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Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh first emerged as an outspoken voice for Vietnamese independence while living as a young man in France during World War I. He would serve in that position for the next 25 years, becoming a symbol of Vietnam’s struggle for unification during a long and costly conflict with the strongly anti-Communist regime in South Vietnam and its powerful ally, the United States. -
Growth of American Involvement in French Indochina
The United States involvement in the struggles of French Indochina began in 1945 at the Potsdam Conference and continued through many phases, culminating in a final withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975. Billions of dollars spent in military aid and equipment from the United States ended after more than 58,000 American lives were lost and another 153,000 were wounded in what is sometimes called “The Impossible War." -
Battle Dien Bien Phu
the decisive engagement in the First Indochina War (1946–54). It consisted of a struggle between French and Viet Minh (Vietnamese Communist and nationalist) forces for control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border near Laos. -
The Assassination of Diem
President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The United States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat. -
American Support for and Opposition to the War in Vietnam
Many Americans opposed the war on moral grounds, appalled by the devastation and violence of the war. Others claimed the conflict was a war against Vietnamese independence, or an intervention in a foreign civil war; others opposed it because they felt it lacked clear objectives and appeared to be unwinnable. -
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
The U.S. destroyer Maddox exchanged shots with North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later, the Maddox and another destroyer reported once again coming under fire. -
Tet Offensive
coordinated series of North Vietnamese attacks on more than 100 cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The offensive was an attempt to foment rebellion among the South Vietnamese population and encourage the United States to scale back its involvement in the Vietnam War. North Vietnam achieved a strategic victory with the Tet Offensive, as the attacks marked a turning point in the Vietnam War and the beginning of the slow, painful American withdrawal from the region. -
the Expansion of American Involvement in the War
Under Westmoreland, the expansion of American troop strength in South Vietnam took place. American forces rose from 16,000 during 1964 to more than 553,000 by 1969. With the U.S. decision to escalate its involvement, ANZUS Pact allies Australia and New Zealand agreed to contribute troops and matériel to the conflict. -
The Incursion into Cambodia
President Richard Nixon gave formal authorization to commit U.S. ground troops, fighting alongside South Vietnamese units, against North Vietnamese troop sanctuaries in Cambodia on April 28,1970. The incursion was possible because of a change in the Cambodian government in which Prince Norodom Sihanouk was replaced by pro-U.S. General Lon Nol. -
Course of the War from 1964 to 1975
From 1964 to 1965 the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war heightened. New strategies were taken by Vietnam and the Tet offensive was launched. The Antiwar movement in America began. -
The Paris Peace Accords
Officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973 to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. ... It ended direct U.S. military combat, and temporarily stopped the fighting between North and South Vietnam. -
The Fall of Saigon
In late April 1975, the outskirts of Saigon were reached by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). On April 29th, the United States knew that their token presence in the city would quickly become unwelcome, and the remaining Americans were evacuated by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft. The surrender of Saigon. General Minh had become South Vietnam’s president for two days as the country crumbled.