-
Air war begins – “Operation Rolling Thunder”
Operation Rolling Thunder was a strategic bombing campaign. U.S. military aircraft attacked targets throughout North Vietnam from March 1965 to October 1968. This was intended to put military pressure on North Vietnam’s Communist leaders and reduce their capacity to wage war against the U.S. Operation Rolling Thunder represented a major expansion of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. *I am required to enter a full date, so I put January 1st as a ¨defalt¨ -
Eisenhower increases aid under “Domino Theory”
During a news conference in 1954, president Eisenhower explained the domino theory, in which he likened the countries on the brink of communism to a row of dominoes, waiting to fall one after the other. Eisenhower stated, "you have a row of dominoes set up. you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly." -
Vietnam divided at Geneva Accords
From May through July 1954, the countries of France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, the United States, China, Laos, and Cambodia met in Geneva, Switzerland, with the Vietminh and with the South Vietnam's anti-Communist nationalists to hammer out a peace argument. The Geneva Accords temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel. *A full date had to be entered so I put it on the first of May -
Task force advises Kennedy to send U.S. troops
Kennedy administration entered the White House in 1961. Kennedy was wary of accusations that Democrats were ¨soft¨ on communism. Therefore, he increased financial aid to Diems teetering regime and sent thousands of military advisers to help train South Vietnamese troops in their battle against the NLF. By the end of 1963, almost 16,000 U.S. military personnel wer in South Vietnam.- I have to put a full date so I set it at the ¨defalt¨ of January 1st.
-
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
On August 4, 1964, President Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats ad attacked an American destroyer, the USS Maddox. On August 7 the Tonkin Gulf Resolution was adopted. It was not a declaration or war, it granted president Johnson broad military powers in Vietnam. -
TET Offensive
The beginning of the the lunar new year festivities know in Vietnam as TET. Many villages took advantage of a week-long truce. At this time many funerals were being held for the victims of the war. It turned out that the coffins at the funerals contained weapons, and many of the villages were Vietcnong agents. That night the enemy launched an overwhelming attack on nearly 100 towns and cities in South Vietna, as well as 12 U.S. air bases. The TET offense continued for nearly a month. -
“Vietnamization” of the war
President Nixon announced his strategy to end Americas involvement in Vietnam. Known ans Vietnamization, the plan called for the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops in order for the South Vietnamese to take on a more active combat role in the War. By August of 1969, the first 25,000 U.S. troops had returned home from Vietmnam.- I used the 1st because I have to put in a full date and it acts as a ¨defalt¨
-
Nixon orders air attacks on North Vietnam – “Christmas Bombings”
President Nixon announces the beginning of a massive bombing campaign to break the stalemate. American B-52s and fighter-bombers dropped over 20,000 tons of bombs on the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. The United States lost 15 of its giant B-52s and 11 other aircraft during the attacks. North Vietnam claimed that over 1,600 civilians were killed. The bombings continued until December 29. -
Cease-fire between U.S. and North Vietnam signed
South Vietnamese forces continued to take back villages occupied by communists in the two days before the cease-fire deadline and the communists tried to capture additional territory. The South Vietnamese Army was well equipped with last-minute deliveries of U.S. weapons and continued to receive U.S. aid after the cease-fire. . As a result of these post-cease-fire actions, about 25,000 South Vietnamese were killed in battle in 1973, while communist losses in South Vietnam were estimated at 45,00
