The Vietnam War: Timeline and Key Events

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key terms, military operations, political leaders, and significant milestones of the Vietnam War.

First Indochina War

The conflict that began in 1946 when France attempted to regain control of Vietnam following Ho Chi Minh's 1945 declaration of independence.

Viet Minh

The communist group led by Ho Chi Minh that fought against French colonial forces and defeated them in 1954.

Bao Dai

The head of the French-backed government of Vietnam that received official diplomatic recognition and military aid from the USA starting in 1950.

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

The decisive 1954 military engagement in which French forces were defeated by the Viet Minh, ending French rule in Vietnam.

Geneva Accords

The July 1954 agreement that temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel and scheduled reunification elections for 1956.

17th Parallel

The temporary dividing line established by the Geneva Accords in July 1954, separating communist North Vietnam from anti-communist South Vietnam.

Domino Theory

The belief held by the USA that a communist victory in Vietnam would trigger the spread of communism throughout Southeast Asia.

Ngo Dinh Diem

The anti-communist leader supported by the USA in establishing the Republic of Vietnam in 1955, who refused the 1956 reunification elections and was overthrown in November 1963.

Republic of Vietnam

The anti-communist South Vietnamese state established in 1955 under Ngo Dinh Diem with financial aid, weapons, and military advisers from the USA.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrillas operating in South Vietnam who began receiving active support from North Vietnam in 1959.

Agent Orange

A chemical defoliant introduced by the USA in 1962 to destroy jungle cover and crops in Vietnam.

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

An August 1964 event involving reported North Vietnamese patrol boat attacks on American destroyers, the second of which was later found to have been misinterpreted.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

A measure passed by the US Congress in August 1964 granting President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authority to use military force in Vietnam without a formal declaration of war.

Pleiku

The American military base attacked by the Viet Cong in February 1965, triggering further US military escalation.

Operation Rolling Thunder

A sustained American bombing campaign launched against North Vietnam beginning in March 1965.

Da Nang

The South Vietnamese coastal city where the first major American combat troops, around 3,500 US Marines, arrived in March 1965.

Search-and-Destroy Missions

Combat operations conducted by US forces starting in 1966 aimed at locating and eliminating Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces.

Tet Offensive

A January 1968 assault by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese targeting more than 100 towns and cities in South Vietnam, delivering a major psychological and political blow to US war confidence.

My Lai Massacre

A March 1968 war crime in which American soldiers killed hundreds of unarmed Vietnamese civilians.

Vietnamisation

President Richard Nixon's 1969 policy designed to gradually withdraw American troops while training and equipping South Vietnamese forces to assume full combat responsibility.

Kent State University

The American university where four students were killed by National Guard troops during an anti-war protest in 1970.

Ho Chi Minh Trail

A North Vietnamese military supply route through Laos targeted unsuccessfully by US and South Vietnamese forces in 1971.

Easter Offensive

A major invasion of South Vietnam launched by North Vietnamese forces in 1972.

Operation Linebacker

An intensive bombing campaign ordered by President Richard Nixon against North Vietnam in 1972 in response to the Easter Offensive.

Henry Kissinger

The American National Security Adviser who conducted secret peace negotiations with North Vietnamese representatives throughout 1972.

Paris Peace Accords

The agreement signed on 27 January 1973 establishing a ceasefire, mandating US troop withdrawal, and arranging the release of American prisoners of war.

Operation Frequent Wind

The emergency US operation on 29–30 April 1975 that evacuated American personnel and many South Vietnamese civilians from Saigon before it fell.

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The unified communist nation formally declared in 1976 following the 1975 fall of Saigon and the surrender of South Vietnam.