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Ho Chi Minh helped found the Indochinese Communist Party.
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Japan invades Vietnam.
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Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam).
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Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam called, Democratic Republican of Vietnam.
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The Viet Minh receive military advisors and weapons from China.
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The United States plegded $15 million for military aid toFrance to help them fight in Vietnam.
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The French suffers a decisive defeat at the battle of Dien Bien Phu.
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The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawl of the French from Vietnam.
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South Vietnam becomes the Republic of Vietnam and elects Ngo Dinh Diem as president.
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The National Liberation Front (NLF) or Viet Cong establishes itself as South Vietnam.
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President John F. Kennedy orders more help for the South Vietnamese government in its war against the Vietcong guerrillas. U.S. backing includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisors and support personnel.
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American helicopters arrive at docks in South Vietnam along with 400 U.S. personnel, who will fly and maintain the aircraft.
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In Operation Chopper, helicopters flown by U.S. Army pilots ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep a NLF stronghold near Saigon. It marks America's first combat missions against the Vietcong.
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The goal of Ranchhand is to clear vegetation alongside highways, making it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves for ambushes. As the war continues, the scope of Ranchhand increases. Vast tracts of forest are sprayed with "Agent Orange," an herbicide containing the deadly chemical Dioxin. Guerrilla trails and base areas are exposed, and crops that might feed Vietcong units are destroyed
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At the hamlet of Ap Bac, the Vietcong 514th Battalion and local guerrilla forces ambush the South Vietnamese Army's 7th division. For the first time, the Vietcong stand their ground against American machinery and South Vietnamese soldiers. Almost 400 South Vietnamese are killed or wounded. Three American advisors are slain.
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South Vietnamese presedent Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup.
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On this night, South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The U.S. destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, is 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack to draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos.
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The Vietnamese attack 2 U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters.
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The U.S. congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia.
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China, North Vietnam's neighbor and ally, successfully tests an atomic bomb.
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A Vietcong-placed bomb explodes in a hotel in Qui Nonh, killing 23 American servicemen.
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A sustained ariel bombing campiegn of North Vietnam begins.
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The first U.S. troops arrive in Vietnam.
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An American campaign against North Vietnam's transport system begins. In a month-long offensive, Navy and Air Force planes hit bridges, road and rail junctions, truck parks and supply depots.
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At 5:30 a.m., a shattering barrage of shells, mortars and rockets slam into the Marine base at Khe Sanh. Eighteen Marines are killed instantly, 40 are wounded. The initial attack continues for two days.
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North Vietnamese joins forces with Viet Cong to launchthe Tet Offencive attacking one hundred South Vietnamese cities and vilages.
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Massive search and destroy sweeps are launched against Vietcong remnants around Saigon and other parts of South Vietnam.
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U.S. soldiers kill 100 Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai.
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Without warning, a massive North Vietnamese barrage slams into Khe Sanh. More than 1,000 rounds hit the base, at a rate of a hundred every hour. At the same time, electronic sensors around Khe Sanh indicate NVA troop movements. American forces reply with heavy bombing.
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General William Westmoreland was replaced by General Creighton Abrams to be incharge of the troops in Vietnam
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U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches up to 540,000
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President Richard M. Nixon takes office as the new President of the United States.
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U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam exceed the 33,629 men killed in the Korean War.
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President Nixon meets with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu on Midway Island in the Pacific, and announces that 25,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn immediately.
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President Nixon oders the1rst of many U.S. troop Whithdrawls from Vietnam.
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Comunist revolutionairy leader Chi Minh dies at the age of 79.
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The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre.
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Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. The news sparks nationwide protests, especially colege campuses.
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Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published on The Mew York Times.
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The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam.
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In an assault spearheaded by tanks, NVA troops manage to seize control of the northern part of the city. But the 4,000 South Vietnamese men defending the city, reinforced by elite airborne units, hold their positions and launch furious counterattacks. American B-52 bombers also help with the defense. A month later, Vietcong forces withdraw.
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Paris Peace Accords are signed that provided a cease-fire.
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The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam
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Though they are still too weak to launch a full-scale offensive, the North Vietnamese have rebuilt their divisions in the South, and have captured key areas.
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The 7th North Vietnamese Army division captures Dong Xoai.
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Hue, South Vietnam's third largest city, falls to the North Vietnamese Army.
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North Vietnam launches a massive assult to South Vietnam.
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South Vietnam surrenders to the communists.
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Vietnam is unified as a comunist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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The Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Washington D.C. is dedicated.
