An overview of the concept of “Vietnamisation” The history of Vietnam in the post-war era is a dark, violent one, and often expressed the very worst in mankind. The 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s evolved from Communist uprisings against their former French Colonial masters, through to conflict between North and South, and finally, total warfare which absorbed the Americans and other Nations, and put the conflict at the forefront of Global politics. One can argue that as Britain and France were facing the humiliation of Suez in late 1956 (and the realisation that they were no longer the Great Powers that they once were), America and Russia were staring carefully at their maps in Washington and Moscow and working out ways of dividing up the former Colonies according to pro Capitalist and pro Communist principles. Much like Egypt which was swayed by Russian money for the Aswan Dam, so the Americans and Russians now looked to Vietnam to determine which side of the fence it would commit to. Neither Superpower dared consider the possibility that the nation could ‘fall’ to the other. As the 1960’s and 70’s saw the carving up of the Middle East, Africa and even South America, according to ideologies (many of whom chose the Soviet model) decided to join the Vietnam hostilities as a means of stemming the ‘domino effect’. One might also argue that they felt that a Communist Vietnam would be a considerable threat to its neighbour Japan – a nation with considerable US interests, especially economic ones.
The Vietnam War, often referred to as the Second Indo-China War effectively began in December 1956 and commenced with a series of vicious skirmishes which crossed the borders not just of Vietnam, but also Cambodia and Laos. At a time when the Cold War was heading towards its deadliest potential days in Cuba, with tremendous nuclear tensions and political steamrolling, the