1.
South Vietnam
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South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was a state governing the southern half of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. It received international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam, the term South Vietnam became common usage in 1954, when the Geneva Conference provisionally partitioned Vietnam into communist and non-communist parts. The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed on 26 October 1955, with Ngô Đình Diệm as its first president and its sovereignty was recognized by the United States and eighty-seven other nations. It had membership in several committees of the United Nations. After the Second World War, the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, in 1949, anti-communist Vietnamese politicians formed a rival government in Saigon led by former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was deposed by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm in 1955, after Diệm was killed in a military coup led by general Dương Văn Minh in 1963, there was a series of short-lived military governments. General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu led the country from 1967 until 1975, the Vietnam War began in 1959 with an uprising by Viet Cong forces armed and controlled by Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Fighting reached a climax during the Tet Offensive of 1968, when there were over 1.5 million South Vietnamese soldiers and 500,000 U. S. soldiers in South Vietnam. Despite a peace treaty concluded in January 1973, fighting continued until the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong armies overran Saigon on 30 April 1975, the creation of this republic, during the Indochina War, allowed France to evade a promise to recognise Vietnam as independent. This pre-Vietnam government prepared for a unified Vietnamese state, but the countrys full reunification was delayed for a year because of the problems posed by Cochinchinas legal status, Nguyễn Văn Xuân 1949–55 State of Vietnam. Roughly 60% of Vietnamese territory was controlled by the communist Việt Minh. Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel in 1954, once highly lauded by America, he was ousted and assassinated in a U. S. -backed coup. In 1963–65, there were numerous coups and short-lived governments, several of which were headed by Dương Văn Minh or Nguyễn Khánh, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was the top leader in 1965–67. Surrendered to Communists when others abandoned their posts, 1975–76 Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. Huỳnh Tấn Phát Before World War II, the third of Vietnam was the concession of Cochinchina. Between Tonkin in the north and Cochinchina in the south was the protectorate of Annam, Cochinchina had been annexed by France in 1862 and even elected a deputy to the French National Assembly. It was more evolved, and French interests were stronger than in parts of Indochina. During World War II, Indochina was administered by Vichy France, japanese troops overthrew the French administration on 9 March 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại proclaimed Vietnam independent
2.
Central Intelligence Agency
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As one of the principal members of the U. S. Intelligence Community, the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is focused on providing intelligence for the President. Though it is not the only U. S. government agency specializing in HUMINT and it exerts foreign political influence through its tactical divisions, such as the Special Activities Division. Despite transferring some of its powers to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size as a result of the September 11 attacks. In 2013, The Washington Post reported that in fiscal year 2010, the CIA has increasingly expanded its roles, including covert paramilitary operations. One of its largest divisions, the Information Operations Center, has shifted focus from counter-terrorism to offensive cyber-operations, when the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis. Today its primary purpose is to collect, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence, warning/informing American leaders of important overseas events, with Pakistan described as an intractable target. Counterintelligence, with China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, the Executive Office also supports the U. S. military by providing it with information it gathers, receiving information from military intelligence organizations, and cooperates on field activities. The Executive Director is in charge of the day to day operation of the CIA, each branch of the military service has its own Director. The Directorate has four regional groups, six groups for transnational issues. There is a dedicated to Iraq, regional analytical offices covering the Near East and South Asia, Russia and Europe, and the Asian Pacific, Latin American. The Directorate of Operations is responsible for collecting intelligence. The name reflects its role as the coordinator of intelligence activities between other elements of the wider U. S. intelligence community with their own HUMINT operations. This Directorate was created in an attempt to end years of rivalry over influence, philosophy, in spite of this, the Department of Defense recently organized its own global clandestine intelligence service, the Defense Clandestine Service, under the Defense Intelligence Agency. This Directorate is known to be organized by regions and issues. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, many of its innovations were transferred to other intelligence organizations, or, as they became more overt, to the military services. For example, the development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was done in cooperation with the United States Air Force, the U-2s original mission was clandestine imagery intelligence over denied areas such as the Soviet Union. It was subsequently provided with signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence capabilities, subsequently, NPIC was transferred to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
3.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
4.
Battle of Ia Drang
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It was the first major battle between the United States Army and the North Vietnamese Army-NVA during the Vietnam War as part of the U. S. airmobile offensive code-named Operation Silver Bayonet I. The battle was part of the phase of a search-and-destroy operation code-named Operation Long Reach that took place from October 23 to November 26 during the Pleiku Campaign. The battle derives its name from the Drang River which runs through the valley west of Plei Me, where the engagement took place. Representing the American forces were elements of the 3rd and 2nd Brigades, 1st Cavalry Division, the 1st and 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, representing the North Vietnam forces were elements of the B3 Front of the NVA. The battle involved close air support by U. S. Army helicopter gunships and U. S. Air Force and U. S. Navy tactical jet aircraft, and a bombing attack by Air Force B-52s. General Knowles, Forward CP Commander, 1st Cavalry Division, did not see the engagement as an ambush, the battle at LZ X-Ray was documented in the CBS special report Battle of Ia Drang Valley by Morley Safer and the critically acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once. And Young by Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, in 1994, Moore, Galloway and men who fought on both the American and North Vietnamese sides, traveled back to the remote jungle clearings where the battle took place. At the time the U. S. did not have relations with Vietnam. The risky trip which took a year to arrange was part of an award-winning ABC News documentary, They Were Young, in 2002, Randall Wallace depicted the battle at LZ X-Ray in the movie We Were Soldiers starring Mel Gibson and Barry Pepper as Moore and Galloway, respectively. Galloway later described this battle that he calls Ia Drang as The battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win, in 1963 and 1964, a series of political and military mishaps had seriously affected the capabilities of the South Vietnamese Armys main forces in South Vietnam. After Diems overthrow in a 1963 coup, the new military leadership largely consisted of commanders put in place by Diem prior to the coup and they showed equal lack of interest in fighting the NLF, spending their time in a series of coups and counter-coups. In this unstable climate, the NLF units were able to mount increasingly larger military operations. At first these were limited to building up larger formations, but by late 1964 they had evolved into a war against ARVN units. At the end of 1964, Chairman Mao Zedong of the Peoples Republic of China turned on the light for the Viet Cong to upgrade attacking forces to division size in its conquest of South VietNam. In the meeting dated October 5,1964, Mao Zedong told Pham Van Dong, According to Comrade Le Duan, probably you have not dispatched that division yet. When should you dispatch it, the timing is important, American advisers in the field had long been pushing for South Vietnamese Army forces to be taken over by U. S. commanders. In addition to getting the men to fight, the U. S. commands better training. By early 1965, Westmoreland had secured the commitment of upward of 300,000 U. S. regulars from Lyndon B. Johnson and a build-up of forces took place in the summer of 1965
5.
Operation Crimp
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Heavy fighting resulted in significant casualties on both sides, but the combined American and Australian force was able to uncover an extensive tunnel network covering more than 200 kilometres. The operation was the largest allied military action mounted during the war in South Vietnam to that point, despite some success, the allied force was only able to partially clear the area and it remained a key communist transit and supply base throughout the war. Although the initial American commitment to the war in Vietnam had been limited to advice and materiel support, at first the Americans had adopted a cautious strategy, applied to the strictly limited role of base defence by US Marine units. This was abandoned in April 1965, and replaced by a new strategy of defending key coastal population centres. This strategy required the introduction of nine additional US battalions, or 14,000 troops, allied nations of the Free World Military Forces were expected to contribute another four battalions. Such areas included Di An which was intended to become the headquarters of the US 1st Infantry Division, however, large-scale military operations to clear the intended base areas had to wait until the dry season. Yet the allied enclave strategy proved only transitory and further led to additional troop increases to halt the losing trend. Australias growing involvement in Vietnam reflected the American build up, in 1963, the Australian government had committed a small advisory team, known as the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, to help train the South Vietnamese forces. However, in June 1965 the decision to ground troops was made. Although logistics and resupply were primarily provided by the Americans, a small logistic unit—1st Australian Logistics Company—was situated at Bien Hoa airbase, unlike later Australian units that served in Vietnam, which included conscripts,1 RAR was manned by regular personnel only. The battalion commenced operations in late June 1965 and initially focussed on defeating the Viet Congs wet season offensive, meanwhile, Brumfield was replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Alex Preece, after an old football injury forced his evacuation to Australia in mid-November. On 24 November D Company,1 RAR carried out an attack on the fortified village of Duc Hanh which had been occupied by the Viet Cong, killing 10. Operation Marauder on the Plain of Reeds in the Mekong Delta was subsequently launched on New Years Day 1966, although its precise position was unknown, it was believed to be concealed in an extensive underground bunker system. Agents reports, the interrogation of prisoners, and aerial surveillance all pointed to the presence of this vital communist facility, communist units detected in the Ho Bo Woods by allied intelligence included the C306 Local Force Company, 3rd Quyet Thang Battalion and 7th Cu Chi Battalion. The commander of the Cu Chi Battalion was later identified after the war as Captain Nguyen Thanh Linh, in total, local communist defensive strength was believed to include 1,000 men. In response, a large American search-and-destroy operation was launched in January 1966, at the time it was the largest military operation mounted in South Vietnam, being the first divisional offensive to date. 1 RARs role was to establish a position in a village beside the river on the northern flank of the brigades area of operations. In order to achieve surprise, the operation was launched immediately following Operation Marauder
6.
Battle of Suoi Bong Trang
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The Battle of Suoi Bong Trang was an engagement fought between US, Australian and New Zealand forces, and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. Repulsed by massed firepower from artillery and tanks, the Viet Cong suffered heavy casualties and were forced to withdraw by morning, after the attack, the Americans and Australians made no attempt to pursue the Viet Cong, focusing on securing the battlefield and evacuating their own casualties. The Viet Cong continued to harass the American sappers with occasional sniper and mortar fire, but these proved ineffective. The US 1st Brigade under the command of Colonel Edgar N, Major General William E. DePuy had selected the Australians specifically because of their reputation for dispersed, aggressive patrolling. The brigades constituent battalions were widely dispersed carrying out search and destroy operations, nevertheless, except for the harassment faced by the engineers, contact between the Americans and the Viet Cong had been infrequent during the first weeks of the operation. On 19 February,1 RAR was inserted by helicopter, taking over from 2nd Battalion, Preece immediately instituted a program of twenty-four-hour dispersed patrolling, and within two days this had succeeded in reducing the level of Viet Cong activity against the road construction. Two platoons of American M48 Patton tanks were moved into the area, patrolling by day with the Australian armoured personnel carriers. Several contacts took place and by 22 February the Australians began to suspect that an attack on them was being planned. In the early morning of 23 February three Viet Cong soldiers were killed in an Australian ambush, while others were wounded but escaped. The dead soldiers were equipped with new AK-47 assault rifles and webbing. Also captured was a quantity of ammunition, rations and medical supplies. Later that night a North Vietnamese engineer officer was killed in a separate ambush. As dawn broke the day, two half-platoon ambushes from B Company,1 RAR—under the command of Major Ian McFarlane—engaged two squads of Viet Cong Main Force. Meanwhile, to the west three battalions of Viet Cong 9th Division were massing for a blow, preparing a regimental attack on the American and Australian positions. Units included J10 Battalion of the 761st Regiment,707 Battalion of the 763rd Regiment and D800 Independent Battalion, in total around 2,000 men. By 20,00 they had completed a 25-kilometre approach march and were in areas near the village of Ap Bo, using local women and youths as porters to carry ammunition, equipment. Small reconnaissance parties moved forward as pathfinders, easily locating the American headquarters due to the amount of noise. 1st Battalion, US 26th Infantry Regiment—under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Y. Y, phillips—returned from the field and also deployed in defence by last light, augmenting Company B, 1st Battalion, US 28th Infantry Regiment
7.
Ho Chi Minh City
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Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named and still often known as Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam by population. It was once known as Prey Nokor prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century, under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina and later of the independent republic of South Vietnam 1955–75. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after revolutionary leader Hồ Chí Minh, the citys population is expected to grow to 13.9 million by 2025. Ho Chi Minh City has gone by different names during its history, reflecting settlement by different ethnic. In the 1690s, Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyễn rulers of Huế to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in the Mekong Delta and its surroundings. Control of the city and the passed to the Vietnamese. Immediately after the communist takeover of South Vietnam in 1975, a provisional government renamed the city after Hồ Chí Minh, even today, however, the informal name of Sài Gòn/Saigon remains in daily speech both domestically and internationally, especially among the Vietnamese diaspora. In particular, Sài Gòn is still used to refer to District 1. This name may refer to the many plants that the Khmer people had planted around Prey Nokor. It may also refer to the dense and tall forest that existed around the city. Other proposed etymologies draw parallels from Tai-Ngon, the Cantonese name of Cholon, which means embankment, and Vietnamese Sai Côn, a translation of the Khmer Prey Nokor. Prey means forest or jungle, and nokor is a Khmer word of Sanskrit origin meaning city or kingdom, the current official name, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, adopted in 1976 and abbreviated Tp. HCM, is translated as Ho Chi Minh City, abbreviated HCMC, the name commemorates Hồ Chí Minh, the first leader of North Vietnam. This name, though not his name, was one he favored throughout his later years. It combines a common Vietnamese surname with a name meaning enlightened will, in essence. Ho Chi Minh City began as a fishing village likely known as Prey Nokor, Forest City, or perhaps Preah Reach Nokor which. The area that the city now occupies was originally swampland, and was inhabited by Khmer people for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese. In 1623, King Chey Chettha II of Cambodia allowed Vietnamese refugees fleeing the Trịnh–Nguyễn civil war in Vietnam to settle in the area of Prey Nokor and to set up a custom house there
8.
Vietnamese National Army
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On March 8,1949, after the Élysée Accords, the State of Vietnam was recognized by France as an independent country ruled by Vietnamese Emperor Bảo Đại. The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army was the State of Vietnams military force created shortly after that and it was commanded by Vietnamese General Hinh and was loyal to Bảo Đại. The VNA fought in joint operations with the French Unions French Far East Expeditionary Corps against the communist Viet Minh forces led by Ho Chi Minh. Different units within the VNA fought in a range of campaigns including the Battle of Nà Sản, Operation Hautes Alpes, Operation Atlas. With the departure of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps from Indochina in 1956, in 1955, the State of Vietnam was dissolved and replaced by Ho Chi Minhs Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north and Ngô Đình Diệms Republic of Vietnam in the south. In early May, civil war ensued in the capital of South Vietnam when the VNA fought General Lê Văn Viễns Bình Xuyên forces in the controlled areas of Saigon. By 1956 all French Union troops withdrew from Vietnam and most of the VNA officers remained in service in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, after the fall of Saigon breaking in 1975, some joined the French Foreign Legion and others exiled to France or the United States. Benefiting with French cadres assistance and United States material support the VNA quickly became a modern army modeled after the CEFEO Expeditionary Corps. Officers and Non-commissioned officers were trained in schools of cadres known in French as Ecoles des Cadres, or at the elite National Military Academy. The Preparatory Military School of Dalat was directed by Lieutenant Savani and it was created in 1936 after the Autun EMP as the Dalat School of the Eurasian Children of Troops. Once dissolved during the Japanese occupation in 1944, General de Lattre reformed the EETED as the EETD Dalat School of the Children of Troops in 1950, in 1953, the cadres formation raised with 54 new battalion created and hundreds of new officers formed by early March. By November the Vietnamese National Army was entirely enlisted of Vietnamese recruits from the Privates to Generals, on the other hand, until 1954 some Vietnamese were trained four months in an Infantry Instruction Centers based in southern Vietnam. Once licensed these recruits would not be part of the VNA, other officer and NCO alumni were coming from all French Union including Cambodia, Overseas, metropolitan French and French citizens of French West Africa and India. On April 20,1952, the Dalat academy celebrated its first promotion with a baptism which is the Saint Cyr -French West Point- fashion. Celebrating officials included Chief of State Bảo Đại, Prime Minister Trần Văn Hữu, General Governor of French Indochina Gautier and French General Salan and his majesty Bảo Đại awarded the Hoàng Diệu promotions senior and junior classes with a Saint-Cyr offered saber. As a symbol of the handover of responsibility of the whole Vietnam to the VNA. Military ranks were organized after the French armys hierarchy, shoulder patch insignia would have three, two or one bar or star. Generals would have three stars while NCO officers with a bar were called Ong Mot and those with two straight bars were unofficially named Ong Hai
9.
Battle of Ap Bac
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The Battle of Ấp Bắc was a major battle fought on 2 January 1963 during the Vietnam War. It was fought in Định Tường Province, South Vietnam, the infantry units would be supported by artillery, M113 armored personnel carriers, and helicopters. In addition to the intelligence he provided, An also devised the NLF battle strategy ahead of time to defeat the South Vietnamese forces, for his winning strategy, after the battle, An was decorated with North Vietnam’s highest military-exploit medal. On the morning of 2 January 1963, unaware that their plans had been leaked to the enemy. However, when reached the hamlet of Ap Bac, southeast of Ap Tan Thoi. Just before midday, further reinforcements were flown in from Tan Hiep, the 15 US helicopters ferrying the troops were riddled by NLF gunfire and five helicopters were lost as a result. Ultimately, their presence made little difference as the NLF stood its ground, under the cover of darkness the Viet Cong withdrew from the battlefield, having won their first major victory. At that time, North Vietnam was hoping for an election, promised under the Geneva Accords of 1954 and it was also worried about inciting the United States into directly supporting South Vietnam, and had recommended a policy of avoiding battle at all costs. However, Diems campaign was too successful to allow them to do nothing, North Vietnam remained worried about US involvement and refused any sort of military support, forcing the remaining Viet Minh to retreat into inaccessible areas in the hills and river estuaries. A stalemate of sorts followed, as South Vietnamese forces took so long to reach areas that the guerrilla fighters were able to retreat with little difficulty. Large-scale American support began during the Kennedy Administration in the early 1960s, the arrival of helicopters changed the nature of the battle considerably. Helicopters enabled South Vietnamese soldiers to fly to almost any point in the country. Throughout 1962, the forces were increasingly effective in routing the Viet Cong. These tactics, combined with the use of armored personnel carriers, the lightly armed Viet Cong had no weaponry capable of stopping the armored carriers and inevitably were forced to flee, taking heavy casualties. The most successful South Vietnamese force had been the 7th Infantry Division and his US adviser was Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Vann, who directed much of the units activity in concert with his planner, Captain Richard Ziegler. However, South Vietnamese officers were reluctant to absorb heavy casualties. This behavior initially mystified Vann, who was attempting to build Cao into an aggressive commander, unknown to Vann, Diem would reprimand or demote any officer who lost too many men, no matter how successful the operation. Diem was more interested in using the military to protect his regime than to take on the Viet Cong, after a skirmish on a highway that resulted in a small number of South Vietnamese casualties along with several trucks destroyed, Cao was called to Saigon and reprimanded by Diem
10.
Battle of Dong Xoai
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The Battle of Đồng Xoài was a major battle fought during the National Liberation Front Summer Offensive of 1965 as part of the Vietnam War. The battle took place in Phước Long Province, South Vietnam, in 1964, General Nguyễn Khánh gained control of the South Vietnamese government after General Dương Văn Minh was overthrown in a military coup. He then had a falling-out with the Catholic faction within his own government, consequently, on February 20,1965, General Khánh was ousted from power and was forced to leave South Vietnam forever. The political instability in Saigon gave North Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi an opportunity to step up their campaign in the south. They believed the South Vietnamese government was able to survive because it still had a military to combat the growing influence of the Viet Cong. With the summer campaign of 1965, North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces aimed to inflict significant losses on the South Vietnamese military, in Phước Long Province, the Communist summer offensive culminated in the Đồng Xoài campaign. The fight for Đồng Xoài began on the evening of June 9,1965, in response to the sudden Viet Cong assault, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Joint General Staff ordered the ARVN 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, to retake Đồng Xoài district. They arrived on the battlefield on June 10, but were overwhelmed by the Viet Cong 271st Regiment near Thuận Lợi. Later that day, Đồng Xoài was recaptured by the ARVN 52nd Ranger Battalion, on June 11, further South Vietnamese reinforcements arrived in the form of the ARVN 7th Airborne Battalion. The South Vietnamese paratroopers, while searching for survivors of the 1st Battalion in the Thuận Lợi rubber plantation, were defeated in an ambush by the Viet Cong. By that time, however, the Viet Cong had already withdrawn from the battlefield, in January 1964, General Khánh ousted General Dương Văn Minh as the leader of South Vietnams military junta in a bloodless coup. Khánh drafted a new constitution, which would have expanded his power within the military junta, fearing that his power could be weakened by those demonstrations, General Khánh immediately repealed his constitution and new police powers. He promised to reinstate civilian rule and remove members of the Catholic-based Cần lao from power, subsequently, General Khiêm fell out with General Khánh over policy issues along religious lines, even though an alliance between both men had enabled Khánh to remove General Minh from power. As military support for his regime diminished, Khánh had to rely upon civilian Buddhist activists to maintain power, for the Americans, Khánhs increased reliance on the Buddhists was a cause for concern, because the Buddhists favoured a political resolution to the conflict with the Communists. Thus, by the end of 1964 the Americans looked for someone to overthrow Khánh, on February 20,1965, Khánh was finally removed from power, and he was forced to leave South Vietnam. From the Communist perspective, even though South Vietnam was plagued by political instability, so shortly after the Binh Gia campaign, North Vietnamese leaders reached a resolution to launch a summer offensive, to destroy the regular units of the South Vietnamese military. Following their victory at Ba Gia, the National Liberation Front turned its attention to the Mekong Delta region, to prepare for their next offensive, Major-General Le Trong Tan was given the task of directing Viet Cong military operations in the provinces of Phước Long, Bình Phước. Since May 1965, the Viet Cong offensive in Phước Long Province had been in full-swing, beginning on May 10, the Viet Cong 271st Regiment, supported by the 840th Battalion and local sapper units, attacked the district town of Phước Long, capital of the province
11.
Vietnam War
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It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The war is considered a Cold War-era proxy war. As the war continued, the actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role. U. S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, in the course of the war, the U. S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam and they viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States. The U. S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and this was part the domino theory of a wider containment policy, with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. Beginning in 1950, American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina, U. S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962. Regular U. S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965, despite the Paris Peace Accord, which was signed by all parties in January 1973, the fighting continued. In the U. S. and the Western world, a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture, the war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered North–South relations. Direct U. S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973, the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million. Some 240, 000–300,000 Cambodians,20, 000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U. S. service members died in the conflict. Various names have applied to the conflict. Vietnam War is the most commonly used name in English and it has also been called the Second Indochina War and the Vietnam Conflict. As there have been several conflicts in Indochina, this conflict is known by the names of its primary protagonists to distinguish it from others. In Vietnamese, the war is known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ. It is also called Chiến tranh Việt Nam, France began its conquest of Indochina in the late 1850s, and completed pacification by 1893. The 1884 Treaty of Huế formed the basis for French colonial rule in Vietnam for the seven decades
