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Allies defeated Japan in WWII, and forced them to surrender Indochina. Vietnam claimed freedom under Ho Chi Minh, but France still considered it theirs.
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The French drove out the Viet Minh and set up a new government. The fighting worsened and they asked the US for help.
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The French forces in Vietnam were beginning to be badly beaten, so a peace agreement was signed between France and North Vietnam. France had to take it’s troops out of North Vietnam and they could choose their new government.
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The NVA annihilated the French forces at the large outpost Dien Bien Phu. The French were very embarrassed and quickly made a settlement with North Vietnam, effectively ending the first Indochina war.
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American helicopters dropped South Vietnamese paratroopers over a Vietcong stronghold 10 miles west of Saigon. The Vietcong were soundly defeated.
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Over 800 Vietcong soldiers attacked a base of 300 South Vietnamese, 12 American Green Berets, and 1 Australian Military adviser. The Vietcong were repelled and eventually retreated into the jungle. The Captain Roger C. Donlon was given a Medal of Honor, the first in the Vietnam war.
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After two unprovoked attacks on American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin by Vietcong torpedo boats, President Johnson was basically given power to protect American troops by whatever means necessary.
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A military chopper discovered a North Vietnamese naval trawler camouflaged in trees and grass unloading supplies into South Vietnam. South Vietnamese Skyraiders sunk the ship and destroyed all the cargo.
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A large scale bombing operation directed deteriorating the Vietcong morale. Did not really work all that well because the president was afraid of getting China involved.
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5,500 US soldiers received information about the whereabouts of a VC unit. The US soldiers drove them out, and killed over 900 enemy soldiers. It was the first 100% US soldier battle.
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108 Australian soldiers were surrounded at Nui Dat, a small village in the province Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam. With enemy forces estimated at around 2,500, the Aussies managed to repel them while only suffering 18 casualties.
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Over 30,000 American troops cleared a 115 square mile Vietcong stronghold (the iron triangle) only 30 miles north of Saigon. It worked, but decreased civilian support for the US.
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Over 70,000 Vietcong troops attacked over 100 South Vietnamese villages and outposts. Although they suffered heavy casualties, it was a major turning point in the war in favor of the Vietcong as they started slowly forcing the Americans and South Vietnamese troops further south.
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Part of the Tet offensive, Vietcong guerillas tried to take six major buildings in Saigon. It is considered a US victory, but it made US civilians even more wary of the war.
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The US started training South Vietnamese soldiers to take the position of Americans so the US could end their involvement
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Presidents Nixon and Ford began a process taking american troops out because of mass public protesting and heavy losses.
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National Guardsmen who were on the campus on Kent State to control a student protest fired into a group of the student protesters, killing 4 and wounding 9. It triggered mass protests at colleges around the nation.
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lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, which allowed millions of young people to participate in our country’s democracy. It was powered by college student’s protests around the country.
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Gave the legislative branch more power over foreign affairs and took power away from the President.
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Saigon is captured by the Vietcong, and a surrender is arranged the same day. The US promised to save South Vietnam if Saigon was captured, but they did not come to the rescue.
