Ngo Dinh Diem In Vietnam

Vietnam was a controversial war that many Americans did not agree with. The war is also known as the Second Indochina War and was fought between 1955 and 1975. The war brought conflict in both Vietnam and the United States. The war was between North Vietnam and South Vietnam along with their allies. This war was one of the longest in U.S. history. The war started with the risers power of Ho Chi Minh and his communist party. It also continued of the backdrop of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. During World War II Japan invaded Vietnam and occupied the country which was under French control since the 19th century. When Japan withdrew their forces in 1945, the French leader Bao Dai was left alone. Ho Minh and his forces rose up and occupied the northern part of the country. Bao Dai retreated to the southern part and occupied his forces there. Bao Dai was pushed aside by Ngo Dinh Diem as ruler of South Vietnam.

The north and the south begin fighting in fire fights for the territories. The Viet Cong threat from the north made the U.S. start sending troops to help the southern territory. The number of troops from the 1950s and 1961 went from 800 troops in Vietnam to 9,000. The U.S. began aiding Diem in the war because they thought if one country became communist that others would begin to follow. The firefights would continue in Vietnam and by the end of the war at least 201,454 U.S. casualties were