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The Start of Something Big
French Defeat in the town of Dien Bien Phu by the Viet Minh fought for their Independence leads to the Geneva Convention, which purpose was to stop all hostilities and unite Vietnam. The agreement stated that national elections would be held every 2 years. And also that Vietnam would be divided at the 17th parrell (right near Hue) into North and South Vietnam. Most of the French forces had left Vietnam, however the new South Vietnam govement system remained the same. -
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The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a conflict fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The North side was supported by its communists allies such as Russia and China. While South Vietnam had the support of the U.S which later on send military troops to fight against North Vietnam. This War caused the lives of many from both sides, and North Vietnam eventually won the war. -
Ngo Dinh Diem's Return
Ngo Dinh Diem returns from exile in America and deposes former emperor Bao Dai after a rigged election. Then he declares himself the President of Republic of South Vietnam. Diem also rejects the conditions of the Geneva Agreement, as he refused to participate in a nationwide election. The U.S backed up his decision, as President Eisenhower belived that if a national election was to take place, most people would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh who was now in control of North Vietnam. -
Vietcong Established
During 1959-1960 the Vietcong had offically formed. The Vietcong was an organization of soliders and militias living in South Vietnam that were fighting against the U.S and South Vietnam. They were supporters of North Vietnam and stayed behind in South Vietnam. They gained weapons and guidance from the North Vietname's Army. In the North they were known as the National Liberation Front. (NLF) -
The Start of the War
The Gulf of Tonkin was a resolution congress passed after North Vietnam supposedly attacked a U.S destoryed called the USS Maddox. What this resolution did was give the U.S permission to officially send military troops to aid South Vietnam fight against North Vietnam. American troops start to land in South Vietnam, and this is significant as this is how the Vietnam War truly begins. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder consisted of substained bombing done against North Vietnam. This operation was a failure, because the U.S Air Force was resistricted on their targets as they did not want to provoke Russia or China into the war. The North Vietnamese also had air defenses given by the Russians. But because of this operation, the Vietcong attacked U.S airbases in South Vietnam. This caused even more marines to be deployed in Vietnam. -
The Use of Agent Orange
The Americans were not used to fighting in the dense Jungles. So the military started the Agent Orange progarm. The U.S military started spraying these chemical herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam. The purpose of this was to destroy the jungle so the North Vietnam troops could not use them for cover and to end the guerrilla warfare. Later on, the military also starts to target farms and agriculture lands. After many years, Agent Orange seemed to have many "side-effects". -
My Lai Massacre
My Lai Massacre was a crime done against humanity somewhere in South Vietnam. Around 500 unarmed Civilians were brutally killed by an American Squad. The women were also raped, all the children and eldery people were also shot. After a year, the American public had heard of the news. The public was shocked, and this only pressure the U.S. Government to withdraw the troops from Vietnam -
Turning Point of the War
One of the main reasons America lost the Vietnam war was because of the Tet Offensive. It was a military campaign of North Vietnam to attack American's command bases. The attacked was done with the element of suprise as they attacked the Amerians during a time of celebration. The American and South Vietnamase troops did stop the offensive, however this caused a major outbreak in America. This offensive proved to the Americans that did war cannot go much futher. -
Aftermath of the Tet Offensive
After the Tet offensive, President Richard Nixon decided to pull out the U.S troops from Vietnam. In order to do this, Nixon claimed that he would create an army for South Vietnam and have them fight their own battle. This was called Vietnamization. The goal of Vietnamization was to improve and modernize the South Vietnam's army. -
Make Way for Peace
President Nixon at this point wanted to end the war. A sercet peace agreement was called for, but North Vietnam declined and demanded new changes. President Nixon then called for Operation Linebacker II. Which called the bombing of Hanoi and pressured North Vietnam to sign the peace treaty. The Paris Peace Accords ended the conflict and caused a complete cease fire and to release all POWS. (prisoners of war) -
Operation Linebacker
Operation Linebacker was a bombing campaign done against North Vietnam. As the North was on the offensive and was pushing the Americans back, Operation Linebacker purpose was to push back the North Vietnamase back. This operation however performed better than rolling thunder, as the bombings targeted airfields and supply lines. The signficance of this offensive was that it stopped futher aggression by the North Vietnam's Army and helped drive them back. -
The Fall of Saigon
As the American forces were on the leave, the North Vietnamese did their final offensive. To capture the capital city of South Vietnam, Saigon. As Saigon was captured, Vietnam was unified as a Communist country and the Vietnam War was finally over. During the offensive, many American troops and South Vietnamese refugees were also being evacuated.
