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[ HOME | HISTORY | TIMELINE ]
[ Use gold links in the timetable below. ]


HISTORY OF THE VIETNAM WAR

It's all too easy to focus on the brief period in Vietnam's history when the United States was fighting to help the South Vietnamese Government become established and survive.

In the end, South Vietnam fell to a North Vietnamese invasion several years after U.S. forces withdrew. But this was not Vietnam's first or last war.
Timeline of the Vietnam Wars
50th Infantry Regiment Unit Crest
1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Lineage
Co. E (LRP), 50th Inf.
Co. E (Rifle Security), 50th Inf.
Co. F (LRP), 50th Inf.
Co. F (Rifle Security), 50th Inf.
1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Honors Earned
1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Campaign Participation Credits
1/50(M) Unit Records
1/50(M) After Action Reports of 1/50(M) Vietnam Battles
1/50(M) Lessons Learned in Vietnam
Vietnam War Stories from the 1/50(M)
Vietnam-era MOS Codes
Glossary of Vietnam Terminology

South Vietnam was established after the (First) Indochina War between Vietnamese nationalists and French Colonial forces after the close of the Second World War. From 1945 to 1954 a bitter struggle in Vietnam ended in the partioning of Vietnam into two countries after the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu.

Even prior to French colonization, Vietnam was subject to invasions by the Chinese and others going back to 500 B.C. Alas, war is no stranger to the Vietnamese people.

This section will broadly summarize Vietnam's history, particularly in relation to the U.S. Army involvement between 1960 to 1973, and especially the 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 50th Infantry from 1967-1970. It will not be an academically rigorous history, but should provide a basic understanding of the war and its background.
VIETNAM WAR TIMETABLE
Compiled by Ray Sarlin
 
Before the French
 12,000 BC 1845+ (1945)  
 
Leadup to Colonization
 1847 1862  
French Indochina
Colonization
 1862 1939  
 
World War II
 1939 1945  
 
The First Indochina War
 1945 1954  
 
Geneva Conference
 1954 1954  
Two Nations
The Second Indochina War
 1954 1960  
America Engages
 1960 1964  
Advisory
Advisory Campaign
15 March 1962 -
7 March 1965
American War
Defense
8 March 1965 -
24 December 1965
Counteroffensive
25 December 1965 -
30 June 1966
 
Counteroffensive, Phase II
1 July 1966 -
31 May 1967
 
Counteroffensive, Phase III
1 June 1967 -
29 January 1968
 
Tet Counteroffensive
30 January 1968 -
1 April 1968
 
Counteroffensive, Phase IV
2 April 1968 -
30 June 1968
 
Counteroffensive, Phase V
1 July 1968 -
1 November 1968
 
Counteroffensive, Phase VI
2 November 1968 -
22 February 1969
 
Tet 69/Counteroffensive
23 February 1969 -
8 June 1969
Vietnamization
Summer-Fall 1969
9 June 1969 -
31 October 1969
 
Winter-Spring 1970
1 November 1969 -
30 April 1970
 
Sanctuary Counteroffensive
1 May 1970 -
30 June 1970
 
Counteroffensive, Phase VII
1 July 1970 -
30 June 1971
 
Consolidation I
1 July 1971 -
30 November 1971
 
Consolidation II
1 December 1971 -
29 March 1972
 
Cease-Fire
30 March 1972 -
28 January 1973
South Vietnam's Peace
Broken Promises
29 January 1973 -
7 January 1975
  
North Vietnamese Invasion
8 January 1975 -
30 April 1975
  
Post Vietnam War
The Aftermath
1 May 1975 -
Present
  
 
Vietnam Today
      
         
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