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The French surrender to the Viet Minh. The Geneva Conference on the status of Indochina begins.
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Ho Chi Minh orders seeping "land reforms" in North Vietnam; thousands of people are imprisoned, tortured, or executed. Many Vietnamese flee to South VIetnam
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Ngo Dinh Diem begins a campaign to repress those who fought for or sympathized with the Viet Minh.
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Ex-Viet Minh forces in the South organize and, with the support of Ho Chi Minh, begin a campaign of guerrilla warfare against Diem's administration.
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Two military advisors are killed by Viet Minh guerilla soldiers. They are the first Americans to be killed in the Vietnam war
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The US announes that it will increase the number of military advisors in South Vietnam from 327 to 685 men
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This marks the beginning of the Vietnam war for many Americans
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Thich Quang Duc set himself on fire in protest of the South Vietnamese government for religious intolerance and discriminatory policies.
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The US of Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson the power to take any actions he thought necessary to defend South Vietnam from Viet Cong forces. This is also known as Blank Check.
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President Johnson authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder, a small but extensive bombing tactic. Its aim was to force North Vietnam to forgo supporting the Viet Cong.
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The first bombing raids of Rolling Thunder take place
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The first mass public demonstrations against American involvement in the Vietnam war take place
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US prisoners of war are led through the streets of Hanoi and were attacked by angry mobs
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American soldiers massacre hundreds of civilians
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The war in Vietnam becomes the longest war in American history
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Representatives from the US, South Vietnam, and the NLF discuss peace in Paris
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Nixon announces his plan for "Vietnamization" of the war—that is, training and transitioning South Vietnamese troops to assume the roles that have been fulfilled by American troops.
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Congress votes to withdraw all US troops by the year's end
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North Vietnam releases nearly 600 American POWs
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The war is officially over for the US. The last US soldier leaves Vietnam, but military advisors and some Marines rremain. Over 3 million Americans served in the war, leaving 60,000 dead and 150,000 wounded.
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The North Vietnamese takes Saigon and the war ends
