1945 Ho Chi Minh Creates Provisional Government Following the surrender of Japan to Allied forces, Ho Chi Minh and his People's Congress form a provisional government. Japan transfers all power to Ho's Viet Minh. Ho Declares Independence of Vietnam British Forces Land in Saigon, Return Authority to French First American Dies in Vietnam 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu Begins A force of 40,000 heavily armed Viet Minh lay siege to the French garrison at Dien Bien French Phu. The Defeated at French have Dien Bien Phu met their Geneva match. Convention Agreements Announced Vietnam and France sign the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Vietnam. As part of the agreement, a provisional demarcation line is drawn at the 17th parallel to remain until nationwide elections are held in 1956. The United States does not accept the agreement, neither does the government of Bao Dai. 1
1955 Ngo Dihn Diem Rejects Conditions of Geneva Accords, Refuses to Participate in Nationwide Elections Britain, France, and United States covertly urge Diem to respect Geneva accords and negotiate with the North. China and USSR Pledge Financial Support to Hanoi Diem Becomes President of South Vietnam in rigged election 1956 French Leave Vietnam US Training South Vietnamese The US Military Assistance Advisor Group (MAAG) assumes responsibility, from French, for training South Vietnamese forces. Election Deadline Passes 1959 Weapons Moving Along Ho Chi Minh Trail North Vietnam begins infiltrating cadres and weapons into South Vietnam via the Ho Chi Minh Trail which became a strategic target for later military attacks. US Servicemen Killed in Guerilla Attack Diem Orders Crackdown on Communists, Dissidents 1960 Diem Survives Coup Attempt Viet Cong Formed Hanoi forms National Liberation Front for South Vietnam. Diem government dubs them "Viet Cong." 1962 US Military Employs Agent Orange US Air Force begins using Agent Orange a defoliant that came in metal orange containers to expose roads and trails used by Viet Cong forces. 2
1963 Buddhists Protest Against Diem Tensions between Buddhists and the Diem government are further strained as Diem, a Catholic, removes Buddhists from several key government positions and replaces them with Catholics. Buddhist monks protest Diem's intolerance for other religions and the measures he takes to silence them. In a show of protest, Buddhist monks start setting themselves on fire in public places. Diem Overthrown, Murdered, with tacit approval of the US. Questions What happened in Vietnam between 1945 and 1954? How did America get involved in Vietnam? Who was Ho Chi Minh? Who was Ngo Dinh Diem? 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Incident On August 2, three North Vietnamese PT boats allegedly fire torpedoes at the USS Maddox, a destroyer located in the international waters of the Tonkin Gulf, some thirty miles off the coast of North Vietnam. The attack comes after six months of covert US and South Vietnamese naval operations. 3
Debate on Gulf of Tonkin Resolution The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is approved by Congress on August 7 and authorizes President Lyndon Johnson to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The Resolution allows Johnson to wage all out war against North Vietnam without ever securing a formal Declaration of War from Congress. 1965 Operation "Rolling Thunder" Deployed 3 years of sustained bombing raids of North Vietnam Marines Arrive at Da Nang The 1st American combat troops, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, arrive in South Vietnam to defend the US airfield at Da Nang. Heavy Fighting at Ia Drang Valley The 1st conventional battle; heavy casualties US Troop Levels Top 200,000 1966 South Vietnam Government Troops Take Hue and Da Nang LBJ Meets With South Vietnamese Leaders LBJ meets with South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Cao Ky and his military advisors. LBJ promises to continue to help South Vietnam fend off aggression from the North, but adds that the US will be monitoring South Vietnam's efforts to expand democracy and improve economic conditions. 4
Questions What was the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and Resolution? What was Operation Rolling Thunder? Who was Nguyen Cao Ky? 5
1968 North Vietnamese Launch Tet Offensive 1968 Battle for Hue The battle wages for 26 days as US and ARVN forces try to recapture the site seized by the Communists during the Tet Offensive. Mass graves containing the bodies of thousands of people who had been executed during the Communist occupation are discovered. 1968 Misdirected Napalm Attack sparks protest 6
My Lai Massacre On March 16, the men of Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, Americal Division took out their anger and frustration on the village of My Lai. When news of the atrocities surfaced, it sent shockwaves through the US political establishment, the military's chain of command, and an already divided American public. 7
1968 Westmoreland Requests 206,000 More Troops LBJ Announces He Won't Run Paris Peace Talks Begin Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy Assassinated Upheaval at Democratic Convention in Chicago As the frazzled Democratic party prepares to hold its nominating convention in Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley orders police to crackdown on antiwar protests. As the nation watched on television, the area around the convention erupts in violence. Richard Nixon Elected President Questions What was the Tet Offensive? What was the My Lai Massacre? What happened politically in 1968? 1969 Nixon Begins Secret Bombing of Cambodia In an effort to destroy Communist supply routes and base camps in Cambodia, the covert bombing of Cambodia, conducted without the knowledge of Congress or the American public, will continue for fourteen months. Policy of "Vietnamization" Announced The objective of the policy is to shift the burden of defeating the Communists onto the South Vietnamese Army and away from the United States. Ho Chi Minh Dies at Age 79 8
1969 Massive Antiwar Demonstration in DC 9
Other Americans protest in favor of the war 1970 Kent State Incident National Guardsmen open fire on a crowd of student antiwar protesters at Ohio's Kent State University killing 4 students and wounding of 8 others. Nixon publicly deplores the actions of the Guardsmen, but cautions: "...when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy." Protesters had been hurling rocks and empty tear gas canisters at the Guardsmen. 10
National Guardsmen at Kent State University. Questions What was Vietnamization? Why did so many people protest the Vietnam War? What happened at Kent State? 1971 Lt. Calley Convicted of Murder for My Lai Massacre. Pentagon Papers Published A legacy of deception, concerning US policy in Vietnam, on the part of the military and the executive branch is revealed as the New York Times publishes the Pentagon Papers. The Nixon administration, eager to stop leaks of what they consider sensitive information, appeals to the Supreme Court to halt the publication. The Court decides in favor the Times and allows continued publication. 11
1972 Nixon Cuts Troop Levels by 70,000 Responding to charges by Democratic presidential candidates that he is not moving fast enough to end US involvement in Vietnam, Nixon orders troop strength reduced by seventy thousand. Secret Peace Talks Revealed B-52s Bomb Hanoi and Haiphong In an attempt to force North Vietnam to make concessions in the ongoing peace talks, the Nixon administration orders heavy bombing of supply dumps and petroleum storage sites in and around Hanoi and Haiphong. The administration makes it clear to North Vietnam that no section is off-limits to bombing raids. Actress Jane Fonda Visits North Vietnam Jane Fonda sits on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun in 1972. 1973 Cease-fire Signed in Paris A cease-fire agreement that, in the words of Richard Nixon, "brings peace with honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia," is signed in Paris by Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho. The agreement is to go into effect on January 28. End of Draft Announced Last American Troops Leave Vietnam 12
1975 Sihanouk Ousted in Cambodia by his defense minister, Lon Nol Kissinger and Le Duc Begin Secret Talks Number of US Troops Falls to 280K 1975 Phnom Penh Captured by Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge accept the surrender of Cambodian leader Lon Nol on April 16 ushering in a period of genocide and forced "re-education" engineered by Pol Pot. They killed over 2 million Cambodians during this time. The Fall of Saigon South Vietnam President unconditionally surrenders to the Communists April 30, 1975. North Vietnamese Colonel assures that, "...Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment of joy." As the few remaining Americans evacuate Saigon, the last two US servicemen to die in Vietnam are killed when their helicopter crashes. 13
Questions What were the Pentagon Papers? When did the war end for America? What happened in Cambodia? When did America finally leave Vietnam? The Legacy of the War Total Americans who served in Vietnam: 2,700,000 Americans killed in Vietnam: 58,182 Vietnamese casualties: 2,000,000 14
Total Americans Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) 2,583 POW John McCain being welcomed home by President Nixon after 5 ½ years in captivity. 15
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial The Wall All 58,195 who died in the Vietnam War, from 1959 to 1975, are listed on the Memorial. Questions How many Americans died in Vietnam? What role did Senator John McCain have in the war? What is The Wall? 16