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The Geneva accords
The Geneva accords where a meeting between the French and Vietminh on how to further proceed with an independent Vietnam. Delegates from the U.S and Soviets where also there to give oversight. All sides eventually came to the conclusion too split the country in half along the 17th parallel and later both sides would vote to reunite under a shared economic and political structure. though they never did vote and the North didn't like that so they invaded. The accords set the stage for the war. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was a resolution passed by the U.S congress too give permission to the U.S president to wage war in Vietnam on his own terms without a declaration of war. This gave LBJ the power to start the air campaign over North Vietnam and also the ability to send ground troops to south Vietnam. This is significant because this is arguably the first time a president has waged war by himself, also this was the first stepping stone that led to the war in Vietnam. -
Assassination of Diem
In the Heart of Saigon, a man named Diem had been murdered. Diem was the prime Minister of South Vietnam and was a very corrupt politician. He used harsh tactics against the Vietcong and especially against his own people, especially Buddhists. Eventually the people of South Vietnam had enough and the military plotted to overthrow him. On November 2nd, 1964 the military coup went into effect and Diem and his brother where killed. This marked the end of a democratic Vietnam, and a stable Vietnam. -
LBJ orders 1st troops to Vietnam
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, Lyndon B Johnson was given the go ahead to proceed with an escalation in Vietnam. On this day the first ground based troops where sent into Vietnam, not as advisors, but as fighters. A few days earlier, the first air campaign was also started against North Vietnam. -
The Tet Offensive
The Tet offensive was a military offensive perpetuated by the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong. The offensive struck at urban areas and tried to occupy the cities and military bases in the south. This all took place on the Tet celebration, a ceasefire was called for the celebration but that was off the table in the Norths mind. The offensive began late at night and took control of key areas of the south. However they could not be held. The offensive failed, but Americans felt lied too. -
My Lai Massacre
The "Pinkville" or My Lai massacre was a deliberate act of genocide carried out by a group of American soldiers against South Vietnamese civilians up too 500 people died. It was the most horrific thing carried out by U.S soldiers up until the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Women, Children, and the Elderly where not spared from the violence, only one person from the band of troops was convicted. This even soured relations between the Americans and Vietnamese prompting a huge surge in Vietcong. -
Nixon becomes President
Nixon became U.S president on January, 10th 1969. This was an intresting moment in U.S history because by this point the war in Vietnam had escalated to an epic proportion, with hundreds of thousands of ground troops in country and billions of dollars already pored into the war effort. Nixon had promised to end the war and bring the troops back home, he wasn't clear on how he was going to do that however. The people trusted him and he was elected, oh how we where wrong..... -
Nixon’s Vietnamization policy
Vietnamization was a policy of the Richard Nixon administration to end U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War through a program to "expand, equip, and train South Vietnamese forces and assign to them an ever-increasing combat role, at the same time steadily reducing the number of U.S. combat troops". This approach to ending the war however did not succeed as most South Vietnamese did not trust the Southern Government. This idea led to the Souths downfall. -
Nixon ordered troops to Cambodia
On April 30th 1970, Nixon announced his decision to launch American forces into Cambodia with the special objective of capturing COSVN, "The headquarters of the entire communist military operation in South Vietnam." However this was not entirely popular with the American people. With a protest erupting at Kent state. -
Hard Hat Riot
Anti war protests had reached a new height in America with millions of people wanting an end to the war. However they where not the majority. On May 8th 1970, construction workers who believed in the war and in Nixon, at first began there own pro Nixon protest. However the protests soon turned violent as both sides began to attack each other. This resulted with up to 100 people injured. The Hard hat riots gave hope to Nixon of a silent majority. though as the war went on, it began to dissipate. -
Nixon goes to China
Nixon's visit to China was an important strategic and diplomatic event that marked the culmination of the Nixon administration's efforts to establish relations between the United States and mainland China after years of diplomatic isolation. This event is a major change to world relations as after this China opened up its economy to global trade and made steps to rejoin the global community. -
Nixon’s Christmas bombing
Since peace talks between the North and South broke down, Nixon retaliated with a Christmas present to rember. Operation Linebacker II began on December 18th 1972. This forced the Vietnamese back to the negotiating table. In the end it was successful. -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords where a ceasefire in the Vietnam war, only until the unification process and withdrawal of American troops was over. However, the peace did not last and North Vietnam broke the ceasefire in 1975. The Paris Peace accords where a stepping stone for ending the Vietnam war, however they did not end the war as planned. Instead the war would end two years later with a fully conquered south and a full American withdrawal. -
Nixon Resigns
After the Watergate scandal and the dislike being slammed against Nixon, things became extremely hard for the president. In fact, he was so unpopular that impeachment was most likely going to happen and likely he was going to get fired. SO instead of that tarnishing his legacy, Nixon decided to leave with dignity. So on August 8th 1974 Nixon peaced out and flew away. -
The Fall of Saigon
This was the final act of the Vietnam war. The Fall of Saigon was the final push by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong to topple south Vietnam. Tons of Democratic supporters and officials tried to flee the city during the siege on American helicopters and escape the impending slaughter. Not everyone was able to be saved however. There was fighting in the city for days with combatants from the U.S and ARVN fighting one last time to protect civilians and escapees.