-
Ho Chi Minh returns to Vietnam after several years in exile. Japan had seized control of the country so Minh organized a nationalist group called the Vietminh. Communists and non-communists both wanted to unify the country so they came together to try and remove the Japanese -
After Vietnam declared independence the previous year, the French had no intention of losing the former colony. French troops returned to Vietnam and drove Vietminh into hiding. Vietminh fought back and gained control of large areas of the country. France asked the United States for help and they agreed only because they didn't want Vietnam to be communist
-
Negotiations to end conflict were held in Geneva, Switzerland. They provided for a temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel where Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh held the North and a pro-Western regime led by anti-Communist Ngo Dinh Diem held the South. France left and the U.S. became the protector of the government in South Vietnam. Elections were to be held in 1956 to reunite the country but Diem refused to permit them because he feared Ho Chi Minh would win -
After the French seized the town of Dien Bien Phu, hoping to cut off supply lines and force the Vietminh into open battle, a huge Vietminh force surrounded and began bombarding the town. The French forces ended up falling to the Vietminh and the defeat convinced the French to make peace and withdraw from Indochina. Armed conflict between northern and southern armies had lasted until this victory. The French loss at the battle ended almost a century of French colonial rule in Indochina
-
Although the Vietcong included many South Vietnamese, the North provided arms, advisers, and leadership. They sent arms and supplies by a network of jungle paths that wound through Cambodia and Laos, bypassing the border between North and South Vietnam. This trail was used from the start to the end of the war
-
When Kennedy took office, he continued to support South Vietnam, believing the country was vital in the battle against communism. Between 1961-1963, the number of U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam went from 2,000 to 15,000. South Vietnamese created special fortified villages known as strategic hamlets. Villagers were moved here despite the peasants' resentment at being uprooted from their villages and these programs proved extremely unpopular
-
Diem discriminated against Buddhism which was the country's most widely practiced religions. He banned the traditional religious flags for the Buddha's birthday and Buddhists started protesting in the streets. After the police killed nine people, a Buddhist monk poured gasoline over his robes and lit himself on fire followed by many others later on. Americans were horrified when this was shown on the news. Vietnamese generals overthrew Diem on November 1 and he was executed soon after -
Johnson announced that North Vietnamese torpedo boats had fired on two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin followed by other attacks. Insisting these were unprovoked, he ordered American aircraft to attack North Vietnamese ships and naval facilities. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which allowed the president to take any measures necessary to prevent armed attacks on the U.S. and prevent further aggression. Johnson sent an aircraft to Bomb North Vietnam after a damaging attack
-
Despite being told that it would be difficult to get out if America became too involved in the war, Johnson expanded American involvement by ordering a bombing campaign against North Vietnam. That same month, he sent the first U.S. combat troops into Vietnam
-
Johnson took the final steps that would commit the U.S. to full-scale war in Vietnam. He authorized the dispatch of 100,000 troops immediately, followed by another 100,000 the following year. Vietcong used ambushes, booby traps, and other guerrilla tactics since they lacked the firepower of the U.S. forces. They blended into the general population which made it difficult to spot them. American generals believed bombing and killing would lead to surrender but the Vietnamese wouldn't do so