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Ho Chi Minh helps found the Indochinese Communist Party.
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Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh (League for the Independence of Vietnam).
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Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam, called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
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The Viet Minh receive military advisors and weapons from China.
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The United States pledges $15 million worth of military aid to France to help them fight in Vietnam.
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The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
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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.
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South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam, with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president.
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The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam.
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South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is executed during a coup.
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North Vietnamese attack two U.S. destroyers sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident).
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In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
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A sustained U.S. aerial bombing campaign of North Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder).
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The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
