Ho Chi Minh City Housing

In the South, Diem had a number of opponents. With the active support of North Vietnam, southern communists known as the Viet Cong implemented a guerrilla war against the government. Eventually both US and North Vietnamese troops became very involved in the conflict.

Americans soldiers pulled out in 1973, and in 1975 the communists were able to gain control of the entire country. They implemented a socialist economy. Despite the massive infusion of Soviet rubles, the economy was a disaster. The entire country became as poor as previously only the North had been. After the implosion of the USSR, Vietnamese leaders finally arrived at the conclusion that they needed to implement some free market reforms.