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he helped found the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930 and worked for independence.
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In 1940, Japan invaded Vietnam, becoming one of a series of foreign nations to rule the Asian country.
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French troops returned to Vietnam in 1946 and drove the Vietminh into hiding.
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The accords called for elections to be held in 1956 to reunite the country under a single government. -
When President Kennedy took office in 1961 he continued to support South Vietnam believing that it was vital in the battle against communism. -
the generals launched a military coup, seizing power on November 1, 1963.
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Johnson wanted to keep the country from falling to the Communists, August 2, 1964, Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had fired on two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
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By the end of 1965, more than 180,000 U.S. combat troops were fighting in Vietnam. In 1966, that number doubled. The U.S. military entered Vietnam with great confidence. -
North Vietnam sent arms and supplies south by way of a network of jungle paths known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. -
To counter these tactics, American troops tried to find enemy troops, bomb their positions, destroy their supply lines.