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The Beginning of the Conflict
August 1945 the Japanese surrendered after they had been ruling over Vietnam after quite some time. The Vietnamese saw this as an opportunity to be freed from the French Colonial rule that they had been under for hundreds of years. Ho Chi Minh was a communist that organized a revolt to end the French rule. The French would not accept the independence of the Vietnamese; they were soon at war. -
Indochina War
The Vietminh outnumbered the French five-to-one. 45,000 Vietminh soldiers trapped the French and they quickly ran out of fresh water and medical supplies . The Vietminh forced the French to surrender at Dienbienphu after a 56-day battle. (May 1, 1954) -
Eisenhower cites domino theory
After the defeat of the French Ho Chi Minh was now in charge. The US and various other countries feared that there would be a takeover in Asia with Communism. This idea was known as the domino theory. The domino theory is if one country fell to the Communists, it was thought that the neighboring countries would follow. Dwight Eisenhower explained it like this “You have a row of dominoes set up. You knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go ov -
Vietcong Formed
The Vietcong was the main force that the U.S. was fighting in the 1960’s. The Vietcong were a group of communists. They were the main reason for all the murdering in South Vietnam. The Vietcong used the war tactics of surprise ambush, sniping, and booby-traps. This movement started in 1957 when there were over 150 assassinations in South Vietnam. -
Campaign of terror against villages controlled by Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem was the governor of South Vietnam, and the U.S. promised support. The country was supposed to be unified in a few short years, however the Diem government didn’t allow this. There was a movement that opposed the Diem government. They launched a revolt and guerillas (fighters who carry out hit-and-run attacks) led terror attacks in the villages that were controlled by Diem. -
U.S. Military begins using agent orange
Agent orange was a herbicide that was very powerful and cleared entire rainforests. The U.S. would use this to help them see their boundaries more clearly and to reveal the enemies hiding in the foliage. There was over 19 million gallons of Agent Orange over 4,5 acres sprayed in North Vietnam from 1971-1972. Later it was discovered that Agent Orange caused health issues such as cancer and birth defects. -
Gulf of Tonkin
In August of 1964 there was unsure reports of North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacking American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The reports were very unclear, and sketchy. In fact the second report my have not happened at all. At the time Lyndon B. Johnson was the president. He decided to act upon the reports, so he ordered U.S. air strikes against North Vietnam. With this congress supported him and agreed to let whatever needed to be done be done to resolve the issue. -
U.S. Arial bombing- Operation Rolling Thunder
President Johnson approved Operation Rolling Thunder. This operation was a campaign that would include aerial bombing against the North Vietnamese. The main goal was to destroy industrial bases and systems of transportation so the supply lines would be ruined. -
The first U.S. ground troops sent to Vietnam
The Vietcong attacked an American base in South Vietnam resulting in the death of 8 Americans. Johnson and other U.S. leaders realized that they needed to act upon this. In March President Johnson ordered 3,500 American soldiers to protect the base in Da Nang. This was the first American troops in Vietnam. -
Tet offensive
January 31, 1968 the Vietnamese celebrated their New Year holiday. Vietcong and North Vietnam used the holiday as a cover up and bombed every major city in South Vietnam. In both major capitals (Hue and Saigon) they attacked the emperors. The Americans and South Vietnamese responded quickly. For weeks they fought. The Tet offensive was a major victory for the U.S. but the Americansm were shocked by the attack. -
Policy of “Vietnamization” announced
In June of 1969 Nixon announced this policy. This policy allowed U.S. soldiers to gradually withdraw from Vietnam. The first set of troops left in July. By August there were 25,000 troops that returned, and by April 1970 150,000 soldiers were back. -
Kent State incident
Due to the attacks in Cambodia there was protest in America. At Kent State University in Ohio there was a shooting. There were National Guardsmen that shot their guns at a crowd, and killed four students. -
U.S. troops withdrawn from Vietnam
In January 27, 1973 the Paris Peace Accords were signed. This was where the North Vietnamese agreed to bargain again. The last American to die in Combat was Lt. Colonel William B. Nolde. He was killed only 11 hours until cease-fire was in effect. The last combat troops were out of Vietnam by March 1973, -
Watergate Scandal
Watergate Scandal During the 1972 election there wer five men that were arrested. Richard Nixon was reelected and he hired these five men to spy on the Democrats. The burglars were paid "hush" money to keep quiet, but soon enough the truth came out. John Dean was the star witness and testified that Nixon hired the men and tried to cover it up. In July 1974 the House of Representatives began to work on impeaching President Nixon. Nixon found this out and resigned, Gerald Ford took his place as Presdient. -
Works Cited
Works Cited
"Agent Orange." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/agent-orange.
Davidson, James West, and Michael B. Stoff. America history of our nation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.
"Operation Rolling Thunder - The Vietnam War." The Vietnam War. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. http://thevietnamwar.info/operation-rolling-thunder/.
"The History Place - Vietnam War 1945-1960." The History Place - Vi
