1945-76: Vietnam's path to independence
When Saigon fell in April 1975, Vietnam was set to achieve the unified independence that Ho Chi Minh called for 30 years earlier. Here is a timeline of that process.
- September 2, 1945 : Vietnamese communist Ho declares the country's independence from France, paraphrasing the US Declaration of Independence by stating: "All men are born equal."
- 1954 :
- May 7: Vietnamese forces overrun the French base at Dien Bien Phu after a 55-day battle that cost the lives of some 3,000 French troops and 8,000 Viet Minh.
- July 21: The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam into two at the 17th parallel, with communists in control of the north and a US-backed government in the south.
- 1957 : North Vietnam and Vietcong guerrillas begin fighting against South Vietnamese troops. The United States gradually increases aid and sends military advisors to bolster the south.
- 1959 : A North Vietnamese army unit is formed to create a supply route to forces in South Vietnam, which becomes known as the Ho Chi Minh trail.
- 1961 : US President John F. Kennedy orders more aid for South Vietnam. By the end of the year, it includes helicopters and more than 3,000 advisors and military personnel.
- 1964 :
- August 2: North Vietnamese patrol boats fire at the US destroyer Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin. A second disputed attack is reported two days later.
- August 7: The US Congress passes the Southeast Asia Resolution, commonly known as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon Johnson the power to escalate US military operations in Southeast Asia.
- 1965 :
- March 2: The first air strikes under US Operation Rolling Thunder are carried out. The operation's goal is to deter North Vietnam from supporting Vietcong guerrillas in the south.
- April 7: The United States offers North Vietnam aid in exchange for peace but is rebuffed. Johnson then raises US troops levels in South Vietnam to more than 60,000. By the end of 1966 US forces in the country number 385,000.
- April 24, 1967 : The US launches attacks on airfields in North Vietnam.
- 1968 :
- January 21: First major attack by North Vietnam and the Vietcong on the US Marine base at Khe Sanh. The battle lasts until April 8 and almost results in a disaster for US forces. The base is abandoned and demolished in June.
- January 30: Vietcong units across South Vietnam launch the Tet offensive. It is a tactical disaster, almost wiping out the guerrilla group's ability to fight, but it also deals a fatal blow to support for the war in the US.
- March 16: US Army soldiers massacre up to 504 villagers in My Lai. The crime comes to light a year later and one officer, Lieutenant William Calley, is convicted of 22 murders and sentenced to life in prison. Calley is actually only placed under house arrest and released in 1974.
- October 31: Operation Rolling Thunder ends. Analysts are divided over whether the three-and-a-half-year operation was effective or not.
- September 2, 1969 : Ho Chi Minh dies. Rather than scattering his ashes in North and South Vietnam, as per his request, Ho's body is embalmed and placed on display in Hanoi.
- April 29, 1970 : South Vietnamese troops invade Cambodia and are followed two days later by US forces. The operation lasts for 60 days.
- October 1971 : US forces stop spraying Agent Orange, a defoliant that contains the toxic chemical dioxin.
Vietnamese officials say that up to three million people were exposed to the substance and that it caused birth defects in at least 150,000 children.
- 1972 :
- April 13: North Vietnamese troops seize parts of Hue, the South's third largest city, but are later forced to withdraw.
- December 13: Peace talks in Paris between the North Vietnamese and US representatives break down.
President Richard Nixon orders a 12-day bombing campaign, Operation Linebacker II, that targets Hanoi and Haiphong.
- January 27, 1973: The Paris Peace Accord is signed. US forces withdraw from South Vietnam by the end of March, having lost around 58,000 lives.
- August 1974 : Nixon is impeached, leaving South Vietnam without its key backer.
- 1975 :
- January 6: The North Vietnamese capture Phuoc Long in violation of the Paris Peace Accord, but there is no US retaliation.
- March 1: Northern forces launch an offensive in the central highlands of South Vietnam, forcing the south's army into a chaotic retreat.
- March 25: The North Vietnamese capture Hue.
- April 30: The North Vietnamese capture Saigon a day after the US evacuates more than 1,000 US citizens and almost 7,000 Vietnamese. The war is over.
- July 2, 1976 : North and South Vietnam are officially reunited, Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese authorities put the death toll for North Vietnamese soldiers and members of the Vietcong at more than one million. 600,000 others were injured, while 300,000 North Vietnamese soldiers and Vietcong soldiers were also listed as missing
The number of South Vietnamese soldiers killed is estimated at 200,000, while 500,000 were injured.
Estimates of civilian deaths are 2-3 million in the north and at least 415,000 in the south.
The US says that 58,220 service members died and that 153,303 were wounded.