VIetnam war notes

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The Vietnam war was a 19 year campaign between pro - communist countries such as North - Vietnam, Khmer Rouge, Viet Cong and the Pathet Lao, and the anti - communist countries such as the South Vietnam, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Khmer republic and the Kingdom of Laos. At the end of World War II, the French colony, Indochina, had been invaded by the Japanese

The simple cause for the Vietnam war was that America believed that communism was a threat, and because they believed that communism was threatening to spread all over East Asia, America decided to intervene to try stop the spread of communism. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/vietnam-war/the-causes-of-the-vietnam-war/

New Zealand's contribution to the Vietnam war:

New Zealand sent more than 3,000 troops to Vietnam between the years of 1963 and 1975.

America along with the USSR could neither risk having a full out war against each other, or the threat of M.A.D would become more real than ever. Unable to fight directly, the USSR decided to help arm its fellow communist government, China, who could then aid the north Vietnamese and aid the fight against the Americans, even though indirectly so.

Before WWII, Vietnam was a part of the French empire. During WWII Vietnam was overrun by the Japanese who later retreated and allowed Vietnam to establish its own government lead by Ho Chi Minh. At the end of WWII, the Allies gave south Vietnam back to the French and left north Vietnam is the hands of the non-communist Chinese. Nationalist Chinese treated the North Vietnamese very badly and support for Ho Chi Minh grew. The Chinese fled Vietnam in 1946 and Ho Chi Minh's political party took over all of Vietnam and called themselves the Viet Minh.

France announced in 19