The Vietnam War

  • Beginning of Vietnam War

    Beginning of Vietnam War
    This marks the beginnins of the Vietnam war. The war was between North Vietnam and its southern allies and South Vietnam and the United States.
  • Period: to

    Vietnam War

  • South Vietnam Declaration

    South Vietnam Declaration
    South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam. Ngo Dinh Diem was the new elected president.
  • French leave Vietnam

    French leave Vietnam
    The French leave Vietnam. The French had previously declared Vietnam a free state within the French union. The French had placed troops in the North until 1956 ehrn they left Vietnam.
  • Terrorist Bombings

    Terrorist Bombings
    There were terrorist bombings in Saigon. 13 Americans are wounded due to these bombings.
  • South Vietnam President Executed

    South Vietnam President Executed
    Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnamese president is executed.
  • JFK Assasination

    JFK Assasination
    President Kennedy was assasinate in Dallas. This meant that Lyndon B. Johnson (the vice president at the time) would be sworn into office. This meant that Johnson had to decide how to proceed in Vietnam. This was something that he struggled with while in office.
  • Gulf of Tonkin Incident

    Gulf of Tonkin Incident
    On August 2nd and 4th, the North Vietmanese attack two U.S. destroyers. These destroyers are sitting in international waters. On August 7th, the U.S. passes the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. This resolution allowed the president to do whatever necessary to assist those of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty.
  • Operation "Rolling Thunder"

    Operation "Rolling Thunder"
    Operation "Rolling Thunder" was deployed in 1965 and would continue for 3 years. These were American bombing raids of North Korea. They were nearly continuous air raids.
  • Combat Troops

    Combat Troops
    The first U.S combat troops arrive.
  • MLK Jr. speaks out

    MLK Jr. speaks out
    Martin Luther King speaks out against the war. He suggests a merger between civil rights groups and antiwar groups.
  • Tet Offensive

    Tet Offensive
    A surprise attack was launched against the U.S and its allies in the South on the new year. There was a counterattack later in the year where all of the lost areas were recaptured.
  • Battle for Hue

    Battle for Hue
    The U.S and South Vietmanese forces battle for 26 days trying to get the site back that was lost during the Tet Offensive. The battle left nearly all of the population homeless. Mass graves of those executed during the Communist operation were also deiscovered here.
  • Mai Lai Massacre

    Mai Lai Massacre
    U.S soldiers kill Vietmanese civilians in the town of Mai Lai. Once the news was heard in the U.S, shockwaves were sent through the U.S poilitcial system and the commanders in the military. The American Public did not evern hear about it for months after.
  • Withdrawal of troops

    Withdrawal of troops
    President Nixon ordered the withdrawal of U.S forces. The last troops are withdrawn on this day.
  • End of the Vietnam War

    End of the Vietnam War
    The South surrenders to the communists. Communist forces seized control of Saigon, which ended the war.The country then became unified in 1976 as a communist country.