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141-729: The development of the GBU-12 traces back to the Vietnam War . The U.S. Air Force wanted a greater variety of laser-guided bombs , especially a lighter and more maneuverable one to be able to hit moving targets on the Ho Chi Minh trail . Earlier designs of guided bombs such as the BOLT-117 were quickly superseded by the Paveway series of add-on kits for conventional bombs. GBU-12 bombs entered service in 1976 and are produced (along with

282-589: A 10-day state visit to the US . President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative. Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in

423-669: A Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union . The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam. In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany . French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh , returned to Vietnam to establish

564-625: A Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $ 1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war. During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and

705-571: A plantation economy to promote export of tobacco , indigo , tea and coffee . However, they largely ignored the increasing demands for civil rights and self-government . An increasing dissatisfaction, even led to half-hearted, badly co-ordinated, and still worsely executed plots to oust the French, like the infamous Hanoi Poison Plot of 1908. A nationalist political movement soon emerged, with leaders like Phan Bội Châu , Phan Châu Trinh , Phan Đình Phùng , Emperor Hàm Nghi , and Hồ Chí Minh fighting or calling for independence. This resulted in

846-565: A psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs. During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $ 93 million relocation program, which involved

987-471: A ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel . Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between

1128-536: A chief justice, is the country's highest court of appeal , though it is also answerable to the National Assembly. Beneath the Supreme People's Court stand the provincial municipal courts and many local courts . Military courts possess special jurisdiction in matters of state security . Vietnam maintains the death penalty for numerous offences. In 2023, a three-person collective leadership

1269-646: A coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia , and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of

1410-740: A modern independent Vietnam. But the Provisional Government of the French Republic did not act on these requests, including the idea of independence, and dispatched the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to restore colonial rule. This resulted in the Việt Minh launching a guerrilla campaign against the French in late 1946. The resulting First Indochina War lasted until July 1954. The defeat of French colonialists and Vietnamese loyalists in

1551-520: A more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections". The domino theory , which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow,

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1692-498: A non-ballistic trajectory when laser designation of the intended target is undertaken. According to Raytheon's fact sheet for the Paveway II, 99 deliveries of guided munitions will yield a circular error probable (CEP) of only 3.6 feet (1.1 m), versus a CEP of 310 feet (94 m) for 99 unguided bombs dropped under similar conditions. Paveway II laser-guided bombs use what is known as " bang bang " guidance. This means

1833-557: A person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for. According to

1974-468: A policy of " Vietnamization " from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion , escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until

2115-898: A poor human rights record . It is part of international and intergovernmental institutions including the ASEAN , the APEC , the CPTPP , the Non-Aligned Movement , the OIF , and the WTO . It has assumed a seat on the United Nations Security Council twice. The name Việt Nam ( pronounced [viə̂tˀ nāːm] , chữ Hán : 越南 ), literally "Viet South", means "Viet of the South" per Vietnamese word order or "South of

2256-527: A presence there after several violent encounters with the locals. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) only managed to establish official relations with Tonkin in the spring of 1637 after leaving Dejima in Japan to establish trade for silk . Meanwhile, in 1613, the first English attempt to establish contact with Hội An failed following a violent incident involving the East India Company . By 1672

2397-521: A provisional government, which asserted national independence on 2 September. In July 1945, the Allies had decided to divide Indochina at the 16th parallel to allow Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China to receive the Japanese surrender in the north while Britain's Lord Louis Mountbatten received their surrender in the south. The Allies agreed that Indochina still belonged to France. But as

2538-575: A rise in income inequality and gender disparities. In 2021, General Secretary of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong , was re-elected for his third term in office, meaning he is Vietnam's most powerful leader in decades. Vietnam is located on the eastern Indochinese Peninsula between the latitudes 8° and 24°N , and the longitudes 102° and 110°E . It covers a total area of 331,210 km (127,881 sq mi) or 331,699 km (128,070 sq mi). The combined length of

2679-659: A trade embargo by the West , and wars with Cambodia and China crippled the country further. In 1986, the CPV initiated economic and political reforms similar to the Chinese economic reform , transforming the country to a socialist-oriented market economy . The reforms facilitated Vietnamese reintegration into the global economy and politics . Vietnam is a developing country with a lower-middle-income economy. It has high levels of corruption , censorship , environmental issues and

2820-496: Is a low-level plain no more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) above sea level at any point. It is criss-crossed by a maze of rivers and canals, which carry so much sediment that the delta advances 60 to 80 metres (196.9 to 262.5 ft) into the sea every year. The exclusive economic zone of Vietnam covers 417,663 km (161,261 sq mi) in the South China Sea . Southern Vietnam is divided into coastal lowlands,

2961-613: Is able to be dropped from a very wide variety of aircraft, such as the F-111 , B-52 , A-10 , F-15E , F/A-18 , B-1B , F-16C/D , and F-35 ( GBU-49 ). The US Department of Defense has upgraded GBU-12 production versions to include GPS guidance modes. Lockheed Martin is the sole source for US Navy purchases of this version. Raytheon sells upgraded GBU-12s to the US Government and 23 other nations. Laser-guided bombs are often labeled " smart bombs " because they are able to follow

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3102-518: Is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, with 55% of its population living in low-elevation coastal areas. As the country is located within the Indomalayan realm , Vietnam is one of twenty-five countries considered to possess a uniquely high level of biodiversity . This was noted in the country's National Environmental Condition Report in 2005. It is ranked 16th worldwide in biological diversity, being home to approximately 16% of

3243-465: Is the legacy of the use of the chemical herbicide Agent Orange , which continues to cause birth defects and many health problems in the Vietnamese population. In the southern and central areas affected most by the chemical's use during the Vietnam War, nearly 4.8 million Vietnamese people have been exposed to it and suffered from its effects. In 2012, approximately 50 years after the war,

3384-663: Is the most commonly used title in English . It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia , the Vietnam Conflict , and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ( lit.   ' Resistance War against America ' ). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save

3525-526: The 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976. The war exacted enormous human cost : estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians , 20,000–62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and

3666-610: The Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to " wildcat " activities separate from

3807-669: The Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. American military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars , which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but

3948-808: The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war . The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between

4089-545: The Demilitarised Zone , roughly along the 17th parallel north (pending elections scheduled for July 1956 ). A 300-day period of free movement was permitted, during which almost a million northerners, mainly Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the communists. This migration was in large part aided by the United States military through Operation Passage to Freedom . The partition of Vietnam by

4230-569: The French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and

4371-560: The Green Berets , would be effective in a "brush fire" war in Vietnam. Vietnam in ASEAN  (dark grey) Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia , with an area of about 331,000 square kilometres (128,000 sq mi) and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's fifteenth-most populous country . One of

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4512-610: The Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem

4653-604: The Khmer Rouge government of Cambodia ordering massacres of Vietnamese residents in the border villages in the districts of An Giang and Kiên Giang , the Vietnamese military invaded Cambodia and removed them from power after occupying Phnom Penh . The intervention was a success, resulting in the establishment of a new, pro-Vietnam socialist government, the People's Republic of Kampuchea , which ruled until 1989. However, this worsened relations with China, which had supported

4794-576: The Khúc family . In AD 938, the Vietnamese lord Ngô Quyền defeated the forces of the Chinese Southern Han state at Bạch Đằng River and achieved full independence for Vietnam in 939 after a millennium of Chinese domination. By the 960s, the dynastic Đại Việt ( Great Viet ) kingdom was established, Vietnamese society enjoyed a golden era under the Lý and Trần dynasties. During the rule of

4935-660: The Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union. Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating

5076-761: The Late Pleistocene have been found at Dong Can, and from the Early Holocene at Mai Da Dieu, Lang Gao and Lang Cuom. Areas comprising what is now Vietnam participated in the Maritime Jade Road , as ascertained by archeological research. By about 1,000 BC, the development of wet- rice cultivation in the Ma River and Red River floodplains led to the flourishing of Đông Sơn culture , notable for its bronze casting used to make elaborate bronze Đông Sơn drums . At this point,

5217-482: The Mekong Delta , conquering Champa . During most of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vietnam was effectively divided into two domains of Đàng Trong and Đàng Ngoài . The Nguyễn —the last imperial dynasty—surrendered to France in 1883. In 1887, its territory was integrated into French Indochina as three separate regions. In the immediate aftermath of World War II , the nationalist coalition Viet Minh , led by

5358-722: The Nguyễn dynasty , ruling under the name Gia Long . In the 1500s, the Portuguese explored the Vietnamese coast and reportedly erected a stele on the Chàm Islands to mark their presence. By 1533, they began landing in the Vietnamese delta but were forced to leave because of local turmoil and fighting. They also had less interest in the territory than they did in China and Japan. After they had settled in Macau and Nagasaki to begin

5499-413: The Nguyễn dynasty . In the second year of his rule, he asked the Jiaqing Emperor of the Qing dynasty to confer on him the title 'King of Nam Việt / Nanyue' ( 南越 in Chinese character) after seizing power in Annam. The Emperor refused because the name was related to Zhao Tuo 's Nanyue, which included the regions of Guangxi and Guangdong in southern China. The Qing Emperor, therefore, decided to call

5640-477: The Pentagon Papers , which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with

5781-519: The Republic of Vietnam in the south—supported by the United States, France, Laos , Republic of China and Thailand—and Hồ's Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north, supported by the Soviet Union, Sweden, Khmer Rouge , and the People's Republic of China . From 1953 to 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms including " rent reduction " and " land reform ", which resulted in significant political repression . This included 13,500 to as many as 100,000 executions. In

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5922-436: The Viet Minh , an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies , namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China . Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Throughout the war, Vietnamese guerrilla resistance against

6063-399: The Vietnamese Fatherland Front and worker and trade unionist parties. The National Assembly of Vietnam is the unicameral state legislature composed of 500 members. Headed by a chairman , it is superior to both the executive and judicial branches, with all government ministers being appointed from members of the National Assembly. The Supreme People's Court of Vietnam , headed by

6204-465: The collapse of Diệm's relationship with the United States , and ultimately to a 1963 coup in which he and Nhu were assassinated . The Diệm era was followed by more than a dozen successive military governments, before the pairing of Air Marshal Nguyễn Cao Kỳ and General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu took control in mid-1965. Thiệu gradually outmaneuvered Kỳ and cemented his grip on power in fraudulent elections in 1967 and 1971. During this political instability,

6345-460: The constitution , the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) asserts their role in all branches of the country's politics and society. The president is the elected head of state and the commander-in-chief of the military, serving as the chairman of the Council of Supreme Defence and Security, and holds the second highest office in Vietnam as well as performing executive functions and state appointments and setting policy. The general secretary of

6486-651: The ground water in the Mekong and Red River Deltas has also become a major concern. And most notoriously, unexploded ordnances (UXO) pose dangers to humans and wildlife—another bitter legacy from the long wars. As part of the continuous campaign to demine /remove UXOs, several international bomb removal agencies from the United Kingdom, Denmark, South Korea and the US have been providing assistance. The Vietnam government spends over VNĐ1 trillion ($ 44 million) annually on demining operations and additional hundreds of billions of đồng for treatment, assistance, rehabilitation, vocational training and resettlement of

6627-583: The saola , giant muntjac and Tonkin snub-nosed monkey have also been discovered, along with one new bird species, the endangered Edwards's pheasant . In the late 1980s, a small population of Javan rhinoceros was found in Cát Tiên National Park. However, the last individual of the species in Vietnam was reportedly shot in 2010. In agricultural genetic diversity , Vietnam is one of the world's twelve original cultivar centres. The Vietnam National Cultivar Gene Bank preserves 12,300 cultivars of 115 species. The Vietnamese government spent US$ 49.07 million on

6768-439: The siege of Tourane in 1858, France was aided by Spain (with Filipino, Latin American , and Spanish troops from the Philippines ) and perhaps some Tonkinese Catholics. After the 1862 Treaty , and especially after France completely conquered Lower Cochinchina in 1867, the Văn Thân movement of scholar-gentry class arose and committed violence against Catholics across central and northern Vietnam. Between 1862 and 1867,

6909-445: The 1930 Yên Bái mutiny by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (VNQDĐ), which the French quashed. The mutiny split the independence movement, as many leading members converted to communism . The French maintained full control of their colonies until World War II, when the war in the Pacific led to the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in 1940. Afterwards, the Japanese Empire was allowed to station its troops in Vietnam while

7050-410: The 1954 battle of Điện Biên Phủ allowed Hồ to negotiate a ceasefire from a favourable position at the subsequent Geneva Conference . The colonial administration was thereby ended and French Indochina was dissolved under the Geneva Accords of 21 July 1954 into three countries—Vietnam, and the kingdoms of Cambodia and Laos . Vietnam was further divided into North and South administrative regions at

7191-476: The 3rd century BC, the term was used for the non-Chinese populations of southern China and northern Vietnam, with particular ethnic groups called Minyue , Ouyue , Luoyue (Vietnamese: Lạc Việt ), etc., collectively called the Baiyue (Bách Việt, Chinese : 百越 ; pinyin : Bǎiyuè ; Cantonese Yale : Baak Yuet ; Vietnamese : Bách Việt ; lit. 'Hundred Yue/Viet'). The term 'Baiyue'/'Bách Việt' first appeared in

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7332-402: The British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success. On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference , they negotiated

7473-408: The CPV performs numerous key administrative functions, controlling the party's national organisation. The prime minister is the head of government , presiding over a council of ministers composed of five deputy prime ministers and the heads of 26 ministries and commissions. Only political organisations affiliated with or endorsed by the CPV are permitted to contest elections in Vietnam. These include

7614-405: The Chinese coast and across the Gulf of Tonkin, picking up considerable moisture. The average annual temperature is generally higher in the plains than in the mountains, especially in southern Vietnam compared to the north. Temperatures vary less in the southern plains around Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, ranging from between 21 and 35 °C (70 and 95 °F) over the year. In Hanoi and

7755-446: The Chinese-supported Mạc dynasty challenged the Lê dynasty's power. After the Mạc dynasty was defeated, the Lê dynasty was nominally reinstalled. Actual power, however, was divided between the northern Trịnh lords and the southern Nguyễn lords , who engaged in a civil war for more than four decades before a truce was called in the 1670s. Vietnam was divided into North (Trịnh) and South (Nguyễn) from 1600 to 1777. During this period,

7896-459: The English did establish relations with Tonkin and were allowed to reside in Phố Hiến . Between 1615 and 1753, French traders also engaged in trade in Vietnam. The first French missionaries arrived in 1658, under the Portuguese Padroado . From its foundation, the Paris Foreign Missions Society under Propaganda Fide actively sent missionaries to Vietnam, entering Cochinchina first in 1664 and Tonkin first in 1666. Spanish Dominicans joined

8037-443: The French were weakened by the German occupation , British-Indian forces and the remaining Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group were used to maintain order and help France reestablish control through the 1945–1946 War in Vietnam . Hồ initially chose to take a moderate stance to avoid military conflict with France, asking the French to withdraw their colonial administrators and for French professors and engineers to help build

8178-406: The GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret. Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought

8319-429: The Geneva Accords was not intended to be permanent, and stipulated that Vietnam would be reunited after the elections. But in 1955, the southern State of Vietnam's prime minister, Ngô Đình Diệm , toppled Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum organised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu , and proclaimed himself president of the Republic of Vietnam . This effectively replaced the internationally recognised State of Vietnam by

8460-433: The ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt . The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group

8601-405: The Japanese grew dramatically, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of Vietnamese resistance, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship following the war. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution , overthrowing

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8742-423: The Japanese-backed Empire of Vietnam and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on September 23, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of

8883-466: The Khmer Rouge. China later launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam in 1979, causing Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid, while mistrust of the Chinese government escalated. At the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in December 1986, reformist politicians replaced the "old guard" government with new leadership. The reformers were led by 71-year-old Nguyễn Văn Linh , who became

9024-450: The Lê dynasty of the 15th century, especially during the reign of emperor Lê Thánh Tông (1460–1497). Between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Vietnamese polity expanded southward in a gradual process known as Nam tiến ("Southward expansion"), eventually conquering the kingdom of Champa and part of the Khmer Kingdom . From the 16th century onward, civil strife and frequent political infighting engulfed much of Đại Việt. First,

9165-403: The Nation. It is sometimes called the American War . Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung , established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930,

9306-459: The Nguyễn expanded southern Vietnam into the Mekong Delta , annexing the Central Highlands and the Khmer lands in the Mekong Delta. The division of the country ended a century later when the Tây Sơn brothers helped Trịnh to end Nguyễn, they also established new dynasty and ended Trịnh. However, their rule did not last long, and they were defeated by the remnants of the Nguyễn lords, led by Nguyễn Ánh . Nguyễn Ánh unified Vietnam, and established

9447-409: The PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam. Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign

9588-420: The Red River Delta, Mekong Delta, Western Nghệ An , Cà Mau , and Cu Lao Cham Marine Park . Vietnam is also home to 1,438 species of freshwater microalgae , constituting 9.6% of all microalgae species, as well as 794 aquatic invertebrates and 2,458 species of sea fish. In recent years, 13 genera , 222 species, and 30 taxa of flora have been newly described in Vietnam. Six new mammal species, including

9729-434: The South, Diệm countered North Vietnamese subversion (including the assassination of over 450 South Vietnamese officials in 1956) by detaining tens of thousands of suspected communists in "political reeducation centres". This program incarcerated many non-communists, but was successful at curtailing communist activity in the country, if only for a time. The North Vietnamese government claimed that 2,148 people were killed in

9870-411: The Soviet Union provided North Vietnam with significant material aid and 15,000 combat advisers. Communist forces supplying the Việt Cộng carried supplies along the Hồ Chí Minh trail , which passed through Laos . The communists attacked South Vietnamese targets during the 1968 Tết Offensive . The campaign failed militarily, but shocked the American establishment and turned US public opinion against

10011-408: The State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng , who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under

10152-532: The Tonkin mission in 1676, and Franciscans were in Cochinchina from 1719 to 1834. The Vietnamese authorities began to feel threatened by continuous Christianisation activities. After several Catholic missionaries were detained, the French Navy intervened in 1843 to free them, as the kingdom was perceived as xenophobic . In a series of conquests from 1859 to 1885, France eroded Vietnam's sovereignty. At

10293-665: The Trần dynasty, Đại Việt repelled three Mongol invasions . Meanwhile, the Mahāyāna branch of Buddhism flourished and became the state religion. Following the 1406–7 Ming–Hồ War , which overthrew the Hồ dynasty , Vietnamese independence was interrupted briefly by the Chinese Ming dynasty , but was restored by Lê Lợi , the founder of the Lê dynasty . The Vietnamese polity reached their zenith in

10434-434: The US began a US$ 43 million joint clean-up project in the former chemical storage areas in Vietnam to take place in stages. Following the completion of the first phase in Đà Nẵng in late 2017, the US announced its commitment to clean other sites, especially in the heavily impacted site of Biên Hòa . The Vietnamese government spends over VNĐ 10 trillion each year ($ 431.1 million) for monthly allowances and

10575-514: The US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons , though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon , the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called " hawk ", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but

10716-417: The US or the defunct South Vietnamese government, confounding Western fears, but up to 300,000 South Vietnamese were sent to reeducation camps , where many endured torture, starvation, and disease while being forced to perform hard labour. The government embarked on a mass campaign of collectivisation of farms and factories. Many fled the country following the conclusion of the war. In 1978, in response to

10857-526: The Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in

10998-597: The Viet" per Classical Chinese word order. A variation of the name, Nanyue (or Nam Việt, 南越 ), was first documented in the 2nd century BC. The term " Việt " (Yue) ( Chinese : 越 ; pinyin : Yuè ; Cantonese Yale : Yuht ; Wade–Giles : Yüeh ; Vietnamese : Việt ) in Early Middle Chinese was first written using the logograph "戉" for an axe (a homophone), in oracle bone and bronze inscriptions of

11139-582: The Vietnamese revolutionary leader Hồ Chí Minh . The Việt Minh sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the Japanese occupation . After the military defeat of Japan in World War II and the fall of its puppet government Empire of Vietnam in August 1945, Saigon's administrative services collapsed and chaos, riots, and murder were widespread. The Việt Minh occupied Hanoi and proclaimed

11280-615: The area "Việt Nam" instead, meaning "South of the Viet" per Classical Chinese word order but the Vietnamese understood it as "Viet of the South" per Vietnamese word order. Between 1804 and 1813, the name Vietnam was used officially by Emperor Gia Long. It was revived in the early 20th century in Phan Bội Châu 's History of the Loss of Vietnam , and later by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (VNQDĐ). The country

11421-402: The balance of the Paveway series) by defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon . Raytheon began production after purchasing the product line from Texas Instruments . Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to compete with Raytheon when there was a break in production caused by transferring manufacturing out of Texas . "Paveway II" refers specifically to the guidance kit, rather than to

11562-432: The bomb's fins deflect fully, rather than proportionally when it is attempting to guide to the laser spot. For example, if it sees the laser spot and determines that it should make a change it deflects its fins until it has over-corrected and then it deflects back the opposite direction, creating a sinusoidal type of flight path. This type of guidance may be less efficient at times, however is more cost-effective and allows

11703-591: The book Lüshi Chunqiu compiled around 239 BC. By the 17th and 18th centuries AD, educated Vietnamese apparently referred to themselves as người Việt (Viet people) or người Nam (southern people). The form Việt Nam ( 越南 ) is first recorded in the 16th-century oracular poem Sấm Trạng Trình . The name has also been found on 12 steles carved in the 16th and 17th centuries, including one at Bao Lam Pagoda in Hải Phòng that dates to 1558. In 1802, Nguyễn Phúc Ánh (who later became Emperor Gia Long) established

11844-798: The border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963. In the 1960 U.S. presidential election , Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later,

11985-545: The colony's capital. During the colonial period, guerrillas of the royalist Cần Vương movement rebelled against French rule and massacred around a third of Vietnam's Christian population. After a decade of resistance, they were defeated in the 1890s by the Catholics in reprisal for their earlier massacres. Another large-scale rebellion, the Thái Nguyên uprising , was also suppressed heavily. The French developed

12126-550: The communist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh , launched the August Revolution and declared Vietnam's independence from the Empire of Japan in 1945. Vietnam went through prolonged warfare in the 20th century. After World War II , France returned to reclaim colonial power in the First Indochina War , from which Vietnam emerged victorious in 1954. As a result of the treaties signed between the Viet Minh and France, Vietnam

12267-436: The communists began to gain ground. To support South Vietnam's struggle against the communist insurgency, the United States used the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident as a pretext for increasing its contribution of military advisers. US forces became involved in ground combat operations by 1965, and at their peak several years later, numbered more than 500,000. The US also engaged in sustained aerial bombing . Meanwhile, China and

12408-502: The country . Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War . On March 12, 1947, US President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine , an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine

12549-519: The country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. Fansipan (also known as Phan Xi Păng), which is located in Lào Cai province , is the highest mountain in Vietnam, standing 3,143 m (10,312 ft) high. From north to south Vietnam, the country also has numerous islands ; Phú Quốc is the largest. The Hang Sơn Đoòng Cave is considered the largest known cave passage in

12690-497: The country to the Virgin Mary . In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in

12831-546: The country's land area, and tropical forests cover around 42%. The Red River Delta in the north, a flat, roughly triangular region covering 15,000 km (5,792 sq mi), is smaller but more intensely developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta in the south. Once an inlet of the Gulf of Tonkin , it has been filled in over the millennia by riverine alluvial deposits . The delta, covering about 40,000 km (15,444 sq mi),

12972-441: The country's land boundaries is 4,639 km (2,883 mi), and its coastline is 3,444 km (2,140 mi) long. At its narrowest point in the central Quảng Bình province , the country is as little as 50 kilometres (31 mi) across, though it widens to around 600 kilometres (370 mi) in the north. Vietnam's land is mostly hilly and densely forested, with level land covering no more than 20%. Mountains account for 40% of

13113-585: The demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along

13254-484: The early Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared, and the culture's influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia , including Maritime Southeast Asia , throughout the first millennium BC. According to Vietnamese legends, Hồng Bàng dynasty of the Hùng kings first established in 2879 BC is considered the first state in the history of Vietnam (then known as Xích Quỷ and later Văn Lang ). In 257 BC,

13395-477: The end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive , which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare . Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon , began

13536-522: The end of the war. It started by replanting mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta regions and in Cần Giờ outside Hồ Chí Minh City, where mangroves are important to ease (though not eliminate) flood conditions during monsoon seasons. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.35/10, ranking it 104th globally out of 172 countries. Apart from herbicide problems, arsenic in

13677-457: The far northern mountains near the Chinese border. Vietnam receives high rates of precipitation in the form of rainfall with an average amount from 1,500 to 2,000 mm (60 to 80 in) during the monsoon seasons; this often causes flooding, especially in the cities with poor drainage systems. The country is also affected by tropical depressions , tropical storms and typhoons . Vietnam

13818-737: The insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near

13959-504: The landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government". In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive

14100-472: The larger Indochina refugee crisis , which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide . The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide , while conflict between them and

14241-578: The last Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán. He consolidated the Lạc Việt and Âu Việt tribes to form the Âu Lạc , proclaiming himself An Dương Vương . In 179 BC, a Chinese general named Zhao Tuo ("Triệu Đà") defeated An Dương Vương and consolidated Âu Lạc into Nanyue . However, Nanyue was itself incorporated into the empire of the Chinese Han dynasty in 111 BC after the Han–Nanyue War . For

14382-575: The late Shang dynasty ( c.  1200 BC), and later as "越". At that time, it referred to a people or chieftain to the northwest of the Shang. In the early 8th century BC, a tribe on the middle Yangtze were called the Yangyue , a term later used for peoples further south. Between the 7th and 4th centuries BC, 'Yue'/'Việt' referred to the State of Yue in the lower Yangtze basin and its people. From

14523-538: The long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis. One major issue Kennedy raised

14664-469: The mountains of the Annamite Range , and extensive forests. Comprising five relatively flat plateaus of basalt soil, the highlands account for 16% of the country's arable land and 22% of its total forested land. The soil in much of the southern part of Vietnam is relatively low in nutrients as a result of intense cultivation. Several minor earthquakes have been recorded. The northern part of

14805-542: The next thousand years, what is now northern Vietnam remained mostly under Chinese rule . Early independence movements, such as those of the Trưng Sisters and Lady Triệu , were temporarily successful, though the region gained a longer period of independence as Vạn Xuân under the Anterior Lý dynasty between AD 544 and 602. By the early 10th century, Northern Vietnam had gained autonomy, but not sovereignty, under

14946-446: The other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September. In September 1960, COSVN , North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered

15087-682: The party's new general secretary. He and the reformers implemented a series of free-market reforms known as Đổi Mới ("Renovation") that carefully managed the transition from a planned economy to a " socialist-oriented market economy ". Although the authority of the state remained unchallenged under Đổi Mới , the government encouraged private ownership of farms and factories, economic deregulation, and foreign investment, while maintaining control over strategic industries. Subsequently, Vietnam's economy achieved strong growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction, exports, and foreign investment, although these reforms also resulted in

15228-453: The physical rehabilitation of victims of the chemicals. In 2018, the Japanese engineering group Shimizu Corporation , working with Vietnamese military, built a plant for the treatment of soil polluted by Agent Orange. Plant construction costs were funded by the company itself. One of the long-term plans to restore southern Vietnam's damaged ecosystems is through the use of reforestation efforts. The Vietnamese government began doing this at

15369-428: The preservation of biodiversity in 2004 alone and has established 126 conservation areas, including 30 national parks . In Vietnam, wildlife poaching has become a major concern. In 2000, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Education for Nature – Vietnam was founded to instill in the population the importance of wildlife conservation in the country. In the years that followed, another NGO called GreenViet

15510-571: The pro- Vichy French colonial administration continued. Japan exploited Vietnam's natural resources to support its military campaigns, culminating in a full-scale takeover of the country in March 1945. This led to the Vietnamese Famine of 1945 which killed up to two million people. In 1941, the Việt Minh , a nationalist liberation movement based on a communist ideology , emerged under

15651-659: The pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after

15792-478: The process by November 1957. The pro-Hanoi Việt Cộng began a guerrilla campaign in South Vietnam in the late 1950s to overthrow Diệm's government. From 1960, the Soviet Union and North Vietnam signed treaties providing for further Soviet military support. In 1963, Buddhist discontent with Diệm's Catholic regime erupted into mass demonstrations , leading to a violent government crackdown. This led to

15933-412: The process. According to Gabriel Kolko , 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners. In May 1957, Diệm undertook

16074-515: The profitable Macau–Japan trade route, the Portuguese began to involve themselves in trade with Hội An . Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries under the Padroado system were active in both Vietnamese realms of Đàng Trong ( Cochinchina or Quinan) and Đàng Ngoài ( Tonkin ) in the 17th century. The Dutch also tried to establish contact with Quinan in 1601 but failed to sustain

16215-785: The province of Phước Long and started a full-scale offensive , culminating in the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. South Vietnam was ruled by a provisional government for almost eight years while under North Vietnamese military occupation. On 2 July 1976, North and South Vietnam were merged to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The war had devastated Vietnam and killed 966,000 to 3.8 million people. A 1974 US Senate subcommittee estimated nearly 1.4 million Vietnamese civilians were killed or wounded between 1965 and 1974—including 415,000 killed. In its aftermath, under Lê Duẩn 's administration, there were no mass executions of South Vietnamese who had collaborated with

16356-646: The same year due to corruption charges against him. On 3 August 2024, Tô Lâm, who is also serving as the president, was elected by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam as the general secretary following the death of Nguyễn Phú Trọng on 19 July 2024. On 21 October 2024, the National Assembly appointed army general Lương Cường as president, succeeding Tô Lâm. Vietnam is divided into 58 provinces (Vietnamese: Tỉnh , chữ Hán : 省 ). There are also five municipalities ( thành phố trực thuộc trung ương ), which are administratively on

16497-773: The southern third of the country became the French colony of Cochinchina . By 1884, the entire country was under French rule, with the central and northern parts of Vietnam separated into the two protectorates of Annam and Tonkin . The three entities were formally integrated into the union of French Indochina in 1887. The French administration imposed significant political and cultural changes on Vietnamese society. A Western-style system of modern education introduced new humanist values. Most French settlers in Indochina were concentrated in Cochinchina, particularly in Saigon , and in Hanoi ,

16638-831: The supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954: I have never talked or corresponded with

16779-415: The surrounding areas of the Red River Delta, the temperatures are much lower between 15 and 33 °C (59 and 91 °F). Seasonal variations in the mountains, plateaus, and the northernmost areas are much more dramatic, with temperatures varying from 3 °C (37 °F) in December and January to 37 °C (99 °F) in July and August. During winter, snow occasionally falls over the highest peaks of

16920-531: The two Marxist–Leninist states in Southeast Asia, Vietnam shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand , and the Philippines , Indonesia , and Malaysia through the South China Sea . Its capital is Hanoi and its largest city is Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as Saigon). Vietnam

17061-522: The two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles , who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency , then initiated

17202-592: The unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War . In response, China invaded Vietnam , with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome , a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal , contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War

17343-606: The use of simpler electronics in the guidance system. Vietnam War ≈860,000 (1967) ≈1,420,000 (1968) Total military dead/missing: ≈1,100,000 Total military wounded: ≈604,200 (excluding GRUNK / Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao ) Second Third American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975)

17484-488: The victims of UXOs. Vietnam is a unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic , one of the two communist states (the other being Laos ) in Southeast Asia . Although Vietnam remains officially committed to socialism as its defining creed, its economic policies have grown increasingly capitalist , with The Economist characterising its leadership as "ardently capitalist communists". Under

17625-600: The war. During the offensive, communist troops massacred over 3,000 civilians at Huế . Facing an increasing casualty count, rising domestic opposition to the war, and growing international condemnation, the US began withdrawing from ground combat roles in the early 1970s. This also entailed an unsuccessful effort to strengthen and stabilise South Vietnam . Following the Paris Peace Accords of 27 January 1973, all American combat troops were withdrawn by 29 March 1973. In December 1974, North Vietnam captured

17766-564: The weapon itself. In 2017, Lockheed Martin secured a $ 22m contract from the US Air Force to deliver tail kits and laser guidance kits for the GBU-12 configured LGBs, in December 2017. Deliveries are expected to commence in the final quarter of 2019. The GBU-12 has been used in numerous conflicts such as the Gulf War ; F-111s destroyed 920 Iraqi tanks and APCs with GBU-12s. It is among the most commonly used guided munitions, and as such

17907-411: The world since its discovery in 2009. The Ba Bể Lake and Mekong River are the largest lake and longest river in the country. Due to differences in latitude and the marked variety in topographical relief , Vietnam's climate tends to vary considerably for each region. During the winter or dry season, extending roughly from November to April, the monsoon winds usually blow from the northeast along

18048-640: The world's species. 15,986 species of flora have been identified in the country, of which 10% are endemic . Vietnam's fauna includes 307 nematode species, 200 oligochaeta , 145 acarina , 113 springtails , 7,750 insects, 260 reptiles, and 120 amphibians. There are 840 birds and 310 mammals are found in Vietnam, of which 100 birds and 78 mammals are endemic. Vietnam has two World Natural Heritage Sites —the Hạ Long Bay and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park —together with nine biosphere reserves , including Cần Giờ Mangrove Forest , Cát Tiên , Cát Bà , Kiên Giang ,

18189-607: Was also separated into two parts. The Vietnam War began shortly after, between the communist North Vietnam , supported by the Soviet Union and China , and the anti-communist South Vietnam , supported by the United States . Upon the North Vietnamese victory in 1975, Vietnam reunified as a unitary socialist state under the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in 1976. An ineffective planned economy ,

18330-534: Was an armed conflict in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China , while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of

18471-455: Was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon . As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended

18612-489: Was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel : the Viet Minh , led by Ho Chi Minh , took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem . The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos , establishing

18753-888: Was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration . John F. Kennedy , then a senator , said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam : "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam." A devout Roman Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism ." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist , and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of

18894-631: Was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of

19035-517: Was formed by Vietnamese youngsters for the enforcement of wildlife protection. Through collaboration between the NGOs and local authorities, many local poaching syndicates were crippled by their leaders' arrests. A study released in 2018 revealed Vietnam is a destination for the illegal export of rhinoceros horns from South Africa due to the demand for them as a medicine and a status symbol. The main environmental concern that persists in Vietnam today

19176-557: Was inhabited by the Paleolithic age, with states established in the first millennium BC on the Red River Delta in modern-day northern Vietnam . The Han dynasty annexed Northern and Central Vietnam, which were subsequently under Chinese rule from 111 BC until the first dynasty emerged in 939. Successive monarchical dynasties absorbed Chinese influences through Confucianism and Buddhism , and expanded southward to

19317-414: Was killed in a US-backed military coup , which added to the south's instability. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by

19458-406: Was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners. The south, meanwhile, constituted

19599-411: Was responsible for governing Vietnam. President Võ Văn Thưởng , Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính (since 2021) and the most powerful leader Nguyễn Phú Trọng (since 2011) as the Communist Party of Vietnam's General Secretary. On 22 May 2024, Tô Lâm , who previously served as the Minister of Public Security , was voted as the president of Vietnam by the National Assembly after Võ Văn Thưởng resigned on

19740-838: Was usually called Annam until 1945, when the imperial government in Huế adopted Việt Nam . Archaeological excavations have revealed the existence of humans in what is now Vietnam as early as the Paleolithic age. Stone artefacts excavated in Gia Lai province have been claimed to date to 780,000 years ago, based on associated find of tektites , however this claim has been challenged because tektites are often found in archaeological sites of various ages in Vietnam. Homo erectus fossils dating to around 500,000 BC have been found in caves in Lạng Sơn and Nghệ An provinces in northern Vietnam. The oldest Homo sapiens fossils from mainland Southeast Asia are of Middle Pleistocene provenance, and include isolated tooth fragments from Tham Om and Hang Hum. Teeth attributed to Homo sapiens from

19881-465: Was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as

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