Vietnam: The Two Wars 1946-1975

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1 General Information
2 Cover
3 Information
- 3.1 The French War
- 3.2 The American War
4 Screenshots
5 Technical Specs
6 Links

[edit] General Information

War Documentary hosted by Peter Dickson, published by British Movietone in 1999 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it, and the story of the wars fought in Vietnam from the 1940s to the 1970s is one from which many lessons can be learned. Initially a conflict involving a wounded post-war France attempting to re-take and hold its former colony, the fighting in Vietnam would become less a battle over territory and independence, and more an ideological battleground where the contrasting philosophies of east and west would meet head-on in an explosion of politics, culture and napalm. It was the war without fronts, where U.S. troops faced enemies without uniforms who could seemingly disappear from the battlefield without trace. America's fight involved not only 'search and destroy' strategies and aerial bombardment, but also a battle for the hearts and minds of the local population, not to mention those watching events unfold back home. This eye-opening documentary provides a compact yet thorough overview of the Vietnam War, featuring extensive use of archive footage filmed in the streets, jungles, rivers and airspace over south-east Asia, to ensure the lessons learned at such great cost will never be forgotten. Written and Produced by Mark Brightman; Flat Earth Films and British Movietone Television News Production

[edit] The French War

In the first of this two part series we examine how the seeds of Vietnam's future were sown whilst it was still a colony of France.
After the defeat of the occupying Japanese forces in World War II, Vietnam became an unstable land, a land where new alliances were forged and the balance of power continually shifted during its war of independence against the returning French. When the French try to restore power in 1945, the northern part is occupied by nationalist Chinese and the South by the British. The Vietnamese themselves are crying out for independence, the French led by De Gaulle do not want to hear about it. Long held resentments and beliefs would foster the conflicts still to come; conflicts that would give this small, remote country a central place in world history.
In 1947 the battle broke out. The French literally bite themselves to pieces, because after every apparent victory a series of new setbacks follows. At Dien Bien Phu, the French are ambushed and a mass slaughter follows. During peace talks, a new dividing line is being drawn, but that is not a sustainable solution.

[edit] The American War

When the French leave Vietnam in 1960, the Vietnamese communist leader Ho Chi Minh immediately begins the struggle to reunite the country. After the defeat of the French and the division of Vietnam into communist North and democratic South, Ho Chi Minh began a campaign to unite the country under his rule. In 1960 he restarted the war. The threat of another country falling to communism proved enough to draw the US into the conflict.
The Americans want to protect the world from advancing communism and are convinced that they are doing the right thing. But the strongest army in the world is no match for the guerrilla tactics of the invisible enemy. They ignore UN resolutions and are advancing with the support of Russia and China. Vietnam became a battlefield for the Cold War, a place where communism confronted the free world. The new war will last fifteen years and kill nearly 59,000 Americans.

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: x264 CABAC High@L4
Video Bitrate: 1 859 Kbps
Video Resolution: 720x528
Display Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Frames Per Second: 25.000 fps
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192 kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 51 min
Number Of Parts: 2
Part Size: 764 MB
Source: DVD (Thanks to AdSlager@a.b.boneless)
Encoded by: DocFreak08