VIETNAM: AN OVERVIEW 1946-90

 

1946-1954: War in Indochina between France and Vietminh

 

1954: French are defeated at Dienbienphu in May

          Geneva Convention: cessation of hostilities in Vietnam                17th parallel will divide north and south

          U.S. financial aid to South Vietnam and Ngo Dinh Diem               regime begins

 

1955: Diem refuses to take part in nationwide elections

          Ho Chi Minh accepts Soviet aid

          October 23, Diem becomes chief of state, proclaims the

                Republic of Vietnam with himself as president

          MAAG (military assistance advisory group) begins                       training of the ARVN (army of the republic of Vietnam)

 

1959: Group 559 formed to infiltrate the South via the Ho Chi

                Minh trail from North Vietnam

         

1960: Kennedy elected

          Hanoi forms “National Liberation Front”, Saigon calls

                this group “Vietcong” (communist Vietnamese)

 

1961: Kennedy sends more equipment and advisors to Diem

          General Maxwell Taylor and Walt Rostow visit Vietnam              and supports the use of combat troops

 

1962: U.S. establishes Military Assistance Command Vietnam

                 (MACV) and advisor numbers reach 11,000

          Strategic Hamlet Program/ Operation Sunrise

 

 

1963: Battle of Ap Bac: small guerilla force inflicts heavy                              damage to American and ARVN forces

          South Vietnamese shoot Buddhist protestor, monk

                commits self-immolation

          Diem and Nhu murdered after surrender in coup Nov. 1

                  Duong Van Minh heads new military junta

 

1964: General Khanh overthrows Minh government

          Johnson authorizes coastal raids in OPlan 34-A

          North Vietnamese patrol boats attack the U.S.S. Maddox

                in the Tonkin Gulf August 2nd

          Gulf of Tonkin Resolution passed August 7th

          first American bombing of North Vietnam (late August)

                and Ho Chi Minh Trail begins

          first North Vietnamese regulars sent to the south (Oct)

          Vietcong attack Bienhoa Air Base Oct 30

 

1965: Vietcong attacks against U.S. installations Feb (Pleiku)

          Johnson authorizes Operation Flaming Dart: American

                air raids against North Vietnam

          Operation Rolling Thunder: sustained bombing of North

                Vietnam begins: Feb 24

          Marine Battalions land to defend Danang airfield first

                troops (March)

          China warns of intervention if the US invades North Viet

          anti-war teach ins begin at University of Michigan

          by July, 62 American combat battalions are in Vietnam

          U.S. defeats North at battle of Ia Drang valley (Oct)

                first true conventional clash of the war

          Bombing suspension Dec 25- Jan 31 in the hope of peace  

                talks

 

 

 

1966: Senator Fulbright begins public hearings on the war

          U.S. bombs oil depots at Hanoi and Haiphong (June)

          by years end, 400,000 American troops are in Vietnam

 

1967: McNamara asserts that U.S. bombing has been

                ineffective to a Senate subcommittee

          major peace demonstrations in US cities

          Communists begin major actions in September

          Westmoreland begins fortifying Khe Sanh

          by year’s end, U.S. troops= 500,000

 

1968: January 31: Tet Offensive begins; siege of Khe Sanh

          Hue recaptured by U.S. in February

          General Abrams replaces General Westmoreland

          March- Johnson is advised against further escalation by

                the “Wise men”

          March 31- bombing stops, Johnson offers talks and

                announces he will not run for reelection

          October: bombing of North Vietnam halted, bombing of

                Laos increased

          U.S. troops number 540,000 at years end:

 

1969: Paris talks expanded to include Saigon and Vietcong reps

          Operation Dewey Canyon I in Laos

          “Vietnamization” begins: (March) along with Operation

                Menu: secret bombing of Cambodia

          antiwar demonstrations in Washington (Oct and Nov)

          Nov 16: revelation of Mylai massacre (from 1968)

          by December, 60,000 U.S. soldiers had been withdrawn

 

1970: secret talks between Kissinger and Le Duc Tho in Paris

          Nixon announces U.S. attacks on Cambodian bases after

                Lon Nol overthrows Prince Sihanouk

          Kent State incident May 4th/ more protests

          Congress bans US combat forces in Cambodia and Laos

          by years end only 280,000 soldiers remained in Vietnam

 

1971: Feb: Operation Dewey Canyon II: incursions against                  Laos/ Ho Chi Minh trail

          Lieutenant Calley convicted for Mylai massacre

          Operation Dewey Canyon III US veterans demonstrate in

                Washington D.C.

          U.S. troops down to 140,000 but bombing halt ends

 

1972: North Vietnam attacks across the demilitarized zone

          by May, U.S. stepped up bombing attacks in North

          December; talks break down largely due to Thieu’s

                unwillingness to accept the terms even though US and

                North Vietnam did agree on most points

           Operation Linebacker II: B-52 bombing of Hanoi and

                Haiphong

           talks resume on December 26, based on Oct agreement

 

1973: peace agreement reached/signed Jan 27

          last U.S. troops leave Vietnam March 29; MACV closes

          last prisoners of war released in April

          July: Senate hearings on secret bombing of Cambodia

          U.S. stops bombing Cambodia in August

          War Powers Act passed over Nixon’s veto; Congress

                bans use of funds for U.S. military action anywhere                      in Indochina

 

1974: Communist buildup of men and supplies in South (June)

          Nixon resigns August 9th; Lt. Calley parolled in Nov.

         

1975: Communists begin drive south, Danang taken March 30

          push to Saigon begins in “Ho Chi Minh Campaign”

          Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge in April

          last Americans evacuated from Saigon April 29th

          Saigon captured April 30th; Duong Van Minh assumes

                and then hands over the govt

 

1977: Jan 21: Carter pardons 10,000 draft evaders

          Vietnam attacks Cambodia after attacks on border                              villages by the Khmer Rouge

         

1978:Nov: Vietnam signs friendship pact with USSR; US/China

         begin normalization of relations

         December: thousands of “boat people” flee Vietnam

         

1979: Vietnamese establish new government in Cambodia

          China invades Vietnam in Feb

 

1982: Vietnam Veterans Memorial unveiled in Washington

           Vietnam withdraws from Cambodia partially

 

1983: Vietnamese demand exclusion of Khmer Rouge from

          power as the condition for full troop withdrawal

 

1990: Last Vietnamese troops leave Cambodia

 

1995: US/Vietnam officially normalize relations and open trade