How long did the Vietnam war last?

Question

How did it start, how did it end?

Answer 1

It started when we backed the French in recolonizing VietNam after WWII, and it ended when the last combat Air Force units came back from Thailand in early '75. So, my answer is 30 years.

But, the traditional answer probably is 11 years, being '64 through '74.

Answer 2

The Vietnam War, or American War for the Vietnamese, ended 12:00 PM VN April 30, 1975. The start of the war is arguable.

Some would say that it started in 1947, when the Viet Minh began fighting the French Legionaires. This conflict is usually considered a seperate war, called the French or First Indochina War.

The beginning of the Second Indochina War, or Vietnam War, could be in the late 50's, when the U.S. started sending military advisors to Vietnam, or in 1964, after the Gulf of Tonikan incident that led to congress approving power that allowed Johnson to escalate U.S. involvement as he seen fit to do.

Although the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the Indochina Wars didn't end until 1979, when China pulled out of Vietnam after a brief war.

Answer 3

It started in 1945 when Ho Chi Minh and the nationalist/communists of nothern Indochina declared Independence. The UN came in and split the country into north and south vietnam along some degree of latitude (28th? I think). Ever since that moment however, the northern vietnamese encourage the southern vietnamese to through off their French Colonial masters, thus starting the Vietnam war.

Eisenhower had advisors over there during his presidency but it wasn't until JFK and the whole Southeast Asian "domino" effect scare that US became major players in the region. We remained there until 1975 when we decided the war was unwinable and pulled out leaving the South Vietnamese to fend for themselves against the communists.

have a nice day.

Answer 4

Special Forces had begun entering the country as early as 1960-61 to act as instructors and advisors to the South Vietnamese Army.

Regular Infantry divisions deployed by 1962-63 and the largest confrontation was in 1968 called the Tet Offensive. Mi Lai became an international scandal because of mass murders committed by troops under CPT Medina and LT Calley.

This war was among the first in our history where Airborne tactical operations were not used. Instead, the 101st Airborne formed the first helicopter insertions, dropping off troops and picking up wounded and replacements via the famous Huey UH-1 helicopter.

By 1972, the war was fizzling down to where the nationals were trying to get out of country as fast as the American G.I. was doing. I believe the official end of the Vietnam War came in 1973, but I'm not sure of that date.

Answer 5

If you count French involvement in actual hostilities that laid the groundwork for the later war with the US and its allies, it started in 1945. The French withdrew from their Vietnamese colony in 1954 after the disaster at Dien Bien Phu. The US started sending Special Forces advisors in a purely advisory role to help the republic but corrupt and weak South Vietnamese government fight the communist North, which was aided by China and Russia, in the late 50s and early 60s. The US became an active combatant after the Gulf of Tonkin incident was used as an excuse to start combat in 1964 and withdrew completely in 1975. The North eventually captured all major cities in the South and renamed Saigon as Ho Chi Minh City. Today, Vietnam, unlike Korea, is one, undivided country.

Yes, I was taught in high school history class that the Tonkin incident was an unprovoked attack on the USS Maddox by the North Vietnamese. But new evidence has come to light since then indicating that the US was possibly spoiling for a fight to put increasing pressure on the North.

So in total, it lasted 30 years.

Answer 6

approx 1961 - 1975
It started when the French failed...we sent in military advisors to defend South Vietnam from the Communist north. Eventually, our advisors started to participate in the fighting. After years of increasing US casualties and protests, Nixon scaled back our efforts. In 1975, the last Americans (not counting missing POWs) were lifted by helicopters from the rooftop of the embassy in Saigon (now Ho Chi Min city)

Answer 7

Vietnam War
(Part of the Cold War)
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Vietnamese village after an attack.
Date:1957 – April 30, 1975
Location:Southeast Asia
Result:Peace treaty providing for U.S. disengagement in 1973
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Combatants:
Group 1:
Strength:
~1,200,000 (1968)

Republic of Vietnam
United States
Republic of Korea
Thailand
Australia
New Zealand
The Philippines

Group 2:
Strength:
~520,000 (1968)

Democratic Republic of Vietnam
National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam
People’s Republic of China
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
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Casualties:
Group 1:
South Vietnamese dead: 230,000
South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000
US dead: 58,209
US wounded: 153,303
Australian Dead: 520
South Korean dead: 5,000
South Korean wounded: 11,000

Group 2:
North Vietnamese and NLF dead: 1,100,000
North Vietnamese and NLF wounded: 600,000
Chinese dead: 1100
Chinese wounded: 4200
Civilian dead (total Vietnamese): 2-4,000,000
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Explanation:

The Vietnam War was a conflict in which the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV or North Vietnam) and its allies fought against the Republic of Vietnam (RVN or South Vietnam) and its allies. By its end in 1975, the Vietnam War had claimed between two and four million lives.

It is also known as Vietnam Conflict, the Second Indochina War and colloquially as Vietnam, The ’Nam or simply ’Nam. Vietnamese Communists have often referred to it as the American War or Kháng chiến chống Mỹ, the Resistance War Against America1.

North Vietnam’s allies included the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. South Vietnam's main allies included the United States, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea; South Vietnam's allies deployed large numbers of troops. American combat troops were involved from 1959, but not in large numbers until 1965. They left the country in 1973. A large number of civilian casualties resulted from the war, which ended on April 30, 1975, with the capitulation of South Vietnam.

Many Westerners consider the Vietnam War a "proxy war," one of several that occurred during the Cold War between the United States and its Western allies on the one hand, and the Soviet Union and/or the People's Republic of China on the other. The Korean War is another such war. Proxy wars occurred because the major players — especially the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. — were unwilling to fight each other directly because of the unacceptable costs of global nuclear war.
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Answer 8

1949-1975 but we didn't start sending troops there till 1955 till then the french were getting their azz kicked funny they are pros at that lol

Answer 9

Actually we had advisors in Viet Nam in 1953, so I guess you could say it started then.

Answer 10

I'm pretty sure it's still going on now