Know a lot about the country you are planning to visit! Historically, Vietnam has been known to be a Chinese Colony for 1000 years. Many dynasties flourished superseding Vietnam 's declaration of attaining the status of a nation state in the 10 th century. Vietnam was occupied by the French until the 20 th century only for them to leave the country.
The French leaving the country triggered a Civil war leading it to be split into North Vietnam and South Vietnam . A bitterly fought war between the two sides finally culminated in 1975, with the Communists taking control of the state of affairs of the country. The war completely isolated Vietnam from other countries and it took them 11 long years to come out with its own economic reforms.
First Indo China War
Viet Minh led the charge to free Vietnam from the clutches of French Rule in 1941. Independence was declared on September 2, 1945 with Viet Minh leading the forces in Ho Chi Minh. France sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to suppress the revolution raised by people of Vietnam.
Unfortunate incidents of Haiphong in 1946, where 6000 Vietnamese nationals were killed in a French Navy fire turned the course of history. Superseding 8 years saw the Vietnamese and the French battle it out for possession of the country. In the end, French forces were defeated on 20 July, 1954.
This war and subsequent withdrawal of the French forces resulted in Vietnam 's partition into – North Vietnam and South Vietnam . The Democratic Republic of Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh claimed North Vietnam while the State of Vietnam, led by Bao Dai claimed South Vietnam.
Vietnam War
Late 1950s saw an attempt by North Vietnam to get the South under their communist rule. Sensing a possible reunification on cards, the United States of America supported South Vietnam in their opposition to the guerilla warfare launched by Viet Cong, ably supported by the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Viet Cong tried to decimate South Vietnamese forces in the Tet Offensive.
The Tet offensive lasted all of 6 months in 1968, only to end in the North Vietnamese forces being defeated. Meanwhile, the United States got all the more involved in the tussle. By 1965, US forces in Vietnam touched 500,000. During the battle, US forces were inflicted heavy casualties. Realizing the frugality of the exercise, the US forces started transferring a lot of war power to the South Vietnamese.
American troops were recalled back in 1973, with the Paris Peace Accord attesting the sovereignty of North and South America . Fighting between the two forces continued for another 3 years, culminating in North Vietnam capturing Saigon by the summer of 1976. This brought to an end, all the fighting that had ravaged this country for the last quarter of a decade.
The restructuring
The fighting that had lasted for over 25 years had left Vietnamese economy in tatters. Many countries including the States had distanced from Vietnam . Successive governments made the mistake of planning policy decisions in a centralized manner. The ruling government with its sense of resentment against people of South Vietnam hampered the process of building the nation.
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