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French is assaulted by Giap
The Vietnamese who were outnumbering the French by 5 to 1 attacked 50,000 soldiers who acted under General Giap. They soon than started attacking against the Dien Bien Phu air base. -
Period: to
The Vietnam War
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President Eisenhouer outlines the Domino Theory
President Eisenhouer outlined the Domino Theory by saying, "You have a row of dominoes set up. You knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly." -
Geneva Convention Agreement
The Geneva Convention Agreement arranged for a settlement of the first Indochina War. The agreement was not reached until the end of the Geneva Conference. Both sides came to an agreement to sign a ceasefire. After that France then agreed to bring home their troops from the region in which they were fighting. -
The First U.S. Military Aid
This is when the first shipment of U.S. military aid arrived to the soldiers. The U.S. also offerd to help train the fledgling South Vietnam Army. -
The French fleed Vietnam
The French left becasue of the the high numbers of deaths, prisoners of war that were taken, and also the number of wounded men was very high as well. The French felt less supported from the people in France and from the U.S. -
The Soviet Union proposes permanent division of Vietnam
The Soviet Union proposed to divide Vietnam into a North and South. They also thought that both parts of Vietnam should be admitted separately to the United Nations. The U.S. rejected the proposal, and were unwilling to recognize Communist North Vietnam. -
Two Americans are Killed
Major Dale Buis and Sargent Chester Ovnand were the two americans who were killed. Viet Minh's guerrillas killed them at Bien Hoa in South Vietnam. They were the first American deaths in the Second Indochina War, which Americans will come to know as The Vietnam War. -
The National Liberation Front is established
In South Vietnam the National Liberation Front was established by Hanoi as its Communist political organization for Viet Cong guerrillas. This front was designed to replicate the success of the Viet Minh, the umbrella nationalist organization that successfully liberated Vietnam from French colonial rule. -
Incident in the Gulf of Tonkin
Three North Vietnamese boats fired torpedoes at the USS Maddox. The Maddox is a destroyer that was located in the international water of the Tonkin Gulf. -
First American combat troops land in Vietnam
United States Marines arrive in Vietnam to defend the U.S. airfiled at Danang. There were a total of 200,000 U.S. troops. -
North Vietnamese launch Tet Offensive
The North Vietnamese and the Vietcong forces attacked several cities in South Vietnam. This was a huge setback for the Communists. -
My Lai Massacre
The war tcaused the men of the Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division where very frustrated and angry. They were given orders by Lt. William Calley to search and destroy. They killed a lot of people, and it caused controversy. Calley ended up being charged with the crime of murder. -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization is a policy that was created and enacted during the Vietnam War to end U.S. involvement in the war and expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces. It was also to assign them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops. -
End of draft announced
This is when Nixon announces and promises America that there will be no more drafting for this war as the Vietnam war is coming to an end. -
"Boat People" flee Vietnam
The "Boat people" was a term used to define Vietnam refugees that fled Vietnam by boat and ship after the Vietnam War. They started in 1978 and continued until the early 1990's. There were about 2 million who left their country in search of a better life.
