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Vietnam War
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Truman sends in 35 men
Truman sends 35-man military advisory group to aid French fighting to maintain colonial power in Vietnam. The french got defeated at Dien Bien Phu. Harry Truman initiated the US involvement -
President Eisenhower
President Eisenhower's administration sends the first U.S. advisers to South Vietnam to train the South Vietnamese Army. They had trained for a long time in Vietnam. They were the first advisers ever sent to be trained for the South Vietnamesse Army. -
Viet Cong
The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam. The Viet Cong or National Liberation Front (NLF), was a political organization and army in South Vietnam and Cambodia that fought the United States and South Vietnamese governments during the Vietnam War. The NLF's military was the People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF). -
Diem is Executed
President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup. Diem and his brother was captured and killed by a group of soldiers. His death has caused celebrations for some in south vietnam and chaos in the nation. -
Attack of U.S. destroyers
North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident). The Vietnamese boats each fired a torpedo at the u.s. destroys, but failed at hitting them. The u.s. destroyers had gunfire and shot at the vietnamese boats. They sunk one and injured the other two. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The resolution marked the beginning of an expanded military role for the United States in the Cold War battlefields of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. This resolution gave President Johnson nearly unlimited powers to go against communist aggression. -
U.S. Attack North Vietnam
A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder). During this Operation Rolling Thunder the U.S. Aircraft attacked targets throughout Vietnam. Some claim that the U.S. attack may have Crippled North Vietnam's capacity. -
First U.S. troops arrive
The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam. This was the first arrival for combat troops in South Vietnam and it was heard all around the world about how the U.S. is getting more involved. As soon as the troops arrived in Vietnam the Vietcong shoot gunfire, but no U.S. troops were injured. -
North Vietnamse join Forces with the Vietcong
The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. U.S. troops were in vietnam 3 years before the Tet Offensive came into play. The Tet Offensive was a Military campaign during the Vietnam War. -
Hundreds of civilians killed
U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai. Mai Lai was a village of about 700 civilians. The attack of Mai Lai was the killing of many innocent civilians by th U.S. Soldiers. -
Westmoreland Replaced
General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the U.S. troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams. Westmoreland had sought to win a battle of attrition with the North Vietnamese. Responding to the offensive, Westmoreland led a successful campaign which defeated the Viet Cong. -
Troops reach 540,000
U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000. Protests start occuring world-wide to help stop the war. The U.S. now starts to realize that they are not going to win the war. -
Withdrawl of troops
President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam. He wants all of the troops to be out of vietnam, and the war to end. Getting all the troops out of Vietnam and trying to end the war was not easy. -
Ho chi Minh dies
Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79. After the war, Saigon, the capital of Republic of Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor. Ho Chi minh died from heart failure at his home in Hanoi. -
Mai Lai Massacre
The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre. The My Lai massacre is probably one of the most infamous events of the Vietnam War. My Lai was a village of about 700 inhabitants some 100 miles to the southeast of the US base of Danang. Many innocent civilians were killed in this massacre. -
Attack in Cambodia
President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses. They wanted to attack cambodia to defeat the 40,000 troops of the vietnam army. -
Pentagon Papers are published
Portions of the pentagon papers are published in the "New York" Times. The New York Times began publishing the Pentagon Papers, a documentary history tracing the ultimately doomed involvement of the United States in a grinding war. The Government sought and won a court order restraining further publication after three articles had appeared. -
North Vietnamese cross the 17th parallel
The north vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone at the 17th parallel to attack south vietnam in what became known as the easter offensive. The remaining U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army fought back. After the U.S. had withdrawn all its troops, the fighting continued in Vietnam. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire.
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam. The governments of vietnam and united states both decided to sign this paris peace accords. -
End of the war
Fighting between South Vietnamese and Communists continued despite the peace agreement until North Vietnam launched an offensive in early 1975. U.S. military forces withdrew from South Vietnam and prisoners were exchanged. North Vietnam was allowed to continue supplying communist troops in the South, but only to the extent of replacing materials that were consumed.
