from CBS, were unfavorable in regard to the lack of progress in ending the war. Although the 1968 Tet offensive resulted in a military victory for South Vietnam and the United States, with virtually complete destruction of the NLF forces combat capability, it was ironically also a turning point in American voter opposition to U.S. support for their anti-communist Vietnamese allies.
The United States began withdrawing troops from Vietnam in 1970, with the last troops returning in January, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords
called for a cease-fire, and prohibited the North Vietnamese from sending more troops into South Vietnam
- although the North Vietnamese were permitted to continue to occupy those regions of South Vietnam they had conquered in the 1972 Easter Offensive.
The North Vietnamese never intended to abide by the agreement. Fighting continued sporadically through 1973 and 1974, while the North Vietnamese planned a major offensive, tentatively scheduled for 1976. The North Vietnamese Army in South Vietnam had been ravaged during the Easter offensive in 1973, and it was projected that it would take until 1976 to rebuild their logistical capabilities.
The withdrawal had catastrophic effects on the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). Shortly after the Paris Peace Accords, the United States Congress
made major budget cuts in military aid to the South Vietnamese. The ARVN, which had been trained by American troops to use American tactics, quickly fell into disarray. Although it remained an effective fighting force throughout 1973 and 1974, by January 1975 it had disintegrated. The North Vietnamese hurriedly attacked the much weakened South, and met with little resistance.
Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was taken by the PAVN on April 30, 1975, and the Second Indochina War ended.
The fighting that took place between North and South Vietnam following United States withdrawal is sometimes called the Third Indochina War; this term usually refers to a later 1979 conflict, however (see below).
, was fought in February-March 1979 between the People's Republic of China
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
In 1978, the Vietnamese had destroyed neighboring Cambodia and driven the ruling Khmer Rouge
from power (see the main article at Cambodian-Vietnamese War
). The Vietnamese deposed because the Khmer Rouge had been persecuting and committing genocide
against ethnic Vietnamese.
The Khmer Rouge was a political ally of the Chinese
. In 1979, the Chinese government launched an invasion of Vietnam as punishment for the Vietnamese expedition into Cambodia.
Fighting was short but intense. The Chinese advanced about forty kilometers into Vietnam, occupying the city of Lang Son on 6 March. There they claimed the gate to Hanoi was open, declared their punitive mission achieved, and withdrew. The real reason for their seemingly abrupt withdrawal is disputed (see Cambodian-Vietnamese War
). A lasting result of this conflict is that Vietnam maintains a large standing army to this day.
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, which included the current states of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. In current use, it applies largely to a geographic region, rather than a political area. The four wars were:
- The First Indochina WarFirst Indochina WarThe First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
(called the Indochina War in France and French War in Vietnam) began after World War II ended and lasted until the French defeat in 1954. After a long campaign of resistance Viet MinhViet MinhViệt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
forces had claimed a victory after Japanese and Vichy French forces surrendered in the North at the end of World War II. During World War II, the South was temporarily occupied by the British forces, who restored French Republic colonial control. In the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and alliance with the British and U.S., the French demanded return of their former Indochina colony prior to agreeing to participate in the NATO alliance opposing Soviet expansion beyond the Warsaw PactWarsaw PactThe Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries in the Cold WarCold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The communist/nationalist Viet Minh, whom the Allies had supported during the war, continued fighting the French with support from China and the USSR, ultimately driving the NATO-backed French out of Indochina. - The Second Indochina WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
(called the Vietnam War in the West and the American War in Vietnam) began as a conflict between the United States-backed South Vietnamese government and its opponents, both the South Vietnamese-based communist National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), now known as the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN). It began in the late 1950s and lasted until 1975. The United States, which supported France in the first war, backed the South VietnamSouth VietnamSouth Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
government in opposition to the National Liberation Front and the Communist-allied NVA. The North benefited from military and financial support from China and the Soviet Union, members of the Communist bloc. Fighting also occurred during this time in Cambodia between the US-backed government, the NVA, and the Communist-backed Khmer RougeKhmer RougeThe Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
(known as the Cambodian Civil WarCambodian Civil WarThe Cambodian Civil War was a conflict that pitted the forces of the Communist Party of Kampuchea and their allies the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the government forces of Cambodia , which were supported by the United States and the Republic of Vietnam The Cambodian...
, 1967–1975) and in Laos between the US-backed government, the NVA, and the Communist-backed Pathet LaoPathet LaoThe Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
(known as the Laotian Civil War or Secret War, 1962–1975). - The Cambodian–Vietnamese War followed the Second Indochina War, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and deposed the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. The war lasted from May 1975 to December 1989.
- The Third Indochina WarSino-Vietnamese WarThe Sino–Vietnamese War , also known as the Third Indochina War, known in the PRC as and in Vietnam as Chiến tranh chống bành trướng Trung Hoa , was a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam...
(called the Sino-Vietnamese War) was a short war fought in February-March 1979 between the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Chinese invaded Vietnam as "punishment" for the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia, and withdrew a month later to prewar positions.
Colonization
French colonization and occupation of the region was a consequence of missionary workChristianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
of the 16th century, which had resulted in Catholics
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
forming a converted minority. While Gia Long
Gia Long
Emperor Gia Long , born Nguyễn Phúc Ánh , was an emperor of Vietnam...
tolerated Catholicism, his successors Minh Mạng
Minh Mang
Minh Mạng was the second emperor of the Nguyễn Dynasty of Vietnam, reigning from 14 February 1820 until 20 January 1841. He was a younger son of Emperor Gia Long, whose eldest son, Crown Prince Canh, had died in 1801...
and Tự Đức were staunch Confucians, admiring China rather than France. They brutally suppressed Catholicism and attempted to remove French influence, which provoked the Catholic nations of Europe to retaliate. Confucian isolationist policy led the Vietnamese to refuse industrial modernization, so that they were ill-equipped against the French. In August 1858, Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
ordered the landing of French forces at Tourane, (present-day Da Nang
Da Nang
Đà Nẵng , occasionally Danang, is a major port city in the South Central Coast of Vietnam, on the coast of the South China Sea at the mouth of the Han River. It is the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam; its well-sheltered, easily accessible port and its location on the path of...
), beginning a colonial occupation that was to last almost a century. By 1884, the French had complete control over the country, which now formed the largest part of French Indochina.
A continuous thread of local resistance began with Hàm Nghi
Ham Nghi
Emperor Hàm Nghi ; , was the eighth Emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty. He reigned for only one year ....
, then to Phan Dinh Phung
Phan Dinh Phung
Phan Đình Phùng was a Vietnamese revolutionary who led rebel armies against French colonial forces in Vietnam. He was the most prominent of the Confucian court scholars involved in anti-French military campaigns in the 19th century and was cited after his death by 20th-century nationalists as a...
, Phan Boi Chau
Phan Boi Chau
Phan Bội Châu was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called the “Reformation Society” ....
and lastly to Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
, who returned to Vietnam from France and joined the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
in 1941. A founding member of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
, Ho Chi Minh had de-emphasised his communist ties and dissolved the Indochinese Communist Party, in order to win trust and gain power. When a famine broke out in 1945, causing 2 million deaths, the Viet Minh arranged a massive relief effort, consequently winning over many people to their nationalist cause. Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
rose to become the leader of the Vietcong.
When World War II ended, North Vietnam came under the control of Ho Chi Minh. The Japanese surrendered to the Chinese Nationalists in North Vietnam, and the Viet Minh organized the "August Revolution
August Revolution
On August 19, 1945, the Việt Minh under Hồ Chí Minh began the August General Uprising Tổng Khởi Nghĩa, which was soon renamed the August Revolution . Whether or not this series of events should be called a "revolution" is disputable; what is clear is that, from August 19 onwards, demonstrations and...
" uprisings across the country. Emperor Bảo Đại abdicated power to the Viet Minh, on August 25, 1945. In a popular move, Ho Chi Minh made Bảo Đại "supreme adviser" to the Viet Minh-led government in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, which asserted its independence on September 2 as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). In 1946, Vietnam had its first constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
.
In 1948, France tried to regain its colonial control over Vietnam. In South Vietnam, the Japanese had surrendered to British forces, who had supported the Free French in fighting the Viet Minh, along with the armed religious Cao Dai
Cao Dai
Cao Đài is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tay Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ...
and Hoa Hao
Hoa Hao
Hòa Hảo is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú Sổ, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider Sổ to be a prophet, and Hòa Hảo a continuation of a 19th-century Buddhist ministry known as Bửu Sơn Kỳ Hương...
sects, and the Binh Xuyen
Binh Xuyen
Bình Xuyên, often linked to its infamous leader, General Le van "Bay" Vien, was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside the law and had sided with the Viet Minh...
organized crime group. The French re-installed Bảo Đại as head of state of Vietnam, which now comprised central and southern Vietnam. The ensuing war, between the French-controlled South and the independent Communist-allied North, is known as the First Indochina War.
Indochina during World War II
The First Indochina War
In the First Indochina WarFirst Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
, the Communist North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese, supported by the Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
powers of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and the Soviet Union, fought to gain their independence from the French, supported by the French-loyalist Vietnamese and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. This war of independence lasted from December 1946 until July 1954, with most of the fighting taking place in areas surrounding Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
. It ended with the French defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
and French withdrawal from Vietnam.
The Second Indochina War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, pitted the recently-successful Communist Vietnam People's Army
Vietnam People's Army
The Vietnam People's Army is the armed forces of Vietnam. The VPA includes: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces , the Vietnam People's Navy , the Vietnam People's Air Force, and the Vietnam Marine Police.During the French Indochina War , the VPA was often referred to as the Việt...
(VPA or PAVN, but also incorrectly known as the North Vietnamese Army or NVA) and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (South Vietnamese NLF guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
fighters allied with the PAVN, known in the Republic of Vietnam as the Viet Cong, meaning 'Vietnamese Communists') against United States troops and the United States-backed ARVN
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(South Vietnamese soldiers). Because there was no declaration of war, there is much disagreement as to when the war began, but two events commonly cited are the first arrival of United States advisors in South Vietnam in 1955, and open declaration of United States involvement in 1964. During the War, the North Vietnamese transported most of their supplies via the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Ho Chi Minh trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia...
(known to the Vietnamese as the Truong Son Trail, after the Truong Son mountains), which ran through Laos and Cambodia. As a result, the areas of these nations bordering Vietnam would see heavy combat during the war.
For the United States, the political and combat goals were ambiguous: success and progress were ill-defined and, along with the large numbers of casualties, the Vietnam War raised moral issues that made the war increasingly unpopular at home. U.S. News reports of the 1968 Tet offensive, especially from CBS, were unfavorable in regard to the lack of progress in ending the war. Although the 1968 Tet offensive resulted in a military victory for South Vietnam and the United States, with virtually complete destruction of the NLF forces combat capability, it was ironically also a turning point in American voter opposition to U.S. support for their anti-communist Vietnamese allies.
The United States began withdrawing troops from Vietnam in 1970, with the last troops returning in January, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam...
called for a cease-fire, and prohibited the North Vietnamese from sending more troops into South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
- although the North Vietnamese were permitted to continue to occupy those regions of South Vietnam they had conquered in the 1972 Easter Offensive.
The North Vietnamese never intended to abide by the agreement. Fighting continued sporadically through 1973 and 1974, while the North Vietnamese planned a major offensive, tentatively scheduled for 1976. The North Vietnamese Army in South Vietnam had been ravaged during the Easter offensive in 1973, and it was projected that it would take until 1976 to rebuild their logistical capabilities.
The withdrawal had catastrophic effects on the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN). Shortly after the Paris Peace Accords, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
made major budget cuts in military aid to the South Vietnamese. The ARVN, which had been trained by American troops to use American tactics, quickly fell into disarray. Although it remained an effective fighting force throughout 1973 and 1974, by January 1975 it had disintegrated. The North Vietnamese hurriedly attacked the much weakened South, and met with little resistance.
Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was taken by the PAVN on April 30, 1975, and the Second Indochina War ended.
The fighting that took place between North and South Vietnam following United States withdrawal is sometimes called the Third Indochina War; this term usually refers to a later 1979 conflict, however (see below).
The Third Indochina War
The Third Indochina War, commonly known as the Sino-Vietnamese WarSino-Vietnamese War
The Sino–Vietnamese War , also known as the Third Indochina War, known in the PRC as and in Vietnam as Chiến tranh chống bành trướng Trung Hoa , was a brief but bloody border war fought in 1979 between the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam...
, was fought in February-March 1979 between the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
In 1978, the Vietnamese had destroyed neighboring Cambodia and driven the ruling Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
from power (see the main article at Cambodian-Vietnamese War
Cambodian-Vietnamese War
The Cambodian–Vietnamese War was an armed conflict between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Democratic Kampuchea. The war began with isolated clashes along the land and maritime boundaries of Vietnam and Kampuchea between 1975 and 1977, occasionally involving division-sized military formations...
). The Vietnamese deposed because the Khmer Rouge had been persecuting and committing genocide
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
against ethnic Vietnamese.
The Khmer Rouge was a political ally of the Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. In 1979, the Chinese government launched an invasion of Vietnam as punishment for the Vietnamese expedition into Cambodia.
Fighting was short but intense. The Chinese advanced about forty kilometers into Vietnam, occupying the city of Lang Son on 6 March. There they claimed the gate to Hanoi was open, declared their punitive mission achieved, and withdrew. The real reason for their seemingly abrupt withdrawal is disputed (see Cambodian-Vietnamese War
Cambodian-Vietnamese War
The Cambodian–Vietnamese War was an armed conflict between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Democratic Kampuchea. The war began with isolated clashes along the land and maritime boundaries of Vietnam and Kampuchea between 1975 and 1977, occasionally involving division-sized military formations...
). A lasting result of this conflict is that Vietnam maintains a large standing army to this day.