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Independence
Ho Chin Mihn declares Vietnam's Independence -
Ho Chi Minh Meets French
Negotiations between French leaders and Ho Chi Minh break down. France refuses to grant Vietnamese independence and declares the southern region of Vietnam a French colony. Ho Chi Minh returns to Hanoi disenchanted. -
US Supports French Vietnam
Under President Harry S. Truman, the United States begins to contribute money and supplies to the French war effort in Vietnam. -
Truman Reelected
President Harry S. Truman is elected to a second term. -
Vietnam Divided
France and Ho Chi Minh sign the Geneva Accords, in which Vietnam is to be divided at the seventeenth parallel until elections can be held in 1956 to reunify the country. The South Vietnamese government and the United States refuse to sign, though both promise to abide by the agreement -
Vietnam Emigration
Some 850,000 North Vietnamese, mostly Catholics, emigrate to South Vietnam; 80,000 residents of the South, primarily Viet Minh sympathizers, move to the North. -
Guerrilla War
Ex-Viet Minh forces in the South organize and, with the support of Ho Chi Minh, begin a campaign of guerrilla warfare against Diem's administration. -
National Liberation Front and Viet Cong Formed
The National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam, also known as the National Liberation Front (NLF) is formed to crush Diem's regime. The insurgent organization and its military wing—the Viet Cong (VC)—will be funded by the North Vietnamese government, and staffed by Ex-Viet Minh guerilla soldiers from the South -
First US Combat Death
An American serviceman dies in Vietnam, the first combat death reported. For many Americans, the death will mark the beginning of the Vietnam War. -
South Vietnamese Protests
South Vietnamese police fire shots into a crowd of Buddhist monks demonstrating against President Diem's regime. The event will inspire others to protest -
Diem Overthrown
With U.S. encouragement, South Vietnamese General Duong Van Minh overthrows the Diem regime, and the following day he orders the execution of Diem and his brother. General Duong's military rule is recognized by the United States -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gives President Lyndon Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend South Vietnam against Viet Cong forces. -
First Mass Demonstration Against Vietnam
In the U.S., the first mass public demonstrations against American involvement in the war in Vietnam take place. -
Students Burn Cards
Student David O'Brien and three friends burn their draft cards on the steps of the South Boston Courthouse in protest of the war in Vietnam -
Ho Chi Minh Dies
At the age of 79, six years before his armies seize Saigon, Ho Chi Minh dies. Rather than cremate his body, as Minh had specified in his will, Minh's family has the leader embalmed and put on display in a mausoleum -
Washington Protest March
Some 200,000 people march in Washington, D.C. to protest the war in Vietnam. -
Saigon Falls
The North Vietnamese take Saigon; the war in Vietnam ends
