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Viet Minh under Ho Chi Minh seek independence
In 1941, the Viet Minh – a communist and nationalist liberation movement – emerged under the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary Ho Chi Minh, who sought independence for Vietnam from France and the end of the Japanese occupation -
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American Involvement in Vietnam
American intervention in Vietnam began during WWII and continued to varing degrees until the US withdrew troops in 1973 -
Truman sends aid against Japanese occupation
President Truman allies with forces against the Japanese in Vietnam. Vichy France truns over power to Japanese during WW2 -
France regains control over Vietnam when WWII ends
Provisional French Republic sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps – originally created to fight the Japanese occupation forces – to pacify the Vietnamese liberation movement and to restore French colonial rule. On 23 November 1946, French vessels bombarded the port city of Hai Phong, and the Viet Minh's guerrilla campaign against French forces began soon after. The resulting First Indochina War lasted until 20 July 1954. -
Eisenhower sends supplies to France
US supports traditional ally France during their war against Viet Minh despite the fact the Ho Chi Minh came first to US for support of an independent Vientam. -
France Defeated and Vietnam Split
French and Vietnamese loyalists eventually suffered a major strategic setback at the Siege of Dien Bien Phu, which allowed Ho Chi Minh to negotiate a ceasefire from a favorable position at the Geneva Conference of 1954. The colonial administration ended and French Indochina was dissolved under the Geneva Accords of 1954, which separated the forces of former French supporters and communist nationalists at the 17th parallel north with the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. A 300-day period of free mov -
Kennedy sends 16,000 Green Berets to S Vietnam
Kennedy advisers Maxwell Taylor and Walt Rostow recommended that U.S. troops be sent to South Vietnam disguised as flood relief workers. Kennedy rejected the idea but increased military assistance yet again. In April 1962, John Kenneth Galbraith warned Kennedy of the "danger we shall replace the French as a colonial force in the area and bleed as the French did."[121] By 1963, there were 16,000 American military personnel in South Vietnam, up from Eisenhower's 900 advisors. -
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Regular US Ground Troops in Vietnam
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Johnson sends in first regular troops to Vietnam
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Johnson used event to justify send regular troops into war to aid the South Vietanese -
Largest number of troops spike at over 536.000
US troops in Vietnam reached the maximum level at just over 536,000 soldiers in country -
Tet Offensive hit all major cities
Every major center attacked when Americans had been told the enemy was almost defeated January 1968, the NVA and NLF broke the truce that had traditionally accompanied the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday. They launched the surprise Tet Offensive in the hope of sparking a national uprising. Over 100 cities were attacked, with assaults on General Westmoreland's headquarters and the U.S. Embassy, Saigon -
Vietnamization
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard M. Nixon administration during the Vietnam War, as a result of the Viet Cong's Tet Offensive, to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnam's forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops." -
Kent State Shootings
Students protest American invasion of Cambodia as an attempt to cut off supplies The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre—occurred at Kent State University in the U.S. city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis. -
Pentagon Papers leaked
1971 leak of Pentagon Papers by Daniel Ellsberg further discredited the government. This enternal report showed that while the government had been saying the US was winning, internally they believed differently -
US leaves Vietnam
On 15 January 1973, Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action against North Vietnam. The Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam" were signed on 27 January 1973, officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War -
North defeats South to end war
In the United States, South Vietnam was perceived as doomed. President Gerald Ford had given a televised speech on 23 April, declaring an end to the Vietnam War and all U.S. aid. Frequent Wind continued around the clock, as North Vietnamese tanks breached defenses on the outskirts of Saigon. In the early morning hours of 30 April, the last U.S. Marines evacuated the embassy by helicopter, as civilians swamped the perimeter and poured into the grounds. Many of them had been employed by the Americ
