1945 |
Ho Chi Minh Creates Provisional Government
British Forces Land in Saigon, Return Authority to French
First American Dies in Vietnam |
1946 |
French and Vietminh Reach Accord
Negotiations Between French and Vietminh Breakdown
Indochina War Begins |
1947 |
Vietminh Move North of Hanoi
Valluy Fails to Defeat Vietminh |
1949 |
Elysee Agreement Signed |
1950 |
Chinese, Soviets Offer Weapons to Vietminh
US Pledges $15M to Aid French |
1953 |
France Grants Laos Full Independence
Vietminh Forces Push into Laos |
1954 |
Battle of Dienbienphu Begins
Eisenhower Cites "Domino Theory" Regarding Southeast Asia
French Defeated at Dien Bien Phu
Geneva Convention Begins
Geneva Convention Agreements Announced |
1955 |
Diem Rejects Conditions of Geneva Accords, Refuses to Participate in Nationwide Elections
China and Soviet Union Pledge Additional Financial Support to Hanoi
Diem Urged to Negotiate with North
Diem Becomes President of Republic of Vietnam |
1956 |
French Leave Vietnam
US Training South Vietnamese |
1957 |
Communist Insurgency into South Vietnam
Terrorist Bombings Rock Saigon |
1959 |
Weapons Moving Along Ho Chi Minh Trail
US Servicemen Killed in Guerilla Attack
Diem Orders Crackdown on Communists, Dissidents |
1960 |
North Vietnam Imposes Universal Military Conscription
Kennedy Elected President
Diem Survives Coup Attempt
Vietcong Formed |
1961 |
Battle of Kienhoa Province
Vice President Johnson Tours Saigon |
1962 |
US Military Employs Agent Orange
Diem Palace Bombed in Coup Attempt
Mansfield Voices Doubt on Vietnam Policy |
1963 |
Battle of Ap Bac
President Kennedy Assassinated in Dallas
Buddhists Protest Against Diem
Diem Overthrown, Murdered |
1964 |
General Nguyen Khanh Seizes Power in Saigon
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
Debate on Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Vietcong Attack Bienhoa Air Base
LBJ Defeats Goldwater |
1965 |
Operation "Rolling Thunder" Deployed
Marines Arrive at Danang
Heavy Fighting at Ia Drang Valley
US Troop Levels Top 200,000
Vietnam "Teach-In" Broadcast to Nation's Universities |
1966 |
B-52s Bomb North Vietnam
South Vietnam Government Troops Take Hue and Danang
LBJ Meets With South Vietnamese Leaders
Veterans Stage Anti-War Rally
CORE Cites "Burden On Minorities and Poor" in Vietnam |
1967 |
Operation Cedar Falls Begins
Bunker Replaces Cabot Lodge as South Vietnam Ambassador
Martin Luther King Speaks Out Against War
Dow Recruiters Driven From Wisconsin Campus
McNamara Calls Bombing Ineffective |
1968 |
Sihanouk Allows Pursuit of Vietcong into Cambodia
North Vietnamese Launch Tet Offensive
Battle for Hue
Westmoreland Requests 206,000 More Troops
My Lai Massacre
LBJ Announces He Won't Run
MLK Slain in Memphis
Paris Peace Talks Begin
Robert Kennedy Assassinated
Upheaval at Democratic Convention in Chicago
Richard Nixon Elected President |
1969 |
Nixon Begins Secret Bombing of Cambodia
Policy of "Vietnamization" Announced
Ho Chi Minh Dies at Age 79
News of My Lai Massacre Reaches US
Massive Antiwar Demonstration in DC |
1970 |
Sihanouk Ousted in Cambodia
Kent State Incident
Kissinger and Le Duc Begin Secret Talks
Number of US Troops Falls to 280K |
1971 |
Lt. Calley Convicted of Murder
Pentagon Papers Published
Nixon Announces Plans to Visit China
Thieu Re-elected in South Vietnam |
1972 |
Nixon Cuts Troop Levels by 70K
Secret Peace Talks Revealed
B-52s Bomb Hanoi and Haiphong
Break-In at Watergate Hotel
Kissinger Says "Peace Is At Hand"
Nixon Wins Reelection |
1973 |
Cease-fire Signed in Paris
End of Draft Announced
Last American Troops Leave Vietnam
Hearings on Secret Bombings Begin
Kissinger and Le Duc Tho Win Peace Prize |
1974 |
Thieu Announces Renewal of War
Report Cites Damage to Vietnam Ecology
Communists Take Mekong Delta Territory
Nixon Resigns
Communists Plan Major Offensive |
1975 |
Communist Forces Capture Phuoc Long Province
Hue Falls to Communists
Communists Take Aim at Saigon
Ford Calls Vietnam War "Finished
Last Americans Evacuate as Saigon Falls to Communists |
1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 |
Pham Van Dong Heads Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Jimmy Carter Elected US President
Carter Issues Pardon to Draft Evaders
Vietnam Granted Admission to United Nations
Relations Between Vietnam and China Deteriorate
Vietnam Invades Cambodia
"Boat People" Flee Vietnam
China Invades,Withdraws from, Vietnam
US GAO Issues Report on Agent Orange
Ronald Reagan Elected US President |
181, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 |
Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC Dedicated
Reagan Promises to Make MIAs "Highest National Priority"
Dow Chemical Knowledge of Dioxin Revealed
"Unknown Soldier" of Vietnam War Laid to Rest
US Offers Asylum to Vietnamese Political Prisoners
Vietnamese Forces Defeat Khmer Rouge Rebels |
1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 |
George Bush Elected US President
Vietnamese Troops Leave Cambodia |
1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 |
Bill Clinton Elected US President
Washington Restores Diplomatic Ties with Hanoi
(1995)
McNamara Calls Vietnam Policy "Wrong, Terribly Wrong"
US and Vietnam Exchange Ambassadors |