War Speeches

The Cold War | The Vietnam War | World War 2

 

The Cold War

 

Cold WarThe Cold War is one of the strangest chapters in the long, bloody history of international conflict. For 45 years it drove the politics and devoured the resources of the United States and the USSR. It twisted the fates of smaller nations sucked into the orbits of the superpowers and multiplied the violence of civil wars. Through the Space Race it extended into the heavens themselves and even threatened to end earthly life in nuclear devastation. It was longer and more far-reaching than the wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 out of which it grew. Yet not a single shot was ever exchanged directly between Soviet and American soldiers. To call it war violates conventional definitions. To call it anything less flouts reality. It was, from beginning to end, unique. More on the Cold War >>

 

The Vietnam War

 

Vietnam War soldiersThe Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any other military conflict in American history, grew out of the U.S. government’s Cold War-era policy to prevent the spread of communism at home and abroad. The United States began sending financial aid and military advisors to South Vietnam in the 1950s, hoping to thwart a takeover by the communist North Vietnamese, led by Ho Chi Minh. As troop levels and casualties escalated throughout the 1960s, the war became increasingly unpopular at home, inciting large-scale protests, profoundly affecting popular culture and fomenting mutual distrust between the public and its leaders. The United States began withdrawing troops in 1973, and in 1975 the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces. More than 58,000 American soldiers had perished. More on the Vietnam War >>

 

World War 2

 

World War IIAn international military conflict, World War II resulted in more loss of life and material destruction than any other war in recorded human history. From Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939 until the Allies' victory in 1945, armed clashes between two opposing alliances--known as the Axis and the Allies--ravaged cities and towns across Europe, Asia, Africa and the islands of the Pacific. The war strained the military, financial, scientific and civilian resources of the countries involved, leaving many on the verge of collapse and ushering in a new world order. The United States and the Soviet Union emerged from World War II as global superpowers and soon became locked in a tense ideological and military competition known as the Cold War. More on World War II >>

 
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