The Vietnam War was a brutal war that affected millions of people in many
different countries. All wars start because there is a difference in people’s
opinions, and the Vietnam War was no different. It started because France and a
Vietnam leader, Ho Chi Minh, had a difference in opinion about the type of
government Vietnam should have. To find out why the war broke out you will have
to go back to the 1750’s. This is where the French started their so-called
protectorate state of Vietnam. For many years the people of Vietnam protested
but could not organize into a force powerful enough to resist the French. Then
in 1946 a communist educated individual called Ho Chi Minh organized the people
of North Vietnam and drove out the French rulers in a war that took eight years.
During peace settlements in Geneva they allowed North and South Vietnam to
become separate nations, divided on the 17th parallel. This was only to last for
two years. After two years the two countries would then vote on a common leader
and reunite the two countries once more. This never happened. South Vietnam was
afraid that a Communist leader would be chosen and the nation would be in ruins.
Communist guerrillas in South Vietnam opposing the canceled election began
attacks on Southern Vietnam and remaining French officials to gain control of
South Vietnam. If North Vietnam was to begin their invasion of South Vietnam the
Communist ruler Ho Chi Minh was sure to have complete control over the nation
and spread his ideas of communism to neighboring countries. The United States
thought that this should not happen so in 1965 the president ordered the bombing
of North Vietnam and the landing of US troops in South Vietnam. This then caused
North Vietnam to send regular units to the South. That therefore, cause more US
troops to become involved. All of this kept building and building until it was a
full-scale war. The main cause that lead the Vietnam War to brake out was that
the old imperial France thought they could keep a so called protectorate state
without giving them any freedom. Then a communist leader came along that united
the people and took over in the name of freedom. The U.S. thought that if
Vietnam became communist then neighboring countries would soon follow. They did
not want communism to spread so they tried to stop it but it did not work out
like they thought it would. The United States hatred for communism was what
pulled them into the war. Another mishappening that pulled the United States
deeper in to the war happened in the first week of August 1964, when North
Vietnamese torpedo boats were reported to have attacked two U.S. destroyers in
the Gulf of Tonkin. As a result of this attack, former President Lyndon B.
Johnson ordered jets to South Vietnam and the retaliatory bombing of military
targets in North Vietnam. Later on, this information was found out to be false.
The Vietnam War was a very unique war. There has been many different thing said
about the Vietnam War. Some say the war was a waste of time because it as not
our battle. There are many reasons that caused us to enter into the war. This
war was very unique because the U.S. didn’t win but did win most of the
battles. The U.S. was greatly affected by the war and so was Vietnam.