Death from above 3 vietnam war bell huey uh 1 iroquois helicopter

Vietnam War

By downiebrowine52

  • Vietnamese forces occupy French command post in Dien Bien Phu

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    North Vietnamese form a group to create a supply route from North Vietnam to Vietcong forces in South Vietnam

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    President John F. Kennedy orders more help for the South Vietnamese government

  • American helicopters arrive at docks in South Vietnam with 400 U.S. personnel, to fly and maintain aircraft.

  • Operation Ranchhand begins

    The goal of Ranchhand is to clear vegetation alongside highways, making it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves for ambushes.

  • Operation Chooper

    Helicopters flown by U.S. Army pilots ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep a stronghold near Saigon. America's first combat missions against the Vietcong.

  • The Vietcong's 514th Battalion and local guerrilla forces ambush South Vietnamese Army's 7th division.

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    American air power in Southeast Asia is massively reinforced.

  • South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin.

  • The captain of the U.S.S. Maddox reports his vessel has been fired at, and an attack is imminent.

  • The U.S. congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

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    China, North Vietnam's neighbor and ally, successfully tests an atomic bomb.

  • Vietcong mortars shell Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon.

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    Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam.

  • A U.S. helicopter base in South Vietnam is attacked by NLF commandos.

  • A Vietcong-placed bomb explodes in a hotel in Qui Nonh, killing 23 American servicemen.

  • President Johnson authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder.

  • The first bombing raids of Rolling Thunder are flown.

  • An American campaign against North Vietnam's transport system begins.

  • U.S. offers North Vietnam economic aid in exchange for peace, but the offer is rejected.

  • 2,500 Vietcong troops attack Song Be, a South Vietnamese capital.

  • At Dong Xai, a South Vietnamese Army district headquarters and American Special Forces camp is overrun by a Vietcong regiment.

  • General William Westmoreland launches the first purely offensive operation by American ground forces in Vietnam.

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    After the North Vietnamese Army attacks a Special Forces camp at Plei Mei, the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry is deployed against enemy regiments that identified in the vicinity of the camp.

  • 66th North Vietnamese Regiment moving east toward Plei Mei encounter and ambush an American battalion.

  • U.S. forces launch Operation Crimp. Deploying nearly 8,000 troops,

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    Hoping for head-on clashes with the enemy, U.S. forces launch four search and destroy missions in the month of February.

  • 272nd Regiment of the Vietcong and 9th Division attack a battalion of the American 3rd Brigade at Lo Ke.

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    In Operation Birmingham, more than 5,000 U.S. troops, backed by huge numbers of helicopters and armored vehicles, sweep the area around north of Saigon.

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    In late May 1966, the North Vietnamese 324B Division crosses the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and encounters a Marine battalion.

  • On Route 13, American forces are brutally assaulted by the Vietcong.

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    Heavy fighting near Con Thien kills nearly 1,300 North Vietnamese troops.

  • Operation Attleboro, the U.S. 196th Brigade and 22,000 South Vietnamese troops begin a search and destroy sweeping through Tay Ninh Province.

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    The Vietcong's 9th Division, having recovered from battles from the previous July, prepares for a new offensive.

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    By the end of 1966, American forces in Vietnam reach 385,000 men, plus an additional 60,000 sailors stationed offshore.

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    Two North Vietnamese divisions, operating out of the DMZ that separates North and South Vietnam, launch heavy bombardments of American bases south of the DMZ.

  • American forces begin Operation Cedar Falls,

  • 240 helicopters sweep over Tay Ninh province, beginning Operation Junction City.

  • American attacks on North Vietnam's airfields begin

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    Air battles rage over Hanoi and Haiphong.

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    In the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, Americans intercept North Vietnamese Army units moving in from Cambodia.

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    In Hanoi, as Communist forces are building up for the Tet Offensive, 200 senior officials are arrested in a crackdown on opponents of the Tet strategy.

  • A shattering barrage of shells, mortars, and rockets slam into a Marine base at Khe Sanh.

  • Vietcong units surge into action over the length of South Vietnam.

  • Over 1,300 artillery rounds hit the Marine base at Khe Sanh and its outposts.

  • While Marines wait for a massive assault, NVA forces retreat into the jungle around Khe Sanh.

  • Massive search and destroy sweeps are launched against Vietcong remnants around Saigon and other parts of South Vietnam.

  • In the hamlet of My Lai, U.S. Charlie Company kills about 200 civilians.

  • Without warning, a massive North Vietnamese barrage slams into Khe Sanh.

  • U.S. forces in Operation Pegasus take over Route 9.

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    General Westmoreland approves the abandonment and demolition of Khe Sanh.

  • After 3 1/2 years, Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end.

  • Nixon takes office as President of the U.S.

  • Nixon authorizes Operation Menu, the bombing of North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases within Cambodia

  • Assult and artillary teams attack american bases all over South Vietnam, killing 1,140 americans

  • U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam exceed to more men killed in the Korean War

  • President Nixon meets with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu on Midway Island in the Pacific, announces that 25,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn immediately

  • South Vietnamese troops attack into Cambodia, pushing toward Vietcong bases.

  • In Operation Lam Son 719, 3 South Vietnamese divisions drive into Laos to attack 2 major enemy bases.

  • Spraying of Agent Orange continues in Vietnam.

  • Only 133,000 U.S. servicemen remain in South Vietnam.

  • Massed North Vietnamese Army artillery open a shattering barrage, targeting South Vietnamese positions across the DMZ.

  • North Vietnamese soldiers push toward the city of Hue, which is defended by a South Vietnamese division and a division of U.S. Marines.

  • An assault spearheaded by tanks, NVA troops manage to seize control of the northern part of the city.

  • Two weeks after the initial attack, North Vietnamese forces again battle toward Quang Tri City.

  • With U.S. air support, the South Vietnamese Army begins a drive to recapture Binh Dinh province and its cities.

  • Peace talks between the North Vietnamese and the Americans breakdown.

  • By order of the president, a new bombing campaign starts against the North Vietnamese.

  • North Vietnam and the United States resume peace talks in Paris.

  • All warring parties in the Vietnam War sign a cease fire.

  • The last American combat soldiers leave South Vietnam

  • North Vietnamese have rebuilt their divisions in the South, and have captured key areas.

  • Nixon resigns as President

  • The 7th North Vietnamese Army division captures Dong Xoai.

  • NVA take Phuoc Long city and the surrounding province.

  • A powerful NVA offensive is unleashed in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam.

  • Another NVA offensive sends 100,000 soldiers against the major cities of Quang Tri, Hue and Da Nang.

  • Hue, South Vietnam's third largest city, falls to North Vietnam

  • Five weeks into its campaign, the North Vietnamese Army has made stunning gains.

  • U.S. Marines and Air Forces begin a massive airlift.

  • Two U.S. Marines are killed in a rocket attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport. Last Americans to die in the Vietnam War.