| Event
| Date
| Location
| Significance
|
| Democratic Republic of Vietnam established
| 1945
| Vietnam
| With defeat and withdrawal of Japanese, Ho Chi Minh leads new state
with 15,000 French soldiers present |
| Ho retreats to hills
| 1947
| Vietnam
| French seek to depose Ho who leads Viet Minh troops in opposition to
French colonial presence
|
| French suffer huge defeat as 12,000 troops surrender and withdraw from
Indochina
| May 7, 1954
| Dienbienphu
| Although U.S. paid 80% of French costs, Eisenhower refused to send
troops to Vietnam
|
| Geneva Accords establish temporary division of Vietnam at 17th
parallel
| July 1954
| Geneva, Switzerland
| Vietnam is divided into two nations with Ho leading the north and Ngo
Dinh Diem leading the "free" South. Promise of free elections
in 1956
|
| Diem opponents form National Liberation Front (NLF)
| 1960
| South Vietnam
| Communists and others attempt to overthrow Diem and unify Vietnam
|
| Diem overthrown and assassinated
| November 2, 1963
| Saigon
| With U.S. approval and support, Diem is replaced with military junta.
16,000 American military advisors in Vietnam
|
| Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
| August 5, 1964
| Washington, D.C.
| Following conflict between U.S. destroyers and North Vietnamese
gunboats, Pres. Johnson is given authority to "prevent further
aggression." Measure passes Congress 416-0 in House and 88-2 in
Senate
|
| Johnson defeats Goldwater for presidency
| November 1964
| U.S.
| Portrayed as peace candidate, Johnson scores huge victory with 61% of
the vote
|
| Johnson orders bombing of North Vietnam after attack at Pleiku kills 7
U.S. soldiers
| February 1965
| Vietnam
| In retaliation for Communist attack on U.S. unit, LBJ authorizes
attack, but stops short of all-out bombing
|
| 20,000 U.S. troops sent to support South Vietnam
| April 1, 1965
|
| Violating his promises, LBJ raises U.S. troop level to 100,000 to
fight Viet Cong
|
| Tet Offensive begins
| January 31, 1968
| Vietnam
| Viet Cong forces launch massive attack on American positons throughout
Vietnam. LBJ's popularity ratings drop to 35%
|
| My Lai Massacre
| March 16, 1968
| Vietnam
| Lt. William Calley leads unit which kills at least 175 unarmed
Vietnamese civilians. Calley is later court-martialed and convicted,
though none of his superiors are charged
|
| LBJ announces withdrawal from 1968 presidential race
| March 31, 1968
| White House, Washington, D.C.
| Johnson announces end of bombing and calls for peace talks after
embarassing performance in New Hampshire primaries
|
| Paris Peace talks begin
| May 1968
| Paris
| Longest war in U.S. history begins winding down
|
| Nixon defeats Humphrey and Wallace
| November 1968
| U.S.
| Nixon wins with 43.4% of popular vote
|
| U.S. begins secret bombing of North Vietnam and Cambodia
| March 1969
|
| Nixon avoids antiwar protests by not telling Congress or people about
bombings
|
| Nixon announces withdrawal of 60,000 U.S. ground troops
| September 1969
|
| First reduction of U.S. troops since start of war
|
| U.S. troops enter Cambodia
| April 1970
| Cambodia
| Despite Nixon pledges that U.S. troops were withdrawing from Vietnam,
Cambodia invasion and bombing brought huge domestic opposition
|
| Kent State Massacre
| May 4, 1970
| Ohio
| National Guard forces kill four students protesting Vietnam
involvement
|
| Congress repeals Tonkin Gulf Resolution
| June 24, 1970
| Washington, D.C.
| In 81-10 vote, Senate repeals authorization of U.S. involvement
|
| Laos invaded
| February 1971
| Laos
| U.S. and South Vietnamese forces make incursion to "protect
withdrawal of U.S. forces"
|
| Pentagon Papers released
| June 1971
| New York
| New York Times begins publication of secret war study
|
| North Vietnamese troops invade South
| March 1972
| Vietnam
| U.S. responds by widespread bombing of North, including bombing of
Hanoi and mining of Haiphong Harbor
|
| Largest bombing of North Vietnam
| December 17, 1972
| North Vietnam
| American B-52s begin largest bombing of war, losing 15 B-52s
|
| Cease-fire accord achieved
| January 27, 1973
| Paris
| All fighting to stop and American prisoners of war to be released by
North Vietnam
|
| Nixon resigns presidency
| August 1974
| White House, Washington, D.C.
| Under pressure from members of his own party, Nixon ceases fight over
Watergate scandal
|
| North Vietnamese forces take Saigon
| April 30, 1975
| Saigon, South Vietnam
| Communist forces occupy South, renaming Saigon Ho Chi Minh City. U.S.
troops evacuate American embassy as South Vietnamese flee
|
|
