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Dien Bien Phu
Vietnam troops took over French command post at Dien Bien Phu. Vietnam had won even though they had lost 8,000 men and had 12,000 wounded when the French only had 3,000 dead and had 8,000 wounded. This was a great day for the Vietnamese. -
Creation of the Ho Chi Minh trail
An army unit, called the North Vietnamese Army unit (Group 559), was created to build a route to bring supplies from North Vietnam to Vietcong troops in South Vietnam. This route was primarily built along the Vietnamese/Cambodian border. This route was named the Ho Chi Minh trail. -
United States becomes actively involved
The United States became actively involved when President JFK gets South Vietnam more help to fight the Vietcong guerrillas. This help included new equipment and 3,000 men for advisors and support personnel. -
Operation Ranchhand
This operation had a goal, which was to get rid of vegetation along highways, basically to make it more of a challenge for the Vietcong to hide. Areas of forest were exposed to "Agent Orange" (a herbicide that contained deadly chemicals) which destroyed crops the Vietcong might have eaten. -
Gulf of Tonkin Attack
South Vietnamese troops attacked two, small North Vietnam islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson power to do whatever he needed to defend southeast Asia. -
Rolling Thunder Begins
This operation was approved by President Johnson in bombing North Vietnam in order to stop Vietcong guerrillas in South Vietnam. This lasted three years. -
US offers peace for economic aid proposal
The US proposed an exchange. The US would give North Vietnam economic aid for peace. Though this proposal was turned down by North Vietnam. Allies in Korea and Australia added their support internationaly. -
President Johnson commits over 60,000 troops to Vietnam.
Because of the turn down of the economic aid proposal, President Johnson raised America's combat strenght in Vietnam to over 60,000 troops. This gave them power over their enemies. -
First major battle of Vietnam War for American Units
US starts Operation Starlite which led to the first major battle of the Vietnam War. US had a big victory, killing 700 Vietcong soldiers and the US only lost 45 men, and had 200 wounded. This is important to the Vietnam War because it shows where the US was ranked in power at this time. -
Operation Junction City
This operation was said to be one of the largest air-mobile attacks ever having 240 helicopters fly over Tay Ninh province. The main goal of this operation was to destroy enemy bases and headquarters, weaking the enemy side. 30,000 US troops took place in this, along with 5,000 South Vietnamese troops! This lasted 72 days and ended with the US getting amounts of stores, their equipment, and their weapons. -
Khe Sanh attacked by Vietcong
At 5:30 am, an attack was placed against Khe Sanh. 18 marines were killed and 40 were injured. Attacks followed for 2 more days. -
Tet Offensive begins
An attack by Vietcong resulted in 100 cities being attacked, 37,000 Vietcong troops being killed, losing many important figures. US lost 2,500 men, making this a huge blow to public support. -
My Lai massacre
US Charlie Company killed about 200 members of My Lai. This made people wonder about the conduct of the war. -
Nixon takes office
When President Nixon took office he promised to try to get a half million troops taken out of Vietnam by negotiation. This is important to the Vietnam War because it shows the strenght of the US presidents. -
Operation Menu
This was the bombing of North Vietnam and Vietcong bases in Cambodia. Over the next four years, the US drops over a half million ton of bombs!!! -
All but 133,000 US troops have come home
2/3 of the soldiers went home, leaving 133,000 soldiers to fight. -
Peace talks break downs
The peace talks between North Vietnamese and the US breakdown. -
Peace talks resume
The peace talks resume in Paris. This is important to the Vietnam War because it shows how they are trying to resolve this conflict. -
Cease fire signed
All parties included in the Vietnam War signed a cease fire. -
Nixon resigns
President Nixon resigns, leaving South Vietnam without their strongest supporter. -
Last casualties for the US and final evacuation.
At 4:03 am, 2 US marines are killed at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport, and they are the last Americans to die in the Vietnam War. This was very important to the Vietnam War because it signifies the ending of it.