Different states choose to engage in wars with other states for various objectives. Majorly, governments may wish to take over other countries wealth. The underlying inspiration may be an economic motive to gain prestige upon taking over a country’s economy. Again, the urge to prove that a country is superior to the other triggers the start of a war. Nationalism may take the form of invasion of other states’ land to access territorial gain. Thus, war is usually fought against an opponent to achieve an objective and the opponent to protect their interests. The Vietnam War broke out after intensifying conflicts after a continuous cold war between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Vietnam War was an expensive and hostile fight that forced the northern Vietnam socialist regime to battle against that of the south and its associate, the US. The war was aggressive and triggered massive killings, including the Americans. Notably, the Vietnamese were primarily affected by the fight, where nearly 3 million people died (Maclaren, 2019). The root cause of the war was during World War II upon Japanese forces invading Vietnam. A Chinese leader inspired by the Soviet Union and the Chinese, Ho Chi Minh, formed a union to aid the resistance against the French occupiers in Vietnam and the Japanese. He created the Viet Minh, which would earn the independence of Vietnam.
Following the defeat in World War II, the Japanese withdrew from Vietnam. Thus, only the French forces were left in Vietnam under the rule of Emperor Bao Dai (Maclaren, 2019). Upon seeing an opportunity to reign, Ho’s forces took over the north of Hanoi and declared it the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Ho Minh took over the northern part of Hanoi as the head of state. Later, France pressed to regain control over the region. To aid this, they supported Emperor Bao in setting up the Vietnam state with its capital, Saigon. Indeed, emperors Bao and France pressed to unite Vietnam (Maclaren, 2019). Both wanted a state with close cultural and economic relations with the Western countries. On the contrary, the Chinese leader wanted a nation molded after other communalist states.
The Chinese communist armies took over northern Vietnam. Southern forces’ massive conflicts began against the north from the southern troops until 1954, when Minh attained victory (Maclaren, 2019). Subsequently, Geneva Conference, a treaty, was signed to split Vietnam defining control of the north to Minh and Bao to the south. The following year, Dihn Diem, an anti-communist statesman, pushed aside Bao and became the head of the southern Vietnam state.
The United state’s policies were hardened while the cold war was rising. Training and equipment were offered to aid the Diem’s troops, forcefully regulating the Minh supporters, Viet Cong, who fought back in the south. To disrupt Minh’s supplies and prevent the rise of more communist militaries united states began bombardments. Hostility dominated northern and southern Vietnam for several years. Therefore, the United States and Vietnam North signed the ultimate peace treaty to calm the existing enmity.
Despite having a peace agreement, a war between the two divisions continued until Saigon was captured by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and renamed Minh City. The Vietnams population had suffered an overwhelming toll over two decades of violence. Massive deaths were experienced yearly, and more people were injured while others became refugees. Notably, the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and the US resumed in the 1990s (Maclaren, 2019). Again, the country’s destroyed economy and infrastructure later on, were slowly reconstructed.
Reference
Maclaren, J. (2019). The Sino-Vietnam War and China’s long route to Winning. The Diplomat, 24.