Wiki Page, IB HIST OF AMERICAS HL YR 2-B: Videos: US in Vietnam (1954-68); US Secret War in Laos (1964-73)

Wiki Page
2023-03-12T15:30:14-07:00

While the First Indo-China War between the French and Viet Minh essentially is seen as ending with Dien Bien Phu, US involvement only increased after the French defeat. From 1954-1968, US forces increased in size in trying to prop up the South Vietnam government in Saigon. The video below covers those years. Note, US troop deployment and involvement would significantly increase starting in 1968.

As the Ho Chi Minh Trail went through Laos and Cambodia to supply Viet Cong in South Vietnam from the North, Laos became the most heavily bombed country in human history. Yet Americans never learned of this "secret war" until decades later. The consequences of this war are still playing out to this day in Laos.