Vietnamization was a policy implemented during the Vietnam War, primarily under U.S. President Richard Nixon, starting in 1969. The main purpose of Vietnamization was to transfer the responsibility for military operations and combat from American forces to the South Vietnamese army, enabling the United States to gradually withdraw its troops from Vietnam. The strategy aimed to empower the South Vietnamese military to take over the defense of their own country against the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, thereby reducing American casualties and involvement in the conflict. The ultimate goal was to end U.S. direct military involvement in Vietnam in a way that preserved South Vietnam as an independent, non-communist state, although the policy did not prevent the eventual fall of Saigon in 1975.
