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The Vietnam War: A Timeline

How a colonial conflict in Southeast Asia grew into a defining, and deeply divisive, chapter of the Cold War.

Interactive timeline — click any point

1954 Geneva Accords 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident 1965 US ground troops arrive 1968 Tet Offensive 1973 Paris Peace Accords 1975 Fall of Saigon

1954 Geneva Accords divide Vietnam

Following France's defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the Geneva Accords temporarily divide Vietnam at the 17th parallel, with a communist-led government in the north and an anti-communist state in the south.

1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident and resolution

Reported naval clashes between US and North Vietnamese vessels lead the US Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authority to expand American military involvement.

1965 US combat troops land in Vietnam

The first American combat units arrive at Da Nang, marking a shift from military advisers to direct US ground involvement, which expands rapidly over the following years.

1968 Tet Offensive shocks American public opinion

Communist forces launch a coordinated wave of attacks on cities across South Vietnam during the Tet lunar new year holiday, a military setback for the North but a major blow to US public confidence in the war's progress.

1973 Paris Peace Accords and US withdrawal

The United States and North Vietnam sign the Paris Peace Accords, leading to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of remaining US combat troops from Vietnam.

1975 Fall of Saigon ends the war

North Vietnamese forces capture Saigon on April 30, 1975, prompting a chaotic evacuation of remaining American personnel and allies, and leading to the reunification of Vietnam under communist rule.

Last updated: August 2026

History Timelines. (August 2026). The Vietnam War: A Timeline. Retrieved from https://history-timelines.org.uk/events/vietnam-war/

Origins: From Colonial Rule to a Divided Nation

The roots of the Vietnam War lie in the collapse of French colonial rule in Indochina. After nearly a decade of fighting between French forces and the communist-led Viet Minh, France’s defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 led to the Geneva Accords, which temporarily partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The north came under the communist government of Ho Chi Minh, while the south was organized as a separate, anti-communist state, initially under Emperor Bao Dai and soon under Ngo Dinh Diem. The accords called for national elections to reunify the country, but these were never held, and the temporary line hardened into a Cold War frontier. Through the late 1950s, the United States, viewing Vietnam through the lens of containing communism in Asia, provided growing financial and military aid to South Vietnam, while a communist insurgency known as the Viet Cong began operating in the south with support from Hanoi.

Escalation and the Years of Major US Involvement

American involvement deepened gradually before accelerating sharply in the mid-1960s. Reported clashes between US and North Vietnamese naval vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1964 led Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Lyndon B. Johnson wide latitude to escalate US military action without a formal declaration of war. The first American combat troops landed at Da Nang in March 1965, and US force levels climbed steeply over the following years, eventually reaching several hundred thousand personnel, alongside a sustained bombing campaign over North Vietnam. In January 1968, communist forces launched the Tet Offensive, a coordinated series of attacks on cities and towns throughout South Vietnam, including Saigon. Although US and South Vietnamese forces repelled the offensive militarily, the scale and boldness of the attacks contradicted official assurances of steady progress and significantly eroded American public and political support for the war.

The war’s turning point was arguably not fought on a battlefield at all, but in the gap between what officials had promised and what television audiences watched unfold during Tet.

Withdrawal, Fall of Saigon, and Aftermath

A helicopter silhouette passing over dense jungle canopy at dusk

Amid growing domestic opposition and prolonged negotiations, the United States began a policy of “Vietnamization,” transferring more combat responsibility to South Vietnamese forces while gradually withdrawing American troops. The Paris Peace Accords, signed in January 1973, established a ceasefire and provided for the withdrawal of remaining US combat forces, though fighting between North and South Vietnamese forces continued. Without sustained American military support, South Vietnam’s position weakened steadily over the following two years. In April 1975, North Vietnamese forces advanced on Saigon, and the city fell on April 30, 1975, prompting a hurried evacuation of remaining US personnel and Vietnamese allies. The war resulted in an estimated one to two million Vietnamese deaths and tens of thousands of American service members killed, along with lasting social, political, and environmental consequences in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Vietnam was formally reunified under a communist government in 1976, while the war left a deep and lasting mark on American politics, military policy, and public trust in government.