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Apr 29, 1428
Vietnam Independence
In the 1400s China tried to reassert control over Vietnam. A Vietnamese military leader named Le Loi used guerrilla warfare to defeat the Chinese invaders. Le Loi's rebels worked as peasants by day and took up arms to attack the Chinese by night. By 1428 the rebels had driven the Chinese from the country and won independence for Vietnam. Le Loi became the new emperor. -
France Control
In 1883 the Vietnamese were forced to grant France complete control of the country. France later combined Vietnam with Laos and Cambodia to form French Indochina, one of its richest colonial possessions. -
Japanese Army Occupy
In 1940 the Japanese army occupied all of Indochina and threatened the rest of Southeast Asia. -
France and Vietnam in Battle
U.S. policy toward Vietnam was soon put to the test. By 1946 the French and the Vietnamese were once again locked in battle. President Truman ignored Ho's pleas for assistance and threw U.S. support behind France. Truman viewed France as a vital ally in the struggle against the spread of communism in postwar Europe. -
Aiding Vietnam
China's communist government had been aiding the Vietminh since 1950 and hoped to limit U.S. influence in the region. The Chinese also wished to prevent the establishment of a strong, unified Vietnam. The Americans, meanwhile, did not want to see Vietnam handed over completely to the Communists. -
Vietminh Defeated
The Vietminh defeated the French and on May 7, 1954, forced their surrender. -
International Conference
Just one day after the French surrender at Dien Bien Phu, an international conference to settle the Indochina conflict began in Geneva, Switzerland. There, representatives of the French and the Vietminh attempted to map out Indochina's future. Cambodia, Great Britain, Laos, the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and the United States joined the discussions. -
Geneva Conference
Diem knew that he had no chance of winning a nationwide election against Ho Chi Minh. Therefore, when the July 1956 date set by the Geneva Conference rolled around, Diem refused to call an election in the south. -
Military Assistance
By the late 1950s armed revolution had erupted in the south. In 1959 military assistance began flowing from the north to the Vietminh who had stayed in the south. -
Vietcong Attacks
During the next few years, Kennedy increased that number to more than 16,000. As Vietcong attacks mounted, Kennedy authorized U.S. forces to engage in direct combat. As a result, the number of Americans killed or wounded climbed from 14 in 1961 to nearly 500 in 1963. -
Murder of Diem and His Brother
The plotters struck in early November 1963, murdering both Diem and his brother. Diem's assassination upset U.S. advisers, who had been prepared to fly Diem out of the country. -
Announcement to the US
Near midnight on August 4, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appeared on national television. His announcement to the American people that night marked a new stage in U.S. involvement in the war in Vietnam. -
Troops During War
During the war more than 2 million Americans served in Vietnam. In the beginning most were professional soldiers who were already enlisted in the armed forces. As the demand for troops grew, however, more and more draftees were shipped to Vietnam. The average U.S. soldier in Vietnam was younger, poorer, and less educated than those who had served in World War II or in the Korean War. -
SDS
The SDS organized the first national antiwar demonstration. It was held in Washington, D.C., on April 17, 1965. More than 20,000 people participated. After an afternoon of speeches, the crowd marched to the Capitol and delivered to Congress a petition demanding that lawmakers "act immediately to end the war." Countless demonstrations followed during the next decade. Demonstrators protested U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia with tactics borrowed from the civil rights movement. -
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Start of Tet
January 30, 1968, marked the start of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. In past years the holiday had been honored by a lull in fighting. However, late that night, as most South Vietnamese and their U.S. allies slept, Vietcong guerrillas and North Vietnamese troops struck. -
US Troop Withdrawals
In August 1969, as U.S. troop withdrawals began, Henry Kissinger met secretly in Paris with longtime revolutionary Le Duc Tho (LAY DUHK TOH) of North Vietnam. -
Kent State Shootings
After someone at Kent State University in Ohio set fire to the campus ROTC building, Ohio's governor vowed to "eradicate" the protesters. On May 4, 1970, National Guard troops that had been sent to control demonstrators shot randomly into a large group of students. They killed four and injured nine others. Some of the students were merely walking across campus. The Kent State shootings shocked the nation. -
Repealed the Tonkin Gulf
Members of Congress were also upset by the Cambodian invasion. In response, Congress repealed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution in December 1970. Nixon insisted, however, that this action did not affect his authority to carry on the war. -
Secret Government Documents
In 1971 another incident boosted the antiwar movement. The New York Times began publishing a collection of secret government documents relating to the war. -
Nixon Miscalculated
Nixon miscalculated the opposition's endurance. Rather than ending, the war suddenly grew more fierce. Hoping to reveal the weaknesses of Nixon's Vietnamization strategy, North Vietnam staged a major invasion of South Vietnam in March 1972. -
Negotiatiors in Paris
On January 27, 1973, the negotiators in Paris announced a cease-fire. The plan differed little from the one agreed to in October, but minor changes allowed each side to claim a victory. -
Vietnamese Troops Overran
In January 1975, North Vietnamese troops overran the northern part of South Vietnam. As South Vietnamese troops retreated in panic, new waves of refugees poured into Saigon. -
South Vietnam Surrender
On April 30, 1975, South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally.