A timeline of the Vietnam War

Ian Brodie/Express // Getty Images The Vietnam War, officially stretching from Nov. 1, 1955-April 30, 1975, was a conflict with profound international implications that changed the landscape of American international policy for decades to come–a phenomenon called Vietnam syndrome. On a human level, the war was disastrous–an estimated 2 million Vietnamese civilians were killed, and over 1 million Vietnamese soldiers lost their lives. Over 2.7 million Americans served in the war, and 58,318 died, with thousands more suffering from the lifelong impacts of post-traumatic stress disorder, a poorly understood affliction at the time. Stacker compiled a timeline of the Vietnam War using various news and government sources to give a sense of the conflict’s scope and unfolding. The lead-up to the war begins with Vietnam’s colonial history. Napoleon III, France’s first president, began an invasion process of Vietnam in 1858, concluding in 1883 with a complete annexation of the country. By 1893, France annexed neighboring Cambodia and Laos as well and created out of the three nations a territory referred to as Indochina. Life in Vietnam under French colonial rule was brutal, with Vietnamese people granted few civil liberties and subjected to constant exploitation. A clear indicator of colonialism’s long-term and devastating impact, most of the population was literate in Vietnam–a state that existed for centuries before the French invasion–before French colonial rule. By 1939, 80% of the population was illiterate, and 45% of the land was owned by 3% of landowners, while half of Vietnam’s population was landless. Though there had been uprisings predating him, the emergence of H Chí Minh into Vietnam’s political arena in the 1930s marked the beginning of a new period of resistance for Vietnam. Internationally educated, H introduced communism to the nation as a clear political antithesis to France’s capitalistic, colonial rule. During World War II, with the fall of France to Nazi Germany, Vietnam became a possession of Japan, though the French Vichy government still administered it. Once Japan surrendered, H Chí Minh and the Viet Minh successfully led Vietnam to independence, forming the short-lived Democratic Republic of Vietnam. However, post-war France was vehement in its aims to reestablish a French empire, with Charles de Gaulle proclaiming that if the U.S. did not back France in its reconquest of Vietnam, they might ally themselves with Soviet Russians. Thus began the First Indochina War, a conflict that would eventually morph and spiral into the Vietnam War. Of the many precipitating events that followed, few were as pivotal as the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in setting the stage for the outbreak of the Vietnam War. A crushing defeat of French forces by the Viet Minh occurred in the lead-up to peace negotiations in Geneva. The battle resulted in the deaths of 2,200 French soldiers and the capture of almost 11,000. The defeat escalated negative public opinion of France’s presence in Vietnam, led to the partition of the country, and the eventual complete withdrawal of French presence–to be replaced eventually by American intervention. July 1954: International conference in Geneva splits Vietnam in two Bettmann // Getty Images On the heels of the end of the Korean War (which saw Korea divided at the 38th parallel), negotiators at Geneva proposed a partition of Vietnam at the 17th parallel. H Chí Minh, Vietnam’s leader, faced pressure from his Soviet and Chinese allies to accept the terms of the settlement, as their political aim at that moment was to minimize conflict with Western nations. 1955: North Vietnam becomes a communist state while a US-backed Catholic nationalist leads South Vietnam Keystone-France // Getty Images Intended as a temporary division, the Geneva Accords stipulated a general election was to be held two years later that would reunify the nation. In part, as a result of the U.S.-backed rise of Catholic nationalist Ngô ình Di m in South Vietnam, these elections were never held, and with H Chí Minh (pictured here) leading North Vietnam as a communist state, the two states moved toward conflict. 1957: Ngo Dinh Diem leads South Vietnam Keystone // Getty Images South Vietnamese President Ngô ình Di m staffed the top roles of his authoritarian government with his own family members. The autocrat is pictured here on March 7, 1957, at a fair near Saigon shortly after an attempt on his life was foiled. He was assassinated six years later, on Nov. 2, 1963, in a CIA-backed coup. May 1959: North Vietnam begins building the Ho Chi Minh Trail to transport supplies Bettmann // Getty Images The Ho Chi Minh Trail was used to ferry supplies and soldiers to South Vietnam. It snaked through the mountains and jungles of neighboring Cambodia and Laos, and it often took more than one month to traverse. Part of the North’s guerrilla and revolutionary warfare strategy, the trail remained an important and continually growing pathway from North to South. September 1960: Ho Chi Minh gives up his party position and Le Duan rises to power in North Vietnam Sovfoto // Getty Images During the third congress of the Lao Dong, H Chí Minh ceded his position as party secretary-general to Lê Du n. Ho remained North Vietnam’s chief of state and continued to exert influence on the state’s government until his death in 1969, but operated largely behind the scenes. Lê Du n was a prominent and influential figure throughout Vietnam’s early 20th-century history, and he is generally considered to have had a more militaristic approach than H Chí Minh. December 1960: National Liberation Front forms Pictures from History // Getty Images Under the leadership of Lê Du n, North Vietnam began to pursue an aggressive war of reunification with the South, beginning with more active support of revolutionary groups in the South. This resulted in the formation of the National Liberation Front, which had the explicit goal of overthrowing the government of Ngô ình Di m in the South. Pejoratively labeled the Viet Cong by the U.S. and the government in Saigon (for Communist traitors to the Vietnamese nation), the NLF differed from its predecessor, the Viet Minh, in that it was not directly tied to a provisional government until nearly a decade later. May 1961: US sends soldiers, helicopters to South Vietnam Underwood Archives // Getty Images Seeing the conflict primarily through a Cold War lens, President John F. Kennedy authorized covert operations in South Vietnam intended to prevent a Communist takeover in the region. The memorandum (NSAM 52) enabled “military, political, economic, psychological” actions to be taken in the region–which included helicopters and 400 Green Beret troops. January 1962: Operation Ranch Hand employs the widespread use of Agent Orange Pictures from History // Getty Images This operation marked the beginning of the use of chemical warfare by the U.S. in Vietnam, known most infamously as Agent Orange. Intended initially to defoliate vegetation and expose hidden trails used by the NLF, between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. dumped approximately 19 million gallons of defoliating herbicides over an area constituting an estimated 10%-20% of Vietnam’s landmass. These chemicals are now understood to increase the likelihood of a whole host of life-threatening illnesses. 1963: Self-immolation by Buddhist monks Pictures from History // Getty Images A staunch Catholic nationalist, Ngô ình Di m’s rule over South Vietnam gave rise to violent religious oppression, including the deadly suppression of protesting Buddhist monks. In late June, as an act of defiance against the Diem government’s oppressive policies, Thích Qu ng c, a Buddhist monk, self-immolated–the photos from which led President Kennedy to remark that “No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one.” This form of protest continued for much of 1963, and its impact on the Diem government labeled it “the Buddhist Crisis.” November 1963: US-backed coup assassinates Diem Keystone // Getty Images In part, as a result of the fallout from the oppressive and violent policies in Diem’s government, the U.S. indicated support for a military-led coup in South Vietnam. Known as “Cable 243,” the communique from President Kennedy’s government to the U.S. ambassador in South Vietnam had an immediate impact–Di m and his brother Ngô ình Nhu were assassinated a few months later, leading to 12 successive military coups between 1963 and 1965. August 1964: Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Bettmann // Getty Images Three days after the U.S. initiated the shelling of two North Vietnamese islands, North Vietnamese torpedo boats surprised the Maddox and engaged the destroyer in direct combat. In this photo, President Lyndon B. Johnson confers with the National Security Council following the North Vietnamese torpedo boat attack on the USS Destroyer Maddox. The Johnson administration used this and a supposed conflict the following day to ensure passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson the legal power to wage all-out war in Southeast Asia. Declassified documents have subsequently indicated that the Johnson Administration lied about the events precipitating the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution–namely, that a second and more coordinated attack on both the Maddox and the Turner Joy had not actually occurred. By this point, there were already 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam and approximately 400 U.S. casualties. November 1964: North Vietnam receives more support from USSR, China PhotoQuest // Getty Images In the form of a wide variety of armaments, as well as food and medical supplies, the Soviets increased their support of North Vietnam. China supplied primarily infrastructural support, sending engineering troops to build defense infrastructure. Then, two days before the U.S. election, four Americans were killed in an NLF shelling of Bien Hoa Air Base (pictured here), with 76 more wounded and five B-57 bombers destroyed. February-March 1965: Air Force strikes PhotoQuest // Getty Images The initiation of Operation Flaming Dart marked the first series of U.S. Air Force strikes against North Vietnamese targets. Then, in a bid to challenge the NLF’s supply lines, President Johnson launched Operation Rolling Thunder. Three years of continual bombing of North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail resulted in an estimated 182,000 Vietnamese civilian deaths. Finally, in March, the U.S. landed its first major deployment of ground troops at Da Nang–with the intended purpose of defending U.S. air bases. March 1965: Marines arrive at Da Nang by sea Bettmann // Getty Images In the first deployment of a major American ground combat unit to Vietnam, Marines began arriving by landing craft at Da Nang on March 8, 1965. The objective was to defend the Da Nang air base, but inched the U.S. another step away from an advisory capacity and a step closer to direct war participation. Nearly 5,000 Marines–including supply and logistics units, two infantry battalions, and two helicopter squadrons–had arrived at Da Nang by month’s end. August 1965: Operation Starlite marks first major US ground offensive in Vietnam Pictures from History // Getty Images Marking a turning point in the U.S. Marines’ primary mission from one of defense toward aggressive action, 5,500 U.S. Marines conducted an assault on the 1st NLF Regiment. It was an early success for U.S. military forces in the Vietnam War–with 614 NLF troops killed, 45 U.S. Marines killed, and 203 wounded. Lasting six days, Operation Starlite largely scattered the 1st NLF Regiment, though it would regroup and rebuild later. November 1965: Norman Morrison sets himself on fire in front of Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War Bettmann // Getty Images Substantial antiwar protests began in the U.S. as early as 1963–but a turning point definitively arrived after the self-immolation of Norman Morrison. Staging his protest in front of the Pentagon, Morrison was a Quaker and pacifist from Baltimore, and though his actions did not lead to any direct changes in policy from the U.S. government, he was lauded in Vietnam for his sacrifice. November 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang Bettmann // Getty Images The Battle of Ia Drang Valley pivoted the war from one primarily of small conflicts to full-fledged assaults. The battle had long-lasting implications, in that it reinforced tactics for both armies–with the NLF relying upon close-quarter combat to reduce artillery efficacy, and the U.S. pursuing a war of attrition with North Vietnam, aiming to dwindle their numbers. The casualties of this battle greatly vary depending on the source, but estimates suggest hundreds of Americans and thousands of North Vietnamese died.  In this photo, President Johnson awards the Presidential Unit Citation to the First Cavalry Division for heroism in the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam from Oct. 23 to Nov. 26, 1965. 1966: Number of US troops in Vietnam rises to 400,000 – // Getty Images After a year of tremendous upscaling in the U.S. war effort in Vietnam, by year’s end, 6,000 American and 61,000 North Vietnamese soldiers had been killed, with 30,000 more American soldiers wounded. Domestically, the number and frequency of antiwar protests rose in the U.S. while reporting on the abusive treatment of U.S. prisoners of war (pictured here) by North Vietnam gathered attention to the conditions of life for POWs. February 1967-January 1968: Operation Pershing Patrick Christain // Getty Images Operation Pershing was an 11-month, cooperative military campaign to scale back communist forces and compromise their infrastructure. The effort was led by the First Cavalry Division and included the Third Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam 22nd Division, and the South Korean Capital Division in Binh Dinh Province. In this photo, the second wave of combat helicopters of the First Cavalry Division flies over a radio telephone operator and his commander on an isolated landing zone during Operation Pershing.  April 1967: Massive antiwar protests Ernst Haas // Getty Images With nearly 40,000 young men being drafted every month, disillusionment spreading in particular through universities, and news of battlefield casualties reaching the American population, antiwar protests began to gain in size. The April protests garnered the participation of hundreds of thousands across multiple U.S. cities, with a number of prominent public figures attending, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. On Oct. 21, 100,000 protesters gathered at the Lincoln Memorial, with an estimated 30,000-50,000 continuing the march and protesting at the Pentagon. September 1967: Nguyen Van Thieu becomes president of South Vietnam Bettmann // Getty Images Having fought against the Viet Minh with the French in 1945, and taking part in the coup against Ngô ình Di m in 1963, Nguy n V n Thi u led South Vietnam for the remainder of the war. A staunch anti-communist, he retained American political backing until its eventual withdrawal from the conflict and was famously uncompromising with his North Vietnamese rivals. November 1967: Battle of Dak To FRANCOIS MAZURE/AFP via Getty Images American soldiers are pictured here launching rockets on Nov. 21, 1967, during the battle of Dak To. Comprising the battle was a series of engagements between Nov. 3-23 of that year in Kon Tum Province. The Americans and South Vietnamese were successful in driving the North Vietnamese from the Kontum Province, but it was a costly battle with 376 U.S. people killed or listed as missing or presumed dead; another 1,441 were wounded. Early 1968: Marines in prayer Dick Swanson // Getty Images With the Tet Offensive showing in stark terms that a conclusion to the Vietnam War was nowhere in sight, antiwar protests on American soil peaked in early 1968. For those deployed, morale dipped–a trend that continued well into the 1970s. Here, Chaplain Ray Stubbe leads a group of Marines in prayer near their sandbagged position along the perimeter of a base in Khe Sanh, Vietnam, in March of 1968. January 1968: Tet Offensive begins – // Getty Images A series of widespread and coordinated assaults on South Vietnamese cities by North Vietnam and the NLF, the Tet Offensive was a turning point in the war, marking an end to the American narrative that the war would wrap up quickly. North Vietnam and the NLF suffered massive casualties from the offensive, with an estimated 50,000-60,000 dead. And while the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces suffered a comparatively slight death toll (with 2,100 and 4,000 dead, respectively), the offensive nevertheless exacerbated worsening domestic opinion of the war in America. Feb. 19, 1968: Vietnamese refugees Terry Fincher/Express // Getty Images Many Vietnamese refugees fled during the Battle of Hue, a major military engagement in the Tet Offensive, that lasted from Jan. 31-March 2, 1968. Some of those fleeing stopped to help South Vietnamese soldiers rebuild damaged or destroyed bridges like the one pictured, which connected banks along the Perfume (H ng) River, so refugees could make their way across. March 16, 1968: US troops murder an estimated 500 civilians at the My Lai Massacre Bettmann // Getty Images In an unprovoked assault on the village of My Lai in northern South Vietnam, a company of recently deployed and undertrained U.S. soldiers committed numerous atrocities, including the indiscriminate murder of an estimated 500 civilians, including children. Lieut. William Calley, the leader of the company’s 1st Platoon who personally ordered the mass executions of at least 150 civilians grouped in an irrigation ditch, would later become the only soldier convicted for the atrocity. Though initially sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 22 civilians, he served only 3.5 years, mostly under house arrest, and was released in 1974. March 1968: President Johnson halts some bombing of Vietnam in the face of public backlash Pictures from History // Getty Images Facing backlash on the heels of the massacre at My Lai and million-strong protests of the war, President Johnson slowed the pace of U.S. bombing in Vietnam–calling for peace negotiations–and announced that he would not run for reelection. Richard Nixon would go on to win the subsequent presidential election, promising to end U.S. involvement in the war with “peace and honor.” March 1969-May 1970: Operation Menu