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The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict, and, in Vietnam, the American War, occurred from 1959 to April 30, 1975.
The war was fought between the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and its communist allies and the US-supported Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).
It concluded with the defeat and dissolution of South Vietnam. For the United States, the war ended in the withdrawal of American troops and the failure of its foreign policy in Vietnam.
Over 1.4 million military personnel were killed in the war (only 6 percent were members of the United States armed forces), while estimates of civilian fatalities range up to 2 million.
On April 30, 1975, the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, fell to the communist forces of North Vietnam, effectively ending the Vietnam War.
Various names have been applied to the conflict, and these have shifted over time, although Vietnam War is the most commonly used title in English. It has been variously called the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam Conflict, the Vietnam War, and (Resistance War against America) or The American War.
The main military organizations involved in the war were, on the side of the South, the U.S. military and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), and, on the the side of the North, the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF), also known as the Viet Cong, and the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), also known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) or the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).
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