A Brief History of Vietnam

As early as the Paleolithic times the region that is Vietnam now has already been occupied by the early civilization of the Phung-nguyen culture. During 1200 BCE, the cultivation of wet-rice and casting of bronze have developed and the led to the advance of the Dong Son culture. Most Vietnamese considers the Hong Bang Dynasty as the first Vietnamese state. Vietnam was under the Chinese regime during the early first millennium. In 938 CE, Ngo Quyen, a Vietnamese lord crushed the Chinese forces at the Bang Dang River and attained independence. Vietnam flourished during the 15th century under the Le Dynasty and expanded south between 11th and 18th centuries to conquer Champa Kingdom and part of the Khmer Empire.

From 1859 to 1885 the country was successively invaded by French forces and eventually became part of the French Indochina. During the 1940’s the nationalist liberation movement Viet Minh emerged under Ho Chi Minh with the purpose of regaining independence from France and to defy Japanese occupation. In 1960’s the Vietnam War broke causing the US to send about 500,000 troops during the peak of the war in 1965. The US president approved a strategic air command (SAC) bombing operation in Cambodia and Laos called Operation Menu. The Paris Peace of Accords of January 27, 1973 officially recognized the independence of Vietnam as recognized by the 1954 Geneva Agreements; by March 29, 1973 all American war forces were withdrawn. South Vietnam shortly became the Republic of South Vietnam after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 and formally integrated with the North under communist rule as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 1976.