Vietnam War

By LandonN

  • Vietnam

    1954 - Viet Minh forces attack an isolated French military outpost in the town of Dien Bien Phu. The attempt to take the outpost lasts two months, during which time the French government agrees to peace talks in Geneva. Vietnam is split into North and South at Geneva conference.

  • Vietnam

    1956 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem begins campaign against political dissidents.

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    1964 - Gulf of Tonkin incident: the US says North Vietnamese patrol boats fire on two US Navy destroyers. US Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorising military action in region.

  • Vietnam

    1965 - 200,000 American combat troops arrive in South Vietnam

  • Vietnam

    1966 - US troop numbers in Vietnam rise to 400,000, then to 500,000 the following year.

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    1968 - Tet Offensive - a combined assault by Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese army on US positions - begins. More than 500 civilians die in the US massacre at My Lai. Thousands are killed by communist forces during their occupation of the city of Hue.

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    1969 - Ho Chi Minh dies. President Nixon begins to reduce US ground troops in Vietnam as domestic public opposition to the war grows.

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    1970 - Nixon's national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, and Le Duc Tho, for the Hanoi government, start talks in Paris.

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    1973 - Ceasefire agreement in Paris, US troop pull-out completed by March.

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    1975 - North Vietnamese troops invade South Vietnam and take control of the whole country after South Vietnamese President Duong Van Minh surrenders.