Course of the war (1964-75)

Dates	Event	Impacts
Aug 1964	US accuses NV of attacking 2 US Navy Destroyers in Gulf of Tonkin	Congress agrees to military action in Vietnam
March 1965	Operation Rolling Thunder large scale bombing campaign on NV
End of 1965	20,000 US troops fighting in Vietnam
1968	Turning point in public opinion	gov: election year with mounting pressures new candidate = change in tactics? internal issues in US public: questioning morality questioning Containment- loss of moral high ground.
Jan 1968	NV launch Tet Offensive attacking over 100,000 towns and cities in SV temporarily capture US embassy in Saigon US + ARVN counter attack killing 30,000-50,0000 NV	raised serious concerns about US military competence cost of the war civilian deaths = moral concerns
March 1968	Lt. Calley leads ‘search and destroy’ operation into My Lai, a village suspected of keeping Vietcong. US soldiers kill + rape over 400 citizens. US gov. cover it up for over a year. Johnson reduces bombing campaign, instructs peace negotiations to begin, announces he will not run for reelection.	admission of failure
Nov 1968	Nixon becomes President.	promising to end war with Kissinger, wanted to pull out with dignity
Dec 1969	Photos from My Lai appear in Life Magazine	public outrage continued negative outlook towards Vietnam veterans
1969-73	Nixon + Kissinger work to end the war: improved relations with USSR and China- to ease tension of Cold War Vietnamisation of war, handing responsibilities to SV forces + withdrawing troops Increased bombing of Laos + Cambodia to show strength
March 1972	Easter Offensive NV, Laos, Cambodia launch attack on SV
Jan 1973	Reps. of NV, US, SV and Vietcong sign Paris Peace Accords Nixon: ‘Peace with Honour’
March 1973	last forces leave Vietnam
April 1975	SV falls to Communism