 The main facts about the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War began as a regional conflict and became one of history's worst humanitarian catastrophes. It also changed the way that wars are fought and gave birth to a peace movement that is strong today. Since 1954, a proxy war had been brewing in South Asia. Communist guerrillas backed by North Vietnam, USSR and China, known as the Viet Cong, had been fighting the western back south. The Viet Cong wanted to unite the country under one socialist flag. With the forces of the south losing the war and fearing communist expansion, the USA entered the conflict to help fight the army of the north. The fighting quickly escalated and successful operations turned the tide of the war in the Viet Cong's favor. By 1967, there were more than half a million American troops in Vietnam. In the USA, the anti-war movement was growing. Originally seen as communist sympathizers, this small group grew into a popular protest movement, as ordinary Americans became angry about the deaths of soldiers and civilians and the shocking reports about the military's use of napalm and the toxic herbicide Agent Orange. After the deaths of four student protesters in 1970, public opinion turned against the US government and it found itself fighting a war on two fronts. The failure to win hearts and minds at home eventually led to the USA's withdrawal. Almost 60,000 American personnel had been killed and over 150,000 had been wounded. The conflict was a political disaster for the USA, both at home and overseas. Although technically a victory for the North Vietnamese, up to half a million civilians had been killed. The total amount of casualties both civilian and military is believed to be over 3 million. Both sides had committed war crimes. The ripples of Vietnam can still be felt today. Such huge losses mean that even now, the USA is unwilling to commit ground troops to conflicts. But if one positive lesson was learned, it was that ordinary people would no longer tolerate the loss of innocent lives in their names. This is a direct result of the peace movement that lives on throughout the world today, stronger than ever.