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For eight years, Vietnam was a colonial battleground -- as France fought a nationalist movement led by Ho Chi Minh. Despite financial backing from the United States, the French lost control of Vietnam in 1954 -- after a Vietnamese force captured the French outpost at Dien Bien Phu. An international peace conference in Geneva temporarily divided Vietnam into a communist-led North and non-communist South
To unite Vietnam, the guerrilla organisation "Vietcong" came into existence. But due to the rising displeasure about the commanding regime of Diem, he got killed by his own soldiers.
3 weeks later, Kennedy got killed on his fateful journey through Dallas. Lyndon B. Johnson, his Vice, became President.
In August '64 there was a fire exchange between a destroyer of America and a torpedo boat of North Vietnam. President Johnson got authorized to help South Vietnam in war.
The brutality of America was incredible. Alltogether they dropped 70 Mio. l herbicide, chemical, cancer causing, arms and more bombs than in World War II.
At the end of '65 there were already sent 183000 soldiers to Vietnam.
The war was shown live in TV and millions of Americans became witnesses of massacres and demonstrative self-burnings of Buddhists.
Also under the new president Nixon, the war continued 5 years.
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