The Vietnam War remains a painful memory for many of the people that lived through it. Boublil and Schönberg came under a lot of fire when they first proposed a musical based on this recent event. The following is a very brief history of the war:
After World War II, the French returned to Vietnam and re-established control in the south. The Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, seized power in the north and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. After many years of struggle, in May of 1954, the Vietnamese captured the French fortress of Dienbienphu and ended French control.
The country was divided into two parts, which was meant to be temporary. Ho Chi Minh turned the northern section openly Communist, and the south refused to hold an election to determine if the people wanted the country to reunite. Communists in South Vietnam formed a guerrilla force called the Vietcong, whose aim was to overthrow the southern government. The United States sent economic and military aid to the south.
A new government was finally established in 1965 in South Vietnam. The Vietcong grew stronger, and the U.S. began to increase its military aid. Starting in 1968, negotiations were held to end the war. The United States gradually withdrew its ground combat forces between 1969 and 1972.
On April 30, 1975, the war was finally over as the South Vietnamese Government surrendered to the North in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). Just hours before, the last Americans and the last of about 115,000 South Vietnamese civilians and soldiers fled the country.
For more information about all aspects of the war, please visit the History of the Vietnam War.