The War Of The Vietnam War - 2305 Words

The Vietnam War was very costly to everyone involved. For the United States, The Tet Offensive was the most important turning point in the war. Without first understanding the history of the region and America s involvement in the Vietnam conflict, we will not be able to understand the significance of this event. For the Vietnamese, the Vietnam War was the ending of a century filled with gruesome, non-stop conflict. The country had struggled to find its own identity, being colonized by a much bigger country, France, from 1874-1954. The French used the country and its people for the benefit of their own economy. They felt like the only purpose of the Vietnamese people was to â€Å"grow rice and extract rubber†1. It wasn t easy keeping the†¦show more content†¦After all, who wouldn t want that over being bossed around by the French? The pieces were slowly falling into place, but the people were still missing a leader to lead them to their independence. Ho Chi Minh would eventually rise to be the first president of the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam. After being exiled from Vietnam for 30 years, he returned to his country to fulfill his purpose with the support of China and Russia behind him. In 1941 Minh founded the Viet Minh, a Communist party that would soon be a force to be reckoned with. Four years, later on August 25, 1945, Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh declared independence, resulting in the abdication of Emperor Bao Dai and an end to monarchy in Vietnam4. It wasn t long for before bloodshed and war returned to Vietnam. After the end of World War 2, the French sought to regain dominance over their old colony. The Viet Minh resisted heavily and the fighting continued from 1946-1954. Along the way, the North received a lot of help from its Communist friends. With Communism winning in China, the Chinese could now focus on sending troops and supplies to fuel the fight against France. Their other ally, Russia, â€Å"also sent aid and arms† to help the effort5. The French-Indochina War officially ended with the signing of the Geneva Agreements6. The agreements stated there would be a two-year protected period where there would be no foreign troops allowed in the