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Being the decisive engagement in the first Indochina War, Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces defeat the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, ending the 7 ½-year Indochina War.
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The world powers agree to divide Vietnam in a conference in Geneva. It's purpose was to resolve issues resulting from the Korean War and the First Indochina War, but marked a marked a turning point in the United States’ involvement in Vietnam when they supported an anticommunist government led by Ngo Dinh Diem in the South.
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Le Duan replaces Ho Chi Minh as First Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party in Hanoi, Vietnam
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John F. Kennedy beats Richard Nixon in the U.S. presidential election and Lyndon B. Johnson becomes vice president
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Southern revolutionaries, backed by the North Vietnam, form the National Liberation Front, known in Saigon and Washington as the Viet Cong.
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Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald and Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as president.
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(Two) Supposed events in the Gulf of Tonkin where North Vietnamese ships attack two U.S. gunships lead Johnson to seek congressional approval for direct U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
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The first major battle in the Vietnam War between the U.S. Army and the North Vietnamese Army (U.S. won, but found what Viet Cong were capable of.
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Hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters gather for demonstrations in New York’s Central Park and in San Francisco, California
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North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops and guerillas launch surprise attacks against targets throughout South Vietnam against the U.S.
https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/tet-offensive -
A group of American soldiers kill more than 500 unarmed civilians in the Village of My Lai.
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Johnson announces for plans to limit war in Vietnam and that he will not run for re-election.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/johnson-announces-bombing-halt
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=28772 -
Republican Richard Nixon becomes president in one of the closest U.S. elections in history and promises to end the war in Vietnam and to find a way to “peace with honor” in Vietnam.
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The first Moratorium to end war in Vietnam were series of mass demonstrations across the U.S. by hundreds of thousands of people.
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President Nixon goes on television and radio call to call for national solidarity on the Vietnam War effort, appealing to a “silent majority” to support his policies.
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The South Vietnamese launch operation Lam Son 719 against North Vietnamese forces in Laos, which ends in their hasty retreat and defeat.
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The Easter Offensive (military campaign) invasion by North Vietnamese forces is successfully repelled by South Vietnamese.
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A peace treaty is signed by the U.S., South Vietnam, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam to formally sign “An Agreement Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam”.
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South Vietnam finally surrenders after the capture of Saigon in Vietnam
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Under President Bill Clinton, the U.S. normalizes relations with Vietnam.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/u-s-establishes-diplomatic-relations-with-vietnam
