Vietnam War

French pull out of Vietnam

Oct 17, 1954

The French pullled out of Vietnam as they realize there's no reason to fight Vietnam, due to the fact all they were doing was wasting supplies and costing the lives of people.

Army of the Republic of Vietnam

Dec 30, 1955

On October 26, 1955, the military was reorganized by the administration of President Ngo Dinh Diem who then formally established the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) in December 30, 1955. The air force was known as the Vietnamese Air Force. Early on, the focus of the army was the guerrilla fighters of the Vietnam National Liberation Front, formed to oppose the Diem administration. The United States, under President John F. Kennedy sent advisor

National Liberation Front

Dec 30, 1960

Vietnamese political organization formed on Dec. 20, 1960, to effect the overthrow of the South Vietnamese government and the reunification of North and South Vietnam. An overtly communist party was established in 1962 as a central component of the NLF, but both the military arm, the Viet Cong, and the political organization of the NLF included many noncommunists. The NLF was represented by its own diplomatic staffs in all communist countries and in several neutral countries.

Golf of Tonkin Incident

Aug 2, 1964

United States sent "Maddox" to collect intelligence and coastal defense on North Vietnam. Apparently Maddox was geting attack and america sent war planes to help Maddox. There was no boats or vessels attacking Maddox, apparently there was glitch in the system.

Operation Rolling Thunder

Mar 2, 1965

Operation Rolling Thunder was given government approval and officially started on February 24th 1965 though the first attack did not occur until March 2nd when 100 US and VNAF planes attacked an ammunition base at Xom Bang. America’s near total air supremacy during the Vietnam War. It was started in an effort to demoralise the North Vietnamese people and to undermine the capacity of the government in North Vietnam to govern. Operation Rolling Thunder failed on both accounts.

Battle of the Ia Drang Valley

Oct 18, 1965

In late October 1965, a large North Vietnamese force attacked the Plei Me Special Forces Camp. Troops of the 1st Brigade were sent into the battle. After the enemy was repulsed, the 3rd Brigade replaced the 1st Brigade in early November. After three days of patrolling without any contact, Hal Moore's 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was ordered to air assault into the Ia Drang Valley on Nov 14.

The Antiwar Movement

Apr 29, 1967

The antiwar movement actually consisted of a number of independent interests, often only vaguely allied and contesting each other on many issues, united only in opposition to the Vietnam War. Attracting members from college campuses, middle-class suburbs, labor unions, and government institutions, the movement gained national prominence in 1965, peaked in 1968, and remained powerful throughout the duration of the conflict.

Battle of Ke Sahn

Jan 21, 1968

The battle began on this date with a brisk firefight involving the 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines and a North Vietnamese battalion entrenched between two hills northwest of the base. The next day North Vietnamese forces overran the village of Khe Sanh and North Vietnamese long-range artillery opened fire on the base itself, hitting its main ammunition dump and detonating 1,500 tons of explosives.

Tet Offensive

Jan 30, 1968

North Vietnam thought it was time to start a major surprise attack on South Vietnam.The Communists attacked around 100 major cities and towns in South Vietnam. The size and ferocity of the attack surprised both the Americans and the South Vietnamese, but they fought back. The Communists, who had hoped for an uprising from the populous in support of their actions, met heavy resistance instead. It took U.S. Military and South Vietnam weeks to take back Saigon.

Fall of Saigon

Apr 30, 1975

On April 30, 1975, America withdrew completely from Saigon, leaving the old noncommunist capital to fall to North Vietnamese tanks. Twenty-five years later in Ho Chi Minh City, the new name of Saigon, Vietnamese celebrated the anniversary of their victory over the United States and its South Vietnamese allies.