Anniversary of the Vietnam War ceasefire

Michael talks to Paul Ham, historian specialising in war, conflict and politics & author of Vietnam: The Australian War, about the anniversary of the Vietnam War ceasefire.

 

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was the conflict in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975.

 

The cease-fire was declared January 28th 1973 at 8 a.m. Saigon time.

 

When the cease-fire went into effect, Saigon controlled about 75 percent of South Vietnam’s territory and 85 percent of the population.

 

The South Vietnamese Army was well equipped via last-minute deliveries of U.S. weapons and continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire.

 

The CIA estimated North Vietnamese presence in the South at 145,000 men, about the same as the previous year.

 

The cease-fire began on time, but both sides immediately violated it.