Vietnam War

May 7 1954

Viet Minh troops overrun French base at Dien Bien Phu resulting in a vietnamese victory and an end to almost a century of French colonial rule

21 July 1954

Geneva Accords effectively divides Vietnam at the 17th parallel

2 November 1963

Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated in a coup that is carried out with the support of the US.

extent of US involvement in 1963

backed coup to assassinate Ngo, 16k military personnel

2 August 1964

Alleged clash between North Vietnamese vessels and US Navy(USS Maddox) at the Gulf of Tonkin

5 August 1964

Gulf of Tonkin resolution is passed by Congress under Lyndon B. Johnson as a reaction to the alleged North Vietnamese torpedo boat attack on 2 August 1964. The resolution authorises the president to “take all necessary measures, including the use of armed force” against any aggressor in the conflict.

30th January 1968

The Tet offensive: the PAVN and the Viet Cong launch a surprise attack on the ARVN and US military bases with 85k troops across 5 major cities, 100 cities and outposts, resulting in north Vietnamese success.
It is viewed by the US military as a sign of North Vietnamese desperation.

27 February 1968

Walter Cronkite, a news anchor, concludes a special broadcast on the Vietnam war saying that the Vietnam war is likely to end in stalemate

16 March 1968

My Lai Massacre: the US army mass murdered around 500 unarmed villagers.

15 November 1969

Millions of people across the US protest continued US involvement in Vietnam, marking the largest public protest in US history.

Extent of US involvement by May 1970

335k US troops in Vietnam and 50k killed

27 January 1973

Representatives of the SV communist forces, NV, SV, and US conclude agreement on ending the war and restoring peace to Vietnam at the Paris Peace talks. US troops are to be withdrawn within 60 days.

29 March 1973

End of US involvement in Vietnam: last US military unit leaves Vietnam.
Over 58k US troops have been killed. Vietnamese casualties: 200k SV troops and 1m NV troops+Viet Cong irregulars. Civilian deaths estimated 2 mil

30 April 1975

North Vietnamese troops enter Saigon and the South Vietnamese government surrenders unconditionally

January 1950

the PRC and USSR formally recognise the communist Democratic republic of Vietnam(DRV) and begin to supply economic and military aid to communist resistance fighters within the country

February 1950

with Soviet and Chinese aid, the Vietminh step up their offensive against the French

7 April 1954

Dwight D Eisenhower says the fall of Vietnam to communist could create a domino effect in Southeast Asia

October 1955

Ngo Dinh Diem becomes president of South Vietnam following his office as prime minister in 1954

May 1959

North Vietnamese forces begin to build a supply route through Laos and Cambodia to South Vietnam to support guerilla attacks against Diem’s government (Ho Chi Minh Trail)

December 1960

The National Liberation Front is formed in South Vietnam, politically backed by North Vietnam. The military wing of the NLF is called the Viet Cong by the US

May 1961

Kennedy sends helicopters and 400 green berets(military advisors) to SV, and authorises secret operations against the NLF

January 1962

Operation Ranch Hand: US aircraft spray Agent orange and other herbicide over rural areas of South Vietnam to kill vegetation that would have otherwise served as cover and food for the guerilla forces

February 1962

Ngo Dinh Diem’s presidential palace is bombed as Ngo Dinh Diem’s favouritism of the Catholic minority and discrimination against Buddhist have alienated most of the South Vietnamese population

8 May 1963

A crowd of Buddhists protest against the discriminatory ban of the Buddhist flag for Vesak day. The protest is broken up by a police and army demonstration, firing funs and throwing grenades at the gathering, leaving eight dead.

11 June 1963

Thích Quảng Đức, a buddhist monk, self-immolates at a major city intersection in protest, leading other Buddhists to follow suit in coming weeks.

22 November 1963

Kennedy is assassinated

November 1964

Soviets sends aircraft, artillery, ammunition, small arms, radar, air defense systems, food and medical supplies. China sends engineering troops to NV to assist in building critical defense infrastructure

2 March 1965

Operation Rolling thunder: LBJ launches a three-year campaign of sustained bombing of targets in north vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh trail.

March 1965

US marines land on beaches near Da Nang, South Vietnam as the first American combat troops to enter Vietnam

July 1965

LBJ calls for 50k more ground troops and increases the draft to 35k per month

August 1965

Operation Starlite: the first major ground offensive by US forces in Vietnam. 5.5k US marines strike against the first NLF regiment

US involvement by 1966

US troop numbers in Vietnam = 400k

US involvement by 1967

US troop numbers increase to 500k

February 1967

US aircrafts bomb Haiphong harbor and North Vietnamese airfields

April 1967

massive vietnam war protests occur in Washington, D.C, New York City and San Fransisco

March 1968

LBJ halts the bombing in Vietnam north of the 20th parallel

November 1968

Nixon wins the US presidential election on campaign promises to restore “law and order“ and to end the draft

December 1969

US institutes the first draft lottery since world War 2

1969-1972 US involvement

the Nixon administration begins the process of Vietnamisation —→ reducing US forces in South Vietnam from 550k in 1969 to 69k in 1972

February 1970

US national security advisor Henry Kissinger begins secret peace negotiations with Hanoi politburo member Le Duc Tho in Paris

4 May 1970

Kent state shooting: National Guardsmen fire on anti-war demonstrators at Ohio’s Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine.

June 1970

Congress repeals the Gulf of Tonkin resolution to reassert control over the presidents ability to use force in the war

December 1972

Operation Linebacker: Nixon orders the launch of the most intense air offense of the war, dropping 20k tons of bombs over densely populated regions, concentrated between Hanoi and Haiphong

27 January 1973

The end to the draft is announce and an all volunteer military is instituted
&
President Nixon signs the paris peace accords, ending direct US involvement in the war

January 1975

President Gerald R Ford rules out any further US military involvement in Vietnam