How Did Australia Contribute To The Vietnam War

The Vietnam War proved to be the longest war in both Australian and American history in the 20th century but presented a lot of debate as well as mixed opinions about Australia’s actions and involvement. The USA, who lead the operation and campaign, purely took part in the War to prevent the spread of communism globally, and also to prevent the domino effect from occurring in neighbouring countries in Asia. Furthermore, the Viet Cong were fighting the North Vietnamese government to improve Vietnam, which was under communist rule. However the alliance with America that Australia had, through SEATO and also ANZUS treaties, played a major factor and also a trigger for our involvement. Australia feared communism, and was definitely a key threat which ultimately forced us to contribute to the Vietnam War. Moreover, the

60,000 Australian men participated in the War in total . This research shows, the Vietnam War was a very brutal, time consuming and also costly war, not only to Australia but also to the Americans and other allies. The war was the cause of the greatest social and political dissent in Australia since the conscription referendums of the First World War. The information displayed, outlines our involvement as well as the significant role we played as a Nation. Moreover the Vietnamese suffered a hefty 2 million dead as the war concluded. In terms of the USA perspective, they thought we were not doing enough; less body count and different tactics. However from what one can observe from the facts, a logical conclusion would be that Australia in fact were definitely doing enough, and definitely made an impact. This links back to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, as ‘the lucky Country’ played a crucially significant role, and the statistical research simply proves the statement is definitely