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French troops were beaten easily in Dien Bien Phu by the Vietnamese. This battle started in March and lasted into May. The loss called for the removal of French rule in Indochina. This battle also led to Vietnam becoming more divided -
In July of 1959 U.S. soldiers were in their living quarters and were killed. South Vietnamese guerrillas raided their living quarters killing. -
Ho Chi Minh began to face health problems. Ho Chi Minh stepped down and his replacement was Le Duan, the new leader of North Vietnam"s communist party. -
President John F. Kennedy was elected president. Kennedy became a huge figure in both the Cold War and Vietnam War. He became well known for his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
Not long after being inaugurated President John F. Kennedy had 400 helicopter sent to South Vietnam. They were ordered to perform secret operations and missions against Viet Cong. Viet Cong was a group of South Vietnamese supporters of the communist party. -
On November 22 of 1963 Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. His vice president of the time was Lydon B. Johnson. Due to Kennedy being killed he was now replaced by Johnson. -
President Johnson begins a three year plan launches of bombing targets in North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail through this operation. Near the same day Marines arrived on beaches near Da Nang, South Vietnam as the first American combat troops to enter Vietnam. -
President Johnson calls for 50,000 more ground troops to be sent to Vietnam. Johnson also announced that he would be increasing the draft to 35,000 each month. This showed how big of a deal and hard this war was becoming for the U.S. -
The Battle of la Drang Valley was the first large scale battle between the U.S. and Vietnam. Around 550 U.S. men were killed while Vietnam suffered over 3,000 casualties. This battle set the tone for more to come. -
As the war progressed more and more troops were needed. Attacks in Northern Vietnam in late 1966 caused lots of lives to be lost on both sides. This called for an increase in troop numbers. -
In April of 1967 U.S. citizens took to the streets in protest of the war. They took place all around the nation. Most notably in Washington D.C., New York City, and San Francisco. -
February 11-17, 1968: This week was responsible for the moth U.S. solider deaths in one week. This was a major turning point in the war. It was starting to flip in favor of the Vietnamese. -
Republican Richard M. Nixon wins the U.S. presidential election. He had a number of promises but most relevant at the time was his promises to restore law and order. He promised to end the draft which was appealing to almost all Americans. -
President Nixon signs the Paris Peace Accords. This brought The United States involvement in the war to an end. The Vietnamese accepted. Despite the U.S. pulling out the Northern Vietnam troops still planned on taking over the south. -
Communist forces took over South Vietnam. North and South Vietnam then became unified. They combined and became known as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam which was ruled through communism.