Democratic Republic of Vietnam

State · 1956–1975 CE · at its largest around 1973 CE

North Vietnam, the Communist state proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh in 1945 with its capital at Hanoi. After defeating France in 1954, it fought the South and the United States until reunifying the country in 1975.

On its lands while it lasted

• Ho Chi Minh (1890 CE – 1969 CE): Vietnamese revolutionary who led the Viet Minh independence movement, declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and led North Vietnam until his death.
• Vietnam War (1955–1975 CE): War between communist North Vietnam and the US-backed South, which escalated into large-scale American intervention and ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975.
• Gulf of Tonkin incident (1964 CE): Reported clashes between North Vietnamese boats and US destroyers in August 1964, the second of which did not occur; it led Congress to authorise escalation of the war.

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