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Battle of Dien Bien Phu
This was the climatic battle of the First Indochina War that was between the French and the Viet Minh communist nationalist revolutionaries. Viet Minh ambushed the French camps with heavy artillery. This cut of the French airfield which then led to the French surrendering and forced them to sign the Geneva Accord of 1954. -
Geneva Conference begins
This conference was the catalyst to the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. It was a meeting of the representatives of the world's powers. The conferece was called to resolve several problems, one being the on going war between the French and the Vietnamese Nationalist in Indochina. -
U.S. starts training South Vietnam
The French leave Vietnam and the U.S. takes responsibility from the French to start training South Vietnam forces to defend themselves against North Vietnam. -
Sencond Indochina War begins
Ho Chi Minh declares a peoples war. This was to reunify the country by sending North Vietnamese army's to eliminate U.S. forces and to disintegrate the South Vietnamese government. This war became known as the Second Indochina War, which to the U.S. became known as the Vietnam War. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is Approved
The resolution allows President Johnson to wage all out war against North Vietnam. -
Operation "Rolling Thunder" Deployed
Bombing campaign that went on for 3 years in North Vietnam. It was intended to put pressure on N. Vietnams communist leaders in order to reduce the probability of waging war against S. Vietnam. This operation led to a major expansion of the U.S. involvment in the Vietnam War. -
President Johnson meets with South Vietnamese Premier
President Johnson meet with S. Vietnam and promises that the U.S. will help defend them from N. Vietnam. Johnson adds that the U.S. will be monitoring S. Vietnams effort to improve economic conditions for their citizens. -
Operation Cedar Falls
A major ground war begins where U.S. and S. Vietnamese troops were set out to destroy Viet Congs operation and supply sites. In this operation a massive system of tunnels is discovered, which was a head quarters for Viet Cong personnel. -
My Lai Massecre
One of the horrific acts of violence against civilians in S. Vietnam. The U.S. soldiers of the 11th Brigade massacred innocent S. Vietnamese citizens due to anger. This attack was covered up for a year until a soldier heard of this act of violence. The news quickly spread through the U.S. As a result, this further divided the nation in its stace of the presence in Vietnam. -
Paris Peace Talk
The U.S. and Hanoi agree to start formal negotiations in Paris. This brought hope that the war would end quickly. But the two parties could not agree on the two major issues of the U.S. wanting North Vietnam completely out of South Vietnam and Hanoi refused any provisional South Vietnamese government that involved its leader Nguyen Van Thieu. -
Operation Breakfast
President Nixon begins secret bombings in Cambodia known as "Operation Breakfast." B-52's were redirected from S. Vietnam to Cambodia in order to attack suspected communist base camps. Cambodia was known as neutral; therefore, the bombings were kept a secret until the New York Times broke the story. -
Paris Peace Accords Signed
An agreement to end the war in Vietnam signed by the U.S., S. Vietnam, N. Vietnam and Viet Cong. The agreement included the release of U.S. POW's, the withdrawal of all U.S. troops, settlement to cease-fire throughout Vietnam as well as other factors in ending the war. -
Thieu Announces Renewal of War
South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu announced the war has resumed after South Vietnamese troops reported that soldiers had been killed in two clashes with communist forces. That North Vietnam had violated the cease-fire agreement in the Peace Paris Accords. -
Ford calls Vietnam War finished.
President Ford announced that for the U.S. their participation in the Vietnam War had officially ended. This included physically and financially.
