when was conscription introduced in australia during the vietnam war
Conscription in Australia In 1964 compulsory National Service for 20-year-old males was introduced under the National Service Act (1964). The selection of conscripts was made by a sortition or lottery draw based on date of birth, and conscripts were obligated to give two years' continuous full-time service, followed by a further three years on the active reserve list. The full-time service requirement was reduced to eighteen months in October 1971.[24]
Vietnam War After several attacks upon them, it was decided that U.S. Air Force bases needed more protection as the South Vietnamese military seemed incapable of providing security. On 8 March 1965, 3,500 U.S. Marines were dispatched to South Vietnam. This marked the beginning of the American ground war. U.S. public opinion overwhelmingly supported the deployment.[200]
1965 in the Vietnam War U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam now totaled 184,314, compared to 23,310 a year earlier.[117] U.S. casualties in 1965 totaled 1,928 dead, compared to 216 in the 1964.[118] South Vietnamese military forces totaled 514,000, including the Army and the Popular Force and Regional Force militias.[119] The South Vietnamese armed forces suffered 11,242 killed in action, a five-fold increase in battle deaths since 1960.[120] 93,000 persons deserted from the South Vietnam's armed forces in 1965.[121]
North Vietnam After the failure to reunify Vietnam by elections, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam attempted to unify the country by force in the Vietnam War (1955–75). North Vietnam and the Việt Cộng insurgents supported by their communist allies, including the Soviet Union and China, fought against the military of South Vietnam, the United States and other anti-communist military forces, including South Korea, Australia, Thailand, and smaller players. North Vietnam also supported indigenous communist rebels in Cambodia and Laos against their respective U.S.-backed governments. The war ended when North Vietnamese forces and the Việt Cộng defeated the Republic of Vietnam and in 1976 united the two parts of the country into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The expanded Democratic Republic retained North Vietnam's political culture under Soviet influence and continued its existing memberships in international organisations such as Comecon.