History of vietnam
In the year 111 B.C. the Han Dynasty of China conquered the Red River Delta and the people of what is now the northern part of Vietnam. Roughly 1000 years later in 939 A.D. the Chinese were forced out by a native Vietnamese dynasty. Around 1471, the dynasty conquered the Champa Kingdom in central Vietnam. They continued to move southward until they reached the Mekong Delta and the previously settled Cham and Cambodians. Powerful Vietnamese kingdoms continued to wage civil wars into the 1700's and mid-1800's. Then, in 1858 France began its conquest of the country, starting in the southern portion. By 1885 the entire nation of Vietnam had been annexed and was under French control. In the early 20th century educated Vietnamese people began organizing nationalist and communist-nationalist groups that opposed France's colonial rule. The most prominent of these leaders was Ho Chi Minh, who was a strong communist. During World War II, France and Japan were bitter enemies. In March, 1945 Japan invaded France, stripping it of all of its power and giving Ho Chi Minh an opportunity. Only a few months later on September 2nd, he declared Vietnam an independent nation free from French control. However, the French refused to leave the country and suffered many humiliating defeats at the hands of the Viet Minh, Ho Chi Minh's guerrilla army. In 1954 in Geneva, Switzerland several superpowers convened to sign a treaty ending French influence in Vietnam. Although Vietnam was free, it was separated into a communist northern half and a democratic southern half. Communist troops in the south were forced to move back into the north and vice versa. However, when democratic supporters refused to convert to the ways of the north, communist leaders called upon the Viet Cong, a separate guerrilla army that stayed back in South Vietnam. They started many battles with villages and officials in the south. In 1961 the United States sent military advisors to South Vietnam to help with the issue, and sent its first waves of troops in March, 1965. The in-country count of United States soldiers reached its peak in 1969 at 534,000. The United States was at a huge disadvantage in the dense jungles of Vietnam, and multiple treaties were signed after 4 years and a huge loss of life from both sides. These agreements were named the Paris Accords, after where they were signed. However, they still left the country separated. In early 1975, North Vietnamese soldiers began a powerful offensive advance on South Vietnam. The forces from the Northern half of the country took the city of Saigon on April 30th, 1975. They announced their plan for unifying the country, and on July 2nd, 1976 the north absorbed the south and Vietnam was once again a whole country.