Education

Vietnam War timeline

Origins, 1945–1954

1. 1945 Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnamese independence on September 2, as Japan’s wartime occupation ends.
2. 1946–1954 The First Indochina War: the Viet Minh fight France to end colonial rule.
3. 1954 France is defeated at Dien Bien Phu in May. The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel in July.

Americanization, 1955–1964

1. 1955 The United States backs Ngo Dinh Diem’s new Republic of Vietnam in the South and sends military advisers.
2. 1960 The National Liberation Front (NLF) forms in the South, backed by North Vietnam.
3. 1963 Diem is overthrown and killed in a military coup on November 2. President Kennedy is assassinated on November 22.
4. 1964 After reported attacks on U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin, Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution on August 7.

Escalation, 1965–1968

1. 1965 Sustained bombing of North Vietnam (Operation Rolling Thunder) begins in March, and the first Marine combat units land at Da Nang. U.S. troop levels climb sharply through the year.
2. 1968 The Tet Offensive begins January 30. The My Lai massacre occurs March 16. On March 31, President Johnson announces he will not seek reelection.

Withdrawal, 1969–1973

1. 1969 U.S. troop levels peak at roughly 540,000. President Nixon begins “Vietnamization.” The first draft lottery is held December 1.
2. 1970 U.S. and South Vietnamese forces enter Cambodia in April. Four students are killed at Kent State on May 4.
3. 1971 The Pentagon Papers are published, revealing internal government assessments of the war.
4. 1973 The Paris Peace Accords are signed January 27. The last U.S. combat troops leave in March. Congress passes the War Powers Resolution in November.

The end and aftermath, 1974–1995

1. 1974 President Nixon resigns on August 9. Congress reduces military aid to South Vietnam.
2. 1975 Saigon falls to North Vietnamese forces on April 30, ending the war.
3. 1976 Vietnam is formally reunified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
4. 1982 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on November 13.
5. 1995 The United States and Vietnam normalize diplomatic relations.

Go deeper: The Tet Offensive, The My Lai massacre, The Kent State shootings.

Dates reflect widely accepted accounts. To check details, see the primary sources.