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The French command post at Dien Bien Phu was occupied by Vietnamese forces. After a battle that lasted 55 days, the French commander ordered his troops to cease fire. This victory by the Vietnamese ended France's resolve to carry on the war.
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Following the surrender of Japan to Allied forces Ho Chi Minh and his People's Congress Create the National Liberation Committee of Vietnam to form the provisional government. Japan then transfers all power to Ho's Vietminh.
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The United States sends $15 million dollars in military aid to the French for the war in Indochina. Military mission and military advisors were included in the aid package.
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Communist insurgent activity in South Vietnam begins. Guerrillas assassinate more than 400 South Vietnamese officals. Thirty-seven armed companies are organized along the Mekong Delta.
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North Vietnam forms Group 559 to begin infiltrating cadres and weapons into South Vietnam via Ho Chi Minh Trails. The trail will become a strategic target for future military attacks. This trail was known to be established in late 1959.
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On February 13, 1965, President Johnson authorized Operation Rolling Thunder. This war strike was bombing offensive that would be limited but long lasting. The purpose was to attempt to force North Vietnam to stop supporting Vietcong guerrillas in the South.
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Operation Crimp is launched by the U.S. Almost 8,000 troops are deployed, making it the largest American operation of the war. The operation was in hopes of capturing the Vietcong's headquarters for the Saigon area. However, American forces failed to locate any significant Vietcong base.
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Operation Rolling Thunder ends after three-and-a-half years. It cost 900 American aircraft, 818 pilots, and hundreds in captivity. Nearly 120 Vietnamese planes were destroyed, 182,000 North Vietnamese civilians were killed, and 20,000 Chinese support personnel deaths.
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A legacy of deception, concerning U.S. policy in Vietnam, on the part of the military and the executive branch is revealed as the New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers. The Nixon administration, eager to stop leaks of what they consider sensitive information, appeals to the Supreme Court to halt the publication. The Court decides in favor the Times and allows continued publication.
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All warring parties in the Vietnam War sign a cease fire in Paris.
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The senate Armes Services Committee opens hearing on the U.S. bombing of Cambodia. Allegations are made that the Nixon administration allowed bombing raids to be carried out during what was supposed to be a time when Cambodia's neutrality was offically recognized. As a result of the hearings, Congress orders that all bombing in Cambodia cease effective at midnight, August 14.
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South Vietnam's third largest city (Hue) falls to the North Vietnamese Army.
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Two U.S. soldiers are killed in a rocket attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport at 4:03 am. By sunrise, the last soldiers guarding the U.S. embassy lift off from Vietnam. A few hours later, North Vietnamese tanks role into Saigon and officially ended the war.
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Determined to overthrow the government of Pol Pot, Vietnam invades Cambodia. Phnompenh, Cambodia's capital, falls quickly as Pol Pot and his Khlmer Rouge followers flee into the jungles.
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Chinese artillery batteries and multiple rocket launchers opened fire all along the Vietnamese border with protracted barrages that shook the earth for miles around. The well-dug-in Vietnamese cut down the Chinese troops with machine guns, while mines and booby traps did the rest.
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As the campaign developed, Reagan's most serious opposition came from Bush, who won support from moderate Republicans worried that Regan's conservatism might alienate the broader electorate. Reagan won with 489 electoral votes and 43,903,230 popular votes.
