A proxy war is a conflict that involves two countries or more using lesser countries to fight each other. One of the most famous proxy wars in the cold war took place in Vietnam. Beginning in 1955 and ending in 1975, it was a grueling war that saw the Americans withdraw from the conflict. The Americans launched hundreds of firebombing and herbicide campaigns, making the Vietnamese citizens suffer. North Vietnam had a Communist regime backed by the U.S.S.R, while the south was backed by the Capitalist U.S.A. The Americans sent about 2,700,000 troops to fight the North. About 58,000 Americans were lost. As many as 2,000,000 civilians on both North and South died, and 1,100,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters died in action. The war ultimately resulted in a Communist victory, and Vietnam was reunited as a Communist country.