During the period 1945 - 1975, and especially 1954 - 1975, Vietnam suffered the consequences of the most devastating war in the country's history. The Vietnam War is over, and images of former fierce battlefields placed alongside their images in the present will show the country's revival after the war and at the same time, illustrating the solidarity in overcoming the difficulties of Vietnamese people.
Check out these aerial photos of 10
battlefields in Vietnam in the past, and them today via Google Earth here:
Muong Thanh airbase - Dien Bien Phu (1954 - 2021)
Muong Thanh Airbase was one of the
important locations in the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 as a field airbase
of the French army stationed here. In the afternoon of April 22nd,
1954, Viet Minh troops attacked and captured this airfield, contributing to the
victory of the campaign on May 7th, 1954. Today it becomes Dien Bien
Phu Airport and contributes to the development of local tourism.
Bien Hoa airbase - Dong Nai (1965 - 2020)
Camp Carroll (1966 – 2019)
Camp Carroll is one of the important
artillery bases in Quang Tri, 8kms southwest of Cam Lo. On March 30th,
1972, North Vietnamese troops attacked the camp, an attack that was part of the
1972 General Offensive that the Americans called the Easter Offensive. After
the North Vietnamese army captured the camp, American B-52s bombed the base,
although the Vietnamese were able to get the weapons out. Today it is just an
ordinary field and few people know that it was once a huge military base.
Click here to see the coordinates of
this location.
Ta Con Airbase - Khe Sanh, Quang Tri (1968 - 2020)
Also known as Khe Sanh Combat Base, it
is an important outpost of the US Marines here. Because of the location as well
as the important nature of the base, continuously from 1966 to 1972, a series
of fierce battles took place here. Today, this place is a minor tourist
destination, although there are not many artifacts and structures that survived
the war.
Tan Phu District – Saigon (1968 – 2021)
This was one of the targets in 1968
Tet Offensive by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam. The intersection in the center of the photo is the intersection of Thoai Ngoc Hau -
Thach Lam today.
Son My Village (My Lai) - Quang Ngai (1969 - 2020)
This village is worldwide known as the site of the My Lai massacre that
left more than 500 South Vietnamese civilians dead on March 16th,
1968. The photo above was taken a year after the attack and the site is now a
memorial.
Phu Luong Bridge - Hai Duong (1972 - 2020)
On May 10th, 1972, this
railroad bridge became one of the targets of the US Air Force's Operation
Linebacker. The bridge was destroyed by bombing and rebuilt a short time later.
Ham Rong Bridge – Hoang Hoa, Thanh Hoa (1972 – 2021)
This railway bridge was one of the most
famous sites during the war because of the US Air Force's unsuccessful attempts
to destroy the bridge from 1964 to 1968. On April 16th, 1972, the
bridge was destroyed by laser bombs capable of locating their target, and the
bridge was rebuilt in 1973.
Hai Phong Port (1972 – 2020)
One of the targets of the US Operation
Linebacker II. Along with the attacks on Hanoi, in December 1972, the US Air
Force also bombed and launched massive rockets at Hai Phong Port. After the
war, the port was quickly rebuilt and is now one of the important seaports of Vietnam
in particular and Southeast Asia in general.
Quang Tri ancient citadel - Quang Tri (1972 - 2020)
The image above is one of the most
famous images of the Vietnam War and is sometimes compared to the surface of
the Moon with its numerous bomb craters that were the result of repeated air
raids and artillery bombardments by the US Army in the battle from June to
September 1972. This was one of the fiercest battles of the war with huge
losses for all sides. Today the site is an important historical site and also a
huge memorial.