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Creation of the Viet Minh
Ho Chi Minh organizes a Vietnamese Independence movement, referred to as the Viet Minh - supported Communism and the belief of it occuring in Vietnam (Columbia University)
PHOTO: Ho Chi Minh from 1946, taken from Wikipedia -
Period: to
Order of Events relating to the Vietnam War
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Political Viet Minh
Origins of PictureThe Viet Minh group becomes involved politically in North Vietnam (Salem, Press)
PHOTO: Map of the Vietnam War and Important Events - area of the Viet Minh control is outlined in red; provided by Modern America -
ICP Secret Conference
The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) holds a secret conference, the leaders agree to expand the organization (Salem, Press) -
Capture of Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem, a Viertnamese politican, was captured by Ho Chi Minh's forces; he refused to support the Viet Minh and was punished to exile (Research Machines plc)
PHOTO: Before Ngo Dinh Diem became a President of the State of Vietnam, he was simply a civil servant to the Emperor of Annam, Bao Dai; photo courtesy of Associated Press. -
Food Shortages
From 1944 to 1945, 1 million Vietnamese people died from food shortages due to French and Japanese control of the rice storages.
PHOTO: Even though the woman and the young children here are planting rice for the crop's new growth, most of Vietnam was going through food shortages as the French used the rice as an alternative-fuel (Salem, Press) and the Japanese assumed complete control of the rice storages (Salem, Press). Photo courtesy of Associated Press. -
Democratic Republic of Vietnam Born
Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam - North Vietnam - led by the Indochinese Communist Party (Salem, Press)
PHOTO: The new flag which represented the Democratic Repubilc of Vietnam, and later became the flag of the united country, Vietnam, in 1976; photo courtesy of Maps of World.com -
Battle of Dienbienphu Begins
Battle of Dienbienphu began when Viet Minh forces moved to attack Lai Chau (capital of the T'ai Federation, in Upper Tonkin) that was loyal to the French (Porch)
PHOTO: The map of Vietnam indicated where the first attack of the Battle occured - the black star; photo courtesy of Vietnam-Tour.biz. -
Climax of Dienbienphu
As Lai Chau was impossible to defend, French commander-in-chief, Gen. Henri Navarre ordered Operation Castor to occur - paratroop drop on valley of Dienbienphu, which quickly changed strategies to a defence perimeter around eight strong points (Porch).
PHOTO: The map indicates Dienbienphu, North Vietnam as the location for Gen. Navarre's paratroop attack; photo courtesy of Vietnam-Tour.biz. -
End of Dienbienphu
As the T'ais were trying to march from Lai Chau to Dienbienphu, they were severely mobbed by the Viet Minh (Porch)
PHOTO: The map indicates the path of the T'ais, travelling from Lai Chau to Dienbienphu before being attacked; photo courtesy of Vietnam-Tour.biz. -
Ngo Dinh Diem made P.M.
At the Emperor of Annam (Bao Dai's) request and with support from the United States, Ngo Dinh Diem was made the Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam
PHOTO: 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem is sworn in as the President of the State of Vietnam; photo courtesy of Assicoated Press. -
Geneva Conference Begins
Photo courtesy of Associated PressThe Geneva Conference was held in Paris, France; attendees were: Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, France, Laos, United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, the Viet Minh and the State of Vietnam. (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
PHOTO: The view of the Conference happening around July of 1954 - Left to right: the Soviet delegation and the British. Next table: the Laotian, French and Vietnam delegations, and with backs to the camera, the Cambodia delegation and, left, the United States. -
Geneva Conference Ends
Photo courtesy of Associated PressThe agreements and negotiations from the Conference were signed, which included: a ceasefire line for Vietnam at the 17th Parallel, and a supervised Vietnamese election to be held before July of 1956. The United States rejected the agreement, and the State of Vietnam followed suit and also refused to sign the Final Declaration. (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
PHOTO: The Peace Talks have ended and the 'Geneva Accords' have begun to be signed by those present on July 21, 1954. -
Ngo Dinh Diem becomes President
Photo courtesy of Associated PressTo resist attempts of being removed from leading the state, a referendum was held which voted Ngo Dinh Diem to remain as President and for the overthrowing of the Emperor of Annam Bao Dai. (Research Machines plc)
PHOTO: After Diem's succession to becoming the President fo the State of Vietnam, his victory overthrows the pictured Emperor of Annam, Bao Dai. -
Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem Refuses
Photo courtesy of Associated PressPres. Ngo Dinh Diem refuses to hold free elections for a national government, as outlined in the Geneva Accords (Research Machines plc).
PHOTO: On March 4, 1956, South Vietnamese civilians were encouraged to elect an assembly in creating a constitution. In terms of the July 1956 elections, Pres. Diem refused to reunite Communist and Democratic Vietnam. -
Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem asks for Support
Photo courtesy of Associated PressFrom 1960 to 1961, Pres. Ngo Dinh Diem's suppression of internal oppression was weakening as the Viet Cong began a guerilla campaign against the government. Diem is forced to call the United States for supprt (Research Machines plc).
PHOTO: South Vietnam's Pres. Diem meets with Pres. Kennedy's military adviser, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, in talks of having American troops in the State. -
U.S. 'Withdrawl'
Photo courtesy fo Associated PressAs Ngo Dinh Diem becomes more unpopular after suppressing a Bhuddist revolt, the United States decides to withdraw. (Research Machines plc).
PHOTO: After the January 11 death of seven American soldiers form a helicopter crash, Pres. Kennedy asks for some troops to withdraw from the War. -
Assassination of Diem
Photo Courtesy of Associated Press Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated in Cho Lon, South Vietnam (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
PHOTO: On November 2, 1963, both the President and his brother-adviser were assasinated. In the photo, a Vietnamese officer smiles while near the dead President. -
Attack on the Maddox
The U.S. destroyer, Maddox, was attacked by North Vietnamese; Maddox and another American destroyer were attacked two days later (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing).
PHOTO: The USS Maddow DD-731, seen here off the coast of North Vietnam, was struck on this date and again attacked only two days later. The attack resulted in Johnson' s Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964; photo courtesy of Wikipedia. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia UploadThe Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was signed after the attacks of the American destroyers. The Resolution allowed Pres. Johnson and his advisers the order to expand the Vietnam War (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pubilshing).
PHOTO: The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 gave President Johnson and his advisers the power to expand the Vietnam War - it was later considered that Johnson decieved Congress in fulfilling his goal of making the American presense in Vietnam stronger. -
Operation Rolling Thunder is Approved
(Trueman) -
Operation Rolling Thunder's First Attack
Operation Rolling Thunder's first attack occurs at the Xom Bang base (involved the U.S. Airforce and the Vietnam Air Force - VNAF) (Trueman)
PHOTO: The F-135 Thunderbirds seen in this image were noticed in the skies of North Vietnam - these same U.S. aircrafts dropped 643, 000 tonnes of bombs on the divided nation; photo courtesy of Wikipedia. -
The Tet Offensive
The Viet Cong execute the Tet Offensive through South Vietnam - targetting and 39 provincial capitals, 6 autonomous cities, 71 district towns, and the U.S. Embassy, it proved a Viet Minh victory for not feeling intimidation to America's bombinb strategies. (Salem, Press)
PHOTO: Early in the Tet Offensive, the South Vietnamese Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Loan prepares to fire the head of suspected-Viet Cong member, Nguyen Van Lem; photo courtesy of the Boston Globe Website. -
My Lai Incident
The My Lai Incident occurs - where Lt. William L. Calley and the U.S. Army Division invaded a Viet Cong location. From this 'incident', 347 unarmed civilians were killed. (Columbia University)
PHOTO: The comic referring to the My Lai Incident was realistic in that the victims were no serious threat to the U.S. Army; before the incident became public, Lt. Calley was probably talked to in not letting this 'type of situation' happen again; comic courtesy of PicturesHistory.Blogspot.com. -
Vietnamization Policy Introduced
Pres. Johnson agreed to the Vietnamization Policy; he later televises an announcement and orders the reduction of bombs to North Vietnam.
PHOTO: The U.S. Secretary of Defence Melvin Laird speaks in a press conference about the withdrawl of American troops in place of this policy, letting the South Vietnamese citizens conclude their own war; photo courtesy of XTimeline.com -
Operation Rolling Thunder Ends
Operation Rolling Thunder ends; the Operation was meant to last only eight weeks (Trueman).
PHOTO: The map depicted shows only North Vietnam, and indicates which of the U.S. Forces attacked the state; map courtesy of Phobos.Ramapo.edu. -
Peace Talks after Operation Rolling Thunder
Pres. Johnson begins peace talks after ending Operation Rolling Thunder two months previously (Trueman) -
Nixon Withdraws Troops
Pres. Nixon announces the withdrawl fo some U.S. troops fron the War (Simkin) -
My Lai Incident Becomes Public
In the fall of 1969, the American pubilc became aware of the My Lai inciden at that time, only when a group of letters between a former American soldier and government officials forced the army to take action (Columbia University)
PHOTO: Clevland paper, The Plain Dealer, are one of the first sources of media publically displaying the My Lai Incident which was hidden from the American public; photo courtesy of Clevland.com. -
Lieutenant from My Lai Incident Convicted
Lt. William L. Calley was found guilty of killing 22 Vietnamese civilians from the My Lai Incident. In the cases of the soldiers who took part, all were charged with murder and the officers accused of dereliction of duty for covering the incident. With Calley, he was sentenced a life sentence but over time it was reduced to a few years. (Columbia University).
PHOTO: Lt. Calley, the leading official in the My Lai Incident was discharged from the U.S. Army; photo courtesy of GeorgiaInfo.com -
Operation Freedom Train
Pres. Nixon orders Operation Freedon Train - U.S. Airforce used the F-4 Phantom II's and F-105 Thunderchiefs to attack the 20th Parallel of Vietnam (Hickman)
PHOTO: This group of F-4 Phantom II's, one of the two U.S. Aircrafts, was used during the Operation; photo courtesy of Military.Wikia.com -
Kissinger meets Brezhnev
National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger meets with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev to convince the reduction of military aid in North Vietnam. (Hickman)
PHOTO: Soviet Leader Brezhnev and National Security Adviser Kissinger meet to discuss the USSR's influence in reducing South Vietnamese military power; photo courtesy of Phobos. Ramapo.edu. -
Operation Pocket Money
Pres. Nixon, angry with Kissinger's other meeting with Hanoi negotiator Le Duc Tho, he ordes for Operation Pocket Money - using U.S. aircraft to infiltrate the Haiphong harbour (Hickman).
PHOTO: Once Henry Kissinger meets with Hanoi negotiator Le Duc Tho, Pres. Nixon becomes mad at this Conference and issues the next operation that precedes Operation Linebacker; photo courtesy of OrthoCuban.com. -
Operation Linebacker
Pres. Nixon executes Operation Linebacker, hoping that this mission would suppress North Vietnamese air defences and destroy marshalling yards, storage facilities, and bridges. Using MiG-21s and MiG-17s, American aircrafts dropped bombs on 17 bridges between the Chinese border and Haiphong (Hickman).
PHOTO: This photo, of the MiG-17, was one of the American aircrafts that bombed the bridges connecting China and North Vietnam; photo courtesy of Wikipedia. -
Nixon orders end of Operation Freedom Train
Pres. Nixon orders the end of bombings on the 20th Parallel (Hickman) -
The U.S. goverment formally releases the My Lai Report
PHOTO: Even though this Seymour M. Hersh book is more recent than the Report, Hersh has done a good job in detailing what the My Lai Report covered, and it's after-effects; photo courtesy of Amazon.com. -
South Demands Saigon Surrender
On April 28, 1975, North Vietnamese Gen. Van Tien Dung gave the city, Saigon, 24 hours to surrender (Scholastic).
PHOTO: Even though the depiction of Gen. Dung is more modern, he was the very general who gave the ultimatum to Saigon, South Vietnam; photo courtesy of AsiaObserver.org. -
Vietnamese rush to Escape
On the night of April the 29th, Vietnamese people rushed to the U.S. Embassy in hopes of being rescued. Since the embassy only had a limited number of air transportation, only 1,000 Americans and 6, 000 South Vietnamese people were able to escape via helicopters, heading towards the South China Sea. Most people were left behind. (Scholastic).
PHOTO: In Da Nang, Vietnam, South Vietnamese try to escape on the few remaining evacuation ships; photo courtesy of IIPDigital.USEmbassy.gov. -
Fall of Saigon
On the morning of April 30th, Gen. Van Tien Dung and his Northern forces captured Saigon and renamed the city "Ho Chi Minh City" after the Viet Minh leader (Scholastic). The capture of Saigon signified the South's defeat and the victory of not only the North but of ruling-Communism.
PHOTO: The map indicated the advances that the North Vietnamese made for the Fall of Saigon, the location, 7, represents Saigon, Vietnam; photo courtesy of BBC.
