The Vietnam War

Problems in South Vietnam - The End of the War

As the intensity on the battlefield increased, the government of South Vietnam began losing the overall support of the people. The government was unable to protect the population from Vietcong attacks; the army was corrupted and often mistreated villagers. As well, officials were becoming wealthy from corruption while the average person suffered.

Furthermore, the American government was facing a number of major problems in South Vietnam. They were unable to achieve a military solution to the situation unless they made the war into a much larger conflict. By doing that, there was a danger that they would draw in the Soviet Union, leading to the danger of a world war. Moreover, the corruption of the government of South Vietnam caused the people in America to wonder why they were sacrificing young men for an unpopular war in Asia.

As criticism against the war increased, the United States began looking for a way out of the conflict. Over the years, they began withdrawing US soldiers, and making the Vietnamese take on a larger role in the fighting. By 1973, the American Army left South Vietnam, after the North promised not to invade. Two years later the promise was broken, and the North took over South Vietnam. They were united into one large communist nation. America had suffered its severest military and political defeat in the history of the Cold War.

.