Limited war
The Vietnam War (1955–1975) was fought between North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union, China and North Korea, and South Vietnam, supported by the United States, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The conflict between communist and capitalist countries was both part of the Cold War and a proxy war. American leaders did not recognize Vietnam as a limited war, which is clear from the Pentagon Papers in 1961 and 1962. Instead, they focused on how to engage in fighting a war guerilla forces and thought the solution lay in military operations and in political [eforms. At first, the Americans began to send military advisors to help train and support the South Vietnamese Army. After the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, the President of the United States was given the power to run large-scale military operations in Southeast Asia without declaring war. After 58,193 American deaths in Vietnam, US President Richard Nixon decided to get out of Vietnam. Under the Paris Peace Accords, which were signed on January 27, 1973, American military forces withdrew from South Vietnam, and prisoners-of-war were exchanged. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese and the war ended.