Vietnam Timeline

Eisenhower

1950

Eisenhower was the president when the conflict started, and he did not agree with the Geneva Accords, but rather made the SEATO. The SEATO was made to stop the spread of communism in Southeast Asia and to help the United States.

Dien Bien Phu

1953

The Dien Bien Phu was composed of two parts, the first being during the Indochina War when artillery was placed in caves in mountains which ended up eliminating the French airfield. The start of this was when there was a drop on Dien Bien Phu. The French did end up falling back on Vietnam. For the United States, this meant there was less support.

Geneva Accords

1954

The Geneva Accords were important because they stopped the French's involvement with Southeast Asia. These accords helped lay the groundwork for the Vietnam War.

Tet Offensive

Jan 30, 1960

The Tet Offensive was over 100 attacks made on South Vietnamese cities and outposts done by North Vietnam. The irony of it being on "Tet' is that this was a holiday to celebrate peace between North and South Vietnam. This attack was also supposed to be seen as a threat for the United States to fall back on their support in the Vietnam War.

Kennedy

1961

Kennedy made the "White Paper" which was a program to see if South Vietnam needed help. The results showed that they did, but Kennedy did not send troops, but rather advisors and machinery.

Johnson

1963

Johnson was the president who enacted the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and this was seen as more of retaliation from the United States. Johnson did not do much and was not reelected as he could not bring peace.

Tonkin Resolution

Aug 5, 1964

This was a resolution put in after two attacks by North Vietnam. The resolution was made to approve the president to be able to take all means necessary to stop armed attacks in the United States.

Gulf of Tonkin

Aug 7, 1964

This resolution was made to allow the United States to take all means necessary to stop armed attacks against the United States. This resolution brought the United States into the war even more.

Fulbright Commission

1966

This was when there was an interview for over 200 troops in Vietnam and from this interview it was concluded that the war was not going well.

My Lai Massacre

Mar 16, 1968

This was a violent massacre of unarmed civilians in Vietnam done by the United States and it included more graphic things done to women. The United States managed to hide this for a year till the American press found out and this sparked an outrage.

Vietnamization

1969

This was a strategy in order to decrease American involvement in the war. Nixon believed that arming up South Vietnam and withdrawing the United States would allow for South Vietnam to be prepared. Although, this plan did turn out to be flawed.

Nixon

1969

Nixon was president during the Christmas Bombings and made the policy of Vietnamization. Nixon brought about more talks of peace, but in the end North Vietnam did take control over the South.

Invasion of Cambodia

Apr 28, 1970

Nixon ordered the invasion because he thought there may be communist base camps. The United States did not get a lot of good feedback from the public because the public felt as if Nixon was abusing his power.

Daniel Ellsberg

1971

Daniel helped increased public opposition to the Vietnam War as he leaked the Pentagon Papers as well as other documents. These documents showed that the United States' involvement in the war was misleading.

Pentagon Papers

1971

Daniel Ellsberg decided to release these top-secret papers talking about political and military involvement in the Vietnam War.

Christmas Bombings

1972

the United States decided to drop many bombs on North Vietnam which led to over 1,000 people being killed. This bombing is viewed as a reason the deal was signed for the United States to no longer be involved in the war.

Ford

1973

When Ford was elected the war was basically over, but soldiers still needed to be saved. On the journey of trying to save some soldiers many lives were lost.

War Powers Act

1973

This was a resolution made to limit the president's military action. The law would require Congress to be informed of deploying armed forces and how long they can be involved with the approval of Congress.

Paris Peace Conference/Accords

Jan 27, 1973

The settlement was made to end the war as well as to restore peace in Vietnam. The document was signed by the United States and North Vietnam, but South Vietnam was presented with a separate document. The United States had to withdraw within 60 days and in return, North Vietnam would release prisoners of the war.

Fall of Saigon

Apr 30, 1975

Saigon began to collapse as North Vietnam advanced in. During this time Nixon had resigned and Ford had stepped up, but unlucky him Congress did not approve for Ford to make any United States involvement like Nixon had promised in case this were to ever happen.