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Dien Bien Phu
Vietnamese forces occupy the French command post at Dien Bien Phu and the French commander orders his troops to cease fire. The battle had lasted 55 days. Three thousand French troops were killed, 8,000 wounded. The Viet Minh suffered much worse, with 8,000 dead and 12,000 wounded, but the Vietnamese victory shattered France's resolve to carry on the war -
Creation of the Ho Chi Minh trail
With the approval of Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia, Group 559 develops a primitive route along the Vietnamese/Cambodian border, with offshoots into Vietnam along its entire length. -
United States becoms actively involved
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Operation Ranchhand
The goal of Ranchhand is to clear vegetation alongside highways, making it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves for ambushes. As the war continues, the scope of Ranchhand increases. -
Gulf of Tonkin attack
On this night, South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The U.S. destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, is 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack to draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos. -
Gulf of Tonkin resolution
It gives President Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia. -
Operation Rolling Thunder begins
It is a limited but long lasting bombing offensive. Its aim is to force North Vietnam to stop supporting Vietcong guerrillas in the South. -
President Johnson commits over 60,000 troops to vietnam
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U.S. offers peace for economic aid proposal
The offer is summarily rejected. -
First major battle of Vietnam War for American Units
The United States scores a resounding victory. Ground forces, artillery from Chu Lai, ships and air support combine to kill nearly 700 Vietcong soldiers. U.S. forces sustain 45 dead and more than 200 wounded. -
American forces total 385,000
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Operation Junction City
The goal of Junction City is to destroy Vietcong bases and the Vietcong military headquarters for South Vietnam, 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 stores, equipment and weapons, but there are no large, decisive battles. -
Khe Sanh attacked by Vietcong
18 marines are killed and 40 are wounded. -
Tet Offensive begins
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My Lai massacre
Charlie Company kills about two hundred civilians. Although only one member of the division is tried and found guilty of war crimes, the repercussions of the atrocity is felt throughout the Army. However rare, such acts undid the benefit of countless hours of civic action by Army units and individual soldiers and raised unsettling questions about the conduct of the war. -
Operation Rolling Thunder ends
In total, the campaign had cost more than 900 American aircraft. Eight hundred and eighteen pilots are dead or missing, and hundreds are in captivity. Nearly 120 Vietnamese planes have been destroyed in air combat or accidents, or by friendly fire. According to U.S. estimates, 182,000 North Vietnamese civilians have been killed. Twenty thousand Chinese support personnel also have been casualties of the bombing. -
Nixon takes office
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Operation Menu
The bombing of North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases within Cambodia. Over the following four years, U.S. forces will drop more than a half million tons of bombs on Cambodia. -
Spraying of Agent Orange ends
Operation Ranchhand has sprayed 11 million gallons of Agent Orange -- containing 240 pounds of the lethal chemical Dioxin -- on South Vietnam. More than one seventh of the country's total area has been laid waste. -
All but 133,000 U.S. troops have come home
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Peace talks break down
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Peace talks resume
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Cease fire signed
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Nixon Resigns
Leaves South Vietnam without its strongest advocate. -
Last U.S. casualties and final evacuations
2 U.S. Marines are killed in a rocket attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport.