The official agreement to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam was signed on January 27, 1973. It is also known as the Paris Peace Accords. The treaty was a measure to end direct U.S. military combat and stop the fight between North and South Vietnam. It included Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the U.S., as well as the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG).
Background
The Vietnam War, also called the American War, was fought in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1955 until Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was captured by the People’s Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. The war was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies, and the South Vietnamese army was supported by the U.S., South Korea, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies. While North Vietnam fought a more conventional warfare, South Vietnam was aided by the U.S used air strikes and strategic bombing. The conflict was seen as a colonial war and was fought largely to unify Vietnam. The U.S. involvement was seen as a step to deter a Communist takeover of South Vietnam. The U.S. entered the scene in 1950 and this escalated in the 60’s during the sea battle fought in Gulf of Tonkin. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave the U.S. president authority to increase their military presence in Vietnam. The surprise attacks by North Vietnam in January 1968 — The Offensive on South Vietnam, proved a turning point and began the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam.
Though the Paris Peace Accords suffered early deadlocks, the U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson halted bombing operations over the northern portion of the North Vietnam to begin negotiations in March 31, 1968. A date was set for representatives of both parties to meet in Paris, France on May 10, 1978. However, it was stalled for five months and finally met only on May 8, 1972. President Nixon made a major concession to North Vietnam by announcing that the U.S. would accept a cease-fire. The Accord went through a few changes and it was officially broadcast on Hanoi on October 26. As the U.S. causalities mounted, the pressure mounted on the Nixon government who took up various operations to deter North Vietnam from negotiating with them. On January 15, 1973, President Nixon announced a suspension of offensive actions against North Vietnam, and they met on January 23, 1973 to sign this treaty.
“Vietnamisation” is the term given to this process which included a ceasefire beginning midnight of January 27, 1973. North and South Vietnamese forces were permitted to resupply military materials necessary to replace items consumed in the course of the truce. The U.S. troops (along with other non-Vietnamese soldiers) began to withdraw and the entire process took 60 days. It was also decided that the U.S. prisoners of war would be released and allowed to return home. The Accord also gave the people of South Vietnam the right to decide their political future of through democratic general elections under international supervision.
