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The Vietnam War was fought between communist North Vietnam and Southern Vietnam. The North was supported by the Soviet Union. The South was supported by the United States.
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In 1954 the French lost a major battle. The country was divided up into a communist Northern Vietnam and a Southern Vietnam. However, the United States did not want the country to become communist. They helped Ngo Dinh Diem get elected in the South.
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Ho Chi Minh declared all out war in order to unite Vietnam under one rule.
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US military advisors begin to take a direct role in the war.
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The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is passed by the US Congress after two US Destroyers were attacked by the North Vietnamese. This allowed US troops to use armed force in the area.
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The first official US combat troops arrive in Vietnam. The US begins a bombing campaign of Northern Vietnam called Operation Rolling Thunder.
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North Vietnam launches the Tet Offensive attacking around 100 cities in Southern Vietnam.
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North Vietnam and the United States did most of the fighting. By 1969, the Vietnam War seemed endless, and tPresident Nixon slowly began to withdraw troops.
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Acease-fire was arranged. The last U.S. ground troops left Vietnam two months later. Despite the treaty, fighting between North and South Vietnam resumed soon afterward, but U.S. troops did not return.
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The war officially ended on April 30, 1975, when South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam.
