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US Pledges $15M to Aid French
The United States sends $15 million dollars in military aid to the French for the war in Indochina. Included in the aid package is a military mission and military advisors. -
Battle of Dienbienphu Begins
A force of 40,000 heavily armed Vietminh lay seige to the French garrison at Dienbienphu. Using Chinese artillery to shell the airstrip, the Vietminh make it impossible for French supplies to arrive by air. It soon becomes clear that the French have met their match. -
French leave Vietnam
The French leave Vietnam -
Communist Insurgency into South Vietnam
Communist insurgent activity in South Vietnam begins. Guerrillas assassinate more than 400 South Vietnamese officials. Thirty-seven armed companies are organized along the Mekong Delta. -
Terrorist Bombings Rock Saigon
Thirteen Americans working for MAAG and US Information Service are wounded in terrorist bombings in Saigon.[ OSAMA BIN LADEN](http://avoiceinamerica.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/terrorist-osama-bin-laden-another-one-bites-the-dust/) -
Weapons Moving Along Ho Chi Minh Trail
1959 Weapons Moving Along Ho Chi Minh Trail: North Vietnam forms Group 559 to begin infiltrating cadres and weapons into South Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Trail will become a strategic target for future military attacks. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident:
Three North Vietnamese PT boats allegedly fire torpedoes at the [USS Maddox](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/dd731-k.htm), a destroyer located in the international waters of the Tonkin Gulf, some thirty miles off the coast of North Vietnam. The attack comes after six months of covert US and South Vietnamese naval operations. -
US Troop Levels Top 200,000
