<P> The Vietnam War ( Vietnamese : Chiến tranh Việt Nam ) , also known as the Second Indochina War , and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America ( Vietnamese : Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ) or simply the American War , was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 . It was the second of the Indochina Wars and 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 ; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States , South Korea , Australia , Thailand and other anti-communist allies . The war is considered a Cold War - era proxy war by some US perspectives . The majority of Americans believe the war was unjustified . The war would last roughly 19 years and would also form the Laotian Civil War as well as the Cambodian Civil War , which also saw all three countries become communist states in 1975 . </P>
<P> The Vietnam War ( Vietnamese : Chiến tranh Việt Nam ) , also known as the Second Indochina War , and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America ( Vietnamese : Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ) or simply the American War , was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 . It was the second of the Indochina Wars and 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 ; the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States , South Korea , Australia , Thailand and other anti-communist allies . The war is considered a Cold War - era proxy war by some US perspectives . The majority of Americans believe the war was unjustified . The war would last roughly 19 years and would also form the Laotian Civil War as well as the Cambodian Civil War , which also saw all three countries become communist states in 1975 . </P>
when did the war in vietnam actually start
when did the war in vietnam actually start
1 November 1955
1 November 1955