Timeline
May 7, 1954: French are Defeated by Giap's Army at Dienbienphu
In fifty-seven days, Ho Chi Minh's forces defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu. This allowed the Viet Minh forces to take control of a small mountain outpost on the Vietnamese border which eventually led to the end of the Indochina War. The end of the Indochina War signaled the end of French influence in Indochina, which, in a bi-polar world where the United States and the Soviet Union were seeking world influence, became the perfect opportunity for America to take Vietnam under it's wing and spread its sphere of influence.
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April 26 - July 21, 1954: Geneva Conference
The Geneva Conference took place in Geneva, Switzerland in hopes of restoring peace in Indochina. By July, the Geneva Agreements were signed which stated that France would withdraw their troops from Vietnam and that Vietnam would temporarily be split at the 17th parallel, also known as the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone. In addition, Vietnam would be able to chose a president within two years and reunite their country.
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1955: U.S Begins to Fund South Vietnamese Army
In 1955, the United States began funding the South Vietnamese army in order to provide them with supplies to fight against communism and North Vietnam. Although Ngo Dinh Diem did not have the same morals as the people in the United States, he was ran a capitalist government in South Vietnam. The United States would do anything to support capitalism and prevent the spread of communism. They forced Ngo Dinh Diem to void the election to unify the country under one leader because Ho Chi Minh of North Vietnam would have won the election. They feared that if the North Vietnam gained control over South Vietnam, then the rest of Southeast Asia would fall to communism, which is the Domino Theory.
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1960: Vietnamese Civil War begins
The Vietnamese Civil War broke out in 1960 as a result of the election to unify the country of Vietnam. North Vietnam was furious that Ngo Dinh Diem voided the election, for they knew that Ho Chi Minh would have won if the void had not been set in place. American involvement in the war began to increase because they needed to support South Vietnam in their fight against communism and North Vietnam.
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May - June 1963: Buddhists Protests
Throughout May and June of 1963, the South Vietnamese government was persecuting Buddhist monks, causing many demonstration in the streets of cities by monks. In this case, a man poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire as the whole world watched on television. North Vietnam and China saw this as a chance to ridicule the United States for supporting the corrupt South Vietnamese government. The United States regarded it as someone who died for a worthy cause, causing them to overthrow the Diem government.
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August 7, 1964: Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in which North Vietnamese torpedo patrol boats bombed the USS Maddox, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. This resolution gave President Johnson the authority to use any means necessary to contain North Vietnam. Now that the United States had the authority to bomb, they would take full advantage to show their power. This marked the beginning of the United States' air attacks in North Vietnam.
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September 29, 1967: Johnson halts bombing in North Vietnam
In September 29, 1967, President Johnson decided to halt bombing in North Vietnam. Johnson feared that if America continued to bomb the North Vietnamese it would give the Soviet Union and China an incentive to enter the war or bomb the United States. In an effort to dodge a nuclear war and to prevent the spread of the Soviet’s sphere of influence, a majority of the Vietnam battles took place in South Vietnam.
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January 31, 1968: Tet Offensive begins
The Tet Offensive occurred when North Vietnam launched a surprise attack on many South Vietnamese cities. Many South Vietnamese people were on leave for a holiday, so many cities were almost unguarded. The fighting was concentrated in the urban cities of Saigon and Hue. The North Vietnamese and Vietcong also attacked the U.S. Embassy, where it was hard for U.S. troops to hold them off. Although this was a tactical win for the U.S., it was a strategical loss because of the televised war. Many Americans saw North Vietnam's potential and power and wanted to drop out of the war, so many war protests broke out.
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November 6, 1968: Nixon wins election
After LBJ dropped out of the presidential election, the democratic party had a limited amount of time to replace their candidate. In addition, support for Democratic party was crippled after National guardsmen shot at protesters at the Democratic National Convention of 1968. Therefore, Richard Nixon, who claimed he had a “secret plan” to end the war, was elected by a landslide. After after Nixon was sworn in, he introduced Vietnamization. This policy allowed for US troops to slowly be pulled from the war by equipping and training the South Vietnamese forces. This helped appease the Americans who wanted to end American involvement in Vietnam.
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January 27, 1973: Cease - fire agreement signed
In an effort to end the Vietnam War, Henry Kissinger, assistant for National Security Affairs, was sent to Paris to draft a peace proposal with the feuding countries. As a result, a cease-fire agreement was created which ultimately ended the Vietnam war. This was seen as an American loss because both North Vietnam and South Vietnam eventually became communist country. The agreement also called for the reunification of North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
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