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Viet Minh leaders proclaim the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, with Hanoi its capital and Ho Chi Minh its president. No other countries recognize this regime.
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The British land in Saigon to disarm the Japanese and to restore French control in what will become known as South Vietnam. Viet Minh withdraws.
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Viet Minh attacks French forces occupying Hanoi in northern Vietnam, beginning the First Indochina War.
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Under President Harry Truman, the United States begins to contribute money and supplies to the French war effort in Vietnam.
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Gives Vietnam "independence" within the French Union although the French retain control over all key governmental functions.
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President Eisenhower refuses to commit American troops to the Franco-Vietnamese War.
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The Viet Minh launches its first assault on French forces at Dien Bien Phu. The battle will rage for over two months.
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The French surrender to the Viet Minh. The Geneva Conference on the status of Indochina begins.
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Geneva Accords signed; Vietnam is to be divided at the seventeenth parallel until elections can be held in 1956 to reunify the country. The South Vietnamese government and the United States refuse to sign, though both promise to abide by the agreement.
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An American serviceman dies in Vietnam, the first combat death reported. For many Americans, the death will mark the beginning of the Vietnam War.
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With U.S. encouragement, South Vietnamese General Duong Van Minh overthrows the Diem regime.
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The USS Maddox reports an assault for the second time by North Vietnamese gunboats, though evidence of such an attack is inconclusive. President Lyndon B. Johnson orders retaliatory strikes. The U.S. bombs North Vietnam for the first time.
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American ground forces engage the Viet Cong in direct fighting for the first time. Platoons are sent to "search and destroy," that is, to ambush enemy forces and then withdraw immediately (rather than fortify and hold hostile territory).
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Beginning on the Vietnamese Tet holiday, Viet Cong forces shock U.S. troops with a wave of attacks supported by North Vietnamese troops. Heavy fighting will continue for months. Ultimately, the Tet Offensive will be a catastrophe for the NLF and the Viet Cong, which lose 37,000 fighters. But it is also a serious blow for the United States, which loses 2,500 men. Public support for the war in the U.S. plummets.
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The war in Vietnam—its beginning marked by the first death of an American serviceman reported on 22 December 1961—becomes the longest war in American histor
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Peace talks are held in Paris. Representatives from the U.S., the South Vietnamese government, and the NLF are present.
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The House and the Senate vote to withdraw all U.S. troops in Vietnam by year's end.
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President Nixon orders massive bombing of North Vietnam in response to a major attack (the Easter Offensive) launched by the NLF in South Vietnam.
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The last U.S. ground troops leave Vietnam. Thousands of airmen, advisors, and support personnel remain.
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Representatives from South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the United States sign a peace agreement in which a ceasefire is declared, the U.S. agrees to withdraw combat troops, and the government of South Vietnam promises to hold free elections to allow its people to decide their future.
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The Vietnam War is officially over for the United States. The last U.S. combat soldier leaves Vietnam, but military advisors and some Marines remain. Over 3 million Americans have served in the war, nearly 60,000 are dead, some 150,000 are wounded, and at least 1,000 are missing in action. The actual war ends on August 30 when Saigon falls.
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Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008). The Vietnam War Timeline of Important Dates. Retrieved May 27, 2016, from http://www.shmoop.com/vietnam-war/timeline.html
