-
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
French forces occupied the Dien Bien Phu Valley in 1953, but Vietnamese forces began their attack on March 13, 1954. The U.S. decided not to give aid to the French as casuality rates could have been incredibly high. Since the French soldiers were very outnumbered and had no assistance, they surrendered to Vietnam forces on May 7, 1954.
http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-dien-bien-phu
http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?219887-Dien-Bien-Phu -
Splitting of Vietnam
The Geneva Conference was held on this date with the U.S., China, USSR, Austrailia, and Vietnam. North Vietnamese people wanted the whole country to be under Communism, but the South wanted a democracy. Neither side would budge, so they decided to split the country in half. The U.S. began to show support to South Vietnam.
https://carlbakerstone.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/vietnam-how-the-country-split-and-fell-into-war/
https://hum3bg.wikispaces.com/1954_Vietnam+Split+at+the+17th+Parallel -
Support to South Vietnam
President Eisenhower decided to give assistance to the government of Ngo Dinh Diem, president of South Vietnam. However, President Diem never followed through on his promises to Eisenhower in return. His decision not to carry out his promises caused him civil unrest in his nation and ultmately his life.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-president-pledges-support-to-south-vietnam -
Beginning of War
Group 559 was formed to move officers, weapons, and supplies from North to South Vietnam to prepare for invasions of South Vietnam. This year as a whole marks the official beginning of the war, however the U.S. would not give much aid until later.
http://www.snipview.com/q/1959%20in%20Vietnam
http://faculty.catawba.edu/cmcallis/history/mapping/world.htm -
JFK Inauguration
John F. Kennedy becomes president of the United States and says, "...We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to insure the survival and the success of liberty."
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/202562/jfk-50th-nation-pauses-to-remember-lost-president.html -
Joining the War?
Kennedy sends over 16,000 military advisors with helicopters to give direction to South Vietnamese troops, thus somewhat causing the United States to join the war effort. The president explained this as a way of keeping Communists from taking over Vietnam.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whirlwind_helicopters_on_HMS_Bulwark_(R08)_c1961.jpg -
Battle of Ap Bac
The South Vietnamese Army is ambushed by the Vietcong, a communist military group from the North. This was the Vietcong's first time to really stand their ground against U.S. machinery.
http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/timeline/
http://kyle119lindahl.blogspot.com/ -
Assassination of President Diem
President Diem of South Vietnam is assassinated. This country becomes dependent on the United States to win the war and defeat Northern Vietnamese troops.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413521/Ngo-Dinh-Diem
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html -
Assassination of JFK
President Kennedy is assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the 4th president to deal with the Vietnam War issues. However, Johnson never really had a mindset of winning the war. He was so overcome wth the stress and frustration of the war in Vietnam that he was simply "fighting not to lose".
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html
http://www.myk104.com/street-swagg/dallas-artist-channels-the-death-of-jfk/ -
New Ambassador and Commander in South Vietnam
President Johnson appoints General Maxwell Taylor to be the new U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam. He also makes General William Westmoreland as the new United States military commander. Shown in the picture is Gen. Maxwell Taylor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_D._Taylor
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1961.html -
USS Pueblo
North Korea captured an American Navy Spy ship, called the USS Pueblo, on this date. This event led up to the attacks in South Vietnam just one short week later. This photo shows the USS Pueblo.
http://strongarmor.blogspot.com/2013/04/vietnam-war-project.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_(AGER-2) -
Tet Offensive
In an attempt to stop rebellion of South Vietnam and minimize U.S. support, North Vietnam attacked over 100 cities on this lunar new year holiday. This event caused President Johnson to drop out of his re-election campaign.
http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive
http://insidethevietnamwar.weebly.com/tet-offensive.html -
Nixon Becomes President
Richard Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th president of the United States. He says this regarding the Viernam war near the tme of his inauguration, "...The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker. This honor now beckons America..."
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1969.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon -
Paris Peace Accords
The United States, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam signed an accordance for the U.S. to stop all military assistance in 60 days. North Vietnam would cease-fire and release all American prisoners also within 60 days. At this time, Vietnam was still divided, but the U.S. was no longer involved in the war effort. The photo shows government officials signing the peace agreement.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index-1969.html
http://www.snipview.com/q/Paris%20Peace%20Accords -
Vietnam War Ends
Communists had officially taken over all of Saigon, South Vietnam, forcing the nation to surrender to North Vietnam. Some Vietnamese supporters of the United States attempted to come to America, but unfortunately many did not make it.
http://strongarmor.blogspot.com/2013/04/vietnam-war-project.html
http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=3335
_c1961.jpg){kind=link}