| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1904 | | Ruler:Emperor Thành Thái (1889–1907) |
| Đông Du Movement. |
| 1906 | | The Duy Tân movement, initiated byPhan Châu Trinh, was launched. |
| 1917 | | Ruler:Emperor Khải Định (1916–1925) |
| Thái Nguyên uprising. |
| 1930 | | Emperor Bảo Đại (r. 1926–1945) became ruler of Vietnam. |
| Nghệ Tĩnh Revolt. |
| 3 February | Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is the founding and ruling communist party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. |
| 1945 | 11 March | TheEmpire of Vietnam is established under Japanese sponsorship. |
| 16–30 August | August Revolution by the Viet Minh. EmperorBảo Đại abdicates.Civil conflicts in Vietnam (1945–1949) begins. |
| September | Allied forces disarm the Japanese in Indochina after World War II, with British-Indian troops operating south of the 16th parallel andChinese nationalist forces operating north of the 16th parallel. |
| 1949 | July 2 | TheState of Vietnam is established within theFrench Union. |
| 1954 | 13 March | Battle of Dien Bien Phu: French troops begin the battle against theViet Minh in Dien Bien Phu. |
| 23 March | Battle of Dien Bien Phu: the Viet Minh capture the main airstrip of Dien Bien Phu. The remaining French Army units there are partially isolated. |
| 26 April | Aninternational conference on Korea and Indo-China opens in Geneva. |
| 7 May | Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat. |
| 21 July | TheGeneva Conference sends French Union forces to the south, and Viet Minh forces to the north, of a ceasefire line, and calls for elections to decide the government for all of Vietnam by July 1956. Failure to abide by the terms of the agreement leads to the establishment de facto of regimes of North Vietnam and South Vietnam, and the Vietnam War. |
| 1 August | TheFirst Indochina War ends with theVietnam People's Army inNorth Vietnam, theVietnamese National Army inSouth Vietnam, theKingdom of Cambodia inCambodia, and theKingdom of Laos inLaos, emerging victorious against the French Army. |
| 1955 | 26 October | Ngô Đình Diệm proclaims Vietnam to be a republic with himself as its President (following the State of Vietnam referendum on 23 October) and forms theArmy of the Republic of Vietnam. |
| 1 November | TheVietnam War begins betweenNorth Vietnam andSouth Vietnam; the north is allied with theViet Cong. |
| 1959 | 26 September | First large unit action of the Vietnam War takes place, when two companies of the ARVN 23d Division are ambushed by a well-organized Viet Cong force of several hundred, identified as the "2d Liberation Battalion". |
| 1960 | 6 March | Vietnam War: The United States announces that 3,500 American soldiers will be sent to Vietnam. |
| 1961 | 18 November | Vietnam War: U.S. PresidentJohn F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam. |
| 11 December | The American involvement in the Vietnam War officially begins, as the first American helicopters arrive in Saigon along with 400 U.S. personnel. |
| 1963 | 2 January | Vietnam War: TheViet Cong win their first major victory in theBattle of Ap Bac. |
| 8 May | Huế Phật Đản shootings: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam opens fire on Buddhists who defy a ban on the flying of theBuddhist flag onVesak, the birthday ofGautama Buddha, killing 9. Earlier, President Ngô Đình Diệm allowed the flying of theVatican flag in honour of his brother, ArchbishopNgô Đình Thục, triggering the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam. |
| 3 June | Huế chemical attacks: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam rains liquid chemicals on the heads of Buddhist protestors, injuring 67 people. The United States threatens to cut off aid to the regime of Ngô Đình Diệm. |
| 11 June | Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese Buddhist monk (suicide). |
| 7 July | Double Seven Day scuffle: Secret police loyal toNgô Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm, attack American journalists includingPeter Arnett andDavid Halberstam at a demonstration during theBuddhist crisis in South Vietnam. |
| 21 August | Xá Lợi Pagoda raids: TheArmy of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces loyal to Ngô Đình Nhu, brother of President Ngô Đình Diệm, vandalise Buddhist pagodas across South Vietnam, arresting thousands and leaving an estimated hundreds dead. In the wake of the raids, theKennedy administration byCable 243 orders theEmbassy of the United States, Saigon to explore alternative leadership in the country, opening the way towards a coup against Diệm. |
| 2 November | 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état: Arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, the South Vietnamese President. |
| 6 November | 1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état: Coup leader General Dương Văn Minh takes over as leader of South Vietnam. |
| 1964 | 30 January | GeneralNguyễn Khánh leads a bloodless military coup d'état, replacingDương Văn Minh as Prime Minister of South Vietnam. |
| 2 May | Vietnam War:Attack on USNS Card – An explosion caused by Viet Cong commandos causes carrier USNS Card to sink in the port ofSaigon. |
| 19 July | Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam. |
| 20 July | Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack a provincial capital, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of which are children). |
| 27 July | Vietnam War: The U.S. sends 5,000 more military advisers to South Vietnam, bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000. |
| 2 August | Vietnam War: United States destroyer Maddox is attacked in theGulf of Tonkin. Air support from the carrier USS Ticonderoga sinks one gunboat, while the other two leave the battle. |
| 5 August | Vietnam War:Operation Pierce Arrow – Aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. |
| 7 August | Vietnam War: The United States Congress passes theGulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces. |
| 16 August | Vietnam War: In a coup, General Nguyễn Khánh replaces Dương Văn Minh as South Vietnam's chief of state and establishes a new constitution, drafted partly by the U.S. Embassy. |
| 1965 | | Vietnam War:Korean People's Army Air Force sent 200 pilots to Vietnam. |
| 2 March | Vietnam War:Operation Rolling Thunder – TheUnited States Air Force2nd Air Division,United States Navy andSouth Vietnam Air Force begin a 3½-year aerial bombardment campaign againstNorth Vietnam. |
| 8 March | Vietnam War: Some 3,500 United States Marines arrive in Da Nang, South Vietnam, becoming the first American ground combat troops in Vietnam. |
| 29 April | Australia announces that it is sending aninfantry battalion to support theSouth Vietnam government. |
| 10 June | Vietnam War –Battle of Đồng Xoài: About 1,500 Viet Cong mount a mortar attack onĐồng Xoài, overrunning its military headquarters and the adjoining militia compound. |
| 24 July | Vietnam War: Four F-4C Phantoms escorting a bombing raid at Kang Chi are targeted by antiaircraft missiles, in the first such attack against American planes in the war. One is shot down and the other 3 sustain damage. |
| 28 July | Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000, and to more than double the number of men drafted per month - from 17,000 to 35,000. |
| 18 August | Vietnam War –Operation Starlite: 5,500 United States Marines destroy a Viet Cong stronghold on the Van Tuong peninsula in Quảng Ngãi Province, in the first major American ground battle of the war. The Marines were tipped-off by a Viet Cong deserter who said that there was an attack planned against the U.S. base at Chu Lai. |
| 20 September | Vietnam War: An USAF F-104 Starfighter piloted by Captain Philip Eldon Smith is shot down by a Chinese MiG-19 Farmer. The pilot is held until 15 March 1973. |
| 9 October | A brigade of South Korean soldiers arrive in South Vietnam. |
| 30 October | Vietnam War: Near Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas. A sketch of Marine positions is found on the dead body of a 13-year-old Vietnamese boy who sold drinks to the Marines the day before. |
| 8 November | Vietnam War –Operation Hump: The United States Army 173rd Airborne is ambushed by over 1,200 Viet Cong. |
| 14 November | Vietnam War –Battle of Ia Drang: In the Ia Drang Valley of the Central Highlands in Vietnam, the first major engagement of the war between regular United States and North Vietnamese forces begins. |
| 28 November | Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippines President-electFerdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam. |
| 21 December | TheSoviet Union announces that it has shipped rockets to North Vietnam. |
| 1966 | 15 May | The South Vietnamese army besieges Da Nang. |
| 29 June | Vietnam War: U.S. planes begin bombing Hanoi and Haiphong. |
| 4 July | North Vietnam declares generalmobilization. |
| 7 July | AWarsaw Pact conference ends with a promise to support North Vietnam. |
| 24 July | A USAF F-4C Phantom #63-7599 was shot down by a North Vietnamese SAM-2 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Hanoi, in the first loss of a US aircraft to a Vietnamese SAM in the Vietnam War. |
| 18 August | Vietnam War –Battle of Long Tan: D Company, 6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, meets and defeats a Viet Cong force estimated to be four times larger, in Phuoc Tuy Province, Republic of Vietnam. |
| 16 September | In South Vietnam,Thích Trí Quang ends a 100-day hunger strike. |
| 9 October | Vietnam War:Bình Tai massacre. |
| 24 October | Negotiations about the Vietnam War begin in Manila, Philippines. |
| 6 December | Vietnam War:Bình Hòa massacre. |
| 1967 | 6 January | Vietnam War: USMC and ARVN troops launchOperation Deckhouse Five in theMekong Delta. |
| 8 January | Vietnam War:Operation Cedar Falls starts. |
| 7 August | Vietnam War: The People's Republic of China agrees to give North Vietnam an undisclosed amount of aid in the form of a grant. |
| 21 August | Two U.S. Navy jets stray into the airspace of the People's Republic of China following an attack on a target in North Vietnam and are shot down. Lt.Robert J. Flynn, the only survivor, is captured alive and will be held prisoner by China until 1973. |
| 3 September | Nguyễn Văn Thiệu is elected President of South Vietnam. |
| 4–15 September | Vietnam War –Operation Swift: The United States Marines launch a search and destroy mission in Quảng Nam and Quảng Tín provinces. The ensuing 4-day battle in Que Son Valley kills 114 Americans and 376 North Vietnamese. |
| 17 October | Vietnam War: TheBattle of Ong Thanh takes place. |
| 26 October | U.S. Navy pilotJohn McCain is shot down over North Vietnam and taken prisoner. His capture is confirmed two days later, and he remains a prisoner of war for more than five years. |
| 3–23 November | Vietnam War –Battle of Dak To: Around Đắk Tô (located about 280 miles north of Saigon near the Cambodian border), heavy casualties are suffered on both sides; U.S. troops narrowly win the battle on 22 November. |
| 4 December | Vietnam War: U.S. and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta (235 of the 300-strong Viet Cong battalion are killed). |
| 1968 | 21 January | Vietnam War –Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on 9 July.[50] |
| 30 January | Vietnam War: TheTet Offensive begins, as Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam. |
| 1 February | Vietnam War: A Viet Cong officer namedNguyễn Văn Lém is executed byNguyễn Ngọc Loan, a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The event is photographed byEddie Adams. The photo makes headlines around the world, eventually winning the1969 Pulitzer Prize, and sways U.S. public opinion against the war. |
| 12 February | Vietnam War:Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre. |
| 24 February | Vietnam War: TheTet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Huế. |
| 25 February | Vietnam War:Hà My massacre. |
| 1–30 March | Vietnam War:Operation Patrick. |
| 7 March | Vietnam War: TheFirst Battle of Saigon ends. |
| 10–11 March | Vietnam War:Battle of Lima Site 85, the largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during the (at this time) secret war later known as theLaotian Civil War. |
| 16 March | Vietnam War –My Lai massacre: American troops kill scores of civilians. The story will first become public in November 1969 and will help undermine public support for the U.S. efforts in Vietnam. |
| 30 March | Vietnam War:Operation Cochise Green starts. |
| 26 July | Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leaderTrương Đình Dzu is sentenced to 5 years hard labor, for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war. |
| 23 September | Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive comes to an end in South Vietnam. |
| 8 October | Vietnam War –Operation Sealords: United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta. |
| 31 October | Vietnam War: Citing progress in the Paris peace talks, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective 1 November. |
| 15 November | Vietnam War:Operation Commando Hunt is initiated to interdict men and supplies on theHo Chi Minh trail, through Laos into South Vietnam. By the end of the operation, 3 million tons of bombs are dropped on Laos, slowing but not seriously disrupting trail operations. |
| 1969 | 13–20 May | TheBattle of Hamburger Hill, also known asDong Ap Bia, begins during the Vietnam War. |
| 8 June | U.S. PresidentRichard Nixon and South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu meet atMidway Island. Nixon announces that 25,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn by September. |
| 8 July | Vietnam War: The very first U.S. troop withdrawals are made. |
| 25 July | Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares theNixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This starts the "Vietnamization" of the war. |
| 2 September | Ho Chi Minh, the president of the North Vietnam, dies at the age of 79. |
| 1970 | 5 September | Vietnam War –Operation Jefferson Glenn: The United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thua Thien Province (the operation ends in October 1971). |
| 12 October | Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas. |
| 30 October | In Vietnam, the worstmonsoon to hit the area in six years causes large floods, kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless and virtually halts the Vietnam War. |
| 4 November | Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The United States turns control of the air base in the Mekong Delta to South Vietnam. |
| 21 November | Vietnam War –Operation Ivory Coast: A joint Air Force and Army team raids the Sơn Tây prison camp in an attempt to free American POWs thought to be held there (no Americans are killed, but the prisoners have already moved to another camp; all U.S. POWs are moved to a handful of central prison complexes as a result of this raid). |
| 1971 | 13 February | Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos. |
| 18 August | Vietnam War: Australia and New Zealand decide to withdraw their troops from Vietnam. |
| 29 October | Vietnam War –Vietnamization: The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (the lowest since January 1966). |
| 12 November | Vietnam War – Vietnamization: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon sets 1 February 1972, as the deadline for the removal of another 45,000 American troops from Vietnam. |
| 1972 | 24 February | North Vietnamese negotiators walk out of the Paris Peace Talks to protest U.S. air raids. |
| 30 March | Vietnam War: TheEaster Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam (ends in October 1972) |
| 16 April | Vietnam War –Nguyen Hue Offensive: Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong. |
| 8 May | U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the mining of Haiphong Harbor in Vietnam. |
| 10 May | Operation Linebacker andOperation Custom Tailor begin with large-scale bombing operations against North Vietnam by tactical fighter aircraft. |
| 8 June | Vietnam War:Associated Press photographerNick Ut takes hisPulitzer Prize-winning photograph of a naked nine-year-oldPhan Thi Kim Phuc running down a road after being burned bynapalm. |
| U.S. actressJane Fonda tours North Vietnam, during which she is photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun. |
| 26 October | Following a visit to South Vietnam, U.S. National Security AdvisorHenry Kissinger suggests that "peace is at hand." |
| 11 November | Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam. |
| 22 November | Vietnam War: The United States loses its firstB-52 Stratofortress of the war. |
| 25 December | The Christmas bombing of North Vietnam causes widespread criticism of the U.S. and President Richard Nixon. |
| 1973 | 15 January | Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. |
| 27 January | U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ends with the signing of theParis Peace Accords. |
| 29 March | The last United States soldier leaves Vietnam. |
| 15 August | The U.S. bombing of Cambodia ends, officially halting 12 years of combat activity in Southeast Asia according to the Case–Church Amendment-an act that prohibites military operations in Laos, Cambodia, and North and South Vietnam as a follow-up of the Paris Peace Accords. |
| 1974 | 19 January | Vietnam War: Thebattle of the Paracel Islands betweenPeople's Republic of China andSouth Vietnam. This is the most famous and the only major battle involve China in Vietnam War. |
| 1975 | 20 January | InHanoi, North Vietnam, thePolitburo approves the final military offensive against South Vietnam. |
| 10 March | Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops attackBan Mê Thuột,South Vietnam, on their way to capturingSaigon. |
| 13 March | Vietnam War: South Vietnam President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu orders theCentral Highlands evacuated. This turns into a mass exodus involving troops and civilians (theConvoy of Tears). |
| 4 April | Vietnam War: The first military Operation Babylift flight, C5A 80218, crashes 27 minutes after takeoff, killing 138 on board; 176 survive the crash. |
| 25 April | Vietnam War: As North Vietnamese Army forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost 10 years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam. |
| 29 April | Vietnam War:- Operation Frequent Wind – Americans and their allies are evacuated from South Vietnam by helicopter.
- North Vietnam concludes itsEast Sea Campaign by capturing all of the Spratly Islands that were being held by South Vietnam.
|
| 30 April | The Vietnam War ends with theFall of Saigon: The Vietnam War concludes as Communist forces from North Vietnam take Saigon, resulting in mass evacuation of the remaining American troops and South Vietnam civilians. As the capital is taken, South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally and is replaced with the temporary Provisional Government. |
| 1 May | The Cold War between Cambodia and Vietnam begins, which eventually leads to theCambodian–Vietnamese War. |
| 1976 | | President Tôn Đức Thắng (1976–1980) became ruler of Vietnam. |
| The National Assembly proclaims unification of the country as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.[38] |
| Fourth National Party Congress. The Vietnamese Workers Party renamed the Vietnam Communist Party.[38] |
| 1977 | | Admittance to United Nations.[38] |
| 1978 | | Admittance to theComecon.[38] |
| 25-year "Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation" with theSoviet Union.[38] |
| 25 December | Vietnam launches a major offensive against theKhmer Rouge ofCambodia. |
| 1979 | 17 February | ThePeople's Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching theSino-Vietnamese War. The war ended with no border changes on 16 March. |
| President Tôn Đức Thắng (1976–1980) ended his rule of Vietnam. |
| 1980 | | Ruler:President Nguyễn Hữu Thọ (1980–1981) |
| 1982 | | Trường Chinh, Chairman of the State Council (1981–1987) became ruler of Vietnam. |
| March | Fifth National Party Congress.[38] |
| 1986 | December | Sixth National Party Congress.[38]Trường Chinh, Chairman of the State Council (1981–1987) ended his rule of Vietnam.
Đổi Mới begins. |
| 1988 | | Võ Chí Công, Chairman of the State Council (1987–1992) became ruler of Vietnam. |
| March | Johnson South Reef skirmish. |
| 1991 | June | Seventh National Party Congress. |
| Võ Chí Công, Chairman of the State Council (1987–1992) ended his rule of Vietnam. |
| Dissolution of the Soviet Union ends the existence of the Soviet Union and aid throughout Vietnam. |
| 1995 | | President Lê Đức Anh (1992–1997) became ruler of Vietnam. |
| 28 July | Admittance toASEAN.[51] |
| 1996 | | Eighth National Party Congress. |
| President Lê Đức Anh (1992–1997) ended his rule of Vietnam. |
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