-
The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
-
The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful withdrawal of the French from Vietnam and provides a temporary boundary between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel.
-
South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president.
-
The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam.
-
South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup.
-
North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters.
-
North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters.
-
Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resoution, granting President Lyndon B. Johnson full command of the U.S. Army to help "preserve the peace" in Southeast Asia.
-
A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins.
-
The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
-
The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns.
-
U.S. soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the town of Mai Lai.
-
General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the U.S. troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams.
-
U.S. troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000.
-
President Nixon orders the first of many U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam
-
Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies from a heart attack at age 79. His death wasn't announced until after 48 hours, for fear that it will demoralize the NLF.
-
President Nixon announces that U.S. troops will attack enemy locations in Cambodia. This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses.
-
Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published in The New York Times.
-
The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive.
-
The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a cease-fire.
-
The last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam
-
North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters.
