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Japan Invades Vietnam
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Ho Chi Minh helps found the Indochinese Communist Party
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Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam
called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam -
The United States pledges $15 million worth of military aid to France to help them fight in 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
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. -
South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam
newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president -
US Trains South Vietnamese
The US Military Assistance Advisor Group (MAAG) assumes responsibility, from French, for training South Vietnamese forces. -
The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam.
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Kennedy inaugurated
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Buddhists Rebel against Diem
Tensions between Buddhists and the Diem government are further strained as Diem, a Catholic, removes Buddhists from several key government positions and replaces them with Catholics. Buddhist monks protest Diem's intolerance for other religions and the measures he takes to silence them. In a show of protest, Buddhist monks start setting themselves on fire in public places. -
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup.
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President Kennedy Assassinated in Dallas
Kennedy's death meant that the problem of how to proceed in Vietnam fell squarely into the lap of his vice president, Lyndon Johnson. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident
North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters. -
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. -
LBJ inaugurated for a second term
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Operation Rolling Thunder
A bombing campiagn against the North Vietnamese is depoyed. Continual bombings go on for the next three years -
First Ground Troops Deployed in Vietnam