1. The Second Indochina War

2. Brief Summary
The Vietnam War was a semi-proxy war that lasted 19 years, 5 months and 1 day(1 November April 1975). It was referred to as the Second Indochina War as it was a result of the First Indochina War ( ) between France (which had colonised Vietnam) and the communist forces known as the Viet Minh. The War took place in both South and North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It was fought between the Communist backed North and the NATO supported South.

3. Is the Vietnam War Considered a follow on from the Korean War?
The Korean War played a major role in the development of the Cold War raising tensions between the U.S and the Soviet Union.
It also proved that both superpowers were more interested in fighting in a ‘proxy war’ rather than engaging directly and risk expanding all of the resources at their disposal (Industrial, Military, Human, etc.) in a specific conflict.
This strategy ultimately lead to both nations involvement in the Vietnam War.

4. Why did America, Australia and others fight in this war?
The involvement of the U.s in this war was caused by the fear of the rapid spread of communism throughout Asia.
The Americans and other nations such as Australia believed in the ‘Domino Effect’. That if Vietnam fell to communism it would be the first of many nations.
In 1961 the U.S turned to members of the SEATO treaty and began to request their help

5. Who won the Vietnam War and why?
After many years of conflict the North Vietnamese emerged ‘victorious’ objectively. 
On March 29, 1973 the last of the U.N troops withdrew from Vietnam as part of the Paris Peace Accords. A Month later acting President, General Duong Van Minh surrendered unconditionally to the communist forces at the Independence Palace, Saigon. This act of surrender sealed the victory for the North Vietnamese.

6. Consequences of the War - even in 2016
Loss Of life. An estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians, 1.1 million North Vietnamese troops, 200,000 South Vietnamese troops, and 58,000 U.S. troops were killed throughout the course of this war. Thousands of other  were wounded in combat.
Billions of dollars was spent during the war
Many children were orphaned and families were destroyed

7. The use of Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a Herbicide used by the U
The use of Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a Herbicide used by the U.S troops when they were no longer making progress on the ground. The used it to cut off the guerrillas food supply and drive them out of the dense forests. Innocent people died. Statistics show that 4 million were exposed and as many as 3 million suffered from illness. Thousands of children were born with multiple health problems and mental illness. 3,100,000 hectares of land were affected by Agent Orange. Even today the effects of this deadly defoliant can still be seen as most of it remains in soil and sediment.

8. Conclusion
When leaders and politicians translate their greed, hatred and fears into full blown international or domestic conflict, there are no winners. In this instance,  both sides lost so much. Resources, money and most of all, human life.  If anything, we have refused to learn anything from the war atrocities of the past.