Vietnam War

Geneva Conference Signed

Jul 20, 1954

Geneva ConferenceWith the signing of the Geneva Conference Vietnam is split along the 17th paralel and France agrees to withdrawl from Vietnam.

Insurgency begins in South Vietnam

Feb 15, 1957

Insurgent History in Vietnam The beginning rumblings of conflict started within South Vietnam with a large insurgency within itself. The insurgency was largely contained through 1963.

Creation of National Liberation Front

Dec 20, 1960

National Liberation FrontCreation of the National Liberation Front began and eventually the military arm of the same group, Viet Cong, will be a face of the communist party in South Vietnam.

Assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem

Nov 2, 1963

Ngo Dinh DiemAssassination of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem paved the way for the Vietnam War.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Aug 7, 1964

Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionFollowing the Gulf of Tonkin incident, Aug 2, 1964, The Gulf of Tonkin Resolutino paved the way for US involvement in the Vietnam Conflict, by giving Congressional Expansion in the Conflict. The incident was a North Vietnamese attack on a US Destroyer.

Operation Rolling Thunder

Mar 2, 1965

Operation Rolling Thunder Operation Rolling Thunder was the strategic bombing of North Vietnam, which was a large buy in for US involvement in The Vietnam Conflict.

First US troops on ground in Vietnam

Mar 8, 1965

Vietnam MemoThe 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade lands at Da Nang

Tet Offensive

Jan 31, 1968

Tet OffensiveMajor Turning point in the war, 70,000 troops organized an attack on more than 100 cities in South Vietnam.

My Lai Massacre

Mar 16, 1968

My Lai Massacreas many as 500 villagers were massacred by US troops and although the public would not find out about it for many months, casued a great disturbance in the American vision of the Vietnam Conflict.

Easter Offensive

Mar 30, 1972

The Easter Offensive began and would last for most of 1972. It was launched by the North Vietnamese and while was not intended to win the war, was designed to take as much territory as possible. In that effort it was successful and caught both the US and the South Vietnamese a little off balance.

US Withdrawl from Vietnam

Jan 27, 1973

US Withdrawal from VietnamAFter completing Peace Talks in Paris, US agrees to withdrawal troops from South Vietnam.

Final Invasion of South Vietnam by North Vietnam

Mar 10, 1975

Final InvasionAfter 2 years of planning, North Vietnam begain it's final push into South Vietnam. With no threat of US intervention South Vietnam had little chance,.

South Vietnam Surrender

Apr 30, 1975

South Vietnam Surrender After North Vietnams offensive, and no chance of US intervention South Vietnam was left with no choice but to surrender. Saigon is renamed Ho Chih Minh and Vietnam is unified once again.

Vietnam Invades Cambodia

Dec 25, 1978

Vietnam - Cambodia WarVietnam Invaded Cambodia, to further instablize the region and add even more tension to the ongoing Cold War. This conflict would continue well into the 1980's

Vietnam Croses into Thailand from Cambodia

Jun 25, 1980

Cambodian border crossing Vietnam continued to push in the region and crossed the border into Thailand from Cambodia. This caused more Sino involvement and was a turning point for Vietnam's power shift in the region.