The Vietnam War pitted the capitalist United States against the communist North Vietnamese; the war began in 1964 and ended in 1975. The United States joined the war to stop the spread of communism. The United States proposed the domino theory that if Vietnam became communist, neighboring countries would also fall under communism. The war caused around 2.3 million casualties and was very significant in both the long and short term. Some of the key events of the war were: in 1960, when the Vietcong was established, in 1963, when Diem was overthrown, in 1965, Operation Thunder began, in 1969, Ho Chi Minh died, and in 1963, the ceasefire agreement was signed in Paris and the troops left Vietnam. At the very beginning of the war, China helped North Vietnam by sending equipment, technical support and rice. China also sent planes to North Vietnam to repair damage caused by American bombing, rebuild roads and railways, the Soviet Union also provided North Vietnam with medical supplies, weapons, tanks, planes, helicopters, artillery, anti-aircraft missiles as well as giving them 3,000 soldiers. South Korea helped South Vietnam by sending around 320,000 troops to help them, Australia also sent troops to fight alongside the Americans, but they only sent around 7,500 troops. The war was important internationally because many different countries offered help in the form of money, weapons, and troops. The Vietnam War was the first major war to be broadcast on television. the war was mentioned in reports, newspapers and television. The information received was often biased and contained little truth, people's views and opinions were greatly influenced by current events because it was their only contact...... middle of paper ......7 000,000 liters of chemicals in South Vietnam. When the Vietnamese started complaining that these effects were due to Agent Orange, people didn't bother to investigate. In court, they rejected the Vietnamese people's case because they said there was not enough evidence and their case was not very good. After American soldiers began complaining, they investigated and discovered there was a link between Agent Orange and the deformities. In 1984, American soldiers received approximately £93 million from several chemical companies. Because of Agent Orange, there were approximately 400,000 deaths and disabilities and 500,000 children born with birth defects. Not only did this chemical directly affect people, but people feared that their food supplies and animals had been poisoned. Until now, the lawsuit is still ongoing to obtain compensation for all victims of Agent Orange..