Vietnam War was a cold war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from Nov 1, 1955 to April 30, 1975 when Saigon fell. This war was fought between Communist North Vietnam, supported by its Communist allies and the govt of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations.
The United States entered the War to prevent a Communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of commitment. Military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. US involvement escalated in early 1960s, with US troop levels trippling in 1961 and trippling again in 1962. US combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive. After this, US ground forces, were withdrawn as part of a policy called Vietnamization. Despite the Paris Peace accords, signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued.The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities including 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians , and 58,159 US soldiers.
Various names have been applied to the conflict . Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English. It has also been called the Second Indochina War, and the Vietnam Conflict.As there have been so many conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the name of their chief opponent to distinguish it from the others. Thus, in Vietnamese, the war is known as the Vietnam War, or as Resistance War Against America, loosely trnaslated as the American War .
The main military organizations involved in the War were, on one side, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and the US military, on the other hand, the Vietnam People's army or North Vietnamese Army and the Vietcong, or National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, a south Vietnamese communist army.
