First
thing that you need to know is that a DMZ (De-Militarized zone) is that there
are two of them. One in Korea and the other in Vietnam (we will be focusing on
this one) so don't get them mixed up. The DMZ separates North and South Vietnam
and is often referred to as the "17th Parallel" because it is
geographically 17 degrees north of the equator plane. This was first
established after the first Indochina war at the 1954 Geneva accords. This
border also is on the Ben Hai River. Stretching over 100 kilometers long and
north or south 5 kilometers on either side of the river is considered the
De-militarized zone. Troops from both sides were not allowed to be in this
area. To the north of the zone was the communist Viet Minh and their leader Ho
Chi Minh, they called themselves the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. They were opposed to the French control and fought for
their independence in the first Indochina war led by Ho Chi Minh. They were the
first to breach the DMZ by creating the Ho Chi Minh trail that went through
neighboring countries to deliver troops and supplies to the Viet Cong. To the
south was the Viet Cong that were communists that fought against South Vietnam
and The United States. Also was the South Vietnamese with their Democratic
leader Bao Dai and they were the Republic of Vietnam. Bao Dai was the last
Emperor of Vietnam. This zone though doesn't mean much today other than a
tourist attraction since the reuniting of the two countries at the end of the
Vietnam war.
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| A map of the DMZ |
This too is something that I was unaware of that they had going on during the war. I guess they needed to keep peace somewhere. I like that it is also a tourist attraction now.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about that happened during the war. It's very interesting, and I think it's cool how it is part of the Ho Chi Minh trails.
ReplyDelete