The Vietnam War was a nearly 20 year battle (November 1, 1955 - April 30 1975) between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. North Vietnam won the war and Vietnam became one unified country. The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam.
Its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The war began in 1954, and continued against the backdrop of an intense Cold War between two global superpowers: the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people (including 58, 000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War; more than half were Vietnamese civilians. By 1969, at the peak of U. S. involvement in the war, more than 500, 000 U. S. military personnel were involved in the Vietnam conflict.
Growing opposition to the war in the United States led to bitter divisions among Americans, both before and after President Richard Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U. S. forces in 1973.