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Vietnamese forces celebrate victory over French
The French commander issues troops to cease force after Viatnemese occupy French command post at Dien Bien Phu. The battle lasted 55 days. -
John F Kennedy and Ngo Dinh Diem meet
After Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson returns to U.S. and tells President John F. Kennedy that we must help countries in Southeast Asia, Kennedy meets with the President of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem. After the meeting President Kennedy increases the number of American advisors from 340 to 805. -
Operation Chopper
U.S. army pilots ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep a NLF stronghold. This event marks America's first combat mission against Vietcong. -
Victory at Ap Bac
Vietcong ambushes South Vietnam's Army. This is the first time Vietcong stands their groung against the South Vietnamese and American machinery. Many South Vietnamese were killed along with three American advisors. -
Binh Gia
Vietcong briefly seizes Binh Gia, killing two hundred South Vietnamese trupos, and four American advisors. Johnson orders navy fighter-bombers to attack military targets just inside North Vietnam. -
Operating Rolling Thunder
President Johnson authorizes Operating Rolling Thunder, continuous limited air strikes, a bomd offensive that would hopefully force North Vietnam to stop supporting Vietcong guerillas. -
Operation Birmingham
During Operation Birmingham, more than 5,000 U.S. troops sweep the area north of Saigon. There are small confrontations between armies, but over a three week period, only 100 Vietcong were killed. -
Operation Hastings
The NVA cross the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and encounters a Marine battalion. The North Vietnamese hold their ground and the largest battle of the war breaks out near Dong Ha. In Operation Hastings the marines, backed by South Vietnam troops, U.S. warships and their artillery and air power drive the NVA back over the DMZ in three weeks. -
Operation Attleboro
U.S. 196th Brigade and South Vietnamese troops begin search and destroy searches through Tay Ninh Province. Supplies belonging to NLF 9th division are discovered, but there is little conflicy. The raid ends after six weeks. -
Operation Cedar Falls
Operation Cedar Falls begins with the goal of driving Vietcong forces from the Iron Triangle. American troops and the South Vietnamese Army enter the Iron Triangle but encounter no major resistance. -
Operation Junction City
The goal of Operation Junction City was to destroy Vietcong bases and military headquarters located in South Vietnam. This Operation became the largest air-mobile assults ever, with 240 helicopters sweeping over Tay Ninh province. American forces successfully captured equiptment and weapons but there were no large battles. -
Battle of Saigon
During the Tet, Vietnam New Year, holiday, Vietcong units surge into action over South Vietnam. In over 100 cities Vietcong shock attacks are followed by a wave of supporting troops. By the end of the attack 37,000 Vietcong troops have been killed, creating more than half a million refugees. For Americans this was attack negatively affected their public support. -
Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an End
Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end after three-and-a-half years. The campaign led to 818 pilots dead or missing, cost more than 900 aircrafts, 182,000 North Vietnamese deaths. -
Richard Nixon takes office
Richard M. Nixon takes office promising to achieve "Peace with Honor." His goal was to create a settlement that allowed the U.S. troops to return while keeping South Vietnam safe. -
End of the 15 Year War
North Vietnamese tanks roll into Saigon, ending the 15 year war, hours after the last Marines guarding the embassy lift off. Nearly a million North Vietnamese and Vietcong troops and a quarter of a million South Vietnamese soldiers died along with hundreds of thousands of civilians.
