What led to the Vietnam War?

What were the major battles of the Vietnam War?

As to be expected, there was no shortage of conflict during a war filled with guerrilla tactics. However, there were a few key battles and operations that influenced changes in warfare and ultimately led to the North's victory. This list of key battles starts with conflict between the France and Vietnam and ends with what became known as the fall of Saigon.

More than 58,000 American soldiers died in the Vietnam War

Fought to contain communism in Southeast Asia, the Vietnam War became one of the most costly and controversial Cold War conflicts. The US ultimately withdrew in 1973, and South Vietnam fell to communist forces two years later.

Who won the Vietnam War?

Who won the Vietnam War? The question of who won the Vietnam War has been a subject of debate, and the answer depends on the definition of victory. This Encyclopædia Britannica article explains why this question hasn't been definitively answered despite the two halves of Vietnam now existing under one flag.

What happened during the Fall of Saigon?

After the U.S. pulled out of the conflict in 1975, North Vietnam quickly subsumed the South, renaming its then-capital of Saigon into Ho Chi Minh City. What happened during the city's fall? Take the next 17 minutes to watch this 1975 footage from the Associated Press to learn more.

Tour this virtual museum of important events and letters from the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War lasted about 20 years, killed millions, and ended with half of a divided country engulfing the other. What else do you know about it? Learn more in this virtual exhibit, which includes videos, text blurbs, and audio clips; covers important events from the war; and features handwritten letters from those involved.

The US never formally declared war in Vietnam

Instead of formally declaring war, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964, granting President Johnson broad authority to use military force. The resolution became the legal basis for escalating US involvement without an official declaration of war.

The history of the Chinese civil war from 1945-49

Today's tensions were formed after the Chinese Communist Party defeated the Kuomintang shortly after World War II. Here's a thorough explainer on what happened.

What happened to the Vietnamese refugees who wanted to return home?

Not all who fled Vietnam at the end of the war wanted to be resettled in the US. But those who returned faced an unwelcoming government. This article follows one man's attempt to reunite with his family.

How the Vietnam War changed rock 'n' roll

This short video essay analyzes how rock music responded to US involvement in Vietnam, from the protest folk of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan to the popularity of rock and soul records with soldiers stationed abroad.

The world rapidly decolonized after World War II, with roughly a hundred new countries emerging between 1945 and 1989.

Decolonization isn't complete, as nearly 2 million people were living in UN-designated non-self-governing territories as of 2023.

Post-WWII decolonization in Africa led to Cold War proxy conflicts

As newly independent African nations emerged after World War II, the US and USSR vied for influence—backing opposing sides in civil wars and revolutions. Conflicts in Angola, Ethiopia and Mozambique became proxy fronts in the Cold War.

Everything you wanted to know about the war in Vietnam

Still have questions about the war? Imagine the answers you'd get if could direct all those questions to a historian who specializes in this. Enter: Historian Mark Atwood Lawrence. Lawrence spends over an hour in this podcast answering audience questions about the Vietnam War.

How a 2025 Netflix documentary reveals the contested view of the Vietnam War

Brian Knappenberger created a five-part, seven-hour documentary on the war released on the streamer in 2025, the latest in a tradition of hundreds of documentaries covering the event. Expert Thomas Bass, the author of the essay, was invited to be interviewed for the documentary, arguing the conflict's origins are the most crucial aspects to understand. In turn, Bass interviewed Knappenberger—whose father fought in the war—on the Netflix production. Their discussion revealed how streamers mediate historical understanding to a generation that does not have a consensus on what the Vietnam War was.

Where was the Civil War fought?

The Civil War is commonly described as a war between northern and southern US states, but where was the war actually fought? Watch this interactive map and timeline to see who fought who and when. Click on specific battles to learn more about each fight.

The US and the USSR backed opposing sides in dozens of proxy wars during the Cold War

To avoid direct confrontation, the superpowers supported rival factions in conflicts around the world—including in Korea, Vietnam, Angola, and Afghanistan.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. publicly denounced the Vietnam War in 1967

In a 1967 speech, Dr. King comprehensively condemned the US war in Vietnam, linking militarism, racism, and poverty—a break that cost him allies and drew backlash from political leaders and major media outlets.

The Cold War (1947-1991) prompted the birth of NATO and the Soviet Warsaw Pact

The geopolitical rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union was considered “cold" because the two countries never directly engaged in military combat during the time period. This page from the Kennedy Presidential Library outlines the causes and major events of the early Cold War.

The second attack used to justify full-scale US involvement in Vietnam never happened as reported

In August 1964, Washington claimed that North Vietnam launched two attacks on US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The second, used to justify escalating the US war effort, was later revealed to most likely have been a radar mistake.

The aging electrical substations of Saigon

One of the overlooked influences of French colonialism in Vietnam lies in the capital city Saigon's electrical infrastructure. Though France withdrew in the 1950s, many of the colonial-era substations built by the French company Compagnie des Eaux et Électricité are still operational today. Scroll through the article for images of these substations and an overview of their history.

The causes of American rebellion were multifaceted

British taxes on colonists to pay for the French and Indian War were just one element. Thousands of miles of separation between London and the Colonies, expanding territories, a distinct Colonial identity, and political conflicts combined to prompt the Revolution.

According to Confederate leaders, the defense of slavery was the primary reason for secession.

The controversy behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

It's now a standard stop for tourists visiting Washington, DC, but before it was built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial triggered an internecine battle between the war's veterans, some of whom believed the planned memorial was offensive. This short documentary recounts the controversy and the ultimate triumph of the memorial, which helped change the country's impression of the war and its soldiers.

US–Soviet hostility began long before the Cold War

US–Soviet tensions began decades before WWII. After the 1917 revolution, the US refused to recognize the Bolshevik regime and even sent troops to fight against it.

Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 triggered a cascade of Southern secessions and the formation of the Confederacy, culminating in the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.

A digital archive of the Korean War

The Korean War largely shaped the evolution of the Cold War in Asia. Explore the Wilson Center’s digital collection of primary sources—including essays, profiles, popular documents, and a timeline—to learn about the Korean War. In 1945, the...

Five key causes of World War I

What caused World War I? The ready answer refers to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. But there was more to it than that. This article, accompanied by a short explanatory video, outlines how mutual defense alliances, imperialism, militarism, and nationalism also had a heavy hand in the start of what some considered a "preventable war."

Hear how the world reacted to the American Civil War

European nations closely watched the Civil War for its economic and political consequences. Some European nations quietly engaged diplomatically with the Confederacy but withheld recognition. When the Union made slavery's abolition a central cause, European public opinion turned sharply against the South.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act sparked violence that foreshadowed the Civil War

The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act let settlers vote on whether to allow slavery, repealing the Missouri Compromise. Competing proslavery and antislavery groups poured into Kansas, sparking years of bloody conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas."

A short history of the China-Taiwan conflict

The relationship between China and Taiwan is a fraught one, and has been for well over a century. US involvement has only raised the stakes between the independent island country, also known as the Republic of China, and the larger country on the mainland. Here's a breakdown of the conflict between China and Taiwan over the years.

American annexation of Texas eventually sparked war with Mexico

After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, the US annexed it in 1845—despite Mexico’s refusal to recognize Texas as separate. That annexation, combined with a heated border dispute, triggered the Mexican-American War the following year.

Was the Civil War really about states' rights?

The Civil War was fought over slavery, and Confederate leaders and supporters admitted as much in the build-up to the war and after. But later on, after the South's defeat, the lie of the Lost Cause was pushed—and it persists to this day. This four-minute video details the story of the Lost Cause, "state's rights", Confederate monuments, and the machinations behind them.

11 states formed the Confederacy, with 2 others claiming allegiance

Between December 1860 and June 1861, 11 Southern states officially seceded to form the Confederacy. Pro-Confederate factions in Missouri and Kentucky also declared secession, but both states remained largely under Union control throughout the war.

See an animated map of the entire Cold War.

Abraham Lincoln's victory in 1860 sparked Southern secession—even before his inauguration

Abraham Lincoln's election on an antislavery expansion platform convinced many Southerners that their way of life was under threat. Within three months, seven states seceded from the Union—forming the Confederacy—before Lincoln took office in March 1861.

Japan's imperial expansion in Asia in the 1930s set the stage for war with the US.

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37 maps that explain the American Civil War

This collection of 37 maps tells the story of the American Civil War as well as any historical account. See how and where the war began and why, and where the major battles were fought. Discover how the North achieved victory and the many ways the war changed America forever.

US westward expansion—and the status of slavery in the new territories—was a major cause of the American Civil War

The addition of new western lands forced the nation to confront whether slavery would spread beyond the South. Each debate over the admission of a new state sharpened the divide between free and slaveholding regions.

World War I causes

World War I was, as the name says, truly war on the global scale. Fought between the French, Russian, British, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman, and Russian Empires, it was in part, a battle for territory. And after the war ended, several of these empires collapsed. Explore the different causes of World War II in this article.

Wartime conferences exposed cracks in the US–Soviet alliance

At the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, Allied leaders coordinated WWII strategy—but deep disagreements over postwar Europe foreshadowed the Cold War. The USSR’s push for influence in Eastern Europe clashed with US and British calls for self-determination.

How WWI began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

World War I started for several reasons—imperialism, militarism, nationalism, and more—but the catalyst was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Hohenberg by the young assassin Gavrilo Princip. Read this article ton see how the assassination sparked the chain reaction that led to the Great War.

At age 22, Washington inadvertently started the French and Indian War.

Mexico’s political chaos weakened its defense against US invasion

Mexico’s post-independence instability—marked by coups, power struggles, and weak central control—left its northern frontier vulnerable. That political fragmentation shaped Mexico’s unpreparedness during the Mexican-American War and helped enable US conquest.

The Civil War turned the Continental Divide into an American symbol of identity

Historians argue that the boundary only became a celebrated American symbol in the 1860s, when Civil War-era leaders promoted a west-east geographic divide to replace the devastating north-south political divide, and that the term's use spiked after the transcontinental railroad crossed it in 1868.

Explore 100 years of communism across the globe, from the 1917 October Revolution to North Korea's modern nuclear defiance.

Was the Mỹ Lai massacre an outlier?

Hundreds of Vietnamese civilians, including children, were tortured and slaughtered during an attack by American troops in what came to be known as the Mỹ Lai massacre. Was such violence as much of an outlier as we’d like to believe? Not according to this researcher’s findings. Author and researcher Nick Turse explains the evidence behind the realization in this 31-minute interview.

The American Revolution became a template for a colonized world

The robust and radical transformation during the American Revolution created a template for dozens of future independence movements. Its key ideas of republicanism, individualism, and equality inspired revolutions in France, Haiti, Ireland, and more, paving the way for the broadly democratic world we know today.

Why the First Gulf War occurred—and how it played out

This video navigates the conflict’s core—from Iraq's August 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait through Operation Desert Shield’s buildup, to the decisive air and ground assault of January–February 1991. It spotlights coalition tactics and rapid liberation of Kuwait, highlighting how precision bombing and advanced tech reshaped modern warfare.

US–Cuba contentious relations began long before the Cold War

Long before the revolution and missile crisis, US involvement in Cuba stretched back over 150 years—rooted in slavery, sugar, and shifting imperial ambitions. This short video traces how cycles of intervention and neglect shaped the island’s modern history.

The colonial origins of Haiti/Dominican Republic divide

This 16-minute video explores the colonial origins of the modern-day split between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti previously was the French-Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue, which was torn off the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo in 1697....

Timeline: the Middle East conflict

During the First World War, Western and Arab powers negotiated the future political status of Arab lands. Since WWI, a complex history of political, economic, and social events have fueled tension and violence between Israel and Palestine. This timeline, compiled by Al Jazeera, highlights important global events defining conflict in the Middle East from 1915 to 2007.