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The viet minh begin fighitng the French
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United States pledges 15 million to French military
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French forces pull out of the fight and leaves Asia. Temperary cease fire
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America begins training south vietnamese soldiers.
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North Vietnam launches a massive assault on South Vietnam. President Gerald Ford announces that for the U.S., the Vietnam War is “finished.” On April 30, South Vietnam surrenders to Communist forces, and the last Americans evacuate Saigon.
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On August 7, Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression.”
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In March, the first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam. By year’s end, more than 200,000 U.S. troops are stationed there.
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In January, on the Vietnamese lunar new year (Tet), the North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces launch an attack on one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. Within days, U.S. forces recapture most areas. The “Tet Offensive” is a military defeat for Communists, but is a political victory, as Americans begin questioning the U.S. military’s conduct of the war.
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Richard Nixon is elected president.
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President Nixon approves “Operation Breakfast,” covert bombing of Communist supply routes and base camps in Cambodia. The bombing continues for 14 months without knowledge of Congress or the American public.
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Nixon’s Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, announces a policy of “Vietnamization” in which the U.S. will gradually shift the burden of the war to the South Vietnamese army.
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Last U.S. troop leaves Vietnam.
