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French colonial rule begins
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Cochinchina becomes a French Colony.
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Tonkin (the North) and Annam (the Center) become French protectorates.
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Creation of the Indochina Union, Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin, Cambodia, and latter Laos
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Bao Dai, the last emperor, begins his reign as an infant.
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Invasion of Indochina by Japan. The French administrations collaborate and continue to run the government.
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ICP organises a guerrilla force, Viet Minh, in response to invasion by Japan during World War II.
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The Viet Minh seizes power. Ho Chi Minh announces Vietnam's independence.
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1946: After the failed Fontainebleau conference between Ho Chi Minh and the French government, notably about the question of the status of Cochinchina, and the bombing of Haiphong (6000 civilians killed), the war between the French troops and the Viet Minh for the control of Vietnam begins.
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The bulk of the French army is defeated at Dien Bien Phu. This is the first time in history a colonial power is militarily defeated, a massive decolonization follows worldwide. At the Geneva conference, the country is partitioned at the 17th parallel as an interim stage. The North becomes the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, a communist state supported by China and the USSR. The strict communist ideology began to prevail at the 2nd congress of the Vietnamese labor party in 1951.
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Refusing to implement the Geneva accords, Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims himself president of the Republic of South Vietnam with backing from the West.
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The communist party decides to start military operations in the South. Construction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail
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Kennedy increases military aid to south vietnam with military officials.
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Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated by U.S.
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First U.S. aerial raids against the north. U.S. puts first troops in Danang.
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Anti-war movements begin in the west.
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U.S. military withdraws
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First time Vietnam isn't involved in a war in half a century.
