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1858 - French rule begins in Vietnam - igniting the fuse that will eventually spark the Vietnam War.
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1930 - Ho Chi Minh begins the Indochinese Communist Party. The founding of the party leads to independence for Vietnam.
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1941 - Guerrilla forces organize the Viet Minh 1945 - Ho Chi Minh announces Vietnam's independence after the Viet Minh seizes power. The seperation will ultimatley lead to war.
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1946 - French troops attack Viet Minh igniting resistance against the colonial French power. 1950 - Democratic Republic of Vietnam is confirmed by China and the USSR. The recognition of Vietnam as no longer under the rule of the French spreads resistance.
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1954 - Viet Minh forces attack and the French outpost is over run in only two months time. The French soon agree to peace talks in Geneva. In Geneva, the country is split into North and South Vietnam.
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1956 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem takes action against political dissidents. 1957 - Communist insurgency begins in the South. 1959 - Weapons and men from North Vietnam begin infiltrating the South. The surge of men and weapons into the South leads to further instibility.
1960 - American aid increases. -
1962 - Number of US military advisors in South Vietnam rises to 12,000. 1963 - Viet Cong guerrillas defeat South Vietnamese Army. President Diem is overthrown and killed in a US-backed military opperation.
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1963- The United States enters the war. The initiation of the Draft begins shortly after.
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1964 - Gulf of Tonkin incident occurs. North Vietnamese patrol boats fire on two US Navy destroyers. US Congress approves military action in region. 1965 - 200,000 American troops arrive in South Vietnam. The troop increases influence the decsision to institute the Draft.
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1966 - US troop numbers in Vietnam rise to 400,000, then to 500,000 the following year. Backlash for the War begins on the homefront.
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1968 - Tet Offensive - The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese begin the assult on US troops. More than 500 civilians die in the massacre. The result- thousands are killed by communist forces.
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1969 - Ho Chi Minh dies. President Nixon begins to reduce US ground troops in Vietnam as public opposition to the war continues to grow.
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1970 - Nixon's national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, starts peace talks in Paris. Eventualy the talks work, ending the Draft and troop deployment.
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1973 - Ceasefire agreement reached in Paris. US troops completely withdraw by March. The ceasefire offically ends the Draft and troop deployment.
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1976 - Socialist Republic of Vietnam established. Saigon is re-named Ho Chi Minh City. Hundreds of thousands flee the country as a result.
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(2016). Vietnam profile - Timeline. BBC News. Retreived from
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16568035
