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France loses Vietnam as a colony
After fighting the Vietnamese for some time at Dien Bien Phu the French finally surrender after an 8 year battle. This was important to the war because it was what brought the US in because they did not want the communist country taking other territories and spreading communism. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
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The Viet Cong forms
The Viet Cong was a political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the U.S. and South Vietnam. Thieir formation was important beause they fueled the fire between the divided country and proved to be a strong threat to the U.S. and South Vietnam -
Agent Orange
Agent orange is mixture of powerful chemicals that was used by U.S. during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover and crops for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. This was important because it took food away from the civilizans. Agent orange has caused many issues in the present for those who were exposed to it and there were many lawsuits against the chemical companies. -
Overthrow of President Ngo Dinh Diem and his Brother
President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother were captured and killed by a group of soldiers after his government was overthrown. This was important because it caused more U.S. involvment to try to to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and defeat the communist rebels. -
Assassination of JFK and the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas while riding in a motorcade. Lyndon B. Johnson, JFK's vice president was sworn in as president later that same day. Johnson steadily escalated U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War early on. He recieved lots hate for the way he took on the Vietnam war. -
The Battle of La Drang Valley
This was the first major engagement of the war between regular U.S. and North Vietnamese forces. After strong attacks from the Vietnamese the US still came out with a victory. This battle was important because it was where the Vietnamese learned the US weaknesses and developed their fighting tatics which they used for the rest of the war. -
Battle of Khe Sahn
The attack came when the peoples army of North Vietnam bombed the base’s main store of ammunition and destroying 90 percent of its artillery and mortar rounds. This battle was imoprtant because it set up the attacks for the Tet offensive because the U.S. was focusingso much on this base that it did not pay attention to the urban areas. It was also the battle that caused General William Westmoreland to be replaced. -
Tet Offensive
The Tet Offensive was a a coordinated series of fierce attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam on the holiday of Tet by the Viet Cong and North Vietnam. This marked a turning point in the war for the Americans because they were shocked by coverage of the battle. This caused many Americans to call for the U.S. involvment to be scaled back and although South Vietnam and the U.S. got the victory technically, it was more of a victory for the opposing forces. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai massacre was when a company of American soldiers brutally killed the civilians of the town, including women, childern, and elderly. It was not until an American pilot interviened that the killings stopped. This was important because the Vietnam war was already extremely controversial so the government tried to sweep most of it under the rug but still sparked a huge controversy. -
Nixon Becomes President
On march March 31, 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson stated they he would not be running for re-election. Nixon won one of the closest elections in U.S. history. Part of his win was from his foreign policy for vietnam. He promised to find a way to “peace with honor” in Vietnam and played on the fact that Americans were desperate to get out of vietnam. -
Nixon announces expansion of Vietnam war effort
Nixon announces the plan to invade Cambodia and the need to draft 150,000 more soldiers for an expansion of the Vietnam War effort. This is important because it was evidently what sparked all of the riots on college campuses nation wide and specifically the Kent state riot. -
Kent State Massacre
Proteters on campus launched a large demonstration and teh governor of Ohio had to the governor of Ohio to dispatch 900 National Guardsmen to the campus. During one protest t28 guardsmen opened fire on a crowd which killed four students and wounded nine. This was broadcased nationwide and caused unrest across the country to escalat even further with about 500 colleges being shut down or disrupted by protests. -
"Christmas Bombing"
Due to the collapse of peace talks between the U.S., South and North Vietnam, Nixon announced the beginning of a massive bombing campaign. American bombers pounded North Vietnam.for about two weeks, ending on December 29. This was important because many believe that the bombings forced the North Vietnamese back to the negotiating table which ended the U.S. involvment. -
U.S. Army Withdraws from Vietnam
In January 1973 representatives of the U.S., North and South Vietnam, as well as the Vietcong signed a peace agreement in Paris which ended the eight year direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. Two months later the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam but some Americans still remained to help South Vietnam. -
North Vietnam takes over South Vietnam
The remaining Americans who were still in South Vietnam were airlifted out of the country as Saigon fell to North Vietnam forces. This officially ended the Vietnam War which was the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history.
