The first major armed conflict of the Cold War took place in S

Later, North Vietnam also began supporting communist guerillas in Laos. In 1959 it began supplying a terrorist campaign in South Vietnam carried out by southern Vietnamese communist Viet Cong guerillas. North Vietnam soon declared its intention to reunite with South Vietnam - by military means if necessary. sponsored the creation of the eight-nation Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) to protect Cambodia, Laos and South Vietnam from the spread of communism. North Vietnam, under Ho Chi Minh, became a communist nation.

A demilitarized zone formed the border between North and South Vietnam. gave France military assistance in fighting insurgents.Īfter the French defeat in 1954, Indochina was divided into North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

efforts included military action not only in South and North Vietnam, but also in neighboring Southeast Asian countries.įor many years in the early 20th century, the people of Southeast Asia struggled for independence from France.

Although popularly known as the Vietnam War, U.S. also hoped to prevent the spread of communism to other nearby countries. goal in the Southeast Asia War was to protect South Vietnam - initially from a local communist insurgency and later from conquest by communist North Vietnam. The containment strategy seldom led to major combat, but as with the Korean War (1950-1953), the US committed large military forces to protect an allied, non-communist government. United States participation in the Southeast Asia War resulted from the policy of 'containment,' which aimed to prevent communism from expanding beyond its early Cold War borders. A product of the Cold War, the Southeast Asia War (1961-1973) began with communist attempts to overthrow non-communist governments in the region.

The first major armed conflict of the Cold War took place in S