US Escalation in Vietnam Timeline

By luke_a_wilson

  • MAAG Vietnam

    MAAG Vietnam
    Military Assistance Advisory Group was sent to Vietnam to aid the French in their war. Not sent as combat troops but more so to oversee the funds that the US sent to Vietnam.

  • Ngo Dinh Diem Assassination

    Ngo Dinh Diem Assassination
    Though never done by the US, Ngo's assassination was allowed. This caused even more unrest within the south, making the difficult task of unification even harder. Additionally with the leader now dead, the US has to take more control over from South Vietnam to ensure peace and stability within the country.

  • Gulf of Tonkin Incident

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident
    Confrontation between North Vietnamese ships and US destroyers. This event caused us to take a more serious take on the Vietnam War.

  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
    Gave the president the ability to wage war without congress restrictions. It was mainly used to escalate the war by involving more troops and more confrontation with the North Vietnamese.

  • Operation Rolling Thunder

    Operation Rolling Thunder
    Aerial bombardment campaign in Vietnam. The goal was to increase moral in US and South Vietnamese troops, while encouraging North Vietnam to stop funding insurgency groups.

  • First US Troops in Vietnam

    First US Troops in Vietnam
    First US combat troops deploy in Vietnam. Sent to defend an air base at Da Nang.

  • Operation Arc Light

    Operation Arc Light
    Bombing operation in Vietnam that was meant to provide air support for ground troops. During one of the first bombing strikes two planes were lost, and another was unable to refuel mid air.

  • Operation Shining Brass

    Operation Shining Brass
    Sent a special unit across the border of Laos in an attempt to slow some of the troops, and supplies from getting in to Vietnam. On one of the first crossings the air support, meant to be bombing key targets, caused the first death of the operation in the form of an SOG.

  • Operation Tiger Hound

    Operation Tiger Hound
    The goal of Operation Tiger Hound was to interdict the flow of PAVN supplies on the Ho Chi Minh trail. This operation was different in that it not only used US aircraft based in Vietnam, but South Vietnamese aircraft as well.

  • Operation Game Warden

    Operation Game Warden
    Operation to deny Viet Cong access to resources in the Mekong Delta through naval superiority, deploying ships to defend the river. The Mekong also allowed Viet Cong to move undetected, transporting supplies and troops through contested territory with little resistance.