I know that this is a contentious subject, and I kind of need a primer. Some sources say that the Americans withdrew troops in 1973, but other sources say that the war ended in 1975 at the fall of Saigon. Depending on who you ask, you get a different answer - so I thought I'd ask you Reddit Historians. How did the Vietnam War end, and what happened? Thank you!
How and when the conflict known simply as the Vietnam War ended depends on who you ask. There are debates still today as to when the Vietnam War began and when one should consider the conflict to have ended. In the end, however, it is all technicalities.
It is far to say that the Vietnam War ended in 1973 since the name, the Vietnam War, refers exclusively to the American intervention. Thus, the war naturally ends in 1973 with complete American withdrawal. At the same time, the American involvement was very much tied to that of South Vietnam thus one could make the argument that it ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon. One could easily make an argument for both cases.
I know I might not be of much help now since I've essentially left you exactly where you began, but perhaps you might have a more specific question about the end or how the end of the Vietnam War has been considered in its historiography?