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Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist-nationalist revolutionaries. It was, from the French view before the event, a set piece battle to draw out the Vietnamese and destroy them with superior firepower. -
Ngo Dihn Diem Takes Power
Ngo Dinh Diem was a South Vietnamese politician. A former mandarin of the Nguyen dynasty, he was named Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam by Head of State Bao Dại in 1954. In October 1955, after winning a heavily rigged referendum, he deposed Bao Dại and established the first Republic of Vietnam, with himself as president. He was a leader of the Catholic element and was opposed by Buddhists. -
Ho Chi Minh Trail
he Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Vietnam through the kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia. The system provided support, in the form of manpower and materiel, to the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam and the People's Army of Vietnam, or North Vietnamese Army, during the Vietnam War. -
Ngo Dihn Diem Dies
In November 1963, after constant Buddhist protests and non-violent resistance, Diệm was assassinated, along with his brother, Ngô Đình Nhu, by Nguyễn Văn Nhung, the aide of the leader of the Army of Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) General Dương Văn Minh during a coup d’état. The assassination led to the end of the U.S.-Diệm alliance and the collapse of his regime as well as the first Republic of Vietnam. -
Battle of Quang Tri
The Battle for Quang Tri occurred in and around Quang Tri City during the Tet Offensive when the Vietcong and the ARVN and American forces across major cities and towns in South Vietnam in an attempt to force the Saigon government to collapse. This included several attacks across northern I Corps, most importantly at Hue, Da Nang and Quang Tri City. -
Tet Offensive Takes Place
The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, by forces of the Vietcong and NVPA against the forces of the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam. The name of the offensive comes from the Tet holiday, the Vietnamese New Year, when the first major attacks took place. -
Massacre at Hue
The Hue Massacre is the name given to the summary executions and mass killings perpetrated by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army during their capture, occupation and later withdrawal from the city of Hue during the Tet Offensive, considered one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. -
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass killing of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968. It was committed by U.S. Army soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division. Victims included men, women, children, and infants. Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated. -
Ho Chi Minh Dies
He led the Viet Minh independence movement from 1941 onward, establishing the Communist-ruled Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and defeating the French Union in 1954 at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. He officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems, but remained a highly respected inspiration for those Vietnamese fighting for his cause—a united, communist Vietnam until his death. After the war, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. -
Pentagon Papers Get Released
The Pentagon Papers, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The papers were released by Daniel Ellsberg, who had worked on the study; they were first brought to the attention of the public on the front page of The New York Times in 1971. A 1996 article in The New York Times said that the Pentagon Papers had demonstrated, that the Johnson Administration lied, to the public and also to Congress. -
Daniel Ellsberg Trial
Ellsberg was accused of espionage after he leaked the Pentagon Papers. The charges were later dropped, and he walked. -
Ho Chi Minh Takes Power
Ho Chi Minh was a Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was Chairman and First secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam. Ho was also prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He was a key figure in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, as well as the People's Army of Vietnam and the Vietcong during the Vietnam War.
