History

  • The gulf of Tokin incident

    The gulf of Tokin incident

    Two reported attacks on U.S. destroyers leading Lydon B. Johnson to increase U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.
  • Operation Rolling Thunder

    Operation Rolling Thunder

    A sustained U.S. air campaign against North Vietnamese intending to weaken Viet Cong.
  • The battle of la Drang

    The battle of la Drang

    The first major engagement of the Vietnam War.
  • Tet Offensive

    Tet Offensive

    A series of coordinated surprise attacks for the North Vietnamese, during the Tet holiday.
  • Vietnamization

    Vietnamization

    President Richard Nixon's strategy to end U.S. involvement by withdrawing American troops but increasing military and financial aid.
  • The Kent State Shootings

    The Kent State Shootings

    When an Ohio National Guardsmen fired into a crowed of anti-Vietnam War protesters killing 4 students.
  • The Pentagon Papers

    The Pentagon Papers

    The papers revealed the U.S. had secretly enlarged the scope of it's actions in the Vietnam War, which was not reported to the mainstream media.
  • The Paris Peace accords

    The Paris Peace accords

    The officially ending of U.S. military in South Vietnam leading it to be conquered by North Vietnam soon after.
  • "Year Zero" policy

    "Year Zero" policy

    The regime declared this radical policy to create an agrarian, classless, and communist society. It abolished money, private property, and religion, and forced all citizens to work the land.
  • The fall of Saigon

    The fall of Saigon

    To North Vietnamese forces capturing Saigon it leads to South Vietnam to surrender
  • Fall of Phnom Penh

    Fall of Phnom Penh

    The Khmer Rouge captured Cambodia's capital, ending the civil war an beginning its brutal rule. Also forcing 2.5 million residents into the countryside to begin a new life in rural collectives.
  • Establishment of S-21 prison

    Establishment of S-21 prison

    A former high school in
    Phnom Pehn was converted into the Security Prison 21 (S-21), a notorious interrogation and torture center.
  • Border clashes with Vietnam

    Border clashes with Vietnam

    Tensions escalated between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnam, leading to a series of cross-border attacks. In April 1978, a major Khmer Rouge incursion into Vietnam, including the Ba Chuc massacre of over 3,000 Vietnamese civilians, led Vietnam to decide that the pol Pot regime must be overthrown.
  • Vietnamese invasion

    Vietnamese invasion

    In response to continued attacks, 150,000 Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia. They captured Phnom Pehn in just two weeks, putting an end to the Khmer Rouge's brutal regime.
  • The Invasion of Cambodia

    The Invasion of Cambodia

    The earlier invasion aimed at North Vietnamese supply lines.
  • Forced labor and starvation

    Forced labor and starvation

    Under the Khmer Rouge, citizens were subjected to brutal forced labor in rural work camps for up to 12 hours a day with minimal food. This mismanagement of the country led to widespread starvation and disease.
  • Targeting of intellectuals and minorities

    Targeting of intellectuals and minorities

    The regime systematically targeted anyone considered an "enemy of the state". Thousands were killed for wearing glasses, a symbol of intellectualism.
  • Mass killings at the Killing Fields

    Mass killings at the Killing Fields

    At sites like Choeung Ek, just outside Phnom pehn, prisoners from S-21 and other centers were systematically executed and buried in mass graves.
  • Continued civil unrest and Pol Pot's death

    Continued civil unrest and Pol Pot's death

    The Vietnamese installed anew goverment, but the Khmer Rouge retreated to the jungles and continued fighting. Pol Pot died in 1998 while under house arrest by his former comrades, never facing international justice for his crimes.
  • Khmer Rouge Tribunal

    Khmer Rouge Tribunal

    The Extaordinary Chambers in the Courts of the Cambodia, a un-backed tribunal, was established to prosecute senior Khmer Rouge leaders.