The Vietnam War, 1961-75
Background:
After the French retreat, Vietnam was divided into North Vietnam under communist Ho Chi Minh, and South Vietnam under Ng Dinh Diem, along the 17th Parallel.
Developments:
In 1959, a communist revolt by Viet Cong in South Vietnam attempted to overthrow the existing government and unite the country under communism.
While the Viet Cong was supported by the USSR and China, the US President Eisenhower offered US support to South Vietnam for fear that the fall of Vietnam might spark off a series of communist takeovers in of Southeast Asian countries, i.e. the Domino Theory.
Presidents Kennedy and Johnson continued to intervene in Vietnam but failed to defeat the Viet Cong. Instead, the war led to a great loss of resources and soldiers's lives.
Anti-war feeling was high in the US. In 1973, the US signed an armistice with North Vietnam and left the war.
Significance:
War resumed after the US withdrawal. The whole of Vietnam came under communist rule in 1975.
The US intervention proved to be a disaster. More and more Americans turned to support President Nixon's policy of no direct intervention.
The high number of casulties in the war and the loss of prestige made the US reconsider its hostile relations with the USSR since 1946. This paved the way for Detente in the 1970s.