Vietname War Flashcards
Who
OVERVIEW
Who? The main parties involved in the war are North Vietnam and South Vietnam who are on opposing sides. The USSR supported North Vietnam, and the US supported South Vietnam.
What where when
Where? The Vietnam War took place in Vietnam and eventually expanded into Cambodia and Laos. When? The Vietnam War took place between 1954-1975.
What? It was a proxy war between North and South Vietnam during the Cold War and was the second Indochina War.
Why
Why? The First Indochina War was between France and North Vietnam since France gained control of Vietnam previously and resulted in a victory for North Vietnam. North Vietnam became a communist state and signed an agreement in Geneva allowing a temporary division between the North and the South. North Vietnam’s objective was to unify Vietnam as a communist country whereas South Vietnam’s objective was to preserve Vietnam and have them more closely aligned with the USA.
How
Outside of Vietnam, there was a larger war with more at stake, the Cold War which was between the USSR and the USA. The Vietnam War was merely a proxy war with the USSR supporting the North Vietnamese and the USA supporting the South. The USSR is a communist country, and the USA is a democratic country similar to North Vietnam being a communist state in comparison to South Vietnam being a more democratic state. The previous tension between the two superpowers provoked this proxy war, representing the fight of communism and democracy on a smaller scale.
Canada’s involvement
How was Canada involved with the Vietnam War? During this period, Canada’s population increased since they provided shelter to draft dodgers. Draft dodgers were American citizens who immigrated to Canada since they were drafted for the war but did not want to serve, hence the name draft dodgers. Almost 240,000 Americans came to Canada, doubling the number in the last decade while peaking at
1974. Some of Canada’s other roles during the war was to help supervise ceasefires and served on two international commissions, providing medical supplies and technical assistance. They also supported the Free World Assistance Program (Johnson’s plan to send American troops into Vietnam) Canadian diplomats helped with negotiations between Washington and Hanoi as both the Liberal and Conservative parties remained impartial, acting as a peacekeeper and aiding victims of war. Top-secret American government cables later reveal that Canada secretly supported the US’ efforts meaning there was a biased opinion; Canada believed that Hanoi was guilty, and Saigon was innocent to discredit the North while exonerating the South. Additionally, Canadian delegates were spies for the CIA and assisted bringing weapons into South Vietnam while the commissioners hid the US chemical program from the public. Overall, Canada financially aided South Vietnam with a total of $29 million routed through the Colombo Plan and the Canadian Red Cross. Ten thousand Canadian men fought at the war front under the US armed forces. Ottawa later claimed that their actions were necessary to “counterbalance the activities of the Eastern bloc countries with whom they shared membership on the truce commissi
Result
Result: In the end, this resulted in a North Vietnamese victory. American President Johnson’s battle plan was, but as the change in government shifted to Dixon, the plan changed as well. Dixon began to slowly pull troops and expand the war grounds, resulting in the number of American troops to be cut in half by 1969. The Paris Peace Accords stated that the remaining US troops should be withdrawn, weakening the South Vietnamese army, leading to the North’s victory. On July 2, 1976, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was formally established, renaming the capital Saigon; Ho Chi Minh City. Following the war, many South Vietnamese sought refuge in Canada, where they welcomed about 60, 000 refugees.
