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THE VIETNAM WAR
BACKGROUND
In the 1950's the United States began to send troops to Vietnam. During the following 25-years the ensuing war would create some of the strongest tensions in US history. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. In total, it is estimated that over 2,5 million people on both sides were killed.

This site does not try to document the entire history of the Vietnam War, but is intended as a picture essay illustrating some of the incredible conditions under which soldiers from both sides lived, fought, played and ultimately died. The legendary combat photographer, Tim Page, took almost all of the images shown on this site and they are nothing short of stunning.

Please be advised that strict copyright laws protect this site and under no circumstances may any images be copied or used. Copyright use of the images are handled by Corbis. Please see the acknowledgment section for more details about the pictures and this site. And finally, NO!, I cannot give anyone permission to use the images, they are the property of the photographers or their publishers.

Finally, if you have come here to ONLY look at blood and gore you have come to the wrong place, a soldiers facial expression can be just as terrifying.


For much of Vietnam's history it has been under foreign rule, primarily by the Chinese. In 1860, France began its domination of the area and had, by the late 19th century, implemented its colonization in a number of regions around the Gulf of Tonkin. During WWII, the Japanese government took control of much of the area and set up a puppet regime that was eventually forced out by the Vietnamese at the end of that war in 1945.

After WWII and until 1955, France fought hard to regain their former territories in the region, but with a poorly organized army and little determination among the troops, their efforts soon collapsed. The French were finally defeated at Dien Bien Phu on the 8th of May 1954 by the communist general Vo Nguyen Giap. The French troops withdrew, leaving a buffer zone separating the North and South and set up elections in order to form a government in the South. The communist regime set up its headquarters in Hanoi under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Many North Vietnamese left the country and fled south where the self-proclaimed president, Ngo Dinh Diem had formed the Republic of Vietnam.

Between 1955 and 1960, the North Vietnamese with the assistance of the southern communist Vietcong, tried to take over the government in South Vietnam, and in November 1963 President Diem was overthrown and executed. The following year, the North Vietnamese began a massive drive to conquer the whole country aided by China and Russia.

Fearing a communist takeover of the entire region, the United States grew more and more wary of the progress of Ho Chi Minh and the Vietcong. Communism had become the evil menace in the United States and with expansion of Soviet rule into Eastern Europe, Korea and Cuba, the Americans were bent on stopping communism from spreading any further.The top US commander in Vietnam was General William Westmoreland; he had to face an army full of young men placed in an environment that was totally alien to them. There was no clear front to the conflict and basically, the enemy could be hiding anywhere and everywhere. Life in the jungle was tortuous and there were no home comforts. Drugs and other stimulants filtered their way into the daily routine of many servicemen and morale quickly started to fall. For the first time, people in the US resisting the draft were given acceptance although still not by the majority of citizens. Riots and demonstrations against the war became the norm in the US, with numerous veterans taking part in the efforts to stop the war, strengthening the issue. Finally, the US government saw that it was in a no-win situation and began making plans to withdraw.

After great efforts by the US to withdraw, and the establishment of a cease-fire on January 27th, 1973, American soldiers began leaving Vietnam for good. The North Vietnamese finally conquered South Vietnam in early 1975, totally ignoring the cease-fire and on July 2nd, 1976, North and South Vietnam were officially united as a single communist state. It had cost an estimated 2 million lives and the injury or disablement of many millions of others.

Antagonists
North Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Vo Nguyen Giap		US - South Vietnam Lyndon B Johnson Richard M Nixon Nguyen Van Thieu William Westmoreland

Marines stand on top of a US Amtrec, armored vehicle during Operation Colorado in 1966. The message painted on the side of the vehicle reads 'Rowes Roamers - We Came We Saw and We Conquered'.


Battalion Seas Arriving in South Vietnam

An amphibious task group of Second Battalion, Third Marines lands along the coast of South Vietnam, 15 miles north of Hue on July 20th, 1967. The Amtracks transported the Marines from landing ships in the South China Sea to the assault beach.

This mission called "Bear Chain" operation was the thirty-fourth assault that Pacific Fleet Amphibious Force ships had launched on the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong positions in South Vietnam, since March 1965.

Naval Aviators

On the left we have a US Crusader pilot on board U.S.S. Constellation. Vietnam, 1966.

On the right a US pilot behind the controls of an McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, or also known as the 'MiG-killer', on the flight deck of U.S.S. Coral Sea. Vietnam, 1966.


Looking like something out of a science fiction movie an American soldier mans a machine gun in a hovercraft, Hue Lagoon, Vietnam. 1968.


Soldier Firing His Machine Gun

Private First Class Milton L. Cook is ready to fire his M-60 machine gun into a wooded area from which sniper fire had been received 10 miles northeast of Cu Chi, Vietnam. He is a member of the 25th infantry division. April 17, 1967

The M60 was is a 10.4 kilo, belt-fed machine gun capable of firing 600 rounds per minute at a range of 900 meters. It served as the basic infantry platoon automatic weapon and was also mounted on a number of vehicles including helicopters.

American Tank Fords a River

Members of the 5th Mechanical Division ford a river in a tank, Can Lo River, south of Con Thien, Vietnam. 1968

The M48A3 battle tank was the heaviest tank used in vietnam. It had a crew of four, was armed with a 90mm cannon with a coaxial .30-inch machine gun and an externally mounted .50-inch machine gun.


Chinook Helicopter Lifts Ammunition

A CH-47A Chinook helicopter from the Army's 228 Aviation Battalion lifts a load of ammunition for 1st Cavalry Division arimobile troops in An Khe, South Vietnam, April 11th, 1966


Gunners Firing from Helicopter

Sighting the enemy, the door gunner aboard a "Huey" opens fire on a target below. UH-1B armed helicopters of Light Helicopter Attack Squadron THREE, Detachment 7, under the command of Lieutenant Commander William D. Martin, U.S.N., team up with Navy River Patrol Boats on search and destroy missions against Viet Cong positions in the Mekong Delta.


M113 Armored Personnel Carriers

United States 25th Division troops ride on top of M113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) in Ambush Alley, on the Tay Ninh-Dau Tieng road, 1968.

These vehicles were designed to be portable by aircraft and were fitted with a lightweight aluminum hull armor and used special caseless ammunition in its main gun. As a result, the vehicle was vulnerable to mines and missiles and the ammunition frequently caught fire, incinerating the vehicle and its crew.




An American Navy Hovercraft moves through the water, Vietnam, 1968.

The physical geography surrounding Vietnam with its long coastlines and vast river systems called for a major commitment of the US naval forces. Although the Navy was sometimes compromised at the strategic level by civilian political decisions, it achieved notable tactical success in the Vietnam War.

The naval forces ranged from the Marine Corps and Fighter Pilots to the Military Sealift Command that delivered 95% of the vehicles, ammunitions, fuel, equipment and other military supplies that entered the ports of South Vietnam. The Navy used everything that floats on water, ranging from surfboards to the immensely powerful carrier forces with their fighter, attack, early warning and electronic warfare aircraft, surface to air missiles, deck guns and anti-submarine weapons.


(TO BE CONTINUE )

Source: vietnampix.com