Military history of Vietnam
Throughout thousands of years, wars played a great role in shaping the identity and culture of people inhabited the land which is modern day Vietnam.
The presence of arms in many tombs of upper-class people indicates the existence of a warrior class in Đông Sơn society during the Hồng Bàng dynasty.
Owing to the fragmented terrain and long coast line of the country, maneuvers by boats were favoured by most military forces who had fought in Vietnam.
In the 13th century, the Vietnamese defeated the Great Yuan dynasty of the Mongol empire three times, and it was seen as one of the most famous historical victories of Vietnam.
Following the fall of the French in Indochina, Việt Minh began its campaign against the Japanese occupiers, using guerrilla tactics.
Following the allied victory in World War II, France was hoping to regain control over its former colony in Indochina, which was also claimed by the Viet Minh.
France attempted to invade and reoccupy Vietnam, but after nine years of war and the subsequent military defeat in The Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French gave up and retreated from Indochina.
The North Vietnamese invasion of Laos begun in 1958 as a mixed result of boundary disputes and the Hanoi Regime's desire to control the Ho Chi Minh-path.
The Cambodian Civil War was a mixed result of the Khmer Rouge's desire to establish a communist regime in Cambodia, eventually dragging Cambodia into the Vietnam War due to the North Vietnamese support for the Khmer Rouge and their use of Cambodian soil to stage attacks into South Vietnam.
When Vietnam refused to cede the delta to Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge responded by conducting several border skirmishes, infiltrations and sabotage.
On 6 March 1979, China declared that the gate to Hanoi was open and that their punitive mission had been achieved, before withdrawing their troops from Vietnam.
The war ended with a ceasefire in 1988, when Laos had successfully regained all lost ground, and pushed the Thai forces out of the disputed territory.
