See pictures that changed the World. This war followed the First Indochina War β54 and was fought between North Vietnam βsupported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist alliesβand the government of South Vietnam βsupported by the United States, Philippines and other anti-communist allies.
See Pictures that changed the World. As the war continued, the part of the Viet Cong in the fighting decreased as the role of the NVA grew. In the course of the war, the U. The U. This was part of a wider containment policy , with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism. The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam under communist rule.
They viewed the conflict as a colonial war , fought initially against forces from France and then America, and later against South Vietnam. Beginning in , American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina. Regular U. Operations crossed international borders: bordering areas of Laos and Cambodia were heavily bombed by U. Gradual withdrawal of U. Despite the Paris Peace Accord , which was signed by all parties in January , the fighting continued.
In the U. The war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs , and altered North-South relations. Direct U. The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities see Vietnam War casualties. Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from , [49] to 3.
Sqn Ldr Munro died in hospital in his native New Zealand on Monday following heart problems, the association said. There are now only two surviving crew members of the Dambusters missions. Out of crew, only 77 returned. In an interview with the BBC on the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters raid, Sqn Ldr Munro said he had not worried about the dangers of the mission. Earlier this year, he put his medals up for auction to help pay for the upkeep of the Bomber Command Memorial in London.
