january
Jan. 4-24: Operation Cedar Falls - The goal was to identify Vietcong camps and hopefully confront Vietcong soldiers to fight
- Vietcong did not fight
- The US found large amounts of weapons belonging to the Vietcong
- Vietcong did not fight
- The US found large amounts of weapons belonging to the Vietcong
february
Feb. 8-12: Truce between sides for the Lunar New Year (Tet) celebration.
Feb. 22 - May 14: Operation Junction City - The goal was to destroy NVA (North Vietnamese Army or People's Army of Vietnam) headquarters
- biggest US offensive of the war
- biggest US offensive of the war
March
Mar. 8: Congress agrees to give $4.5 billion to the war effort.
April
Apr. 20: Bombers from the US target Haiphong.
may
May 13: 70,000 protest the war in New York City
May 18-26: Both sides enter the DMZ and face heavy losses
May 18-26: Both sides enter the DMZ and face heavy losses
JuNe
Navy "swift" boats help keep North Vietnamese out of inland waterways.
July
Gen. Westmoreland requests 275,000 more soldiers to accompany the order of 475, 000 soldiers already expected. President Johnson only sends an additional 45,000.
Jul. 7: North Vietnam conceived idea to attack South Vietnam in three phases in order to lure away the US forces.
Jul. 7: North Vietnam conceived idea to attack South Vietnam in three phases in order to lure away the US forces.
august
Aug. 21: Chinese shoot down two fighter-pilots that accidentally crossed into their air space during raids along the border of the country.
september
Sep. 3: Elections take place in South Vietnam and Nguyen Van Thieu is elected president with 80% of voters participating.
october
Oct. 21-23: A protest at the Pentagon attracts 55,000 and the United States Embassy in London is bombed.
november
Nov. 3- Dec. 1: Battle of Dak To - battle within the mountainous region of Vietnam along the borders of Cambodia and Laos.
Nov. 29: Robert McNamara retires as Defense Secretary
Nov. 30: Eugene McCarthy announces his plan to run against President Johnson in the next election.
Nov. 29: Robert McNamara retires as Defense Secretary
Nov. 30: Eugene McCarthy announces his plan to run against President Johnson in the next election.
Decmeber
Dec. 31: The troop count has reached 463,000 and the combat death toll is at 16,000. However, a estimated 1 million have already circulated through Vietnam either on a tour of duty or as a draftee.
Citation
This timeline was created using information from the website below.
The History Place - Vietnam War 1965-1968 (The History Place - Vietnam War 1965-1968)
The History Place - Vietnam War 1965-1968 (The History Place - Vietnam War 1965-1968)