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Vietnam War Events
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The Beggining of the Vietnam War
The vietnam war started on September 2nd 1945 when Ho Chi Minh established a new government called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. the French did not accept this because they did not want to lose a colony. For 8 years the French would fight Ho and his forces to stay in control of Vietnam, but in 1954 after a 56 day battle at Dienbienphu the French finally admitted defeat and soon the Geneva Peace Accords were brought into place to discuss the new circumstances arising in Vietnam -
Eisenhower Cites the Domino Theory
On April 7th 1954 Eisenhower responds to a journalists question on the war in Indochina saying that if one country fell to communism it would have a domino effect causing the countries surrounding that one to become communist as well. This theory of spreading communism led U.S. thinking in the Vietnam war for the next decade and became one of the most famous cold war phrases ever said. -
Indochina War
The Second Indochina War or its common name in the U.S. the Vietnam War was the struggle between Ho Chi Minh fighting for a communist Vietnam and the U.S. fighting to prevent the spread of Communism. This war began on May 9th 1954 and continued for a devastating 19 years. In this war the U.S. supported the South because of their want of a Democratic government, but in the end lost to the North and the Vietcong officially making Vietnam communist. -
Campaign of Terror against villages controlled by Diem
In July 1959 a group of 4000 south vietnamese launched an armed attack against Diem and use the tactic of Guerrilla warfare in which the fighters carry out hit and run attacks. In these attacks the guerrillas performed terrible acts of both murder and kidnapping among many other violent and terrible things. The guerrillas although killing many innocent civilians they were mainly after officials of Diem to take out to cripple his power and his influence. -
Vietcong Formed
On December 20 1960 the Vietcong or the People's Liberation Armed Forces are formed by Ho Chi Minh who sends the south vietnamese that fled to the north back into south Vietnam to infiltrate it unknowns't to the South Vietnamese. These Vietcong used the Ho Chi Minh trail to get to their attack point where they would use several different tactics including Guerrilla warfare to attack their targets and use any force to win. These Vietnam were used in three levels the regular forces operating under -
U.S. Military Begins using Agent Orange
On January 9th 1962 the U.S. began to use chemical warfare by using an herbicide called agent orange. This herbicide was one of the color coded herbicides the U.S. sprayed over country landscapes in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971 to kill vegetation that would either feed the Vietcong army or shelter them in the dense forest and jungle. This chemical weapon had a dioxin that was used in the making of it and was responsible for the many health problems later seen in Vietnam like cancer and other things -
Gulf of Tonkin
On August 2nd 1964 it was reported that Vietnamese war ships were launching torpedoes at American ships and although this is extremely controversial whether it even happened this is what cemented the U.S. in its involvement in the Vietnam war. This attack led to the Gulf of Tonkin resolution that Congress, which said that the President could command troops to attack and stay in certain areas that he chooses. -
First U.S ground troops sent to Vietnam
On March 8th 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson with the authority that was given to him by congress through the Gulf of Tonkin resolution sends troops to Vietnam, which just further heightened the state of the U.S. affairs in Vietnam. The first U.S. soldiers landed near Da Nang in South Vietnam. -
U.S. Arial Bombing - Operation Rolling Thunder
On March 2 1965 U.S. military planes attacked targets through the whole of North Vietnam from March to October 1968. These attacks were meant to pressure North Vietnam's leader to reduce their want of war against the U.S. supporting the South Vietnamese. This operation was first carried out when it hit the Xom Bang ammunition dump 100 miles away from the southeast of Hanoi. Operation Rolling Thunder is considered slightly controversial as to whether it was very effective or not effective enough -
Tet Offensive
Tet OffensiveOn January 31 1968 around 70,000 Vietnamese and Vietcong launched an attack called the Tet Offensive named this because it was done on a holiday in Vietnam called Tet. These attacks were extremely and unexpectedly coordinated and were executed on over 100 cities and towns in the South Vietnam. The general in charge of these missions was General Vo Nguyen Giap, who was the leader of the Communist People's Army of Vietnam. He planned this to try and cause a rebellion throughout the South Vietnames -
Policy of "Vietnamization" announced
On November 3rd 1969 President Richard Nixon announced his new strategy called Vietnamization. This strategy was put in place to end the American involvement in the Vietnam War by moving all military responsibilities that the U.S. was responsible for back to South Vietnam to fight their own war. Nixon thought that this strategy, which involved the growing of South Vietnam's military strength so that the U.S. could gradually withdrawal troops. This strategy was put in place so that Nixon's campai -
Kent State Incident
On May 4th 1970 there were members of the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University trying to appease the angry protestors that were college students at this campus. This rally had been planned since the previous Friday, but the officials of the University issued flyers to tell students that all rallies were banned. The students ignored these warnings and gathered in the commons of the University at around 11 a.m. The high ranking guardsmen, General Robert Canterbury, ordered an end to the ra -
Watergate Scandal
On June 17th 1972 in the morning 5 burglars were arrested in the office of the Democratic National Committee, which was located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. These burglars once on trial were found out to be payed and given hush money by President Nixon's re-election committee. They had been caught trying to tap phones and steal secret documents from the Democratic party. After the burglars admitted Nixon was part of their espionage Nixon denied and tried to further hide his invol -
U.S. troops withdraw from Vietnam
On January 27th 1973 peace accords were reached and a cease fire was put into place. Although the talk was had that day troops were not pulled out until the following day on the 28th. Because of these peace accords it was said that the South Vietnamese were to be left to their own fate and resources in the fight against the North Vietnamese. By the end of 1973 nearly all of the U.S. military had pulled out of South Vietnam. Because of this and the subsequent cutting of any aid to the South they -
Works Cited