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The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Giap defeated the French force based there; a ceasefire was agreed at Geneva that split Vietnam at the 17th Parallel. France withdrew her military from Vietnam; US promises aid worth $100 million to the anti-communist Diem -
French exit the war
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu marked the end of French involvement in Indochina. Giap's Viet Minh forces handed the French a stunning military defeat, The French Union garrison surrendered. -
Ngo Dinh Diem become President of South Vietnam
The pro-American Ngo Dinh Diem became President of South Vietnam in October. America agreed to train Diem’s army. -
The National Liberation Front was formed
In the South, they were known as the Vietcong. They did not look like soldiers. They looked like normal people which made it very hard for the U.S. soldiers to know who to trust. -
Ngo Dinh Diem murdered
President Diem was killed in a military coup. 15,000 US military advisors were in South Vietnam -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
it gave U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorization, without a formal declaration of war by Congress, for the use of "conventional'' military force in Southeast Asia. Specifically, The resolution authorized the President to do whatever necessary in order to assist "any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty". This included involving armed forces. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder started. The first US combat troops were sent to Vietnam in March, by the end of the year there were 200,000 US troops there. It was the first major conventional clash between USA and NVA at Ia Drang -
Tet Offensive
The war was being televised which was an issue. When people saw North Vietnam killing americans on T.V. they became against the war. Demonstrations against the war started in America. There was the my Lai massacre and peace talks began in Paris. 540,000 US troops in were in Vietnam. Anti-Vietnam War riots became more common. -
Vietnamization
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam was said to have had been steadily improving, and the point at which the war could be "de-Americanized" was close. Nixon began to withdraw troops. -
Bombing Cambodia
President Richard Nixon authorized secret bombing raids in Cambodia, a move that escalated opposition to the Vietnam War in Ohio and across the United States. -
Kent State
Four student demonstrators shot dead at Kent State University. 280,000 US troops were in Vietnam. There were secret peace talks held in Paris. Also there were large scale anti-war demonstrations throughout USA.
