The Vietnam War took place in Southeast Asia and specifically the eponymous country.
Cambodia ( [ kæmˈboʊdiə ] កម ព ជ , or Kampuchea [ kɑmpuˈciə ] ) , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia ( ព រ រ ជ ណ ចក រកម ព ជ , Preăh Réachéanachâk Kâmpŭchéa , [ ˈprĕəh riəciənaːˈcɑk kɑmpuˈciə ] ) , is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia . Laos , ( [ ˈlɑːoʊs ] , [ ˈlaʊs ] , [ ˈlɑːɒs ] , or [ ˈleɪɒs ] ລາວ , [ láːw ] , Lāo ) officially the Lao People 's Democratic Republic , ( Lao : ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ , Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao ) or commonly referred to its colloquial name of Muang Lao ( Lao : ເມືອງລາວ , Muang Lao ) is a landlocked country in the heart of the Indochinese peninsula of Mainland Southeast Asia , bordered by Myanmar ( Burma ) and China to the northwest , Vietnam to the east , Cambodia to the southwest , and Thailand to the west and southwest . The Vietnam War ( Chiến tranh Việt Nam ) , also known as the Second Indochina War , and known in Vietnam as Resistance War Against America ( Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ) or simply the American War , was a war that occurred in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 .