Wisconsin War LetterS  Timeline Vietnam

1954

• May 7 - Vietnamese forces occupy the French command post at Dien Bien Phu and the French commander orders his troops to cease fire. The battle had lasted 55 days.  

• A specialized North Vietnamese Army unit, Group 559, is formed to create a supply route from North Vietnam to Vietcong forces in South Vietnam. With the approval of Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia, Group 559 develops a primitive route along the Vietnamese/Cambodian border, with offshoots into Vietnam along its entire length. This eventually becomes known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
   

• Late 1961 -  President John F. Kennedy orders more help for the South Vietnamese government in its war against the Vietcong guerrillas. U.S. backing includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisors and support personnel.
• December 11 -  American helicopters arrive at docks in South Vietnam along with 400 U.S. personnel, who will fly and maintain the aircraft.
   

• January 12 - In Operation Chopper, helicopters flown by U.S. Army pilots ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep a NLF stronghold near Saigon. It marks America's first combat missions against the Vietcong.
• Early 1962 - Operation Ranchhand begins. The goal of Ranchhand is to clear vegetation alongside highways, making it more difficult for the Vietcong to conceal themselves for ambushes.  Vast tracts of forest are sprayed with "Agent Orange," an herbicide containing the deadly chemical Dioxin.
   

• January 2 - At the hamlet of Ap Bac, the Vietcong ambush the South Vietnamese Army's 7th division. For the first time, the Vietcong stand their ground against American machinery and South Vietnamese soldiers.
  

• April - June - American air power in Southeast Asia is massively reinforced. Two aircraft carriers arrive off the Vietnamese coast prompted by a North Vietnamese offensive in Laos.
• July 30 - On this night, South Vietnamese commandos attack two small North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The U.S. destroyer Maddox, an electronic spy ship, is 123 miles south with orders to electronically simulate an air attack to draw North Vietnamese boats away from the commandos.
• August 4 - The captain of the U.S.S. Maddox reports that his vessel has been fired on and that an attack is imminent. Though he later says that no attack took place, six hours after the initial report, a retaliation against North Vietnam is ordered by President Johnson. American jets bomb two naval bases, and destroy a major oil facility.
• August 7 - The U.S. congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson the power to take whatever actions he sees necessary to defend southeast Asia.
• October - China, North Vietnam's neighbor and ally, successfully tests an atomic bomb.
• November 1 - Two days before the U.S. presidential election, Vietcong mortars shell Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon. Four Americans are killed, 76 wounded. Five B-57 bombers are destroyed, and 15 are damaged.
  

• January 1 - February 7 - Vietcong forces mount a series of attacks across South Vietnam.
• February 7 - A U.S. helicopter base and advisory compound in the central highlands of South Vietnam is attacked by NLF commandos.  President Johnson immediately orders U.S. Navy fighter-bombers to attack military targets just inside North Vietnam.
• February 10 - A Vietcong-placed bomb explodes in a hotel in Qui Nonh, killing 23 American servicemen.
• February 13 - President Johnson authorizes Operation Rolling Thunder, a limited but long lasting bombing offensive.
• April 3 - An American campaign against North Vietnam's transport system begins. In a month-long offensive, Navy and Air Force planes hit bridges, road and rail junctions, truck parks and supply depots.
• April 7 - The U.S. offers North Vietnam economic aid in exchange for peace, but the offer is summarily rejected. Two weeks later, President Johnson raises America's combat strength in Vietnam to more than 60,000 troops.
• May 11 - Two and a half thousand Vietcong troops attack Song Be, a South Vietnamese provincial capital.
• June 10 - At Dong Xai, a South Vietnamese Army district headquarters and American Special Forces camp is overrun by a full Vietcong regiment.
• June 27 - General William Westmoreland launches the first purely offensive operation by American ground forces in Vietnam, sweeping into NLF territory just northwest of Saigon.
• August 17 - After a deserter from the 1st Vietcong regiment reveals that an attack is imminent against the U.S. Marine base at Chu Lai, the American army launches Operation Starlite. In this, the first major battle of the Vietnam War, the United States scores a resounding victory.
• August 23 - Richard R. Crowe Letter
• September - October - After the North Vietnamese Army attacks a Special Forces camp at Plei Mei, the U.S. 1st Air Cavalry is deployed against enemy regiments that identified in the vicinity of the camp. The result is the battle of the Ia Drang.
• November 17 -  Elements of the 66th North Vietnamese Regiment moving east toward Plei Mei encounter and ambush an American battalion.
• November 28 - Teddy Duckworth Letter
  

• January 8 - U.S. forces launch Operation Crimp. Deploying nearly 8,000 troops, it is the largest American operation of the war. The goal of the campaign is to capture the Vietcong's headquarters for the Saigon area, which is believed to be located in the district of Chu Chi.
• February - Hoping for head-on clashes with the enemy, U.S. forces launch four search and destroy missions in the month of February.
• March 5 - The Vietcong  attack a battalion of the American 3rd Brigade at Lo Ke. U.S. air support succeeds in bombing the attackers into retreat.
• April - May - In Operation Birmingham, more than 5,000 U.S. troops, backed by huge numbers of helicopters and armored vehicles, sweep the area around north of Saigon.
• Late May - June - In late May 1966, the North Vietnamese crosses the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and encounters a Marine battalion. The NVA holds their ground and the largest battle of the war to date breaks out near Dong Ha.  In Operation Hastings, the Marines backed by South Vietnamese Army troops, the heavy guns of U.S. warships and their artillery and air power drive the NVA back over the DMZ in three weeks.
• July - Heavy fighting near Con Thien kills nearly 1,300 North Vietnamese troops.
• September 14 - In a new mission code-named Operation Attleboro, the U.S. 196th Brigade and 22,000 South Vietnamese troops begin aggressive search and destroy sweeps through Tay Ninh Province.
  

• January - May - Two North Vietnamese divisions, operating out of the DMZ that separates North and South Vietnam, launch heavy bombardments of American bases south of the DMZ. These bases include Khe Sanh, the Rockpile, Cam Lo, Dong Ha, Con Thien and Gio Linh.
• January 8 - America forces begin Operation Cedar Falls, which is intended to drive Vietcong forces from the Iron Triangle, a 60 square mile area lying between the Saigon River and Route 13.  Huge quantities of enemy supplies are captured.
• February 21 - In one of the largest air-mobile assaults ever, 240 helicopters sweep over Tay Ninh province, beginning Operation Junction City. The goal of Junction City is to destroy Vietcong bases and the Vietcong military headquarters for South Vietnam, all of which are located in War Zone C, north of Saigon.  American forces succeed in capturing large quantities of stores, equipment and weapons, but there are no large, decisive battles.
• April 24 - American attacks on North Vietnam's airfields begin. The attacks inflict heavy damage on runways and installations.
• May - Desperate air battles rage in the skies over Hanoi and Haiphong.
• Late May - In the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, Americans intercept North Vietnamese Army units moving in from Cambodia.
• Autumn - In Hanoi, as Communist forces are building up for the Tet Offensive, 200 senior officials are arrested in a crackdown on opponents of the Tet strategy.
  

• Mid-January - In mid-January 1968 in the remote northwest corner of South Vietnam, elements of three NVA divisions begin to mass near the Marine base at Khe Sanh. The ominous proportions of the build-up lead the U.S. commanders to expect a major offensive in the northern provinces.
• January 21 - At 5:30 a.m., a shattering barrage of shells, mortars and rockets slam into the Marine base at Khe Sanh.
• January 30 - 31 - On the Tet holiday, Vietcong units surge into action over the length and breadth of South Vietnam. In more than 100 cities and towns, shock attacks by Vietcong sapper-commandos are followed by wave after wave of supporting troops.
• February 23 - Over 1,300 artillery rounds hit the Marine base at Khe Sanh and its outposts, more than on any previous day of attacks.
• March 6 - While Marines wait for a massive assault, NVA forces retreat into the jungle around Khe Sanh.
• March 11 - Massive search and destroy sweeps are launched against Vietcong remnants around Saigon and other parts of South Vietnam.
• March 16 - In the hamlet of My Lai, U.S. Charlie Company kills about two hundred civilians. 
• March 22 - Without warning, a massive North Vietnamese barrage slams into Khe Sanh.  American forces reply with heavy bombing.
• April 8 - U.S. forces in Operation Pegasus finally retake Route 9, ending the siege of Khe Sanh. A 77 day battle, Khe Sanh had been the biggest single battle of the Vietnam War to that point.
• June - General Westmoreland approves the abandonment and demolition of Khe Sanh.
• July 8 - Steve Piotrowski Letter (to his brother Al)
• July 21 - Steve Piotrowski Letter (to his parents)
• September 16 - James A. Amondt Letter
• November 1 - Operation Rolling Thunder comes to an end.
  

• January - President Richard M. Nixon takes office as the new President of the United States. With regard to Vietnam, he promises to achieve "Peace With Honor." His aim is to negotiate a settlement that will allow the half million U.S. troops in Vietnam to be withdrawn, while still allowing South Vietnam to survive.
• February - In spite of government restrictions, President Nixon authorizes Operation Menu, the bombing of North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases within Cambodia.
• February 22 - In a major offensive, assault teams and artillery attack American bases and towns and cities all over South Vietnam
• April - U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam exceed the 33,629 men killed in the Korean War.
• April 1 - Benjamin Morgan Letter
• June 8 - President Nixon meets with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu on Midway Island in the Pacific, and announces that 25,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn immediately.
• July 3 - David Zien Letter
• November 1 - Gary Thorsen Letter
  

• April 29 - South Vietnamese troops attack into Cambodia, pushing toward Vietcong bases. Two days later, a U.S. force of 30,000  mount a second attack. Operations in Cambodia last for 60 days, and uncover vast North Vietnamese jungle supply depots. They capture 28,500 weapons, as well as over 16 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and 14 million pounds of rice.
  

• February 8 - In Operation Lam Son 719, three South Vietnamese divisions drive into Laos to attack two major enemy bases.
  

• January 1 -  Only 133,000 U.S. servicemen remain in South Vietnam.  The ground war is now almost exclusively the responsibility of South Vietnam.
• March 30 - Massed North Vietnamese Army artillery open a shattering barrage, targeting South Vietnamese positions across the DMZ. Upwards of 20,000 NVA troops cross the DMZ, forcing the South Vietnamese units into a retreat.
• April 1 - North Vietnamese soldiers push toward the city of Hue, which is defended by a South Vietnamese division and a division of U.S. Marines.
• April 13 - In an assault spearheaded by tanks, NVA troops manage to seize control of the northern part of the city. But the 4,000 South Vietnamese men defending the city, reinforced by elite airborne units, hold their positions and launch furious counterattacks.
• April 27 - Two weeks after the initial attack, North Vietnamese forces again battle toward Quang Tri City. The defending South Vietnamese division retreats.
• July 19 - With U.S. air support, the South Vietnamese Army begins a drive to recapture Binh Dinh province and its cities. The battles last until September 15 and the NVA retains control of the northern part of the province.
• December 13 - In Paris, peace talks between the North Vietnamese and the Americans breakdown.
• December 18 - By order of the president, a new bombing campaign starts against the North Vietnamese. Operation Linebacker Two lasts for 12 days.

• January 8 - North Vietnam and the United States resume peace talks in Paris.
• January 27 - All warring parties in the Vietnam War sign a cease fire.
• March - The last American combat soldiers leave South Vietnam, though military advisors and Marines, who are protecting U.S. installations, remain. For the United States, the war is officially over. Of the more than 3 million Americans who have served in the war, almost 58,000 are dead, and over 1,000 are missing in action. Some 150,000 Americans were seriously wounded.
  

1974

• January - Though they are still too weak to launch a full-scale offensive, the North Vietnamese have rebuilt their divisions in the South, and have captured key areas.
• August 9 - President Richard M. Nixon resigns, leaving South Vietnam without its strongest advocate.
• December 26 - The North Vietnamese Army captures Dong Xoai.
  

1975

• January 6 - In a disastrous loss for the South Vietnamese, the NVA take Phuoc Long city and the surrounding province.
• March 1 - Anl NVA offensive is unleashed in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. The resulting South Vietnamese retreat is chaotic.
• March - Another NVA offensive succeeds in capturing Quang Tri province.
• March 25 - Hue, South Vietnam's third largest city, falls to the North Vietnamese Army.
• Early April - Five weeks into its campaign, the North Vietnamese Army has made stunning gains. Twelve provinces and more than eight million people are under its control.
• April 29 - U.S. Marines and Air Force helicopters, flying from carriers off-shore, begin a massive airlift.
• April 30 -At 4:03 a.m., two U.S. Marines are killed in a rocket attack at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut airport. They are the last Americans to die in the Vietnam War. At dawn, the last Marines of the force guarding the U.S. embassy lift off. Only hours later, looters ransack the embassy, and North Vietnamese tanks role into Saigon, ending the war.