Chronology: Generation of Conflict

September 2,1945. Ho Chi Minh, head of the Communist-dominated Viet Minh and leader of the Vietnamese resistance to the Japanese occupation, proclaims an independent Viet Nam. (Indochina had been under French control since 1893.)

March 1946. France recognizes limited Vietnamese independence and Ho's leadership but wins right to station troops in Viet Nam for five years.

June 1946. French local authorities proclaim a "provisional republic" of South Viet Nam.

December 1946. Skirmishing between French and Vietnamese. Ho goes underground and launches guerrilla war.

December 1946-March 1947. French gain control of Vietnamese coastal cities, but Ho's Viet Minh entrench themselves in countryside.

October 1949. Mao Tse-tung's Communists win control of China, promise aid to Ho's Viet Minh.

June 1950. Korean War breaks out. U.S. begins to send aid to French in Viet Nam ($500 million annually).

July 1953. Korean armistice signed. Guerrilla war intensifies in northern Viet Nam. French, seeking to carry war to Viet Minh territory, occupy outpost at Dien Bien Phu in November. Ho offers to negotiate truce.

March 1954. Viet Minh besiege Dien Bien Phu.

May 8, 1954. Dien Bien Phu falls.

July 21, 1954. At Geneva conference, war-weary French agree to temporary partition of Viet Nam at 17th parallel. Ho's Viet Minh march into Hanoi in October and establish capital of Communist North Viet Nam. U.S.-backed Premier Ngo Dinh Diem takes charge of South Viet Nam. Geneva accords call for elections in two years to reunify country.

September 1954. U.S. negotiates Southeast Asia Defense Treaty to guarantee security of Indochina.

February 1955. After months of skirmishing between Diem and rival political factions, U.S. takes over training of South Vietnamese army. U.S. advisers grow to 327.

July 16, 1955. With U.S. support, Diem bars reunification elections. President Eisenhower later says Ho would probably have won.

1957-59. Viet Minh renew guerrilla warfare. Hundreds of Diem's local officials murdered.

July 8, 1959. Viet Minh raid kills two U.S. advisers, first American dead.

May 1960. U.S. increases number of advisers to 685, the maximum permitted by Geneva treaty. Number increased to 900 by December. Communists reorganize into National Liberation Front of South Viet Nam, with Viet Cong as its military arm.

October 1961. President Kennedy sends Special Adviser General Maxwell Taylor to South Viet Nam. Taylor, who had resigned in protest against Eisenhower Administration's emphasis on nuclear strategy, urges increased Army aid against "limited wars." Kennedy increases U.S. military forces to 3,200.

May 1963. Buddhists and students in Hue riot against Diem. Troops fire on crowds. In June, Buddhist monk Thich Quang Due sets himself on fire as protest against Diem. Rioting spreads in Saigon. U.S. press increasingly critical of Diem's authoritarian rule.

Nov. 1, 1963. With tacit U.S. approval, Saigon army officers stage coup against Diem and execute him. Junta headed by General Duong Van Minh takes over. As turmoil continues--13 governments in 19 months--Viet Cong rapidly gain strength in countryside.

Aug. 2-4, 1964. U.S.S. Destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy report being attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in Tonkin Gulf. (No damage done, and reports of attack may have been greatly exaggerated.) President Johnson orders a retaliatory raid against North Vietnamese gunboats and "supporting" facilities.

Aug. 5, 1964. President Johnson asks Congress for resolution enabling him to take "all necessary steps" to maintain the security of Southeast Asia. Senate approves, 88-2; House, 416-0. Johnson later cites this resolution as authority for military action without declaration of war. U.S. forces in Viet Nam rise to 23,000 by end of year.

Nov. 3, 1964. Lyndon Johnson, after promising "no wider war" during campaign against Barry Goldwater, wins landslide election victory.

Feb. 7,1965. Viet Cong attack U.S. base at Pleiku and kill eight Americans. Johnson subsequently orders campaign of air raids against North Viet Nam.

March 6, 1965. First two battalions of Marine combat troops land at Danang for "limited security duty."

April 1965. Johnson says U.S. is ready to negotiate a peace that will leave South Viet Nam independent. Hanoi rejects Johnson's offer, demands U.S. withdrawal and eventual reunification of Viet Nam.

June 1965. South Vietnamese army stages coup. General Nguyen Van Thieu becomes chief of state, with Air Vice Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky as Premier. White House confirms reports that U.S. forces are now authorized to engage in combat. U.S. military strength of 74,000 rises to 148,000 by October. U.S. Commander William Westmoreland requests 350,000, declares that war can be won.

Oct. 15-16, 1965. U.S. antiwar groups organize mass demonstrations. First draft-card burning.

Dec. 24, 1965. Johnson orders bombing halt, sends high officials to various world capitals to discuss peace possibilities. Missions lead to nothing. Bombing resumed after 37 days.

April 1966. U.S. starts to use B-52s to bomb North Viet Nam. U.S. troop strength rises to 389,000 at end of year.

May 1967. U.S. forces enter Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to block infiltration routes from North. U.S. forces increase to 463,000 in June.

September 1967. U.S. organizes nationwide elections to provide "self-determination" for South Viet Nam. General Thieu wins easily.

Jan. 17, 1968. Johnson reaffirms willingness to stop bombing if there are "reasonable hopes that talks would be productive."

Jan. 24, 1968. Communists open heavy attack on Khe Sanh base near DMZ.

Jan. 30,1968. Communists launch Tet offensive with attacks in all major cities. Viet Cong raid U.S. embassy in Saigon, overrun Chinese quarter of Cholon, seize city of Hue.

February 1968. Month-long fighting to suppress Tet offensive. After years of optimistic predictions from U.S., Communists have demonstrated ability to strike at will, but offensive ends in Communist military defeat. Hue recaptured after 26 days.

March 12, 1968. Senator Eugene McCarthy, campaigning against war, wins 40% in New Hampshire primary.

March 31, 1968. President Johnson announces retirement at end of term, orders cessation of bombing and appeals for truce talks.

May 13, 1968. Truce talks open in Paris between U.S. and North Viet Nam. Averell Harriman represents U.S.

Nov. 6, 1968. Nixon elected President. Names Henry Cabot Lodge as chief Paris negotiator in January. South Viet Nam and Viet Cong join talks.

June 8, 1969. Nixon meets Thieu on Midway and announces U.S. force of 541,000 will be reduced by 25,000 before September.

Aug. 4, 1969. First secret meeting between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese in Paris.

Sept. 3, 1969. Ho Chi Minh dies.

Nov. 15, 1969. Large crowds demonstrate in U.S. cities for "Moratorium" in Viet Nam.

April 30,1970. Nixon sends troops into Cambodia to attack Communist sanctuaries. Student protests climaxed by Ohio Guard's shooting of four students at Kent State.

June 29, 1970. Last U.S. troops withdrawn from Cambodia.

Oct. 7, 1970. Nixon proposes a standstill cease-fire throughout Indochina. Hanoi rejects proposal, still demanding U.S. withdrawal.

February-March 1971. American troops enter Laos to stop infiltration around DMZ, then withdraw.

July 9-11, 1971. Kissinger makes secret trip to China.

Feb. 21 -28,1972. Nixon visits China, then goes to Russia May 22-30.

March 30, 1972. Communists begin heavy offensive in South, crossing DMZ with tanks and artillery.

May 1, 1972. Communists capture provincial capital of Quang Tri and gain control of northernmost province.

May 8, 1972. Nixon orders mining of Haiphong and other ports to stop Communist military shipments. Offers withdrawal of all U.S. troops four months after agreement on an internationally supervised ceasefire.

June 17, 1972. U.S. ends combat role in Viet Nam, leaving residual force of 60,000.

Oct. 8, 1972. Kissinger achieves breakthrough in secret talks with North Vietnamese.

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