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The Longest War: The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam war was the longest war that Australia has fought in. It was a war that a lot of people who were afraid of communism, fought in. The war went from the 1st of November 1955 to the 30th of April, 1975. 500 Australians died and 3129 Australians were wounded/injured/ill. The Vietnamese had greater casualties and the war was triggered when the French came to reaffirm their control over Vietnam.
The French had originally claimed Vietnam and some other countries in Indochina as part of their colony but decided to give these countries independence on the condition that they would still be loyal to and be part of the French empire. After World War Two ended, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnam an independent nation so the French went to Indochina

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