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Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland, starting in April 26, 1954. The Conference was a way to settle issues in Korea and to unify Vietnam and to hopefully restore peace to Indochina. The countries involved were the Soviet Union, the US, France, the UK, and the People’s Republic of China -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was between France and the Viet Minh army. The substantial defeat of France influenced negotiations at the Geneva Conference. -
Ngo Dinh Diem Assassinated
The assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem was a result of an American CIA-backed coup led by General Duong Van Minh. Before he was assassinated, Diem and his brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu were arrested by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam -
Tonkin Resolution
On April 2 the US Destroyer Maddox was attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats, and a gian in the same area two days later. Johnson went to congress and proposed a resolution that would allow him to take [all nevessary measures to repel any amred attack against the forces of the US and to prevent further aggresion.” This resolution was what lead to Congress supporting the expansion of the war -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling ThunderRolling Thunder was a bombing campaign that attacked specific targets throughout North Vietnam. The intent of this campaign was to pressure North Vietnam’s leaders to reduce their war efforts against South Vietnam -
Battle of Ira Drang
This was one of the first major battles between the US Army and the PAVN. There were approx. 1,500-1,700 U.S. casualties and 559 North Vietnamese killed and 669 wounded. Despite the estimated casualties both sides claimed victory of the battle. -
Operation Cedar Falls
This was an operation carried out by the US in order to take out the “Iron Triangle”, which was a major stronghold of the Viet Cong Operation Cedar Falls had two Army divisions, one infantry and one paratrooper brigade, making it the biggest American operation of the war -
Battle of Hue
The Battle of Hue was one of the deadliest and longest battles of the war. The battle was a decisive victory the the Americans and it’s allies. The mission was to recapture the city captured by the Communists during the Tet Offensive. -
Tet Offensive
During the Tet Offensive over 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam were hit, making it one of the biggest campaigns in the war. Even though a substantial loss in troops, North Vietnam achieved a tactical victory here and began the American withdrawal from Vietnam -
Mai Lai Massacre
The Mai Lai Massacre was a mass killing of 300-500 committed by a group of US soldiers. Of the victims, there were men, women, children and infants. Some of the women were raped then their bodies were mutilated. These event was called “the most shocking episode of the Vietnam War” -
US withdrawal of troops
In 1969, Nixon announced a moderate troop withdrawal from South Vietnam. While Nixon continued peace talks throughout 1970 the number of troops dropped to 335,000 and after another year dropped to 160,000. However the last of the troops were still not removed for multiple years. -
Operation Menu
Operation Rolling Thunder Footage</a>Operation Menu was a secret bombing campaign executed in Cambodia and Laos. Targets of these attacks were places that the PAVN and the Viet Cong used for training, resupply, and resting. -
Vietnamization
After taking office in 1969, Richard Nixon started to implement a new plan called Vietnamization. This plan was aimed to end American involvement in the Vietnam war by basically handing off all responsibilities to South Vietnam. -
Kent State Shooting
Also known as the May 4th massacre the Kent State shooting was the shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard.During the shooting four students were killed, and wounded nine others. -
Pentagon papers
Daniel Ellsberg leaked this secret document to many sources, including the NewYork Times. This document showed that many government officials questioned the war and our involvement in private, but defended it in public showing that our government wasn’t honest with the public -
26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment changed the voting age from 21 to 18. The push to lower the voting age came from students protesting during the Vietnam War who wanted a say in what their country was doing -
Paris Peace Talks
These talks ended direct US involvement, temporarily stopped fighting in Vietnam, and the major countries of the war signed a treaty that was not ratified by the Senate. The talks were delayed many times for various reasons, however they eventually got going and established peace, for a time. -
War Powers Act
A federal law that prevented the President from being able to commit US forces to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. It required the President to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces. -
South Vietnam Surrenders(Fall of Saigon)
South Vietnam when the Viet Cong captured it’s capital city, Saigon. After this day Vietnam eventually reunified and fell into communist rule. -
End of the War
Nixon’s plan, vietnamization, withdrawaled hundreds of thousands of troops out of Vietnam. After approx. 2 years, the last of the troops were taken out, and after a bombing campaign both sides ended involvement
