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The French capture of Saignon was known as one of the first and major events of the Cochinchina campaign in Vietnam. The French knew that Saignon was extremely important and useful, for it was one of the main food-producing areas in Vietnam.
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France negotiates with Vietnam. Vietnam gave up three provinces, BiênHòa, GiaĐịnh and ĐinhTường to them.
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Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) emerges in Paris at end of World War I and tries to petition President Woodrow Wilson for self-determination of Vietnam.
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Ho Chi Minh starts the Viet Minh, a communist and nationalist liberation movement created to obtain independence for Vietnam from France.
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Rumors of a possible American invasion spreads, the Japanese ousted the French colonial governmentin which was operating independently and seized control of Vietnam, installing Bao Dai as their puppet ruler.
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French soldiers under the command of General Jacques Phillipe Leclerc arrive in South Vietnam to restore French rule; they succeed in expelling the Viet Minh from Saigon.
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30,000 Viet Minh launch attack the French; starting the eight year war known as the First Indochina War, fought for the control of Vietnam.
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10,000 French soldiers surrender at Dien Bien Phu, leading to France’s complete withdrawal from Vietnam; the First Indochina War is over. The following day, the Geneva Conference on Indochina begins, and it is attended by U.S. Britain, China, Soviet Union, France, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, trying to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia.
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Located in Geneva, the French surrendered North Vietnam to the Communists. The French signed an armistice, the Geneva Accords, with the Viet Minh that ended the war however divided Vietnam into two countries; North Vietnam and South Vietnam. This led to almost a million anti-Communists in the north to flee to the south.
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Ngo Dinh Diem becomes the prime minister of South Vietnam, and gains support from the U.S.
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U.S. aircraft carrier carrying Army helicopters arrived in Saigon; this was the first direct American military support for the South Vietnam's battle against the Communist guerrillas.
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The US president; President Johnson announced the increasing American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
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The siege of Khe Sanh was the longest and bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War.
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Vietnamese troops took over Phnom Penh and the Cambodian ruler; Pol Pot is ousted from his power.
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Ho Chi Minh officially declares a People’s war to unite all of Vietnam under his lead. The Second Indochina War begins.
