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1954 First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam
into North Vietnam
and South Vietnam
1955 US President Dwight D. Eisenhower
sends the first U.S. advisors to South Vietnam.
1963 South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem
is assassinated following a military coup.
1963 Vietnam War
: Coup leader General Duong Van Minh takes over as leader of South Vietnam.
1963 Vietnam War
: New U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms that the United States
intends to continue supporting South Vietnam militarily and economically.
1964 The New Hampshire
primary is won by Henry Cabot Lodge, Ambassador to South Vietnam.
1964 Vietnam War
: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam
.
1965 Vietnam War
: 3,500 United States Marines arrive in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam
.
1965 Vietnam War
: Australia
n Prime Minister
Robert Menzies
announces that the country will substantially increase its number of troops in South Vietnam, supposedly at the request of the Saigon government, although it is later revealed that Menzies had asked the leadership in Saigon to send the request at the behest of the Americans.
1965 Australia
announces that it is sending an infantry battalion to support the South Vietnam government.
1965 Vietnam War
: The first contingent of Australia
n combat troops arrives in South Vietnam.
1965 Vietnam War
: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
announces his order to increase the number of United States
troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
1965 Vietnam War
: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlite, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula, 23 miles south of the Chu Lai Marine base.
1965 A brigade of South Korea
n soldiers arrive in South Vietnam.
1965 Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
's call for "more flags" in Vietnam
, Philippines
President Elect Ferdinand Marcos
announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.
1966 Lyndon Johnson states that the United States
should stay in South Vietnam until Communist
aggression there is ended.
1966 About 8,000 U.S. soldiers land in South Vietnam - U.S. troops now total 190,000.
1966 In South Vietnam, 20,000 Buddhists march in demonstrations against the policies of the military government.
1966 Buddhists in South Vietnam protest against the fact that the new government has not set a date for free elections.
1966 The South Vietnamese government promises free elections in 3-5 months.
1966 The South Vietnamese army besieges Da Nang.
1967 Nguyen Van Thieu
is elected President of South Vietnam.
1967 Vietnam War
: U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara
announces his pending resignation, to become president of the World Bank. This action was the result of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
's outright rejection of McNamara's early November recommendations to freeze troop levels, stop bombing North Vietnam
and hand over ground fighting to South Vietnam.
1967 Vietnam War
: US
and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta
(235 of the 300-strong Viet Cong battalion are killed).
1968 Vietnam War
: The Tet Offensive begins, as Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam.
1968 Vietnam War
: A Viet Cong officer is executed by Nguyen Ngoc Loan, a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The execution was videotaped and photographed and helped sway public opinion against the war.
1968 Vietnam War
: The Tet Offensive is halted - South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
1968 Vietnam War: South Vietnamese
opposition leader Truong Dinh Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor, for advocating the formation of a coalition government
as a way to move toward an end to the war
.
1968 Vietnam War
: Operation Sealords - United States
and South Vietnamese
forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta
.
1968 Vietnam War
: Operation Commando Hunt is initiated to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos
into South Vietnam. By the end of the operation, 3 million tons of bombs are dropped on Laos, slowing but not seriously disrupting trail operations.
1969 Vietnam War
: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam, meeting with President Nguyen Van Thieu
and U.S. military commanders.
1970 Vietnam War
: Operation Jefferson Glenn begins - The United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien Province (the operation ends in October 1971).
1970 Vietnam War
: Vietnamization - The United States
turns control of the air base in the Mekong Delta
to South Vietnam.
1971 Vietnam War
: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos
.
1972 Vietnam War
: The Eastertide Offensive begins after North Vietnam
ese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
1972 The Democratic National Convention
begins in Miami Beach. Senator George McGovern, who backs the immediate and complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Vietnam, is nominated for President. He names fellow Senator Thomas Eagleton
as his running mate.
1972 Following a visit to South Vietnam, U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger
suggests that "peace is at hand."
1972 Vietnam War
: Vietnamization - The United States Army
turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.
1975 Vietnam War
: North Vietnam
ese troops attack Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam, on their way to capturing Saigon.
1975 Vietnam War
: South Vietnam President Nguyen van Thieu
orders the Central Highlands evacuated. This turns into a mass exodus involving troops and civilians, the so-called ''Convoy of Tears''.
1975 Vietnam War
: As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australia
n Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost 10 years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
1975 Vietnam War
: The Vietnam War ends as Communist forces take Saigon and South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally.
1976 North Vietnam
and South Vietnam unite to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
- a Communist country.
1992 The trial of 14 South Vietnamese
accused of murdering 24 North Vietnamese
begins in Hong Kong
(ends November 29, 1994).
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Timeline
