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Vietnam declares their independence
On September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh officially declared independence from France. This was important because it was the very beginning of the Vietnam War, a war in which the United States got heavily involved and suffered greatly. -
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
In 1954 the United States and seven other countries formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization(SEATO) -
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Beginning on March 13th, 1954, and ending on May 7th, 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the last major battle where France had control of France Indochina. After loosing this battle, France had to give up Vietnam. Additionally, this was important to American history because at this point in the Vietnam War, America giving aid to help cover about 75% of France's war effort. -
Geneva Accords
Following the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva Accords was an agreement that acknowledged that Vietnam was split into two separate territories. This agreement established the difference between North and South Vietnam. This caused the United States to end up choosing to fight alongside South Vietnam after the country split. -
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Vietnam war
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Vietcong
On December 20th, 1960, a political group fighting against the government in South Vietnam began formally calling themselves Vietcong. This is important to American history because the United States ended up fighting the Vietcong through out the entire Vietnam War. -
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Agent Orange
Agent Orange was created and used. Agent Orange, which contained the deadly chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used herbicide. -
Kennedy White Papers
Kennedy commissioned a team to S. Vietnam to evaluate the necessity of U.S aid. The report called for increased combat troops and "advisers" to stabilize the Diem regime and quash the NLF. Some called Vietnam a "dead-end alley" and advocated total with-drawl. Kennedy compromised and added more U.S. advisers and support troops. This plan failed, for more NLF victories were reported. By 1963 there were more than 16,000 support troops in S. Vietnam, aiming to create "strategic hamlets". -
Gulf of tonkin attack
On August 1st, 1964, three North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked the USS Maddox, resulting in a sea war where one U.S. ship got damaged, three North Vietnamese torpedo boats got damaged, and four North Vietnamese sailors died. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
President Johnson was given the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia -
Rolling Thunder
President Johnson authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder, a limited but long lasting bombing offensive -
tet offensive
On January 31, 1968, General Vo Nguyen Giap led 70,000 soldiers of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to launch the Tet offensive The United States and South Vietnam were able to recover and began to strike back. This showed that the communist did not lose the will or the ability to fight. -
My Lai Massacare
On March 16, 1968, a group of American soldiers killed nearly 500 people in a South Vietnamese village called My Lai. This was important to American history because once U.S. citizens heard about how brutal the American soldiers had been towards the people of My Lai, they got even more involved in the anti-war movement taking place in the United States. -
Nixon takes office
President Richard M. Nixon takes office as the new President of the United States. -
Anti-war Protest
During the Vietnam War, the citizens of the United States began to form anti-war protests, seaking peace and an end to the brutal violence. On November 15th, 1969, gathered in Washington D.C. to peacefully protest the Vietnam War and called for a withdrawal of American Troops. It was the largest protest in American history. -
133,000 US troops come home
Only 133,000 U.S. servicemen remain in South Vietnam. Two thirds of America's troops have gone in two years -
Paris Peace Accords
The Paris Peace Accords, officially titled the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam, was a peace treaty signed on January 27, 1973, to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War. -
End of war
On January 27th, 1973, all parties involved in the Vietnam War signed a cease-fire agreement. This is an important because, even though the United States was the only group to uphold their part of the cease-fire, it allowed the United States to finally send their soldiers home and stop fighting in the war. -
Nixon resigns
President Richard M. Nixon resigns, leaving South Vietnam without its strongest advocate.