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Dien Bien Phu
The battle lasted 55 days. The French commander orders his troops to cease fire and the Vietnamese forces occupied the French command post at Dien Bien Phu. The Vietnamese victory shattered France's resolve to carry on the war. -
Ho Chi Minh Trail
A supply route from North Vietnam to Vietcong forces in South Vietnam is created by a specialized North Vietnamese Army unit, Group 559. Offshoots of the trail run the entire length of Vietnam. -
United States becomes actively involved
On docks in South Vietnam American helicopters arrive along with 400 U.S. personnel who will fly and maintain the aircraft. The United States has become actively involved. -
Operation Ranchhand
Operation Ranchhand began in early 1962. The goal of the operation was to clear vegetation alongside the highways and make it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves for ambushes. As the war continued, the extent of operation increased. A vast number of areas of forest were sprayed with Agent Orange, an herbicide containing the deadly chemical Dioxin. Guerrilla trails and base areas were exposed and crops that might have fed Vietcong units were destroyed. -
Gulf of Tonkin Attack
South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. To draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos the U.S. destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, is 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
President Johnson is given the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend Southeast Asia after the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. -
Rolling Thunder Begins
Operation Rolling Thunder was authorized President Johnson and lasted from 1965 to 1968. This was a limited but long lasting bombing offensive aimed to force North Vietnam to stop supporting Vietcong guerrillas in the South. -
US Offers peace for economic aid proposal
The offer is immediately rejected when the U.S. offers North Vietnam economic aid in exchange for peace. Allied forces from Korea and Australia are added as a sign of international support two weeks later by President Johnson. -
President Johnson commits over 60,000 troops to Vietnam
President Johnson has 60,000 troops added to raises America's combat strength in Vietnam after North Vietnam rejected the U.S. offer of economic aid in exchange for peace. -
First major battle of Vietnam War for American Units
Air attacks eventually drive the Vietcong away when they attack at Dong Xai. This is a South Vietnamese Army district headquarters and American Special Forces camp. Dong Xai is overrun by a full Vietcong regiment. -
Operation Junction City
Operation Junction City begins one of the largest air-mobile assaults ever, 240 helicopters sweep over Tay Ninh province. The goal of Junction City is to destroy Vietcong bases and the Vietcong military headquarters. All of which are located in War Zone C, north of Saigon. Some 30,000 U.S. troops take part in the mission, joined by 5,000 men of the South Vietnamese Army. After 72 days, Junction City ends. American forces succeed in capturing large quantities of equipment and weapons, but there a -
Khe Sanh attacked by Vietcong
The initial attack continues for two days starting at 5:30 a.m with a shattering bombardment of shells, mortars and rockets slaming into the Marine base at Khe Sanh. Eighteen Marines are killed instantly, 40 are wounded. -
Tet Offensive begins
On the Tet holiday more than 100 cities and towns are attacked by Vietcong units surging into action over the length and width of South Vietnam. Shock attacks by Vietcong sapper-commandos are first followed by wave after wave of supporting troops. 37,000 Vietcong troops deployed for Tet have been killed. Many more had been wounded or captured, and the fighting had created more than a half million civilian refugees by the end of the city battles. Most of the Vietcong's best fighters, political o -
My Lai massacre
The U.S. Charlie Company kills about two hundred civilians in the village of My Lai. Only one member of the division is tried and found guilty of war crimes. The repercussions of the atrocity are felt throughout the Army. Rare acts like this would undo the benefit of countless hours of civic action by Army units and individual soldiers. This also raised unsettling questions about the conduct of the war. -
Nixon takes Office
As President Richard M. Nixon takes office as the President of the United States he has regards to Vietnam. He promises to achieve "Peace With Honor." And his aim is to negotiate a settlement that will allow the half million U.S. troops in Vietnam to be withdrawn well still allowing South Vietnam to survive. -
Operation Menu
In spite of government restrictions, President Nixon authorizes Operation Menu, the bombing of North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases within Cambodia. The U.S. forces will drop more than a half million tons of bombs on Cambodia over the following four years. -
All but 133,000 US troops have come home
With only 133,000 U.S. servicemen remain in South Vietnam the ground war is now almost exclusively the responsibility of South Vietnam. They have over 1,000,000 men enlisted in its armed forces. Two thirds of America's troops have gone home in two years. -
Peace talks break down
Peace talks, in Paris, between the North Vietnamese and the Americans breakdown. -
Peace talks resume
North Vietnam and the United States resume peace talks in Paris. -
Cease fire signed
A cease fire is signed by all warring parties in the Vietnam War -
Nixon Resigns
President Richard M. Nixon resigns. This leaves South Vietnam without its strongest advocate. -
Last casualties for the US and final evacuation
The last Americans to die in the Vietnam War are two U.S. Marines are killed in a rocket attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport at 4:03 a.m. The last Marines of the force guarding the U.S. embassy lift off at dawn. Only hours later, looters ransack the embassy, and North Vietnamese tanks role into Saigon, ending the war. In 15 years, nearly a million North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops and a quarter of a million South Vietnamese soldiers have died. Hundreds of thousands of civilians had been k