March 29, 1973: Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees many of the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America’s direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end.
In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees remained behind to aid South Vietnam in conducting what looked to be a fierce and ongoing war with communist North Vietnam.
In 1961, after two decades of indirect military aid, U.S. President John F. Kennedy sent the first large force of U.S. military personnel to support the ineffectual autocratic regime of South Vietnam against the communist North. Three years later, with the South Vietnamese government crumbling, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered limited bombing raids on North Vietnam, and Congress authorized the use of U.S. troops. By 1965, North Vietnamese offensives left President Johnson with two choices: escalate U.S. involvement or withdraw. Johnson ordered the former, and troop levels soon jumped to more than 300,000 as U.S. air forces commenced the largest bombing campaign in history.
During the next few years, the extended length of the war, the high number of U.S. casualties, and the exposure of U.S. involvement in war crimes, such as the massacre at My Lai, helped turn many in the United States against the Vietnam War. The communists’ Tet Offensive of 1968 crushed U.S. hopes of an imminent end to the conflict and galvanized U.S. opposition to the war. In response, Johnson announced in March 1968 that he would not seek reelection, citing what he perceived to be his responsibility in creating a perilous national division over Vietnam. He also authorized the beginning of peace talks.
In the spring of 1969, as protests against the war escalated in the United States, U.S. troop strength in the war-torn country reached its peak at nearly 550,000 men. Richard Nixon, the new U.S. president, began U.S. troop withdrawal and “Vietnamization” of the war effort that year, but he intensified bombing. Large U.S. troop withdrawals continued in the early 1970s as President Nixon expanded air and ground operations into Cambodia and Laos in attempts to block enemy supply routes along Vietnam’s borders. This expansion of the war, which accomplished few positive results, led to new waves of protests in the United States and elsewhere.
Finally, in January 1973, representatives of the United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement in Paris, ending the direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. Its key provisions included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam, the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the release of prisoners of war, and the reunification of North and South Vietnam through peaceful means. The South Vietnamese government was to remain in place until new elections were held, and North Vietnamese forces in the South were not to advance further nor be reinforced.
In reality, however, the agreement was little more than a face-saving gesture by the U.S. government. Even before the last American troops departed on March 29, the communists violated the cease-fire, and by early 1974 full-scale war had resumed. At the end of 1974, South Vietnamese authorities reported that 80,000 of their soldiers and civilians had been killed in fighting during the year, making it the most costly of the Vietnam War.
On April 30, 1975, the last few Americans still in South Vietnam were airlifted out of the country as Saigon fell to communist forces. North Vietnamese Colonel Bui Tin, accepting the surrender of South Vietnam later in the day, remarked, “You have nothing to fear; between Vietnamese there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been defeated.” The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history and cost 58,000 American lives. As many as two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed.
FAQs
On March 29, 1973 the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, ending direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. Military advisers to the South Vietnamese Army remained, as did Marines protecting U.S. installations, and thousands of Defense Department civilians.
Why did the US withdraw from Vietnam in 1973? ›
In the end, these commitments were not upheld due to a combination of factors—domestic and Congressional reluctance to re-engage in the war, economic constraints, and finally the Watergate scandal, which weakened and distracted Nixon.
When did the US start withdrawing troops from Vietnam? ›
By December 1972, Nixon decided to escalate the bombing of North Vietnamese cities, including Hanoi. He hoped this initiative would push North Vietnam to the peace table. In January 1973, a ceasefire was reached, and the remaining American combat troops were withdrawn.
Did the last U.S. military unit left Vietnam on March 29 1973? ›
On March 29, 1973, the last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America's direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.
What happened after the United States withdrew its forces from Vietnam? ›
The remaining Americans escaped in a series of frantic air- and sealifts with Vietnamese friends and coworkers. A military government was instituted, and on July 2, 1976, the country was officially united as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam with its capital in Hanoi.
What was the result of the US withdrawal from Vietnam in 1973 brainly? ›
Final answer:
The outcome of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam in 1973 and 1974 was that Vietnam became communist but remained an independent nation. This resulted in the North Vietnamese Communists invading and taking control of South Vietnam, unifying the country under a Communist regime.
Why did the United States withdraw its troops from Vietnam Quizlet? ›
Why did the United States withdraw its troops from Vietnam? The United States withdrew from Vietnam because it wasn't winning and it faced tremendous pressure from citizens at home who opposed American involvement in the war.
Who was the last American soldier to leave Vietnam? ›
On March 29, 1973, the last American combat soldier, Master Sgt. Max Beilke, left Vietnam, completing the American military withdrawal. President Richard Nixon had announced on January 23, 1973 that the United States and North Vietnam had signed an agreement to end the war.
What was the process of withdrawing American troops from Vietnam called? ›
The Vietnamization plan provided for a gradual, phased withdrawal of American combat forces, combined with an expanded effort to train and equip South Vietnam to take over military responsibility for its own defense.
Are there any US soldiers still in Vietnam? ›
Since the war's end, official U.S. government investigations have consistently concluded that no military personnel remain alive in Vietnam.
The US army had superior conventional weapons but they were ineffective against a country that was not industrialized and an army which employed guerrilla tactics and used the dense jungle as cover.
How many US servicemen were killed in Vietnam? ›
United States military. Casualties as of 4 May 2021: 58,281 KIA or non-combat deaths (including the missing and deaths in captivity) [See note, below.]
What was an effect of US troops leaving Vietnam in 1973? ›
The US withdrew its forces from Vietnam in 1973. By 1975, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the North Vietnamese communist forces. South Vietnam unconditionally surrendered to North Vietnam on April 30, 1975. All of Vietnam became united under communist control.
What did the US do in the 1973 Vietnam War? ›
Nixon's plan worked and in early January 1973, the Americans and North Vietnamese ironed out the last details of the settlement. All parties to the conflict, including South Vietnam, signed the final agreement in Paris on January 27. As it turned out, only America honored the cease-fire.
What happened in 1973 in the US? ›
Wade, the signing of the Paris Peace Accords and end of the United States participation in the Vietnam War, the end of the post-World War II boom and the beginning of the first of a series of recessions that continued over the next decade, and the first oil crisis.
What did the US do in 1973 what happened in 1975 Vietnam War? ›
The costs and casualties of the growing war proved too much for the United States to bear, and U.S. combat units were withdrawn by 1973. In 1975 South Vietnam fell to a full-scale invasion by the North.
What officially ended the Vietnam War in 1973? ›
The accords were formally signed on January 27, 1973, in Paris, France at the Hotel Majestic by the leaders of the four official delegations, United States and Republic of Vietnam on one side with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Viet Cong/Provisional Revolutionary Government on the other.
What events led directly to the 1973 Cease-Fire Agreement? ›
The events that led directly to the 1973 cease-fire agreement are - The Christmas Day bombing of North Vietnam, The bombing and mining of North Vietnam. The peace negotiations in Paris and the cutting off of communist supply lines.
