-
Period: to
Indochina War
The French opposed independence, and Ho Chi Minh led guerrilla warfare against them in the first Indochina War. The Viet Minh defeated the french army and this led to the Geneva Accord later on in the year. -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of DIen Bien Phu consisted of a struggle between French and Viet Minh forces for control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. The Viet Minh used the french's arrogance to their advantage and surrounded the base with 40,000 men and used heavy artillery to break the French lines. -
Geneva Accord
The Geneva Conference was a conference which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, whose purpose was to attempt to find a way to unify Vietnam and discuss the possibility of restoring peace in Indochina. The Soviet Union, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the People’s Republic of China were participants throughout the whole conference. -
Period: to
The Vietnam War
-
Viet Cong and the Peoples War
The guerrilla force that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South Vietnam and the United States. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South regarding an armed struggle. In May 1959, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh Trail. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail, a rifles, was completed in August 1959. -
Ho Chi Minh Trail
The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the neighboring kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia. The system provided support, in the form of manpower and materiel, -
Agent Orange
The United States military sprayed nearly 20,000,000 US gallons (80,000,000 l) of material containing chemical herbicides and defoliants mixed with jet fuel in Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia, as part of Operation Ranch Hand. The program's goal was to destroy the forested areas and rural land, depriving guerrillas of cover. Also they wanted to induce forced draft urbanization, destroying the ability of peasants to support themselves in the -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard M. Nixon administration as a result of the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops. -
Ngo Dinh Diem
Diem refused to carry out the Geneva Accords, which had called for free elections to be held throughout Vietnam in 1956 in order to establish a national government. With U.S. military and economic aid, he was able to resettle hundreds of thousands of refugees from North Vietnam in the south. He was later assasinated by his own generals due to his beliefs in catholicism. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Its stated purpose was to approve and support the determination of the president, as commander in chief, in taking all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further attempt. It also addressed that the international peace and security in Southeast Asia was vital to American interests and to world peace. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was the operation of a gradual and sustained US 2nd Air Division, US Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force aerial assault conducted against North Vietnam. -
The Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was launched against the forces of South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. The purpose of the attack was to use the element of surprise and strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam, during a period when no attacks were supposed to take place. -
My Lai Massacre
A mass murder of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie". Most of the victims were women, children, infants, and elderly people. Some of the bodies were later found to be mutilated and many women allegedly raped prior to the killings While 26 US soldiers were initially charged with criminal offenses for their actions at Mỹ Lai, only Second Lieutenant William Calley, a platoon leader in Charlie Company, was convicted. -
The Death of Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh (He who Enlightens) was leader of the ViViet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh Hoi (League for the Independence of Vietnam), or Viet Minh. He was a hero to the North Koreans who later remembered him as Uncle Ho because of his provision and guidance throughout times of hardships. -
Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker was another aerial assualt conducted against North Vietnam from 9 May to 23 October 1972. Its purpose was to halt or slow the transportation of supplies and materials for the Nguyen Hue Offensive -
The Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a communist state.
