Vietnamese American War. Vietnam War
IN The war in Vietnam began with the shelling of the US destroyer Maddox. This happened on August 2, 1964.
The destroyer was in the Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnamese territorial waters where no one invited the United States) and was allegedly attacked by Vietnamese torpedo boats. All the torpedoes missed, but one boat was sunk by the Americans. "Maddox" started shooting first, explaining that it was warning fire. The event was called the “Tonkin Incident” and became the reason for the start of the Vietnam War. Next, on the orders of US President Lyndon Johnson, the US Air Force attacked North Vietnamese naval installations. It is clear for whom the war was beneficial, he is the provocateur.
The confrontation between Vietnam and the United States began with the recognition of Vietnam as an independent state in 1954. Vietnam turned out to be divided into two parts. The South remained under the control of France (Vietnam had been its colony since the 19th century) and the United States, while the North was in full control of the communists with the support of China and the USSR. The country was supposed to unite after democratic elections, but the elections did not take place, and a civil war began in South Vietnam.
The United States feared that communism could spread throughout Asia in a domino fashion.
Representatives of the communist camp waged guerrilla warfare on enemy territory, and its hottest hotbed was the so-called Iron Triangle, an area of 310 square kilometers northwest of Saigon. Despite such proximity to the strategic settlement of the South, it was actually controlled by communist partisans, and their base was a significantly expanded underground complex near the village of Kuti.
The US supported the South Vietnamese government, fearing further communist expansion in South-East Asia.
The Soviet leadership at the beginning of 1965 decided to provide Democratic Republic Vietnam (North Vietnam) large-scale military-technical assistance. According to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin, aid to Vietnam during the war cost the Soviet Union 1.5 million rubles a day.
To eliminate the partisan zone, in January 1966 the United States decided to conduct Operation Crimp, for which it allocated 8 thousand US and Australian troops. Finding themselves in the jungles of the Iron Triangle, the allies were faced with an unexpected surprise: in fact, there was no one to fight with. Snipers, tripwires on the trails, unexpected ambushes, attacks from behind, from territories that, it would seem, had already (just!) been cleared: something incomprehensible was happening around, and the number of victims was growing.
The Vietnamese sat underground and after the attacks went underground again. In the underground cities, the halls had no additional supports and were designed for the miniature constitution of the Vietnamese. Below is a plan diagram of the real underground city researched by the Americans.
The much larger Americans could hardly squeeze through the passages, which were usually in the range of 0.8-1.6 meters in height and 0.6-1.2 meters in width. There was no obvious logic in the organization of the tunnels; they were deliberately built as a chaotic labyrinth, equipped with a large number of false dead-end branches that made orientation difficult.
Viet Cong guerrillas were supplied throughout the war through the so-called Ho Chi Minh Trail, which ran through neighboring Laos. The Americans and the South Vietnamese army tried several times to cut the “trail,” but it didn’t work out.
In addition to fire and traps, the “tunnel rats” could also be waiting for snakes and scorpions, which the partisans deliberately baited. Such methods led to a very high mortality rate among “tunnel rats”.
Only half returned from the holes personnel. They were even armed with special pistols with silencers, gas masks and other things.
The "Iron Triangle", the area where the catacombs were discovered, was eventually simply destroyed by the Americans with B-52 bombing.
The fighting took place not only underground, but also in the air. The first battle between Soviet anti-aircraft gunners and American aircraft took place on July 24, 1965. Well proven Soviet MIGI, on which the Vietnamese flew.
During the war, the Americans lost 58 thousand people in the jungle, 2300 were missing and over 150 thousand were wounded. At the same time, the list of official losses did not include Puerto Ricans who were hired into the American army in order to obtain United States citizenship. North Vietnamese losses amounted to over a million military personnel killed and more than three million civilians.
The Paris ceasefire agreements were only signed in January 1973. It took several more years to withdraw troops.
Carpet bombing of North Vietnamese cities was carried out by order of US President Nixon. On December 13, 1972, the North Vietnamese delegation left Paris, where peace negotiations were being held. In order to force them to return, it was decided to launch massive bombing attacks on Hanoi and Haiphong.
A South Vietnamese Marine wears a special bandage among the decomposing corpses of American and Vietnamese soldiers who died during the fighting on a rubber plantation 70 km northeast of Saigon, November 27, 1965.
According to the Soviet side, 34 B-52s were lost during Operation Linebacker II. In addition, 11 aircraft of other types were shot down. North Vietnamese casualties were approximately 1,624 civilians, military casualties are unknown. Aviation losses - 6 Mig 21 aircraft.
"Christmas Bombing" is the official name.
During Operation Linebacker II, 100 thousand tons were dropped on Vietnam! bombs.
The most famous use of the latter is Operation Popeye, when US transport workers sprayed silver iodite over strategic areas of Vietnam. As a result, the amount of precipitation tripled, roads were washed away, fields and villages were flooded, and communications were destroyed. The American military also acted radically with the jungle. Bulldozers uprooted trees and upper layer soil, and herbicides and defoliants (Agent Orange) were sprayed from above onto the rebel stronghold. This severely disrupted the ecosystem and in the long term led to widespread illness and infant mortality.
The Americans poisoned Vietnam with everything they could. They even used a mixture of defoliants and herbicides. Why are freaks still born there at the genetic level? This is a crime against humanity.
The USSR sent about 2,000 tanks, 700 light and maneuverable aircraft, 7,000 mortars and guns, more than a hundred helicopters and much more to Vietnam. Almost the entire air defense system of the country, impeccable and impenetrable to fighters, was built by Soviet specialists using Soviet funds. “On-site training” also took place. Military schools and academies of the USSR trained Vietnamese military personnel.
Vietnamese women and children hide from artillery fire in an overgrown canal 30 km west of Saigon, January 1, 1966.
On March 16, 1968, American soldiers completely destroyed a Vietnamese village, killing 504 innocent men, women and children. Only one person was convicted of this war crime, and three days later he was “pardoned” by a personal decree of Richard Nixon.
The Vietnam War also became a drug war. Drug addiction among the troops became another factor that undermined the combat effectiveness of the United States.
On average, an American soldier fought 240 days a year in Vietnam! For comparison, an American soldier during World War II Pacific Ocean fought on average 40 days over 4 years. Helicopters performed well in this war. Of which the Americans lost about 3,500.
From 1957 to 1973, about 37 thousand South Vietnamese were shot by Viet Cong guerrillas for collaborating with the Americans, most of whom were minor government employees.
Civilian casualties to date are unknown—about 5 million are believed to have died, with more in the North than in the South. In addition, the losses of the civilian population of Cambodia and Laos are not taken into account anywhere - apparently, they also number in the thousands here.
The average age of a dead American soldier was 23 years 11 months. 11,465 deaths were under 20 years of age, and 5 died before reaching 16 years of age! The oldest person killed in the war was a 62-year-old American.
The Vietnam War was the longest military conflict in modern times military history. The conflict lasted about 20 years: from November 1, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.
But Vietnam won...
Our crimson flag flies proudly,
And on it are stars, a victory sign.
Like the surf
Grozovoy —
The power of military friendship,
We are moving towards new dawns step by step.
This is Lao Dong, our party,
We're moving forward year after year
Leading!
— Do Minh, "Song of the Lao Dong Party"
Soviet tanks in Saigon... this is already the end... The Yankees do not want to remember this war, they no longer openly fight with the radicals and have generally revised their methods of fighting the “red plague”.
The basis of information and photos (C) Internet. Main sources:
On August 5, 1964, American warplanes raided a torpedo boat base off the coast of North Vietnam. This day is considered the first air war in the history of Vietnam. Ten years before this event, in 1954, Vietnam was liberated from the French colonists. In accordance with the Geneva Agreement, the country was divided into two parts - North and South. In 1960, an armed conflict began between them. Within a few years it escalated into a large-scale war.
Causes of the Vietnam War
In the North, the country was ruled by the Communist Party led by Ho Chi Minh. The puppet government of South Vietnam extended its hands for American military assistance. This is how the interests of the USSR and the USA clashed in Southeast Asia. The United States planned to surround the USSR along the perimeter with countries that would be pro-American. These already included Pakistan and South Korea. North Vietnam got in the way. Without him, the Americans lost their advantage in this region.
President Kennedy ordered the entry of troops into South Vietnam. By 1964 their number was more than 20,000. In February 1965, Chairman of the Council of Ministers A.N. Kosygin, who visited Hanoi, promised Soviet military assistance to North Vietnam. However, the Soviet Union did not openly get involved in the conflict. Therefore, the Soviet specialists who arrived there in the spring of 1965 were identified as civilians on all papers. They remained silent for many years.
Stages of the Vietnam War
Under a veil of secrecy, ten Soviet military centers of anti-aircraft missile defense forces were deployed in North Vietnam. The main task was to train Vietnamese rocket scientists. This is how they covered the sky, ensuring victory on earth. The Americans knew about the presence of Soviet specialists, but for the time being treated this fact condescendingly. The feeling of complete impunity disappeared after American planes began to be shot down by Vietnamese (and essentially Soviet) air defenses. The fighting went on every day.
Soviet specialists developed their own tactics - shooting from an ambush. A strike on an enemy plane - and immediately retreat to another, pre-prepared position in the jungle. American aviation losses reached 25%. The Shrike homing missile came to the aid of the Americans, detecting the work anti-aircraft installations in a matter of seconds. The Vietnam War has become a kind of testing ground different types weapons, including counter-weapons.
During the 9 years of the war, about 500 air battles and 350 shot down American aircraft. Losses of the Vietnamese side - 131 aircraft. During all this time, almost 800 American pilots were captured. Contrary to established legend, no one tortured them or kept them in terrible conditions, but Soviet intelligence officers They weren’t allowed anywhere near them. Over the entire period of the military campaign, US aviation lost more than 4,500 fighters and bombers. This was equal to almost half of America's entire air fleet.
Almost 70% of the North Vietnamese army was supplied with Soviet-made weapons. Supplies passed through China, where the “cultural revolution” was going on at that time. By the early 1970s, America began to resemble a hunted animal. Public opinion demanded the withdrawal of troops. Soldiers died in the thousands. Numerous protest demonstrations often ended in clashes with the police. The reservists even burned their agendas. President Nixon hesitated: he either gave orders to stop the bombing, or to resume it. The Americans wanted to save face.
Results of the Vietnam War
On January 27, 1973, a ceasefire agreement was signed between Hanoi and Washington. The withdrawal of American troops from Vietnam began. The most modern army in the world at that time was defeated. 60000 dead soldiers and hundreds of thousands of crippled - such is the terrible outcome of this war. Almost $300 billion was spent on the war.
I took these photographs 45 years ago. At the end of the Vietnam War. Not its complete completion, when Vietnam was united, but the Vietnam War, which was waged by America, about which so much has been written and filmed that there seems to be nothing to add.
On the morning of January 27, 1973, downtown Hanoi along the shores of the Lake of the Returned Sword was unusually crowded. During the war, few people lived in cities. The Vietnamese explained this with the exhaustive word so tan - “evacuation” or, more precisely, “dispersal.” But the winter chill gave way to warmth, and it was possible to relax in the slightly humid, caressing air, which happens in very early spring before the eastern cherry trees bloom.
It was the day of victory. The mood of the people on the shore of the lake, disfigured by bomb shelters, was upbeat, but not exactly jubilant, although newspapers and street loudspeakers shouted about the historic victory. Everyone was waiting for news of the signing in Paris of an agreement to restore peace in Vietnam. The time difference with France is six hours, and the historical moment came in the evening.
In the Tass mansion on cozy Khao Ba Kuat, teletypes were already hammering out dispatches from Paris about the arrival of delegations on Avenue Kleber, when my colleagues and I gathered at a table near the open veranda to celebrate the event in Russian. Although we haven’t had time to realize it yet.
Just a month ago, at the same table, over a can of sprat, a bottle of Stolichnaya, and pickles from the embassy store, people were gathering for dinner in order to catch it before the night bombing. More often than not they didn’t have time and were startled by a nearby explosion...
The gift from the American Santa Claus was the finale of the war: in less than 12 days, one hundred thousand tons of bombs fell on the cities of North Vietnam - five non-nuclear Hiroshimas.
New Year 1972 in Haiphong. "Christmas" bombings touched not only military facilities. Photo by the author
From the branches of a spreading lija in the yard hung shiny beards of aluminum tinsel, which escort planes dropped to interfere with air defense radars.
In November I still “went to war.” Vietnam north of the 20th parallel was not bombed so as not to spoil the atmosphere of the Paris negotiations. Nixon promised the Americans to pull the country out of the Vietnam swamp with dignity, and negotiations seemed to be moving forward.
After 45 years, the world has changed a lot, but the political technologies of war and peace are similar. Hanoi insisted that in the south of Vietnam it was not its regular troops who were fighting against the Americans and the Saigon regime, but rebels and partisans (“we are not there”). The Americans and Saigon refused to talk to the “rebels,” and Hanoi did not recognize the Republic of Vietnam, an “American puppet.” Finally we found the form. The negotiations that began in 1969 were four-party: the United States, North Vietnam, the pro-American Republic of Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG RSV) created by Hanoi, which was recognized only by the socialist countries. Everyone understood that the war is on between communist Vietnam and the United States, and the real bargaining took place in parallel between Politburo member Le Duc Tho and presidential adviser Henry Kissinger.
In the fall of seventy-two, the Americans did not bomb the main part of North Vietnam with its largest cities. But everything south of the 20th parallel, on the route of the movement of North Vietnamese troops, equipment and ammunition to the south, US aircraft - tactical from Utapao in Thailand (this is the resort of Pattaya!), strategic from Guam and “sailors” from aircraft carriers - ironed to the fullest. They added their artillery to the ships of the 7th Fleet, the silhouettes of which appeared on the horizon in good weather. The narrow strip of coastal plain looked like the lunar surface.
Now it takes no more than two hours to drive from Hanoi to the Hamrong Bridge, the beginning of that former “fourth zone,” but back then it was better not to get on coastal highway number one, but to weave south through the mountains and jungle along the dirt roads of the “Ho Chi Minh Trail.” Past burnt-out fuel trucks and tanks, joking around with girls from repair crews at broken crossings.
The word “détente” was heard in the world, which the Vietnamese did not like (what kind of “détente” is there if you have to fight to unify the country?). They were painfully jealous of the America of both “older brothers” who were at war with each other.
Nixon became the first US president to travel to Beijing and Moscow and talk with Mao and Brezhnev. In mid-December 1972, the American press wrote about the Apollo 17 flight to the moon with three astronauts and the imminent end of the Vietnam War. In the words of Kissinger, "the world was at arm's length."
On October 8, Kissinger met with Le Duc Tho at a villa near Paris. He surprised the American by proposing a nine-point draft agreement that broke through the vicious circle of mutual demands. Hanoi proposed a ceasefire throughout Vietnam one day after the signing of the agreement, two months later the Americans were to withdraw their troops, and a coalition government was created in South Vietnam. That is, Hanoi recognized the Saigon administration as a partner. It was proposed to hold elections under the auspices of the Council of National Reconciliation and Accord.
One can speculate about the reasons for Hanoi's softening of approach. His Easter offensive in the spring of seventy-two in the south cannot be called successful. The Americans responded with heavy bombing of major cities and infrastructure in North Vietnam. Detente raised doubts about the reliability of the allies - the USSR and China.
Kissinger and Le Duc Tho met three more times in October. Hanoi agreed to drop the demand for the release of all political prisoners in South Vietnam in exchange for the release of American prisoners of war. They also set a date for the end of the war - 30 October. Kissinger flew off to consult with Nixon.
What followed was less and less clear news. The head of the Saigon regime, Nguyen Van Thieu, said that he would not make concessions to the communists, no matter what the Americans agreed with them. Washington demanded that the project be corrected and set as a precondition the withdrawal of regular units of North Vietnam from South Vietnam and the deployment of a five-thousand-strong international contingent there. On October 26, the State Department said that there would be no signing on the 30th. Hanoi responded by publishing a secret draft agreement. The Americans were indignant, the negotiations stalled. On December 13, Kissinger flew out of Paris, and two days later, Le Duc Tho.
In the liberated areas of South Vietnam. There, Hanoi fought under the flag of the self-proclaimed republic. Photo by the author Saturday December 16th turned out to be cool. In the morning, Hanoi was shrouded in “fung,” a winter mixture of rain and fog. In “Nyan Zan” there was a long statement by the GRP of the Republic of South Africa. The meaning is clear: if Washington does not withdraw its amendments, the Vietnamese will fight to the bitter end. In other words, expect an attack during the dry season that has already begun in the south.
From the center of Hanoi to the airport Gyalam only eight kilometers, but the road could take an hour, or two, or more. Two pontoon crossings with one-way traffic across the Red River were either connected or parted, passing barges and scows. And the steel web of Eiffel’s brainchild, the Long Bien Bridge, was torn apart. One span, hunched over, buried itself in the red water.
I went to the airport on an official occasion. The Vietnamese party and state delegation was escorted to Moscow for the 55th anniversary of the revolution. The head of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Truong Tinh, was flying through Beijing.
Saturday was also the day to meet and see off the Aeroflot Il-18, which flew from Moscow via India, Burma and Laos once a week. It was a celebration of connection with outside world. Saturday's get-together at the airport became a social event. In the small airport building you could not only see who had arrived and who was leaving, but also meet the cream of the foreign colony - diplomats, journalists, generals, get some information, just “trade faces.”
We had to stay at the airport longer than usual. Something strange happened. After boarding the plane, the passengers again went down the ramp and lined up under the wing with their bags and purses. Before this, no one paid attention to the noise of an aircraft invisible behind the low clouds. When the Il-18 retreated towards Vientiane, we learned that the cause of the commotion was an American drone.
On Sunday, the seventeenth, a representative of the USSR Ministry of Marine Fleet called me from Haiphong. He saw how in the morning for the first time after a two-month break, American planes mined the port fairway and fired several missiles at the city. The port of Haiphong was blocked by minefields for several months. Soviet supplies, primarily military supplies, went to Vietnam through a delicate route: first to the ports of Southern China, from there along railway to the Vietnamese border and further on their own or by truck.
On Monday, the eighteenth, the cold “fun” was drizzling again. The leaves on the trees shone from the water sprayed in the air, moisture penetrated into the houses, settling as a slippery film on the stone tiles of the floors, and was absorbed into clothes. In Gya Lam we met the plane of the Chinese airline, on which Le Duc Tho arrived. He looked tired, depressed, and made no statements. On the way from Paris, he met in Moscow with Politburo member Andrei Kirilenko and Secretary of the Central Committee Konstantin Katushev. He was received in Beijing by Premier Zhou Enlai. Moscow and Beijing knew that this chance for peace in Vietnam had been lost.
Washington had already decided to bomb Hanoi and Haiphong in order to force the Vietnamese to peace. Operation Linebecker II approved, Nixon sent a secret telegram to Hanoi demanding acceptance of US conditions. She came on Monday evening.
That evening there was a reception and film screening at the Hanoi International Club to mark the 12th anniversary of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. Seated in the front row were Foreign Minister Nguyen Duy Trinh and Hanoi Mayor Tran Duy Hung. They already knew that B-52s from Guam were flying to Hanoi. Later, the mayor will tell me that during the ceremonial part he received a call from the air defense headquarters.
They showed a newsreel in which the cannonade roared. When the session was interrupted, the roar did not stop, because it also came from the street. I went out to the square - the glow covered northern half horizon.
The first raid lasted about forty minutes, and the siren at the National Assembly monotonously howled the all-clear. But minutes later, heart-rendingly intermittently, she warned of a new alarm. I didn’t wait until lights out, when the street lights came on, and went home in the dark. Fortunately, it’s nearby: three blocks. The horizon was burning, roosters were crowing in the courtyards, mistaking it for dawn...
I was not a military expert, but from the running chains of fountains of fire I guessed that these were carpet bombings from the B-52. In my work, I had a competitive advantage over my AFP colleague Jean Thoraval, the only Western reporter in Hanoi: I did not need to obtain a censorship stamp before transmitting the text. Therefore, he was the first. A few hours later, the start of the operation was confirmed from Washington.
The next morning in international club The Vietnamese organized a press conference with the American pilots shot down at night. They brought in survivors and not badly injured ones. Then, until the new year, such press conferences were held almost every day, and each time they brought “fresh” prisoners. Most are still in mud-splattered flight suits, and some are in bandages or plaster - already in striped pajamas.
These were different people - from the twenty-five-year-old Bachelor of Arts Lieutenant Robert Hudson to the forty-three-year-old “Latino”, Korean War veteran Major Fernando Alexander, from the unfired Paul Granger to the commander of the flying “superfortress” Lieutenant Colonel John Yuinn, who had twenty years of service under his belt, one hundred and forty combat flights to South Vietnam and twenty-two to the “fourth zone” of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. By their surnames one could judge where their ancestors came from to America: Brown and Gelonek, Martini and Nagahira, Bernasconi and Leblanc, Camerota and Vavroch...
In the light of the spotlights, they entered one after another into a cramped room filled with people and tobacco smoke. In front of the public, among whom there were few foreigners, and not so many journalists, they behaved differently: confusion with a shadow of fear, a detached look into the void, arrogance and contempt... Some simply remained silent, while the little Vietnamese officer, mutilating names and surnames, he read out personal data, ranks, service numbers, types of aircraft, place of captivity. Others identified themselves and asked to tell their relatives that “they are alive and are being treated humanely.”
The first press conference was dominated by silence. They probably thought that this was an unfortunate accident and that Hanoi would capitulate tomorrow under blows from the sky. But each subsequent group became more talkative. By Christmas, almost everyone congratulated their relatives on the holiday and expressed hope that “this war will end soon.” But they also said that they were fulfilling military duty, bombing military targets, although they did not rule out “collateral losses” (maybe they damaged housing a little).
December 19 in the Pacific Ocean south of the islands Samoa parachuted into the cabin containing American officers Cernan, Schmitt and Evans. This was the descent module of Apollo 17, which returned from the Moon. Astronaut heroes were welcomed aboard the USS Ticonderoga. At the same hour, the plane of Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Nakagawa took off from another aircraft carrier, the Enterprise. His parachute opened over Haiphong, and the Vietnamese in the flooded rice field did not greet him at all cordially. A little earlier, the navigator-instructor of the B-52 squadron, Major Richard Johnson, was captured. He and Captain Richard Simpson managed to eject. The remaining four crew members were killed. Their “superfortress” opened the scoring with a shot down over Hanoi.
The Christmas bombings of Hanoi and Haiphong, which lasted almost continuously for twelve days, became a test of strength for both sides. American air losses were serious. According to American information, fifteen B-52s were lost - the same number as in the entire previous war in Vietnam. According to the Soviet military, 34 of these eight-engine vehicles were shot down in the December air battle. In addition, 11 other aircraft were destroyed.
The picture of giants burning in the night sky and falling apart was enchanting. At least thirty American pilots were killed, more than twenty were missing, and dozens were captured.
The Paris Agreement freed Americans from captivity, many of whom had spent more than one year in North Vietnamese camps and prisons. Photo by the author I did not see any air battles, although the Vietnamese later reported the loss of six MiG-21s. But a mass of metal rose into the air towards the planes from below, including bullets from the rifle of the barmaid Minh from the roof of the Hanoi Metropol and from the Makarov of the policeman at our house. Anti-aircraft guns worked in every quarter. But all B-52s were shot down by Soviet-made S-75 air defense systems. The Soviet military did not directly participate in this; at that time they were only advisers and instructors, but Soviet equipment played an obvious role.
According to Vietnamese data, 1,624 people died on the ground in the New Year's air war. Civilian. The Vietnamese did not report about the military.
The expectation of completely suppressing the will of the population did not materialize. There was no panic, but it was felt that people were on edge. This was told to me by a classic of Vietnamese literature, Nguyen Cong Hoan, who came to visit, with whom we had been closely acquainted for a long time.
During the Christmas peace break, our company went to mass in Cathedral St. Joseph. Even Makhlouf, Egypt's charge d'affaires. Prayed for peace. And in the lobby of the Metropol, the role of Santa Claus at the Christmas tree was played by the American pastor Michael Allen, who before the bombings arrived as part of a delegation of pacifists led by the former US prosecutor at Nuremberg Telford Taylor. Singer Joan Baez was also in it. She sang Christmas songs, and when she learned that I was Russian, she suddenly hugged me and started singing “Dark Eyes”... After Christmas, they bombed me again.
We celebrated the New Year in tense silence, waiting for the bombing. But when Le Duc Tho flew to Paris, it became somehow more fun. Negotiations resumed, and the agreement was signed in almost the same form as the draft published in October. December air war over Hanoi and Haiphong did not change anything.
The main results of the agreement were the complete withdrawal of American troops from South Vietnam (March 29, 1973) and the exchange of prisoners, which was carried out in several stages. It was a solemn event. American Hercules from Saigon and Da Nang and ambulance C-141s from Clark Field in the Philippines flew to the Gya Lam airfield. In the presence of a commission of officers from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the United States, the GRP of the Republic of South Vietnam, the Saigon regime, Indonesia, Hungary, Poland and Canada, the Vietnamese authorities handed over the released prisoners to the American general. Some were simply pale and exhausted, others left on crutches, and others were carried on stretchers. Among them was John McCain, whom I did not pay attention to at the time. But then, at a meeting in Brussels, I reminded him of that day.
From the Hanoi airport, the Americans released from captivity were returning to their homeland. Photo by the author The other articles of the agreement were worse. The ceasefire between the Vietnamese communist forces and the Saigon army in the south was shaky, with the parties constantly accusing each other of violating the Paris Agreement. The letter of the agreement, which each side read in its own way, itself became an argument for war. The fate of the 1954 Geneva Agreement, which ended France's war for the former colony, repeated itself. The communists accused the Saigonese of holding separate elections in the south and proclaiming their anti-communist state. The Saigonese accused the communists of launching terrorist attacks against the authorities in the south and organizing military penetration from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia. Hanoi assured that its troops were nowhere there, and the GRP of the Republic of South East was fighting for the creation of an independent and neutral country in the south.
Hanoi Airport: the exit from the war and the release of prisoners was a joy for the Americans too. Photo by the author Le Duc Tho, unlike Kissinger, did not go to receive Nobel Prize, because he knew that the agreement would not last long. Within two years, the communists became convinced that America had left Vietnam and was not going to return. The Spring Offensive of 1975 buried the Paris Agreement with all its decorative republics and control mechanisms. Guarantees from the USSR, France, Great Britain and China did not interfere with the course of events. Vietnam was united militarily.
After the 1973 Paris Agreement. Officers from North Vietnam, the Saigon regime and the Viet Cong sit peacefully on the same commission. In two years, Saigon will fall. Photo by the author State thought is characterized by inertia. The French began to fight for Indochina when the era of territories was ending and other mechanisms for using resources took the place of military-political control over the territories. The Americans got involved in Vietnam when the main issue was the confrontation between two systems. The communists denied America's sacred principles of free trade and capital movement and interfered with transnational business. Eastern Europe already closed, endangered - Southeast Asia. Maoist China influenced the region. On September 30, 1965, an attempt at a communist coup in Indonesia was foiled at the cost of great blood. The rebels led guerrilla warfare in Thailand, Burma, and the Philippines. In Vietnam, the communists controlled half the country and had a chance to take control of the other... In Washington, the “domino theory” was seriously considered, in which Vietnam was the critical domino.
What was this war for, in which more than 58 thousand Americans were killed, millions of Vietnamese were killed, millions were maimed physically and mentally, not to mention the economic costs and environmental damage?
The goal of the Vietnamese communists was nation state under the strict rule of the party, with an independent, bordering on autarky, economy, without private property and foreign capital. For this they made sacrifices.
The dreams of those who fought against American imperialism did not come true, the fears that prompted the Americans to one of the bloodiest wars of the century did not come true. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma and the Philippines did not become communist, but rushed forward along the capitalist path in the economy and joined globalization. In Vietnam, an attempt at “socialist change” in the south led in 1979 to a collapsed economy, a terrible refugee problem (“boat people”), and war with China. Actually, China had already abandoned classical socialism by that time. The Soviet Union collapsed.
From the veranda of the once “journalistic” bar on the roof of the Caravella Hotel, a panorama of Ho Chi Minh City opens up, on whose futuristic skyscrapers are the brands of world banks and corporations. Down in Lam Son Square, a Japanese firm is building one of the world's most modern subways. Nearby, on a red banner, there is a slogan: “Warm greetings to the delegates of the city party conference.” And state television talks about America's solidarity with Vietnam against Beijing's attempts to take away its islands in the South China Sea...
Photo taken with an amateur Zenit camera
Vietnam War- one of the largest military conflicts of the second half of the 20th century, which left a noticeable mark on culture and occupies a significant place in the modern history of the United States and Vietnam.
The war began as a civil war in South Vietnam; later they interfered with it Northern Vietnam and the United States with the support of several other countries. Thus, on the one hand, the war was fought for the reunification of the two parts of Vietnam and the creation single state with communist ideology, and on the other - for maintaining the split of the country and the independence of South Vietnam. As events unfolded, the Vietnam War became intertwined with parallel wars. civil wars in Laos and Cambodia. All fighting in Southeast Asia, which took place from the late 1950s until 1975, is known as the Second Indochina War.
Chronology of the Vietnam War.
1954
May 7, 1954 - occupation of the French command post of Dien Bien Phu by Vietnamese troops; The French side gives the order for a ceasefire. As a result of the battle that lasted for 55 days, the French lost 3 thousand people killed and 8 thousand wounded. Significantly greater damage was inflicted on the Viet Minh forces: 8 and 12 thousand wounded and killed, respectively, but regardless of this, the French decision to continue the war was shaken.
1959
The creation of a special unit of the North Vietnamese Army (559th Group) specifically to organize a supply route from North Vietnam to Viet Cong forces in the south. With the consent of the Cambodian prince, the 559th group developed the simplest route along the Vietnamese-Cambodian border with forays into Vietnamese territory along its entire length (Ho Chi Minh Trail).
1961
Second floor. 1961 - Kennedy orders increased assistance to the South Vietnamese government in the fight against guerrillas. This implied the supply of new equipment, as well as the arrival of more than 3 thousand military advisers and service personnel.
December 11, 1961 - About 4 hundred Americans arrived in South Vietnam: pilots and various aviation specialists.
1962
January 12, 1962 - helicopters piloted by American pilots transferred 1 thousand soldiers to the south of Vietnam to destroy the NLF stronghold near Saigon (Operation Chopper). This was the beginning of hostilities by the Americans.
Beginning of 1962 - Operation Ranchhand began, the purpose of which was to clear vegetation adjacent to roads to reduce the risk of enemy ambushes. With the development of hostilities, the scope of the operation increased. The dioxin-containing herbicide Agent Orange was sprayed over vast forested areas. Guerrilla trails were revealed and crops were destroyed.
1963
January 2, 1963 - in one of the villages, the 514th Viet Cong battalion and local guerrilla forces ambushed the South Vietnamese 7th Division. At first, the Viet Cong were not inferior to the enemy's technical advantage - about 400 southerners were killed or wounded, and three American advisers also died.
1964
April - June 1964: massive reinforcement air force USA in Southeast Asia. The departure of two aircraft carriers from the Vietnamese coast in connection with the enemy offensive in Laos.
June 30, 1964 - on the evening of this day, South Vietnamese saboteurs attacked two small northern islands located in the Gulf of Tonkin. American destroyer The Maddox (a small ship crammed with electronics) was 123 miles to the south with orders to electronically deceive the enemy about a false air attack so that he would divert his ships from the target.
04 August 1964 - Captain Maddox's report states that his ship has come under fire and an attack cannot be avoided in the near future. Despite his subsequent statement that there was no attack at all, six hours after the initial information was received, Johnson orders a retaliation operation. American bombers strike two naval bases and destroy most of the fuel supplies. During this attack, the Americans lost two aircraft.
August 7, 1964 - The American Congress passes the Tonkin Resolution, which gives the President the authority to take any action to protect Southeast Asia.
October 1964: China - North Vietnam's neighbor and ally - conducts a successful test atomic bomb.
November 1, 1964 - two days before presidential elections in the United States, Viet Cong artillery fired air base Bien Ho near Saigon. 4 Americans were killed and 76 more were wounded; 5 B-57 bombers were also destroyed and 15 more were damaged.
1965
01 January - 07 February 1965: North Vietnamese troops launched a series of attacks on southern border, temporarily taking possession of the village of Binh Gi, located only 40 miles from Saigon. As a result, two hundred South Vietnamese soldiers died, as well as five American advisers.
February 07, 1965 - the main US air force, located in the central foothills of South Vietnam, was attacked by an NLF sabotage landing, as a result of which 9 people were killed and over 70 were injured. This incident was followed by the immediate reaction of the American President, who ordered the US Navy to strike military targets in North Vietnam.
February 10, 1965 - A bomb explodes at the Khi Non hotel by the Viet Cong. As a result, 23 American-born employees died.
February 13, 1965 - Presidential approval of Operation Rolling Thunder - an offensive accompanied by a long bombardment of the enemy. Its goal was to end support for the Viet Cong in the southern territories.
02 March 1965 - the first bomb raids of the Operation, following a series of numerous delays.
April 3, 1965 - the beginning of the American campaign against the North Vietnamese transport system: within a month, bridges, roads and railway junctions, vehicle depots and base warehouses were systematically destroyed by the US Navy and Air Force.
April 7, 1965 - The United States made an offer of economic assistance to S. Vietnam in exchange for peace, but this offer was rejected. Two weeks later, the American president increased the US military presence in Vietnam to 60 thousand people. Troops from Korea and Australia arrived in Vietnam as international support.
May 11, 1965 - Two and a half thousand Viet Cong soldiers attack Song Bi, the South Vietnamese provincial capital and, after two days of bloody fighting both inside and around the city, retreat.
June 10, 1965 - Viet Cong expelled from Dong Xai (South Vietnamese headquarters and military camp of US Special Forces) after American air attacks.
June 27, 1965 - General Westmoreland begins an offensive ground operation northwest of Saigon.
August 17, 1965 - according to a soldier who deserted from the 1st Viet Cong regiment, it becomes obvious that an attack on the US naval base at Chu Lai cannot be avoided - so, the Americans implement Operation Starlite, which became the first large-scale battle of the Vietnam War. Using different kinds troops - ground, naval and air Force- The Americans won a convincing victory, losing 45 killed and over 200 wounded, while enemy losses amounted to about 700 people.
September-October 1965: after the attack of Play Mei (camps of troops special purpose) by the North Vietnamese, the 1st Air Brigade "deploys formation" against enemy forces located in the immediate vicinity of the camp. This resulted in the battle of La Drang. For 35 days, US troops pursued and engaged the 32nd, 33rd and 66th North Vietnamese regiments until the enemy returned to their bases in Cambodia.
November 17, 1965 - The remnants of the 66th North Vietnamese Regiment advance east of Play Mei and ambush an American battalion, which was not helped by either reinforcements or the competent distribution of firepower. By the end of the battle, American casualties amounted to 60% wounded, while every third soldier was killed.
1966
January 8, 1966 Operation Crimp begins. About 8,000 people took part in this - the largest - Vietnamese military operation by the United States. The goal of the campaign was to capture the Viet Cong headquarters in the Saigon area, which was believed to be in the Chhu Chhi area. Despite the fact that the mentioned territory was virtually wiped off the face of the earth and was subject to constant patrolling, the operation was a failure, because... there was not the slightest hint of the presence of any Viet Cong base in the area at all.
February 1966 - throughout the month, US troops conducted four operations with the goal of finding and destroying the enemy during a direct collision with him.
March 05, 1966 - The 272nd Regiment of the Viet Cong 9th Division attacked the battalion of the 3rd American Brigade in Lo Que. Successful US air action forced the attackers to retreat. Two days later, a Viet Cong unit attacked the US 1st Brigade and the 173rd Battalion. airborne regiment; but the offensive failed thanks to American artillery.
April - May 1966: Operation Birmingham, during which the Americans, supported by an impressive amount of air and ground equipment, cleared the area north of Saigon. A series of small-scale skirmishes with the enemy resulted in only 100 Viet Cong deaths. Most of the battles were provoked by the North Vietnamese side, which proved its elusiveness based on the results of the battles.
Late May - June 1966: In late May, the North Vietnamese 324th Division crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and encountered an American naval battalion. At Dong Ha, the North Vietnamese army took the largest battle of the entire war. Most of the 3rd Naval Division (about 5 thousand people from five battalions) moved north. In Operation Hastings, the sailors were supported by South Vietnamese troops, US Navy heavy artillery, and military aircraft, which resulted in pushing the enemy out of the DMZ within three weeks.
June 30, 1966 - on Route 13, which connected Vietnam with the Cambodian border, American troops were attacked by the Viet Cong: only air support and artillery helped the Americans avoid complete defeat.
July 1966 - About 1,300 North Vietnamese soldiers were killed in the bloody battle of Con Tien.
October 1966 - The 9th North Vietnamese Division, having recovered from the events of July, prepares for another offensive. Losses in manpower and equipment were compensated for by reinforcements and supplies from North Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
September 14, 1966 - new operation codenamed Attleboro, in which the US 196th Brigade, together with 22 thousand South Vietnamese soldiers, began an active search and destruction of the enemy in the territory of Tay Ninh province. At the same time, the location of the supplies of the 9th North Vietnamese Division was revealed, but open conflict did not follow again. The operation ended six weeks later; The American side lost 150 people, while the Viet Cong lost over 1,000 soldiers killed.
End of 1966 - by the end of 1966, the American presence in Vietnam reached 385 thousand people, as well as 60 thousand sailors based on the shore. During the year, over 6 thousand people were lost killed, and about 30 thousand were wounded. For comparison, the enemy suffered losses in manpower in the amount of 61 thousand people; however, be that as it may, by the end of the year the number of his troops exceeded 280 thousand people.
1967
January - May 1967: two North Vietnamese divisions, operating from the territory of the DMZ, dividing North and South Vietnam, began to bomb American bases located south of the DMZ, incl. Khe San, Kam Lo, Dong Ha, Kon Tien and Jio Lin.
January 08, 1967 - Operation Cedar Falls begins, the goal of which was to oust North Vietnamese forces from the Iron Triangle (an area of 60 square miles located between the Saigon River and Route 13. About 16 thousand American soldiers and 14 thousand soldiers The South Vietnamese Army was brought into the Triangle without encountering the expected large-scale resistance, enemy supplies were captured, and a total of 72 people were killed during the 19-day operation (mostly due to numerous booby traps and snipers appearing literally out of nowhere). The Viet Cong lost about 720 people killed.
February 21, 1967 - 240 helicopters operating over Tai Ning province took part in the largest air assault (Operation Junction City); This operation set itself the task of destroying enemy bases and headquarters on the territory of South Vietnam, stationed in Combat Zone “C” north of Saigon. About 30 thousand American soldiers took part in the operation, as well as about 5 thousand South Vietnamese soldiers. The duration of the operation was 72 days. The Americans again succeeded in capturing large quantities of supplies, equipment and weapons without any large-scale battles with the enemy.
April 24, 1967 - the beginning of attacks on North Vietnamese airfields; The Americans caused enormous damage to enemy roads and structures. By the end of the year, all northern MIG bases were hit, with the exception of just one.
May 1967 - desperate air battles over Hanoi and Hai Phong. The Americans' successes included 26 downed bombers, which reduced the enemy's air power by about half.
Late May 1967 - in the mountains of South Vietnam, the Americans intercepted enemy units moving inland from Cambodian territory. Hundreds of northern soldiers were killed over nine days of prolonged fighting.
Autumn 1967 - the development of the “Tet strategy” takes place in Hanoi. Arrest of 200 officials opposing this strategy.
1968
Mid-January 1968 - a grouping of units of three Viet Cong divisions near the naval base in Khe San (a small territory in the north-west of South Vietnam). The feared enemy forces forced the US command to assume the threat of a large-scale offensive in the northern provinces.
January 21, 1968 - at 5:30 a.m., a fire attack began on a naval base located in Khe San, while 18 people were immediately killed and 40 were injured. The attack lasted two days.
January 30-31, 1968 - on the day of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet holiday), the Americans launched a series of attacks throughout South Vietnam: in more than 100 cities, subversive saboteurs, supported by troops, intensified. By the end of the urban fighting, some 37,000 Viet Cong had been killed and many more had been wounded or captured. The result of these events was more than half a million civilian refugees. Most of the battle-hardened Viet Cong were wounded, politicians and representatives of the secret services; As for the partisans, for them the holiday completely turned into a disaster. This event seriously shook public opinion in the States, despite the fact that the Americans themselves lost only 2.5 thousand people killed.
February 23, 1968 - shelling of the naval base and its outposts in Khe San; the number of shells used was unprecedentedly high (over 1300 units). Local shelters were fortified to counter the 82mm used by the enemy. shells.
March 06, 1968 - while naval forces were preparing to repel a massive enemy assault, the North Vietnamese retreated into the jungle surrounding Khe San and did not show themselves for the next three weeks.
March 11, 1968 - Americans carried out large-scale cleansing operations around Saigon and other territories of South Vietnam.
March 16, 1968 - mass kill civilians in the village of My Lai (about two hundred people). Despite the fact that only one of the participants in that massacre was actually found guilty of war crimes, the entire American army fully experienced the “recoil” of that terrible tragedy. Although extremely rare, cases such as this serve the army disservice, nullifying all civic activity carried out by army units and individual soldiers, and also raise age-old questions about the code of conduct in war.
March 22, 1968 - massive fire attack on Khe San. Over a thousand shells hit the territory of the base - about a hundred per hour; simultaneously, local electronic devices noted the movements of North Vietnamese troops in the surrounding area. The American response to the attack was a massive bombing of the enemy.
April 8, 1968 - The result of Operation Pegasus carried out by the Americans was the final capture of Route 9, which put an end to the siege of Khe San. Lasting for 77 days, the Battle of Khe San became the largest battle of the Vietnam War. The official death toll on the North Vietnamese side was over 1,600 people, incl. two completely destroyed divisions. However, beyond those officially stated, there may have been thousands of enemy soldiers wounded or killed as a result of air raids.
June 1968 - availability of a powerful highly mobile American army in Khe San territory and the absence of any threat to the local base from the enemy prompted General Westmoreland to decide to dismantle it.
November 01, 1968 - After three and a half years, Operation Rolling Thunder came to an end. Its implementation cost the United States 900 downed aircraft, 818 missing or dead pilots, and hundreds of captured pilots. About 120 Vietnamese aircraft were damaged in air battles (including those shot down by mistake). According to American estimates, 180 thousand North Vietnamese civilians were killed. There were also casualties among the Chinese participants in the conflict - among them, about 20 thousand people were injured or killed.
1969
January 1969 - Richard Nixon assumed the presidency of the United States. Speaking about the “Vietnamese problem,” he promised to achieve “a peace worthy of [the American nation]” and intended to conduct successful negotiations on the withdrawal of American troops (numbering about half a million soldiers) from the conflict territory in the interests of South Vietnam.
February 1969 - Despite government restrictions, Nixon approved Operation Menu, which consisted of bombing North Vietnamese Viet Cong bases in Cambodia. Over the next four years, American aircraft dropped over half a million tons of bombs on the territory of this country.
February 22, 1969 - During a large-scale attack by enemy assault groups and artillery on American bases throughout South Vietnam, 1,140 Americans were killed. At the same time, South Vietnamese cities were attacked. Despite the fact that all of South Vietnam was engulfed in the flames of war, the most brutal battle took place near Saigon. Be that as it may, American artillery, operating in conjunction with aviation, managed to suppress the offensive launched by the enemy.
April 1969 - the number of deaths during the Vietnam conflict exceeded the same figure (33,629 people) during the Korean War.
June 08, 1969 - Nixon met with the President of South Vietnam (Nguyen Van Thieu) on the Coral Islands (Midway); During the meeting, the American president made a statement calling for the immediate withdrawal of 25,000 soldiers in Vietnam.
1970
April 29, 1970 - South Vietnamese forces attack and dislodge Viet Cong bases from Cambodia. Two days later, an attack by American troops took place (numbering 30 thousand people, including three divisions). The "cleansing" of Cambodia took 60 days: the location of Viet Cong bases in the North Vietnamese jungle was revealed. The Americans “requisitioned” 28,500 weapons, over 16 million small ammunition and 14 million pounds of rice. Despite the fact that the enemy managed to retreat across the Mekong River, he suffered significant losses (over 10 thousand people).
1971
08 February 1971 - Operation Lam Son 719: Three South Vietnamese divisions arrived in Laos to attack two main enemy bases and were caught in a trap. Over the next month, more than 9,000 South Vietnamese were killed or wounded; Over 2/3 of ground combat equipment, as well as hundreds of American aircraft and helicopters, were disabled.
Summer 1971 - despite the ban on the use of dioxin by the US Department of Agriculture back in 1968. Spraying of dioxin-containing substances (Agent Orange) in Vietnam continued until 1971. In South Vietnam, Operation Ranchhand used 11 million gallons of Agent Orange, containing a total of 240 pounds of dioxin, effectively turning over 1/7 of the country into desert.
1972
January 1, 1972 - Over the previous two years, two-thirds of US troops were withdrawn from Vietnam. At the beginning of 1972 There were only 133 thousand Americans left in the country (South Vietnam). Hardships ground war now lay almost entirely on the shoulders of the southerners, whose armed forces numbered over 1 million people.
March 30, 1972 - massive artillery shelling of South Vietnamese positions across the DMZ. More than 20 thousand Viet Cong crossed the DMZ, forcing the retreat of South Vietnamese units who tried unsuccessfully to defend themselves. According to intelligence data, an attack on the positions of Southeast Asia was expected from the north, but not from the demilitarized territories.
April 1, 1972 - North Vietnamese soldiers advance towards the city of Hue, defended by a South Vietnamese division and a US naval division. However, by April 9, the attackers were forced to suspend the assault and replenish their strength.
April 13, 1972 - Thanks to the support of tanks, North Vietnamese troops took control of the northern part of the city. But, despite this, 4 thousand soldiers of Southeast Asia, supported by elite aviation units, continued to defend themselves and fiercely counterattack. The power of the American B-52 bombers was also on their side. A month later, Viet Cong troops left the city.
April 27, 1972 - Two weeks after their first attack, NVA fighters advanced towards the city of Quang Tri, forcing the South Vietnamese division to retreat. By the 29th, the Viet Cong captured Dong Ha and, by May 1, Quang Tri.
July 19, 1972 - Thanks to US air support, the South Vietnamese began attempting to retake Binh Dinh Province and its cities. The battles lasted until September 15, by which time Quang Tri had turned into shapeless ruins. One way or another, the NVA fighters retained control of northern part provinces.
December 13, 1972 - failure of peace negotiations between the North Vietnamese and American sides in Paris.
December 18, 1972 - by order of the president, a new “bombing campaign” began against the NVA. Operation Linebacker Two lasted 12 days, including a three-day period of continuous bombing by 120 B-52 aircraft. The attacks were carried out on military airfields, transport targets and warehouses located in Hanoi, Hai Phong and their environs. The bomb tonnage used by the Americans in this operation exceeded 20 thousand tons; They lost 26 aircraft, the loss in manpower amounted to 93 people (killed, missing or captured). Acknowledged North Vietnamese casualties range between 1,300 and 1,600 dead.
1973
January 08, 1973 - resumption of the "Paris" peace negotiations between Northern Vietnam om and USA.
January 27, 1973 - a ceasefire was signed by the warring parties participating in the Vietnam War.
March 1973 - The last American soldiers left Vietnamese lands, although military advisers and sailors who were protecting local American installations remained. The official end of the war for the United States. Of the more than 3 million Americans who took part in the war, almost 58 thousand died and over 1 thousand people were missing. About 150 thousand Americans were seriously injured.
1974
January 1974 - Despite the fact that the NVA lacked the capabilities to carry out a large-scale offensive, it captured key southern territories.
August 9, 1974 - Nixon's resignation - South Vietnam lost the main representative of its interests in the highest political circles of the United States.
December 26, 1974 - capture of Dong Xai by the 7th North Vietnamese Army Division
1975
January 6, 1975 - NVA captured the city of Hok Long and the entire surrounding province, which was, in fact, a disaster for their southern neighbors, as well as a violation of the Paris Peace Agreement. However, there was no proper reaction from the United States.
March 01, 1975 - a powerful offensive on the territory of the central mountain range of South Vietnam; the losses of the southerners during their chaotic retreat amounted to 60 thousand soldiers.
All of March 1975 - during its next attack on the cities of Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang, the NVA deployed 100 thousand soldiers. The support of eight fully equipped regiments ensured her success in capturing Quang Tri Province.
March 25, 1972 - The third largest South Vietnamese city of Quang Tri is captured by the NVA.
Beginning of April 1972 - in five weeks of its military campaign, the NVA achieved impressive successes, capturing twelve provinces (over 8 million inhabitants). The Southerners lost their best units, more than a third of their personnel and approximately half of their weapons.
April 29, 1972 - the beginning of mass airlifts: in 18 hours, over 1 thousand American citizens and almost 7 thousand refugees left Saigon on US planes.
April 30, 1972 - at 4.30 am, during a missile attack at Saigon Tan Son Nhut Airport, two American sailors were killed - they were latest victims war from the US. At dawn the last representatives left the country naval forces from the American Embassy security guard. Just a few hours later, the embassy was searched; NVA tanks entered Saigon, marking the end of the war.
Chairman of the Presidium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation N.N. Kolesnik
During the war years, the Americans rained down 14 million tons of bombs and shells on the long-suffering land of Vietnam, poured thousands of tons of toxic substances, burned tens of thousands of hectares of jungle and thousands of villages with napalm and herbicides. More than 3 million Vietnamese died in the war, more than half of them were civilians, 9 million
Vietnamese became refugees. The enormous human and material losses caused by this war are irreparable; the demographic, genetic and environmental consequences are irreparable.
On the American side, more than 56.7 thousand people senselessly died in Vietnam, approximately 2,300 military personnel went missing, more than 800 thousand returned wounded, maimed and sick, more than half of the 2.4 million people. who went through Vietnam, returned home spiritually broken and morally devastated and are still experiencing the so-called “post-Vietnam syndrome”. Studies conducted in the United States among Vietnam War veterans showed that for every physical loss in a combat situation, there were at least five casualties in the post-war period.
From August 1964 to December 1972, 4,118 American aircraft were shot down over North Vietnam by Vietnamese air defense and air forces, incl. 1293 sold by Soviet missiles.
In total, the United States spent 352 billion dollars on waging this shameful war.
According to the former Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin, our assistance to Vietnam during the war cost 1.5 million rubles. in a day.
For the period from 1953 to 1991. USSR assistance to Vietnam amounted to 15.7 billion dollars.
From April 1965 to December 1974 The Soviet Union supplied 95 to Vietnam anti-aircraft missile systems SA-75M, 7658 missiles for them, over 500 aircraft, 120 helicopters, more than 5 thousand. anti-aircraft guns and 2 thousand tanks.
During this period, 6,359 Soviet officers and generals and more than 4.5 thousand soldiers and sergeants of conscript service took part in hostilities in Vietnam, while 13 people (according to some sources, 16 people) were killed or died from their wounds and illnesses.
For courage and heroism shown in the battles in Vietnam, 2,190 military personnel were awarded Soviet military orders and medals, incl. 7 people were nominated for the title of Hero Soviet Union, but for reasons of the political situation of that time, the Order of Lenin was awarded to them without the gold stars of the Hero. In addition, more than 7 thousand Soviet military specialists were awarded Vietnamese orders and medals.
(Chairman of the Presidium of the Association of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation N.N. Kolesnik)
1. Reasons: 1.1 Confrontation between the USA and the USSR in the Cold War. 1.2 National liberation struggle of the Vietnamese people. The struggle for the unification of the country year- Meeting in Geneva on the issue of ending the war in Indochina. Division of Vietnam into north and south
2. Stages (1964 - Incident in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Vietnamese attacked a US Navy ship) - 1973. (escalation of the war, results - signing of a peace agreement in January 1973) - 1975 (capture of the south by North Vietnam)
Operation Tet 1968 Vietnamese offensive throughout the country. They control most of the country's territory. Bloody battles are taking place. Operation Tet 1968 Vietnamese offensive throughout the country. They control most of the country's territory. Bloody battles are taking place.
1969 Nixon becomes President of the United States. Announced the phased withdrawal of American troops, Mr. Nixon became the President of the United States. Announced a phased withdrawal of American troops. The number of troops was reduced from to a year. The number of troops was reduced from to. The focus on aviation was massive bombing of North Vietnam. Bet on aviation - massive bombing of North Vietnam.
3. The results of the war Mr. Agreement in Paris on Vietnam. American troops have been withdrawn from the country. The division of the country was preserved (along the 17th parallel) - Operation Ho Chi Minh, the capture of South Vietnam by the North. Vietnam became united socialist country. 3.3 US casualties in the war people. 3.4 Losses of Vietnam - more than 2 million people.
