-
Ho Chi Minh was born in Central Vietnam. He led the Vietnamese nationalist movement for more than 3 decades, he fought against Japan, then the French colonial power, and then the United States backed South Vietnam. He served as President of North Vietnam from 1954 until he died
-
In 1911, Ho joined a French ship where he worked and travelled and was a founding member of the Communist Party.
-
Ho visited Moscow for training at a Comintern, an organization created to promote a worldwide revolution.
-
In 1930, he founded the Indo-Chinese Communist Party, he spent his days in the Soviet Union and China.
-
After Japan invaded Indo-China in 1941, Ho came home and founded Viet Minh, a Communist-dominated independence movement that would fight Japan. At the end of World War 2, Viet Minh declared the Vietnamese independence.
-
In 1943-1946, Kissinger served in the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps and served as captain.
-
Henry Kissinger came to the United States in 1938 from Germany to become a United States citizen. He then became a citizen of the United States June 19, 1943.
-
The French refused and the war broke out in 1946. After 8 years of war, the French had to agree with peace talks with Geneva. Country then split into a Communist and non-communist south and then Ho became President of North Vietnam.
-
During the year of 1950, North Korea launched an invasion on the South, which then led to an international response
-
Korean War ended and the peninsula was divided
-
April of 1954, diplomats from the United States, Soviet Union, China, France, and Great Britain attended a conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference was held to discuss two other Cold War hotspots that were located in Berlin and Korea.
-
Paris announced they would withdrawl themselves from Indochina and French delegates told the Geneva conference they would dismantle the colonial administration in Vietnam within a year
-
During the year of 1954, Korea was occupied by Japan and after they withdrew, they divided into the 38th Parallel
-
In July of 1956, nationwide elections took place
-
In the early 1960s, the United States provided increased levels of support to South Vietnam, when they feared communism would spread. By 1965, large numbers of American troops arrived and fought against the major conflict.
-
In 1961, Kennedy thought that America should finance the size increase of the South Vietnamese Army from 150,000 to 170,000. Kennedy also thought that people should be sent to South Vietnam to train for the army.
-
By the end of 1962, 12,000 advisors were sent to South Vietnam. None of the agreements were made because of the arrangements made duing the Geneva Accords in 1954.
-
Kennedy wanted to overthrow the Diem government and a Buddhist monk committed suicide by burning himself to death.
-
Other Buddhist monks followed his example
-
November of 1963, Diem was overthrown and killed. President Kennedy was assassinated 3 weeks later.
-
In the Spring of 1964, military planners developed a design that would have attacks planned on the North. President Johnson feared that the public would not support the expansion of the war.
-
Summer of 1964, the rebel forces controlled nearly half of South Vietnam
-
United States destroyer, "Maddox," fired on North Vietnamese torpedo boats
-
The "Maddox" and another boat were both under attack
-
After the attacks on the boats, Johnson gathered congressional leaders and they thought of ways to prevent the Torpedo attack. When the information became available about the Tonkin incident, people would support Johnson and the expansion of the war.
-
Congressional leaders approved of expanding the Vietnam War
-
The United States would not send troops over until November of 1964 until the presidential election was over. President Johnson won the 1964 election.
-
In early 1965, Johnson started "Operation Rolling Thunder."
-
United States marines and combat troops entered South Vietnam. In the 1968 election, Johnson did not stand for the election.
-
In 1965-1970, Agent Orange was used against Vietnamese people. In 1965-1972, United States troops used Naplam against their enemies in the Vietnam War. In 1965-1973, eight million tons of Naplam was dropped over Vietnam.
-
During the fall of 1967, Communist launched a series of attacks on Central Vietnam, Loatian, and Cambodian frontiers.
-
PAVN forces began a massive artillery bombardment of the United States Marine Garrison.
-
Viet Cong forces attacked 13 cities in Central South Vietnam.
-
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched Tet Offensive, series of attacks on South Vietnam. The 31st was the date they chose to launch the attacks.
-
United States and ARVN Forces regained control of the city.
-
President Johnson started to limit the bombing against North Vietnam.
-
In the 1968 election, Nixon wanted to end the war with Vietnam, however, it took 5 years to do so.
-
In 1969, President Nixon started Vietnamization that would end American involvement in the Vietnam War. United States had been sending troops to Vietnam since 1965 and 31,000 American troops have lost their lives.
-
North Vietnamese launched an offensive against American forces in South Vietnam in Cambodia.
-
President Nixon reduced the number of troops in Vietnam in stages ffrom 549,000 in 1969 to 69,000 in 1972. During this time, North Vietnamese people launched several offensives that would test Nixon and the Vietnamization strategy.
-
In 1969, Kissinger was an assistant to the President for National Security Affarirs, up until 1975.
-
United States Secretary of Defense, Melivn Laird, went to Vietnam and used the plan "Vietnamization."
-
The president ordered the United States military to bomb Cambodia.
-
Ho Chi Minh, died from poor health. In 1975, Communists took over South Vietnamese capital in Saigon and they renamed it in Ho Chi Minh's honor.
-
The President announced the new strategy against South Vietnam called, "Vietnamization."
-
Six years later, (1970), the resolution was terminated
-
April of 1970, the president secretly organized bombing campaigns and a ground invasion in Cambodia.
-
In April of 1970, Nixon destabilized the country.
-
In March of 1972, Easter Offensive showed how poor the South Vietnamese army is and its heavy reliance on United States air power to repel Communist attacks.
-
In Decemeber of 1972, the United States began a large scale bombing of North Vietnam.
-
Nixon administration negotiated with the North Vietnamese people on a Peace Treaty. United States negotiated a treaty with North Vietnam, American combat troops came back home and the process was complete.
-
The United States agreed to withdrawl from South Vietnam.
-
In 1973-1977, he was the 56th Secretary of State for the United States.
-
In 1975, South Vietnam fell to the Communist forces.
