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Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam, called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
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The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
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The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of the French from Vietnam and provides a temporary boundary between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel.
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South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president.
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The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam.
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South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup.
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North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters.
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In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
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A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins called Operation Rolling Thunder.
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The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
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The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns.
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U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai.
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Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at age 79.
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News about the My Lai Massacre reaches america. The brutality of the My Lai killings and the extent of the cover-up exacerbated growing antiwar sentiment on the home front in the United States and further divided the nation over the continuing American presence in Vietnam.
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President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses.
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Portions of the Pentagon Papers are leaked. They are published in The New York Times.
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The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire between America and North Vietnam. The agreement concluded America's direct military participation in the Vietnam War.
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The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam.
