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According to the Geneva Accords, a North Vietnam and a South Vietnam were established. Also, according to the Accords, the two Vietnams were suppose to be unified within two years. (History.com, 2020)
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With the support of the United States, Ngo Dinh Diem becomes the head of South Vietnam. The Communist North is lead by Ho Chi Minh. (History.com, 2020)
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Ngo Dinh Diem becomes the South Vietnamese leader; he is backed by the United States (History.com, 2020)
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"North Vietnam forces begin to build a supply route through Laos and Cambodia to South Vietnam in an effort to support guerrilla attacks against Diem's government in the south. The route becomes known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail" (History.com, 2020).
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Around Saigon (South Vietnam), North Vietnamese guerrillas conduct raids, and United States soldiers are killed (History.com, 2020)
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Le Duan becomes head of North Vietnam's communist party, replacing Ho Chi Minh (History.com, 2020).
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In South Vietnam, there is a political insurgency, named the National Liberation Front, against the South's government; the NLF is supported by the North Vietnamese (History.com, 2020).
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There is a military component to the National Liberation Front, and the United States called them the Viet Cong (History.com, 2020).
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Hundreds of Green Berets are sent by Kennedy to South Vietnam, and Kennedy "authorizes secret operations against the Viet Cong" (History.com, 2020).
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Diem is not popular with much of the South's people, and his presidential palace is bombed but he survives (History.com, 2020)
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The United States sprays Agent Orange in areas of South Vietnam in order to get rid of forests, making it more difficult for guerrillas to hide (History.com, 2020).
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South of Saigon at Ap Bac, South Vietnamese forces, who have had training from U.S. advisers, and who greatly outnumber some Viet Cong forces, still get defeated by the Viet Cong Unit (History.com, 2020).
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Buddhist protestors in the South are shot at by Diem's government forces, and eight people are killed, some of the killed are children (History.com, 2020)
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In protest of the South's government, Buddhists set fire to themselves in public spaces (History.com, 2020)
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There is a military coup against the unpopular Diem, who is killed; the United States backs the coup (History.com, 2020). In the next two years, the South has twelve different governments (History.com, 2020)
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President Kennedy is assassinated in Texas; Johnson becomes President
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In the Gulf of Tonkin, an American ship, the USS Maddox, is supposedly attacked by patrol boats from North Vietnam; Johnson orders air strikes on patrol boat bases in the North (History.com, 2020)
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The United States Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, "which authorizes the president to 'take all necessary measures, including the use of armed force' against any aggressor in the conflict" (History.com, 2020).
