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TimeLines of Liberty
American Wars - Vietnam |
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Prelude to the Vietnam War
The "Prelude to the Vietnam War" is a
brief history of Southeast Asia leading to America's
intervention.
America having become a world power after World War II
intervened in Korea with a limited victory.
Vietnam has had a tumultuous existence under the French,
Japanese, incursions by the Chinese, and civil wars.
America's new role in the world would make her the peace
enforcer of nations, although without a clear victory in
Vietnam.
Prelude to War
- 1930-1932-1940-1941-1945-1946-1947-1949
1950-1951-1952-1953-1954-1955-1956-1957-1958-1959-1960
(Page One) |
The War - 1961-1965 -
The War - 1966-1970 -
The War - 1970-1975
-
Post War - 1976-2007
Page 2
Page 3
Page
Page
5 |
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1930 - Prelude to the Vietnam War
- 1960 |
Viet Cong
The "National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam" is
formed in 1960.The communist party faction in
South Vietnam was known as the Viet Minh (Ho Chi Minh
supporters) The "National Front for the
Liberation of South Vietnam" was created to be the command
for the Viet Minh. The "NFLSV" became shortened to the "National
Liberation Front" (NFL) which was the communist partisan insurgent
organization to fight South Vietnam's government, the Republic
of Vietnam. The Military organization of the NFL was the
People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF). The PLAF became more
commonly known as the Viet Cong
(Vietnamese Communists - Việt Nam Cộng Sản) and was
funded by the North Vietnamese Army and individuals in South
Vietnam. American Armed Forces Would often shorten Viet Cong to
Just "VC" or "Charlie" from the call letters of the U.S. Armed
Forces' phonetic alphabet, "Victor Charlie". |
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1930 |
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1930 |
~ |
Indochinese Communist Party, opposed to French rule, is organized
by Ho Chi Minh and his followers in 1930. |
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1932 |
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1932 |
~ |
Under French rule Bao-Dai,
returning from France, is installed as Emperor of Vietnam. |
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1940 |
|
1940 |
Sept. |
Japanese troops invade and in
September begin occupation of Indochina. The French are allowed
to maintain administrate colonial rule. |
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1941 |
|
1941 |
~ |
The Japanese invade and occupy Vietnam when the
French pull out of Indo-China to protect France in World War II.
The Japanese move into southern Vietnam prompting oil boycotts
by Great Britain and the U.S. |
|
1941 |
~ |
Ho Chi Minh of the Communist Party emerges
as leader of the anti-Japanese resistance. |
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1945 |
|
1945 |
March |
Rumors of an American invasion prompted the
Japanese to oust the remaining French colonial government on
March 9th, seizing complete control of Vietnam. Japan retains
Bao-Dai as their puppet ruler. |
|
1945 |
Summer |
During the summer one fifth of the
population; two million people; die of starvation in a famine
that strike Hanoi and surrounding areas. Political unrest ensues
with peasant revolts against the Japanese and remnants of the
French colonial society. Capitalizing on the confusion, Ho Chi
Minh spreads the Viet Minh movement. |
|
1945 |
~ |
Ho Chi Minh becomes ill with
malaria and other tropical ailments. An OSS team parachutes into
a jungle camp in northern Vietnam with medicine to save Ho Chi
Minh. OSS was the Office of Strategic Services, which
later became the CIA. |
|
1945 |
July |
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War
II the Potsdam Conference is held in Germany in July. The U.S.,
Britain, and the Soviet Union meet to plan a post-war agenda.
Vietnam is relegated to minor importance. Vietnam is
divide in half at the 16th parallel in attempts to disarm the
Japanese. Chinese Nationalists will move in on North Vietnam and
the British into South Vietnam to disarm the Japanese.
France requests and is granted the return of its Southeast Asia
pre-war colonies. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia again become French
colonies after the Japanese were removed. |
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1945 |
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France's attempt to return to Indo-China is
resisted by the Viet Minh leading to the Indo-Chinese war. |
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1945 |
Aug. |
Ho Chi Minh had established the Viet Minh
guerilla army; Ho Chi Minh leads the Viet Minh in taking power in Hanoi,
Vietnam in August. A general uprising prompted by the Viet Minh
forces Bao-Dai to abdicate. A provisional government is
proclaimed by Ho Chi Minh's guerrilla army. Bao-Dai exiles to
Hong Kong. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
In September Lieutenant Colonel A.
Peter Dewey leads a team of seven OSS officers into Saigon to
liberate Allied war prisoners and search for missing Americans
and gather whatever intelligence they could find. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
The Pacific theater of World War II
officially ends on September 2nd when the the Tokyo Bay
agreement is signed by the Japanese. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
Proclaiming the independence of Vietnam, Ho
Chi Minh quotes the U.S. Declaration saying, "We hold the
truth that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This immortal statement is
extracted from the Declaration of Independence of the United
States of America in 1776. These are undeniable truths." The
Republic of Vietnam is established in Hanoi ending 80 years of
French colonial rule. Ho Chi Minh declared himself president but
is ignored by President
Harry S. Truman
when he attempts to gain the recognition of the United States. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
The country of Vietnam is divided,
with the north controlled by Ho Chi Minh's Republic of Vietnam
in Hanoi. 150.000 Nationalist Chinese Soldiers march into North
Vietnam looting villages on a march to Hanoi which was looted as
well. China's presence was originally intended to liberate North
Vietnam from the Japanese. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
British soldiers arrive in Saigon on September 13th, to push the
Japanese out of South Vietnam and provide some stability. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
In the push against the Japanese the British liberate 1400
French soldiers held in Japanese internment camps, on September
22nd. The liberated soldiers enter Saigon in a rampage attacking
the Viet Minh and killing civilians; men, women, and children.
Some French civilians participated in the rampage. It is
estimated that 20,000 French civilians were living in Saigon. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
On September 24th the Viet Minh are successful in curtailing
commerce and disrupting power and water supplies in Saigon, by
an organized general strike. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
A Vietnamese crime syndicate, the Binh Xuyen, kill 150 French
and Eurasian civilians in a Saigon suburb on September 24th.
Some of those slain were children. |
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1945 |
Sept. |
America's first fatal casualty
occurs during Saigon's unrest. OSS Lieutenant Dewey is
killed on September 26th, by Viet Minh guerrillas. He was
mistaken for a French officer. Spokesman for both the French and
Vietminh blamed each other for his death. Dewey had filed a
report on Vietnam's crises, recommending the U.S. "... clear out
of Southeast Asia."
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|
1945 |
Oct. |
World War II General
Jacques Philippe Leclerc arrive in South Vietnam during October,
with 35,000 French soldiers to restore French rule. The Viet
Minh commence a guerrilla campaign of harassment. The Viet Minh
are pushed out of Saigon by the French. |
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1946 |
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1946 |
Feb. |
In February
an agreement is reached with Chinese Chiang Kai-shek allowing
French control in exchange for French concessions in Chinese
ports including Shanghai. |
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1946 |
Mar. |
Ho Chi Minh
is elected President of North Vietnam on March 2nd. |
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1946 |
Mar. |
In March
Chinese troops leave North Vietnam after Ho Chi Minh conceded to
temporary French troop return to Hanoi in exchange for the
French recognizing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. |
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1946 |
Mar. |
On March 6th France and Ho Chi Minh sign an agreement that
establishes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese
Federation and the French Union. |
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1946 |
May-
Sept. |
Ho Chi Minh spent May
through September in France in attempts to gain full
independence Vietnam. He fails to gain any commitment from the
French. |
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1946 |
June |
A symbolic
"slap in the face" is delivered to Ho Chi Minh when in June the
French high commissioner for Indochina declares a
French-controlled government for South Vietnam. |
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1946 |
Nov. |
Ho Chi Minh's attempts to
negotiate independence from the French, in November, ends
without success. |
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1946 |
Nov. |
On November 8th in
Haiphong French troops clash with Vietnamese rioters. |
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1946 |
Nov. |
Following several violent
clashes with the Viet Minh in November, the French army cruiser
"Suffren" opened fire, shelling Haiphong Harbor. Over 6,000
Vietnamese civilians were killed.
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1946 |
Nov. |
The French troops march
and occupy Hanoi, forcing a jungle retreat of Ho Chi Minh and
Viet Minh troops. |
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1946 |
Nov. |
The first large-scale
attack against the French by the Viet Minh occurs on December
19th, beginning the eight year First Indochina War. Vo Nguyen
Giap, Viet Minh military commander, states, "The resistance will
be long and arduous, but our cause is just and we will surely
triumph... " French military commander, Gen. Etrienne Valluy
replies, "If these [people] want a fight, they'll get it." |
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1947 |
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1947 |
Oct. |
Between October 7- December 22,
the French attack Viet Minh guerrilla
positions in North Vietnam near the Chinese border, in the
series of attacks dubbed Operation Lea. Suffering over 9000
causalities, most of the 40,000 Viet Minh guerrilla escape
through the French lines. |
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1947 |
Oct. |
Chiang
Kai-shek's Chinese Nationalist Army is defeated by Communist
forces led by Mao Zedong in October. The Communist victory
incites anti-Communist sentiments in America leading to Foreign
policy of Communist "containment" and expansion. |
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1949 |
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1949 |
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Chinese political power is consolidated under Communism
by Mao Tse Tung. |
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1949 |
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Bao-Dai is
placed as Chief of State by the French on March 8, 1949 over the
puppet government. |
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1949 |
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The
(South) Vietnamese National Army is created by the French in
July |
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1950 |
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1950 |
Jan. |
The People's Republic of
China and the Soviet Union recognize the Democratic Republic of
Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh in January, 1950. |
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1950 |
Jan. |
China begins sending
trucks, howitzers, mortars, automatic weapons and military
advisors to the Viet Minh in (North) Vietnam. The equipment had
belonged to the Chinese Nationalists before Mao's overthrow of
the Chinese government which meant that large amounts were
American made. General Giap, with the help of Chinese Communist,
advisors conforms his guerrilla fighters into conventional army
units. |
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1950 |
Feb. |
Senator Joseph R. McCarthy
of Wisconsin delivers a speech on February 7th, 1950 and claims
the U.S. State Department is harboring Communists. The era of
"McCarthyism" begins resulting with politicians taking a hard
stance on Communism, avoiding the appearance of being "soft." |
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1950 |
Feb. |
An Indochina French base is attacked on February 11th by two
Viet Cong battalions. |
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1950 |
Feb. |
The U.S. and Britain
recognize the French-controlled South Vietnam government under
Bao-Dai in February. |
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1950 |
Feb. |
An
offensive against French post near the Chinese border of North
Vietnam is began by the Viet Minh in February. |
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1950 |
Feb. |
The United States begins to provide financing to
the French covering 3/4th of the military expense of the
Indo-China war. |
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1950 |
Mar. |
Korea exposes itself as a large threat in Asia,
when Communist North Korea invaded South Korea. |
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June |
President Harry S. Truman
ordered American ground troops into Korea in June. Addressing
the nation Truman refers
to the invasion backed by the U.S.S.R. as "monolithic world
Communism." |
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1950 |
July |
In July
President Truman
authorized 15,000,000 dollars in military aid to the French in
Indochina. |
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1950 |
July |
July 26, 1950 - United States military
involvement in Vietnam begins as President Harry Truman
authorizes $15 million in military aid to the French. Accompany
the shipments of U.S. tanks, planes, artillery and various
supplies to Vietnam were
American military advisors. 3 Billion U.S. dollars will be sent
over the following four years providing 80 percent of supplies
used by the French. |
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1950 |
Aug. |
The U.S. Military
Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) of 35 men were arrived in
Saigon, on August 3rd, to advise the French. |
|
1950 |
Aug. |
The first
shipment of arms to aid pro-French Vietnam arrives from the
United States on August 10th 1950. |
|
1950 |
Sept. |
French
outposts along the Chinese border will fall as General Giap
commences with a main offensive on September 16th. French losses
are 6000 men and large stocks of military equipment left to the
Viet Minh. |
|
1950 |
~ |
The U.S. is
financing half of the cost of France's war in Vietnam, by the
end of 1950. |
|
1951 |
|
1951 |
~ |
By 1951
U.S. military aid in Vietnam amount to more than $500 million. |
|
1951 |
Jan. |
General
Giap orders 20,000 Viet Minh to attack French positions in the
Red River Delta (Hanoi to the Gulf of Tonkin). The new French
command of General Jean de Lattre are aided by the open areas of
the Delta; The French troops are able to defend with success. In
the first attack, on January 13th, at Vinh Yen near Hanoi the
Viet Minh withdraw after losing 6000 troops to the French. |
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1951 |
March |
French
outpost near Haiphong are attacked over March 23rd to the 28th,
by a second wave of General Giap's Viet Minh that are repelled
by air strikes and French naval gunfire, killing 3000 Viet
Minh.. |
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1951 |
May |
10,000 Viet
Minh are killed or wounded in a third attempt by General Giap to
defeat General de Lattre's defensives. From May 29th to June
18th the Viet Minh attack in the Day River area southeast of
Hanoi. The French defensives of reinforcements, air strikes and
boat attacks are again victorious. In the fighting General's de
Lattre's only son, Bernard de Lattre becomes one of the French
causalities. |
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1951 |
June |
On June
19th, General Giap orders a general withdrawal of Viet Minh
troops in the Red River Delta. |
|
1951 |
Sept. |
The French
General de Lattre traveled to
Washington, D.C., in
September, to request more aid. |
|
1951 |
Nov. |
Southwest
of Hanoi at Hoa
Binh, on November 16th, French forces combine, with intentions
to lure General Giap into a major battle. |
|
1951 |
Nov. |
General De Lattre
is replaced on November 20th by General Raoul Salan. General
DeLattre had been diagnosed with cancer. Promoted to the rank of
Marshal, De Lattre dies at home two months later. |
|
1951 |
Dec. |
General Giap
abondons conventional warfare for "hit and run" attacks.
Hoping to cut French supply lines the Viet Minh begin a counter
offensive on December 9th by attacking the Frech outpost at Tu
Vu on the Black river. After the attacks the Viet Minh would
retreat into the dense jungles.
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1951 |
Dec. |
By the end
of 1951, French losses in Vietnam exceed 90,000 men. |
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1952 |
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1952 |
Jan. |
The Viet Minh break the
French supply lines to Hoa Binh are broken as well as Route Coloniale
6, on January 12th. |
|
1952 |
Feb. |
From February 22nd to the
26th the French withdraw from Hoa Binh to De Lattre's line of
defense with the aid of a 30,000 round barrage of artillery.
During the Black River "hit and run" attacks the casualties were
over 5,000 for both the French and the Viet Minh. |
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1952 |
Oct. |
General Giap's Viet Minh
attack French positions, on October 11th, along the Fan Se Pan
mountain range between the Red and Black Rivers. He hopes to
draw enough French troops to weaken the De Lattre Line of
defense. |
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1952 |
Oct. |
In a counter move the
French launch Operation Lorraine, attacking Viet Minh supply
basses in the Viet Bac area. General Giap ignores the French,
maintaining the positions along the Black River. |
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1952 |
Nov. |
Operation Loraine is
canceled as the French withdraw, from November 14th to the 17th,
back to the De Lattre Line. French troops encounter an ambush at
Chan Muong during the retreat. |
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1953 |
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1953 |
Jan. |
Dwight D. Eisenhower
is inaugurated as the 34th President on January 20th. During
World War II Eisenhower
had been an Army five-star general and was Allied command of the
European Theater of the war. To thwart Communist
expansion, Eisenhower
will substantially add to the military aid already being
provided to the French for Vietnam.
Eisenhower
introduces the domino effect into the justification for deepened
involvement in Vietnam, citing that should Vietnam fall the
surrounding countries would fall one after another as in a
"Falling row of dominoes." The "Domino Theory" would be cited by
U.S. presidents and their advisors, throughout the Vietnam
conflict. |
|
1953 |
Mar. |
Nikita Khrushchev, known
for speaking his mind becomes leader of the United Soviet
Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R.), when Soviet leader Josef Stalin
dies on March 5th, 1953. |
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1953 |
July |
An armistice is signed on
July 27, 1953 that officially ends the Korean War and divides
the county at the 38th parallel into (Communist) North Korea and
(Democratic) South Korea. The armistice is viewed by many
nations as a possible model to resolve the Vietnam conflict. |
|
1953 |
Nov. |
General Henri Navarre
orders Operation Castor on November 20th to establish a series
of outposts to protect a small air-base at Dien Bien Phu,
located in a remote jungle valley in northwest Vietnam
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|
1953 |
Nov. |
General Giap begins to
amass troops and artillery in the area of Dien Bien Phu with the
idea that a decisive blow to the French may be possible. Viet
Minh troops manually pull 200 howitzers up the rugged mountain
sides in preparatory move to shell the French air base. |
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1953 |
Nov. |
Reconnaissance patrols
note the recent actions of the Viet Minh around Dien Bien Phu.
The French prepare for a showdown massing troops and artillery,
but will have underestimated the strength of General Giap's
troops. |
|
1954 |
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1954 |
Feb. |
President Dwight Eisenhower
cautions on February 10th, against the United States
intervention in the Vietnam conflict. |
|
1954 |
Mar. |
The French are attacked on March 13th by Viet Minh forces led by
General Vo Nguyen Giap in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
the United States refuse to provide air support allowing for the
eventual French defeat. 50,000 Viet Minh outnumbering the 10,000
French troops begin the assault from the jungle hills. Artillery
pounds the French shutting down the only runway. French supplies
are delivered by parachute with some falling into Viet Minh
hands. General Giap's Viet Minh troops begin digging out a maze
of tunnels and trenches to gain closer access in surrounding the
French position. |
|
1954 |
Mar. |
Out-numbered 5 to 1,
10,000 French troops are under seige and will soon expend their
supplies of fresh water and medical supplies. The French make an
appeal to
Washington for
urgent assistance. |
|
1954 |
Mar. |
Washington
considers the French request. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
consider three possible military options: send American troops
to the rescue; a massive air strike by B-29 bombers; or use of
tactical atomic weapons. President Eisenhower
dismissed the air raid and the nuclear options after a negative
response from Britain. Deciding against the option of American
troop deployment, Eisenhower
cites the probability of high casualty rates in a jungle assault
at Dien Bien Phu. America takes no action |
|
1954 |
May |
8,000 Viet Minh and 1,500
French troops have died so far in the battle. |
|
1954 |
May |
The
Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends on May 7th, at 5:30 pm, when
French troops surrender, as the Viet Minh
overrun the French air-base. The
French-Indochina War ends. Nearly half of the French
captives die as they are marched 60 days to prison camps 500
miles away, or while in the camps. |
|
1954 |
May |
France makes a complete
withdraw from Vietnam that ends an eight year military conflict
with the Viet Minh. 400,000 soldiers and civilians from all
sides of the conflict had died. |
|
1954 |
May |
The Geneva Conference on
Indochina begins on May 8th. The U.S., Britain, China, the
Soviet Union, France, Vietnam (Viet Minh and representatives of Bao
Dai), Cambodia and Laos meet to negotiate a solution for
Southeast Asia. |
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1954 |
June |
The CIA established a military mission in Saigon
in June of 1954. |
|
1954 |
June |
Ngo Dinh Diem is selected
by Bao-Dai in June, to be Prime Minster of South Vietnam. |
|
1954 |
July |
The Geneva Conference on Indochina
convened on July 20th. on July 21st Vietnam is divided
into North Vietnam under Communist Rule and South Vietnam under
Prime Minister Ngo Dnh Diem. The Geneva Accords, signed by the
French and Viet Minh established the International Control
Commission. The 17th parallel was set as the temporary line
between North Vietnam and South Vietnam creating a demilitarized
zone. Free elections were directed to be held in Vietnam, north
and south, before
July 1956. Fearing a victory for Ho Chi Minh, the U.S. opposed
unified elections. |
|
1954 |
Sep. |
SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) is established on
September 8th. Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom, and the United States
form SEATO agreeing to consult on matters of military affairs
with Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam joining later. The
commitment was less binding and strict as the requirement of
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). |
|
1954 |
Oct. |
Viet Minh take control of governing North Vietnam on October
11th. In South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem retains control. The U.S.
sets its hopes on Diem for a democratic South Vietnam. Diem
predicts, "another more deadly war." |
|
1954 |
Oct. |
Neary 1,000,000 Roman
Catholics flee Communist North Vietnam for the south at the
suggestion of Ngo Dinh Diem, who is, himself, Roman Catholic. |
|
1954 |
Oct. |
After an eight year
stealth presence in the Jungle, Ho Chi Minh returns to Hanoi in
October, to take formal control of North Vietnam. |
|
1954 |
Oct. |
90,000 communists move
from South Vietnam to the north, however Hanoi's instructions
nearly 10,000 Viet Minh fighters remain quietly in South
Vietnam. |
|
1954 |
Oct. |
On
October 24th, President Dwight
D. Eisenhower pledges support to Ngo Dinh
Diem's government and Vietnam's military forces. In
expectation of social and land reforms the United States send
technical and financial aid to South Vietnam. |
|
1955 |
|
1955 |
Jan. |
The first
U.S. Military aid arrives in Saigon in January. The U.S. offers
training for the inexperienced South Vietnam Army. |
|
1955 |
Feb. |
Eisenhower's administration
sends the first U.S. advisers to South Vietnam on February 12th
to train the South Vietnamese Army. |
|
1955 |
May |
Prime
Minister Ngo Dinh Diem orders a violent crackdown on the Binh Xuyen
organized crime syndicate in May. The Binh Xuyen operates
casinos, brothels and opium dens. |
|
1955 |
July |
Ho Chi Minh
visits Moscow in July to accept Soviet aid. |
|
1955 |
Oct. |
Bao Dai is
defeated by Prime Minister Diem on October 23rd, in a
rigged, U.S. backed election. having connections to the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), U.S. Air Force Col. Edward G.
Lansdale advises Diem on his consolidation of power. |
|
1955 |
Oct. |
Ngo Dinh Diem declares, on
October 26th, the Republic of South Vietnam a sovereign nation
and himself as its first President. U.S.
President Eisenhower pledges
support and continued military aid.
Diem appoints many high level positions to family and friends.
Diem's younger brother Ngo Dinh Nhu becomes his chief advisor.
U.S. advisors attempt to increase Diem's popularity with
America's style of political rallies and tours around the new
nation; although Diem's style (distant and dictatorial) of
leadership become counter productive to their attempts. |
|
1955 |
Dec. |
The Communists implement
radical land reforms in North Vietnam in December, 1955. The
reforms will result in "people's tribunals," with farmers being
brought before the court. During Ho Chi Minh's transition to the
communist philosophy, thousands are executed and others sent to
labor camps. |
|
1955 |
Dec. |
South
Vietnam's President Diem upsets the Buddhist community by
seizing land from Buddhist peasants, giving it to his Catholic
supporters. Diem suppresses peasant's hopes for land reform by
allowing continued ownership by large land owners. |
|
1956 |
|
1956 |
Jan. |
President
Diem orders a crackdown in January, against suspected Viet Minh
"moles". Suspects apprehended are tried before "security
committees" having been denied counsel. Many suspects are
tortured or shot, supposedly, "while attempting escape." |
|
1956 |
April |
The French
High Command for Indochina is dissolved as the last French
soldier departs from South Vietnam on April 28th.
|
|
1956 |
July |
The
deadline set by the Geneva Conference for unifying election
passes in July. Elections did not take place in either North or
South Vietnam. President Diem outlaws those factions that oppose
him. He also prohibits the election of Village chiefs,
appointing supporters of his government. Ho Chi Minh in North
Vietnam, without surprise, had done the same. |
|
1956 |
Sep. |
President Eisenhower
tells a September 5th, 1956 news conference the French are
fighting, "a hopelessly losing war in Indochina." |
|
1956 |
Nov. |
In November
6000 peasants are killed or deported during the Communist
suppression of peasant unrest over oppressive land reforms. |
|
1957 |
|
1957 |
Jan. |
Unwilling
to recognize Communist North Vietnam the U.S. rejects a Soviet
Union proposal for a permanent division of North and South
Vietnam, with the United Nations admitting each as a separate
nation. |
|
1957 |
May |
Diem's
government retained focus on security spending little on
schools, medical care and other social services. Communist
guerrillas take advantage promising simple land reform and a
higher standard of living to sway support among South Vietnam's
peasants. |
|
1957 |
Oct. |
Bombings
and assassinations kill over 400 South Vietnamese officials from
October to the end of the year. The killing and terror was part
of a diverse campaign by Viet Minh guerrillas. |
|
1958 |
|
1958 |
June |
37 armed
companies were organized in the Mekong Delta in June as the
Communists form a coordinated command. |
|
1959 |
|
1959 |
Mar. |
Ho Chi Minh
declares a "People's War" in March, to unite all of Vietnam.
North Vietnam Communists order an all-out military revolution. |
|
1959 |
May |
In May,
1959 the Viet Minh begin construction of a supply route through
North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia into South Vietnam, that
becomes known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
The Ho Chi Minh Trail becomes 1500 miles of jungle and mountain
passes that provided a contant flow of soldiers and supplies
into the South Vietnam highlands. It was a 6 month Journey in
1958 but with improvements the trip is shortened to six weeks in
1968. During the 70s a fuel pipeline was added to the supply
route. Most of the laborers working to create and improve the Ho
Chi Minh Trail were women. |
|
1959 |
July |
South
Vietnamese born Viet Minh guerrillas were sent from the North to
infiltrate South Vietnam, in July. |
|
1959 |
July |
The first
deaths of American Soldiers in the Second Indochina War occur on
July 8th. During an attack, at Bien Hoa 20 miles north of
Saigon, South Vietnam, Viet Minh guerrillas kill two U.S.
military advisors, Major Dale Buis and Sergeant Chester Ovnand.
The Second Indochina War becomes known as "The Vietnam War." |
|
1960 |
|
1960 |
~ |
The
political opposition to President Diem goes underground in 1960.
The Viet Minh in South Vietnam is called by President Diem as
Viet Cong, which is quickly picked up on
by the U.S. military. The
Viet Cong request and receive help from
the communist government of North Vietnam. |
|
1960 |
March |
It is
announced on March 6 by the U.S. that 3,500 American troops will
be sent to Vietnam. |
|
1960 |
April |
In April, North Vietnam
imposes universal military conscription with an indefinite tour
of duty. |
|
1960 |
April |
Eighteen
prominent South Vietnamese nationalists petition President Diem
in April to reform the rigid, family run, and often corrupt
government. The advise is ignored as President Diem closes down
opposition newspapers, arresting journalists and other
intellectuals. |
|
1960 |
~ |
President
Diem's appointed village chiefs become targets for assassination
by a Viet Cong campaign in 1960. |
|
1960 |
Nov |
Disgruntled
South Vietnamese Army officers fail in a coup against President
Diem. Perceived "enemies of the state," are arrested in a
campaign ordered by President Diem. The police, under control of
Diem's brother Nhu arrests over 50,000 people with some being
tortured and executed. The arrests further deteriorates Diems
popular support. |
|
1960 |
Nov. |
Many who feared arrest had
fled to North Vietnam and will later be sent back to infiltrate
South Vietnam becoming members of the People's Liberation Armed
Forces. Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh guerrillas become stealth spies
among the South Vietnamese, working to undermine the South
Vietnam government. |
|
1960 |
Dec. |
Hanoi
establishes the National Liberation Front on December 20th as
the command for the communist Viet Cong
guerrillas in South Vietnam. |
|
|
Reciprocal Links
American Flags - American, State,
World, Featherd flags and more.
National Anthems
- Lyrics and Audio for Anthems of all Countries of
the World.
Viper's Vietnam Veterans Pages
- A Vietnam Veteran and Proud
Waving Flag Images
- Free Flag
Animations - Military, State, Historical, Worldwide
Flag Links @
PoetPatriot.com
|
|
Sources for the Vietnam War are found at
TimeLine Sources |
Vietnam War
- Page 1
Prelude to the War
1930-1932-1940-1941-1945-1946-1947-1949-1950
1951-1952-1953-1954-1955-1956-1957-1958-1959-1960 |
The War - 1961-1965 -
The War - 1966-1970 -
The War - 1970-1975
-
Post War - 1976-2007
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page
5 |
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