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Vietnam Timeline. 1874. France takes control of Vietnam. President and US Military Presence: 1941 . Roosevelt. 1941 . Ho Chi Minh founded the Viet Minh To fight the Japanese Popular leader Not anti-American Nationalist/land reform. President and US Military Presence: 1945. Truman.
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1874 • Francetakes control of Vietnam
President and US Military Presence: 1941 • Roosevelt
1941 • Ho Chi Minh founded the Viet Minh • To fight the Japanese • Popular leader • Not anti-American • Nationalist/land reform
1945 • Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam Independent • US and Vietnamese fought against Japanese • Quotes US Declaration of Independence • Asks the US for aid five times
1950 • United States gives direct economic and military aid to the French • War begins between Vietminh and France • Domino Theory/Keep Alliance with French • In total $4 billion to the French
President and US Military Presence: 1954 • Eisenhower
1954 • Battle of Dien Bien Phu • Last Battle of French/Vietminh War • Vietminh won
1954 • Geneva Conference • Vietnam divided at the 17th parallel. Elections in two years • Cease fire • Neither side would form alliances with other countries
1954 • US Support Ngo Dinh Diem as leader of South Vietnam • Western Educated. Diem was Catholic. Vietnam a country of Buddhists. • Corrupt • Two US advisors worked closely with Diem. • Strongly Anti-Communist.
1956 • Diem cancels elections • He knew that Ho Chi Minh would win. • He broke the Geneva Conventions.
1960 • National Liberation Front a.k.a. Viet Cong • South Vietnamese who hate Diem • Supported by peasants • Civil War breaks out • Use Guerilla/terror tactics Viet Cong Solider
President and US Military Presence: 1963 • Kennedy
1963 • Buddhists Riots in Hue • Diem outlawed Buddhists flags • Buddhists protested this and were shot • A few monks lit themselves on fire- Made Diem look bad
President and US Military Presence: 1963 • 16,000 US
1963 • Diem Overthrown and Assassinated • Diem received millions in aid, yet his country was bankrupt • Unpopular and corrupt • US supported a military coup • Diem & brother killed. Unwilling/able to change conditions that led to popularity communism/NLF
1963 • Kennedy Assassinated • Johnson swears he will not “lose” Vietnam • Viet Cong are already assassinating US advisors
President and US Military Presence: 1964 • Johnson • 184,300 US
1964 • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution • Johnson claimed that two ships were attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin • Congress gave Johnson a “blank check” in Vietnam Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
President and US Military Presence: 1965 • 200,000 US
1965 • Operation Rolling Thunder • Viet Cong attacked a US airfield in South Vietnam • US begins bombing N. Vietnam. Continued for three years. • Bomb bases, roads, railroads & Ho Chi Minh trail • Start sending ground troops
President and US Military Presence: 1968 • 540,000 US
1968 • Tet Offensive (Vietnamese New Year) • The VC/NVA took control of major cities in S. Vietnam • The US mainstream started questioning the war • The US retook major cities but damage was done
1969 • Secret Bombing of Cambodia • Bombed communist strongholds • Continued to bomb the Ho Chi Minh Trail Secret bombing Of Cambodia: Sites indicated In Red
President and US Military Presence: 1969 • 484,000 US
1969 • My Lai Massacre • March 16, 1968 • Search and destroy mission • 350 civilians killed by US army division • Became public knowledge in 1969 My Lai Massacre Monument
1969 • Anti-War Demonstrations • After Tet, mainstream US against war • College campuses center of protest movement- biggest at Columbia U where students occupied President’s office • Marches, teach-ins, burning draft cards, jail, leaving country…
1970 • Vietnamization • Advisors said it would take 8 yrs to win the war • Trained and fund S. Vietnamese troops to take over • Allowed US troops to begin to come home
President and US Military Presence: 1970 • 335,000 US
1970 • Kent State • A protest against the invasion of Cambodia • Burned down ROTC building • National Guard fired on crowd • Four students killed, one paralyzed for life
President and US Military Presence: 1971 • 184,000 US
1971 • Pentagon Papers • Defense Dept. employee Daniel Ellsburg leaked top secret document to the NY Times and Wash. Post • Revealed Government was lying about war
1973 • Last Troops Leave Vietnam • After a massive bombing campaign in the North US turned the war over to South. (Paris Peace Accords) • Symbolized our inability to defeat the Communists
1975 • Last Americans leave Saigon during the early morning • The North took over Saigon • The Civil War was over • The Communist won
More than 58,000 US soldiers died • $150 billion • Over 2 million Southeast Asians died • Equivalent of 650 Hiroshimas dropped