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Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh (league of independence)
The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese invasion began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and China. After World War II, the Việt Minh opposed the re-occupation of Vietnam by France and later opposed the United States in the Vietnam War. -
Ho Chi Minh Declares independence of Vietnam
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/~vern/van_kien/declar.html Ho Chi Minh believed that Vietnam's fight for independence from France was similar to the American colonies' struggle for independence from Great Britain. He expected that the United States would support the Vietnamese nationalist movement because of this similarity. -
Democratic Vietnam launches first attack on France
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Indochina_War Vietnam obtained independence following the First Indochina War. In 1945, Hồ Chí Minh declared an independent Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was recognized by the fellow Communist governments of China and the Soviet Union. Fighting lasted until March 1954, when the Việt Minh won the decisive victory against French forces at the grueling Battle of Điện Biên Phủ. -
Viet Cong receive military aid from China
http://www.vietnampix.com/intro2.htm The Viet Cong was majorly aided by the Republic of China and later Russia. This is because they were in backing a Communist and Independent Vietnam. The Republic of China aided the Viet Cong in moving down the Ho Chi Minh trail with supplies and military forces. -
France gives Laos independence
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos France obtained control over northern Vietnam following its victory over China in the Sino-French war (1884–1885), However, when Vietnam declared communist independence France thought it in their best interest to give Laos independence in hope that they would remain out of the war to come, or side with France. -
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dein Bien Phu beginning 7th of May 1954 and continuing for almost a year. A force of 40,000 heavily armed Vietminh linvaded the French garrison at Dienbienphu. Using Chinese weaponary and forces to shell the airstrip, the Vietminh make it impossible for French supplies to arrive by air. -
South Vietnam declares itself the republic of Vietnam
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U.S military begin training South Vietnamese troops
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Vietnam America soon realised that its fastest way to win the war would be to mimick the Viet Cong's style of Guerrilla Warfare. So the U.S military began training the South Vietnamese soldiers. -
Viet Cong formed
Hanoi forms National Liberation Front for South Vietnam. Diem government dubs them "Vietcong" -
The Viet Cong (The National Liberation Front) is established
The Viet Cong was established, by the Republic of Vietnam, to use Guerilla Warfare tactics to win the war. This involved no ranking system, uniform or badges, so as to seamlessly blend back into the crowd after the attack was complete. -
Agent Orange- Operation Ranch Hand
Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides used by the U.S. military as part of its chemical warfare program, "Operation Ranch Hand", in which the chemical was sprayed over the Vietnamese forests and down the Ho Chi Minh trail, which was being used for transport. During the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971, Vietnam estimates 400,000 people being killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth defects due to Agent Orange. -
Buddhists burn themselves in protest to Diem
Tensions between Buddhists and the Diem government are further strained as Diem, a Catholic city, removes Buddhists from all the government positions and replaces them with Catholics. Buddhist monks protest Diem's intolerance for other religions and the measures he takes to silence them. In a show of protest, Buddhist monks start setting themselves on fire in public places. -
Operation Rolling Thunder -a U.S aerial bombing campaign
Operation Rolling Thunder was the title of the U.S. 2nd Air Division (later Seventh Air Force), U.S. Navy, and Republic of Vietnam Air Force (VNAF) aerial bombardment campaign conducted against the North Vietnam from 2 March 1965 until 1 November 1968, during the Vietnam War. -
The first U.S combat troops arrive in Vietnam
When the U.S discovered to what extent North Vietnam had infiltrated South Vietnam, the U.S began to deploy U.S military to Vietnam so as to be easy identifiable, greater in numbers, greater in technique and more experienced. -
The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong for the TET offensive
http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/tet-offensive/ North Vietnam recognised the Viet Cong, and in doing so they joined forces for the TET offensive which saw North Vietnam battle its way onto the U.S embassy grounds, and holding the Presidential Palace hostage for several hours. -
Battle of Hue
The Battle for Hue continued for 26 days as the U.S and South Vietnamese forces try to recapture the site seized by the North Vietnamese during the Tet Offensive. Hue was nearly leveled in a battle that left nearly all of its population homeless. Following the U.S and South Vietnamese victory, mass graves containing the bodies of thousands of people who had been executed during the Communist occupation was discovered. -
U.S military reaches 540,000
The U.S continued to deploy soldiers into Vietnam with numbers growing every month. The U.S made Vietnam its main focus, especailly after Russia and China began to provide resources to North Vietnam. -
Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/ho-chi-minh/biography.htm Hồ Chí Minh died at 9:47 a.m. on the morning of 2 September 1969, at his home in Hanoi at age 79 from heart failure. His embalmed body is currently on display in a mausoleum in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. -
The North Vietnamese cross the DMZ- known as the Easter Offensive
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The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive.
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The Paris Peace Accords are signed as a cease-fire act
The Paris Peace Accords of 1973 intended to establish peace in Vietnam and an end to the Vietnam War, ended direct U.S. military involvement, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam. The governments of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), and the United States, as well as the Provisional Revolutionary Government signed it to end the Vietnam War. -
The last U.S troops are withdrawn from Vietnam
After the signing of the Paris Peace Accords the U.S withdrew from Vietnam. All U.S personal were evacuated from Vietnam 24 hours before the final attack on Saigon. Many South Vietnamese stood vainly on the roof of the presidential palace waiting "evacuation helicopters" that would never arrive. -
North Vietnam launches a massive assult on South Vietnam
North Vietnamese forces under the command of General Văn Tiến Dũng began their final attack on Saigon on the 29th of April, with a heavy artillery bombardment. This bombardment at the Tân Sơn Nhứt Airport killed the last two American troops that died in Vietnam. By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied all amjor buildings within the city and raised their flag over the South of Vietnam. -
South Vietnam surrenders to the communists. (Operation Frequent Wind)
During the hours leading up to the surrender, the United States undertook a massive evacuation of its embassy in Saigon, Operation Frequent Wind. The evacuees included U.S. government personnel as well as high-ranking members of the ARVN and other South Vietnamese who had aided the U.S.-backed administration and were seen as potential targets for persecution by the Communists. -
U.S President says Vietnam War is "finished"
Suspecting the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese Communist forces, U.S President Gerald Ford, announced that as far as the U.S is concerned, the Vietnam War is "finished." -
Vietnam is unified as a communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
The North Vietnamese captured Saigon renaming it "Ho Chi Minh city" in name of their leader. Unifying Vietnam under one communist reign this represented a new era for Vietnam.
