✦ History

Vietnam War

November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975

Result North Vietnamese victory

North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet Union and China, fought South Vietnam, backed by the U.S. and its allies, in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, 1955-1975. U.S. involvement escalated from 1965 until the 1973 Paris Peace Accords withdrawal; the 1975 Spring Offensive and fall of Saigon ended the war, and the two Vietnams reunified in 1976. 970,000-3 million Vietnamese and 58,220 American dead.

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Battles and events 65

1958 – 1959
North Vietnamese invasion of Laos Beginning of the Ho Chi Minh trail Kingdom of Laos Ho Chi Minh, Souvanna Phouma, Phạm Văn Đồng
March 22 – April 30, 1962
Operation Sunrise (Vietnam War) South Vietnam tactical victory Bến Cát Ngo Dinh Diem
January 2, 1963
Battle of Ap Bac Viet Cong victory Battle of Ap Bac Bui Dinh Dam, Huynh Van Cao, John Paul Vann
September 3, 1963
Battle of Gò Công South Vietnamese victory Ngo Dinh Diem, Nguyen Van Linh
November 1, 1963
1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état Ho Chi Minh City Ngo Dinh Diem
November 22, 1963
Battle of Hiep Hoa Viet Cong/North Vietnamese victory
February 26, 1964
Battle of Long Dinh South Vietnamese victory
April 12–20, 1964
Battle of Kien Long South Vietnamese victory; successful Viet Cong withdrawal
April 27 – May 27, 1964
Operation Quyet Thang 202 South Vietnamese victory Quảng Ngãi
July 5–6, 1964
Battle of Nam Dong South Vietnam and United States victory Nam Đông
August 5, 1964
Operation Pierce Arrow North Vietnam Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara
December 7–9, 1964
Battle of An Lão Viet Cong victory An Lão
December 14, 1964 – March 29, 1973
Operation Barrel Roll Strategic US failure * US failure to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail Lyndon B. Johnson, Souvanna Phouma
December 28, 1964 – January 1, 1965
Battle of Binh Gia VC/PAVN victory Bình Giã
1965
Operation Starlite Both sides claim victory
February 7–24, 1965
Operation Flaming Dart Set a precedent for more systematic bombing under Operation Rolling Thunder North Vietnam Lyndon B. Johnson, Ho Chi Minh, Nguyễn Cao Kỳ
February 7, 1965
Attack on Camp Holloway Viet Cong victory United States launched Operation Flaming Dart in retaliation.
February 16, 1965
Operation Market Time Successful blockade by South Vietnam.
May 28–31, 1965
Battle of Ba Gia Viet Cong victory
June 9–13, 1965
Battle of Đồng Xoài Viet Cong victory Đồng Xoài William Westmoreland, Cao Van Vien, Lê Trọng Tấn
November 14–18, 1965
Battle of Ia Drang Battle of Ia Drang Nguyễn Hữu An, Richard T. Knowles, Hal Moore
January 14, 1966
Operation Crimp Củ Chi
April 11–12, 1966
Battle of Xã Cẩm Mỹ Viet Cong claim victory
April 24 – May 17, 1966
Operation Birmingham U.S.-South Vietnamese tactical victory Tây Ninh Hoàng Cầm
August 18, 1966
Battle of Long Tan Battle of Long Tan Harry Smith, Oliver David Jackson
January 2, 1967
Operation Bolo American Victory
January 8–26, 1967
Operation Cedar Falls Củ Chi
February 14–15, 1967
Battle of Trà Bình South Korean victory
April 24 – May 11, 1967
The Hill Fights American victory
October 17, 1967
Battle of Ong Thanh Viet Cong victory
November 3–23, 1967
Battle of Dak To Battle of Dak To William R. Peers, Leo H. Schweiter, Hoàng Minh Thảo
January 1–2, 1968
New Year's Day battle of 1968 American victory South Vietnam
January 21 – July 9, 1968
Siege of Khe Sanh Both sides claim victory Siege of Khe Sanh William Westmoreland, Võ Nguyên Giáp, Rathvon M. Tompkins
January 30 – September 23, 1968
Tet Offensive U.S. – South Vietnamese victory Huế Lyndon B. Johnson, Lê Duẩn, Robert McNamara
January 30 – March 7, 1968
Battle of Saigon (1968) Ho Chi Minh City Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, William Westmoreland, Trần Văn Trà
January 31 – March 2, 1968
Battle of Huế American–South Vietnamese victory Battle of Huế Ngo Quang Truong, Stanley S. Hughes, Foster LaHue
February 6–7, 1968
Battle of Lang Vei North Vietnamese victory Quảng Trị
March 16, 1968
Mỹ Lai massacre Mỹ Lai, Quảng Ngãi William Calley, Ernest Medina
April 29 – May 30, 1968
May Offensive American and South Vietnamese victory Lê Duẩn, William Westmoreland, Creighton Abrams
May 10–12, 1968
Battle of Kham Duc North Vietnamese victory William Westmoreland
December 1968
Operation Speedy Express U.S. claims operational success VC claims U.S. operational failure
March 18, 1969 – May 26, 1970
Operation Menu
March 18, 1969
Operation Dewey Canyon U.S. tactical victory
May 10–20, 1969
Battle of Hamburger Hill Inconclusive Battle of Hamburger Hill Melvin Zais
April 29 – July 22, 1970
Cambodian campaign State of Cambodia/ARVN/US Victory Cambodian campaign Richard Nixon, Nuon Chea, Norodom Sihanouk
May 19, 1970 – August 15, 1973
Operation Freedom Deal
July 1–23, 1970
Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord
November 21, 1970
Operation Ivory Coast Infiltration and retreat successful Sơn Tây
February 8 – March 25, 1971
Operation Lam Son 719 Laos Creighton Abrams, Le Quang Dao, Du Quoc Dong
March 28, 1971
Battle of FSB Mary Ann Viet Cong victory
June 6–7, 1971
Battle of Long Khánh Long Khánh
March 30 – October 22, 1972
Easter Offensive U.S. and South Vietnamese victory Creighton Abrams, Văn Tiến Dũng, Ngo Quang Truong
March 30 – May 1, 1972
First Battle of Quảng Trị North Vietnamese victory Quảng Trị Le Quang Dao, Hoang Xuan Lam, Lê Trọng Tấn
April 13 – July 20, 1972
Battle of An Lộc South Vietnamese and US victory Battle of An Lộc Trần Văn Trà, Đàm Văn Ngụy, Nguyễn Văn Minh
May 26–27, 1972
Battle of Kontum South Vietnamese and U.S. victory Kon Tum John Paul Vann, Hoàng Minh Thảo, Nguyen Van Toan
June 28 – September 16, 1972
Second Battle of Quảng Trị South Vietnamese and U.S. victory Second Battle of Quảng Trị Frederick C. Weyand, Ngo Quang Truong, Trần Quý Hai
December 18–29, 1972
Operation Linebacker II Both sides claim victory North Vietnam Văn Tiến Dũng
January 27, 1973
Paris Peace Accords Paris Henry Kissinger
January 19, 1974
Battle of the Paracel Islands Chinese victory Paracel Islands Ngụy Văn Thà, Lâm Ngươn Tánh
February 26 – April 2, 1974
Battle of Kampot First;FANK Defense victory
December 12, 1974 – January 6, 1975
Battle of Phước Long North Vietnamese victory Hoàng Cầm, Du Quoc Dong
December 13, 1974 – April 30, 1975
1975 spring offensive North Vietnamese victory Lê Duẩn, Le Duc Anh, Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
March 3–18, 1975
Battle of Ban Me Thuot North Vietnamese victory Buôn Ma Thuột Hoàng Minh Thảo
April 9–21, 1975
Battle of Xuân Lộc North Vietnamese victory Battle of Xuân Lộc Hoàng Cầm, Nguyen Van Toan, Lê Minh Đảo
April 9–29, 1975
East Sea Campaign North Vietnamese victory

Key commanders

South Vietnam and allies 49

Dwight D. Eisenhower President, United States John F. Kennedy President, United States Lyndon B. Johnson President, United States Richard Nixon President, United States Gerald Ford President, United States Henry Kissinger National Security Advisor, Negotiated the 1973 Paris Peace Accords Robert McNamara Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird Secretary of Defense, Oversaw Vietnamization James R. Schlesinger Secretary of Defense Dean Rusk Secretary of State Ngo Dinh Diem President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ Prime Minister of South Vietnam William Westmoreland Commander, MACV Creighton Abrams Commander, MACV Bui Dinh Dam military commander Huynh Van Cao military commander John Paul Vann military commander Richard T. Knowles military commander Hal Moore military commander Robert McDade military commander Harry Smith military commander Oliver David Jackson military commander William R. Peers military commander Leo H. Schweiter military commander Rathvon M. Tompkins military commander David E. Lownds military commander Ngo Quang Truong military commander Stanley S. Hughes military commander Foster LaHue military commander Melvin Zais military commander Lon Nol military commander Đỗ Cao Trí military commander Lu Mong Lan military commander Nguyễn Văn Minh military commander Le Van Hung military commander Le Nguyen Vy military commander Frederick C. Weyand military commander Nguyen Van Toan military commander Lê Minh Đảo military commander Cao Van Vien military commander Hoang Xuan Lam military commander Dương Văn Minh military commander Du Quoc Dong military commander Le Nguyen Khang military commander Ngụy Văn Thà military commander Lâm Ngươn Tánh military commander Souvanna Phouma belligerent leader

North Vietnam and allies 25

Mao Zedong belligerent leader, China sent aid and support troops to North Vietnam Nikita Khrushchev belligerent leader, Soviet leader until 1964 Ho Chi Minh President of North Vietnam Lê Duẩn First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Leonid Brezhnev General Secretary of the CPSU, Soviet Union armed North Vietnam Phạm Văn Đồng Prime Minister of North Vietnam Võ Nguyên Giáp Commander of the People's Army of Vietnam Lê Đức Thọ Chief negotiator, Negotiated the 1973 Paris Peace Accords Nguyễn Hữu An military commander Hoàng Minh Thảo military commander Trần Quý Hai military commander Le Quang Dao military commander Trần Văn Quang military commander Vũ Nam Long military commander Nuon Chea military commander Norodom Sihanouk belligerent leader Pham Hung military commander Hoàng Văn Thái military commander Trần Văn Trà military commander Đàm Văn Ngụy military commander Hoàng Cầm military commander Văn Tiến Dũng military commander Lê Trọng Tấn military commander Le Duc Anh military commander Nguyen Van Linh military commander

North Vietnam and Viet Cong 8

Lê Duẩn military commander Pham Hung military commander Le Duc Anh military commander Võ Nguyên Giáp Defence Minister of North Vietnam, Planned the offensive with other leaders Lê Đức Thọ military commander Văn Tiến Dũng military commander Trần Văn Trà military commander Hoàng Văn Thái military commander

Other 2

William Calley perpetrator Ernest Medina perpetrator