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Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Three North Vietnamese PT boats fired torpedoes at the American destroyer ship U.S.S. Maddox. Two PT boats were hit and sunk while the other got away safely. This caused president Lyndon B. Johonson to take action against this, he then engaged in a full out war against the North Vietnamese. -
First Troops Land in Vietnam
Operation "Rolling Thunder" is engaged with U.S bombing missions in North and South Vietnam. The first American troops land in Vietnam (Danang), also Vietcong gunfire is spotted but no trroops were hurt. The first battle is fought in the Ia Drang valley with the U.S. winning using their new arial tactics, but there were many casualties on both sides, -
Getting into the War
The first B-52's bomb Vietnam along the Mugia Pass or Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. This was the main pass on where personel traveled form North to South Vietnam, and many resources were transported along the trail. President Johnson promises South Vietnam leader, Nguyen Cao Ky, that the Americans keep fighting as long as the South keep trying to spread democracy and improve their economy. -
Ground Wars Rage On
Operation Ceader Falls begin with deploying 16,000 U.S. troops and 14,000 troops to destroy any Vietcong supply sites near the Saigon area. They find a huge network of underground tunnels that the Vietcong had built to store supplies and soldiers. Wisconsin students demand that no more napalm strikes and "agent orange" be used in Vietnam. Secratary of Deffense (Robert McNamara) testifies that the U.S. has not gotten far in the war. -
Tet Offensives
The North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces take a ton of towns and cities throughout South Vietnam, even though the American forces are able to push them out of the cities this is still huge political and moral win for the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. The battle of Hue lasts 26 days which flattens the whole city and leaves all of the ciitzens homeless. The My Lai massacre happens with U.S. troops on a search-and-destroy mission killing over 500 innocent people due to frustration and anger. -
Nixon's First Year as President
President Nixon launches "Operation Breakfast" by bombing the supply routes of North Vietnamese in Cambodia (Ho Chi Minh Trail). Melvin Laird the Secratary of Defense for the U.S. described "Vietnamization" by putting most of the wieght of the war on South Vietnam. The leader of the North Vietnamese (Ho Chi Minh) dies at age 79. Also the first report of the My Lai massacre reaches the public of America, -
Kent State Incident
National Guardsmen open fire on a crowd of student antiwar protesters at Kent State University, resulting in the death of four students and the wounding of eight others. Several protesters were throwing objects at the gaurdsmen such as bottles and rocks. The number of U.S. troops still in Vietnam falls to 280,000. -
The Downfall
Lt. Calley was convicted of murder for the My Lai massacre that happened three years prior. President Nixon tried to stop any kind of leakage of the massacre into the public and the press. Nixon plans to visit China, this upsets North Vietnam because of the alliance between Vietnam and China.They thought Nixon was trying to interfere with the alliance. -
Desperate Measures
President Nixon reduced the amount of U.S. troops in Vietnam by 70,000. The U.S. decides to bomb artillery and supply areas around Hanoi and Haiphong, two major cities in North Vietnam. The U.S. tries to come to agreements on peace with the North Vietnamese and Vietcong. Also President Nixon wins the re-election. -
The End for the U.S.
Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho (leader of North Vietnam) reach a peace treaty with each other to cease fire. Military drafting stops and the last troops in Vietnam are escorted out of the country. The U.S. decides to start having bombing raids in Cambodia untill August 14th at midnight. -
North Vietnamese at Power
Due to herbacides the U.S. laid down it has caused permanent damage the ecosystems in Vietnam, also many diseases have spread amongst the people and has caused cancer. President Nixon resigns due to impeachment on secret bombing in Cambodia and the Watergate break-in. The North Vietnamese take the Mekong Delta which is a main water source for supplies and resources. -
The Fall of Saigon
The North Vietnamese take the city of Hue and the Phuoc Long Province, just north of Saigon. President Gerald Ford says that any concerns about Vietnam are over and done with. The North Vietnamese take Saigon as South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh surrenders. The North Vietnamese then rename the city Ho Chi Minh City and make all of Vietnam communist. They then start to envade Cambodia and other surrounding countries.
