Chronology of the War in Vietnam, 1945-1975
|
1945 |
August 23, Bao Dai abdicates September 2, Ho Chi Minh Declares the Independence of Vietnam September 26, A. Peter Dewey becomes first American casualty |
|
1946 |
Beginning of French-Vietminh war |
|
1952 |
November, Eisenhower is elected President |
|
1953 |
Armistice ends Korean War |
|
1954 |
April 7, President Eisenhower formulates the Domino Theory May 7, French defeat at Dienbienphu June, Ngo Dinh Diem is appointed Prime Minister July 21, the Geneva Agreement divides Vietnam at 17th parallel |
|
1955 |
October, Ngo Dinh Diem defeats Bao Dai in referendum, and becomes Head of State of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam |
|
1956 |
November, Eisenhower wins a second term in the White House |
|
1959 |
May 6, Diem promulgates law against dissidents |
|
1960 |
November 8, Kennedy is elected President November, attempted coup d’etat against Diem fails December, the National Liberation Front (Vietcong) is formed |
|
1961 |
May, Vice President Johnson visits South Vietnam and proposes additional aid to Diem June 4, Kennedy meets Soviet Leader Nikita Khruschev in Vienna ("Vietnam is the place") |
|
1962 |
February 6, American Military Assistance Command formed in South Vietnam February 27, two Vietnamese pilots bomb Presidential palace without harming Diem |
|
1963 |
May, June, Buddhist protests lead by Tri Quang reach high intensity August 22, Henry Cabot Lodge takes office as Ambassador November 1, Duong Van Minh and other generals remove Diem from power. November 2, South Vietnamese Generals stage a coup against Diem November 22, Kennedy is assassinated. Johnson takes the oath as president |
|
1964 |
January 30, General Nguyen Khan seizes power in Saigon. Pentagon starts developing strategy to bomb North Vietnam August 2 and 4, U.S. destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy are allegedly attacked in Gulf of Tonkin August 7, Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution August, American aircraft bomb North Vietnam for the first time October 30, NLF attacks Bienhoa air base. Johnson rejects proposed raids against North Vietnam |
|
1965 |
February 7, Vietcong attacks American installations in Pleiku Johnson authorizes air raids against N. Vietnam (Flaming Dart) February 24, starts Operation Rolling Thunder, sustained bombing of North Vietnam March 8, two Marine battalions arrive to Danang to defend the airfield. First U.S. combat troops in Vietnam. April 7, Johnson, in a speech at Johns Hopkins University, offers Hanoi a settlement, including North Vietnamese participation in a very large development program. Hanoi rejects the proposal June 11, Nguyen Cao Ky takes over as prime minister in Saigon July 8, Lodge is reappointed Ambassador. July 28, Johnson approves Westmoreland’s request for troops and sends 44 additional combat battalions. December 25, Johnson suspends bombing of North Vietnam to entice DRV into negotiations |
|
1966 |
January 31, Johnson resumes bombing of North Vietnam June 29, American airplanes bomb areas near Hanoi and Haiphong |
|
1967 |
March 19-21, Johnson meets in Guam with Ky and Thieu. North Vietnamese reveal letter exchange between Johnson and Ho Chi Minh. Bunker replaces Lodge as Ambassador. August, McNamara tells Congress that bombing North Vietnam is ineffective September 3, Thieu is elected President September 29, Johnson offers to halt the bombing in exchange for "productive discussions" December, domestic anti-war protests rise |
|
1968 |
January, Prince Norodom Sihanouk gives permission for American forces to pursue Vietcong inside Cambodian territory January 31, Tet offensive begins. U.S Embassy in Saigon is attacked. Earle Wheeler brings request from Westmoreland for 206,000 additional troops March 1, Clark Clifford replaces McNamara as SecDef March 16, U.S. troops brutally massacre over 400 civilians at My Lai March 31, Johnson announces bombing halt and declines running for reelection May, contacts between U.S. and North Vietnam start in Paris August, Hubert H. Humphrey is designed presidential candidate in the Democratic Convention in Chicago, amid riots, protests and widespread violence November 5, Nixon wins the elections |
|
1969 |
March 18, Nixon begins secret bombing of Cambodia June 8, Nixon announces withdrawal of 25,000 troops October 15, massive anti-war demonstrations in Washington, DC November 16, public revelation of My Lai massacre |
|
1970 |
February 20, Kissinger begins secret talks with Le Duc Tho in Paris Nixon announces offensive in Cambodia May 4, four students are killed in protests at Kent State University (Ohio) |
|
1971 |
|
1972 |
February 21, Nixon arrives to China for unprecedented visit April 15, Nixon authorizes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong June 17, Watergate scandal erupts with the arrest of five secret White House operatives October, Tho and Kissinger reach a preliminary agreement in Paris. November 7, Nixon reelected in a landslide AMERICAN WITHDRAWAL ALMOST COMPLETE, WITH 24,200 MEN LEFT IN SOUTH VIETNAM |
|
1973 |
January 27, cease-fire agreements are signed in Paris March 29, last American troops leave Vietnam August 14, U.S. stops bombing Cambodia under pressure from Congress |
|
1974 |
|
1975 |
April 29, Ambassador Graham Martin evacuates the U.S. Embassy April 30, Saigon falls to the Communist offensive |
| Important Names | Home | Sage Page | Vietnam War links |