People: Vietnam
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The Cold War
The Cold War is the defining event of the 20th century and shaped our world. Many major crisis all over the globe find their roots in this struggle between the West and the Soviet Union. This documentary explains the origins and course of this conflict. Starting at the beginning of the 20th century, as all…
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Battlefield Vietnam (12): The fall of Saigon
The American defeat in Vietnam is strikingly depicted by the footage of the ‘last chopper out’ from Saigon. Nevertheless, the definitive defeat of South Vietnam and America started 3 years earlier, as the North Vietnamese attacked the border with a regular army of 30.000. Only massive American air raids could stop the advance, but the…
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Battlefield Vietnam (11): Peace with honor
The American forces were unable tot win the Vietnam War on the Battlefield. Back in the U.S.A. resistance to the destructive war in Southeast Asia mounted, putting Richard Nixon ever more under heavy pressure tot stop the hostilities. Nixon thought he could win by attacking the Ho Chi Minh trail in Cambodia, expanding the war…
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Battlefield Vietnam (10): Operation Rolling Thunder
This episode chronicles the massive air raids by both U.S. Air Force and Navy fighters and bombers that were meant to annihilate the will to fight of the North Vietnamese forces. Carpet bombings destroyed everything, leaving nothing more then burnt remnants of villages, forests and cities. The goal was never achieved, as the Vietnamese only…
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Battlefield Vietnam (9): Air war
The airwar in Southeast Asia was more then a contest between Vietnam and America. From the start, China and the Soviet Union were backing the Vietnamese, with advisors and weapons. This almost lead to an extension of the conflict to the allies of Vietnam. Luckily, America never did a major attack on China and the…
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Battlefield Vietnam (7): War on the DMZ
Although front lines didn’t really exist in the Vietnam war, there was the border between North- and South Vietnam, called the DMZ (demilitarized zone). During the war, the area was an arena for heavy fighting. The Americans built many fortifications, which were besieged by the Vietnamese. This series mainly covers the military aspects of the…
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Battlefield Vietnam (6): Tet offensive
The Tet-offensive (1967), ‘one of the most stunning offenses ever’, was a military defeat for the Vietnamese but would win them the war in the end. This fifth episode of the Battlefield Vietnam series on the actual battle and American respons. This series mainly covers the military aspects of the war, and focuses on the…