In what ways and for what reasons did the Vietnam War affect superpower relations?

Answer 1

Well, as you probably know, the Soviet Union and the united States were both DEEPLY embroiled in the Cold War at the time. They fought a few battles upfront, but mostly fought so-called "Puppet Wars", in which Superpower A would assist Side 1 and Superpower B would assist Side 2, and thus never reallyenter a war. In this case, A was The Soviet Union and B was the US, with 1 and 2 being No. and So. Vietnam, respectively. As the U.S. aided South Vietnam with troops, munitions, tanks, etc.; the USSR would Send their supplies, troops, et al. into No. Vietnam AND So. Vietnam, where they assisted a movement of Communist rebels called the Vietcong (but of course you knew that). This puppet war was really a showdown of Russian and American interests, the winner forwarding their cause in Asia. The USSR won this war, leaving the US embarrassed in the public eye. This caused the tensions between Soviet and American to increasedramatically. In fact, some claim that if not for peace talks later on, these two superpowers would have destroyed each other in full out nuclear war. I hope this answer helps!