9 Key Moments From the Vietnam War

The Vietnam War—an era-defining, harrowing period of Southeast Asian and American history—remains one of the most controversial military conflicts to date, even half a century after its conclusion. It was a period of unprecedented social and political upheaval in both Vietnam and the United States. The war was a perilous military conflict predicated on the speculative spread of communist regimes across Southeast Asia, and America’s involvement would come to tarnish the United States’ international reputation in perpetuity. 

The years-long conflict proved that even the greatest military might isn’t always enough to win a war. Below, we outline nine key moments that defined the Vietnam War.

1. The Battle of Dien Bien Phu // March 13–May 7 1954
2. Operation Ranch Hand // 1962–1971
3. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident // August 2, 1964
4. The Battle of Ia Drang // November 14–18, 1965
5. Operation Rolling Thunder // March 2, 1965–November 2, 1968
6. The Tet Offensive // January 30, 1968
7. The My Lai Massacre // March 16, 1968
8. The Paris Peace Accords // January 27, 1973
9. The Fall of Saigon // April 30, 1975

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu // March 13–May 7 1954

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu put an end to French colonial supremacy in the region nearly a decade into the First Indochina War (a bloody conflict between French colonists and the communist-led Viet Minh for control of Vietnam). Between March 13, 1954 and May 7, 1954, Viet Minh soldiers carried out a series of coordinated guerilla attacks in and around the French stronghold of Dien Bien Phu, demolishing French forces in a watershed victory for the Vietnamese independence movement. 

The First Indochina War officially came to an end shortly after the battle with the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accords; this eliminated French colonial rule in the region and divided Vietnam into the communist-controlled North and capitalist-backed South. With French forces extricated from the region, the United States heavily increased its military and financial support of South Vietnam in an effort to stave off the spread of nascent communist regimes across Southeast Asia. 

Operation Ranch Hand // 1962–1971

Operation Ranch Hand, which spanned from 1962 to 1971, involved U.S. Air Force crafts dropping more than 11 million gallons of the chemical herbicide “Agent Orange” throughout South Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia. Operation Ranch Hand was inspired by the British military’s employment of herbicides during the Anti-British National Liberation War in Malaya (now known as the Malaysian Peninsula) and was intended to deprive Viet Cong forces of food supplies and strategically crucial jungle cover. 

Though estimates vary, it has been projected that nearly 300,000 American veterans and over 400,000 Vietnamese suffered severe medical complications as a result of Agent Orange exposure. Exposure to the chemical has been linked to numerous kinds of cancers and birth defects like cleft palate and polydactyly (the presence of extra fingers and toes). Despite its debilitating effect, by 1993 the U.S. government had only provided disability compensation to a few hundred veterans of the estimated 2.6 million exposed throughout the war. 

The Gulf of Tonkin Incident // August 2, 1964

The U.S. military had already had personnel stationed in the region as “military advisors” to the South Vietnamese as early as 1950.  But the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, passed under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1963, marked the start of the country’s direct involvement in the war. The joint resolution—officially a response to a brief confrontation between American and North Vietnamese naval forces in the titular Gulf—granted Johnson the ability to declare war without seeking formal approval from Congress. Alongside the initial Gulf of Tonkin skirmish (also known as the USS Maddox incident) on August 2, 1964, the U.S. government also fabricated a second confrontation on August 4, 1964, to bolster support for military intervention.

The Battle of Ia Drang // November 14–18, 1965

The Battle of Ia Drang was an assault on Vietnam’s central highlands as part of North Vietnam’s Pleiku offensive that began on November 14, 1965. It was the first major confrontation between the American and North Vietnamese militaries and would prove to be prototypical of the U.S. military’s broader strategy for the remainder of the conflict. The American military leaned heavily on its superior air support—the battle was the first large-scale use of helicopters in an air assault—while the North Vietnamese employed guerilla warfare tactics to leverage their greater manpower. The battle ended on November 18, 1965 with both sides declaring victory despite each losing nearly half their troops. Though American forces claimed the battle as a tactical victory, the Battle of Ia Drang highlighted the efficacy and danger posed by the North Vietnamese’s use of guerilla warfare. 

Operation Rolling Thunder // March 2, 1965–November 2, 1968

On March 2, 1965, the United States military began a nearly four-year, sustained aerial bombardment campaign across North Vietnam. Operation Rolling Thunder was intended to destroy North Vietnam’s infrastructure and mitigate aid being passed to Viet Cong insurgents in South Vietnam. President Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara viewed the aerial campaign as a means to squash the North Vietnamese army without risking the lives of American troops in ground combat; it was also carefully coordinated to avoid antagonizing the Soviet Union and China. North Vietnam’s sizable arsenal of anti-aircraft artillery made Operation Rolling Thunder one of the most dangerous American aerial military campaigns in history. 

After dropping more than 850,000 tons of bombs across North Vietnam, the campaign came to an end on November 2, 1968, when it became clear it would not force the North Vietnamese into peace negotiations as originally intended. More than 200 U.S. Air Force pilots were taken captive as prisoners of war during Operation Rolling Thunder, including Senator John McCain, who spent more than five and a half years in captivity.  

The Tet Offensive // January 30, 1968

The Tet Offensive—a series of guerilla attacks launched by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in early 1968—marked a critical turning point for Vietnam’s communist forces. It took place on Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, and was carried out by roughly 80,000 communist troops in the hopes of sparking civil unrest and weakening South Vietnamese strongholds. 

The Tet Offensive undermined the perception of American military superiority, as the U.S. forces were unprepared for the assault. It also furthered anti-war sentiment by prolonging American involvement in the war and eroding support at home and abroad. Despite South Vietnamese and American forces technically “winning” the battles (i.e. sustaining fewer casualties than their opponent), the Tet Offensive was a huge symbolic win for the communist insurgency. Following the attacks, President Johnson’s administration sought to enter peace negotiations with North Vietnam, but these efforts were undermined by statements made by Republican nominee Richard Nixon during the contentious 1968 presidential election. 

The My Lai Massacre // March 16, 1968

Arguably one of the most barbaric war crimes in U.S. military history, the My Lai massacre proved to be a watershed moment in the American public’s growing opposition to the war. Captain Ernest Medina, anticipating a confrontation with Viet Cong troops, led a battalion of American soldiers into the South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai with instructions to eradicate anything “walking, crawling, or growling.” Instead of discovering hidden Viet Cong forces, Medina and his troops found a village of women, children, and elderly men preparing breakfast and readying themselves for the day. 

The American troops corralled the petrified villagers into common areas before beginning their brutal slaughter. After executing more than 100 unarmed civilians, the troops took a break for lunch, then returned to massacre dozens more. The battalion killed more than 300 civilians; a subsequent investigation by the U.S. government found that at least 20 Vietnamese women and girls ranging in ages from 10 to 45 had been sexually assaulted. 

The American troops suffered just one casualty during the massacre—a lone soldier who had intentionally shot himself in the foot to avoid participating in the carnage. Following an extensive cover-up by the United States military, the My Lai Massacre later became public knowledge when journalist Seymour Hersh published an exposé on the matter in 1969. 

The Paris Peace Accords // January 27, 1973

On January 27, 1973, the United States, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and Viet Cong forces signed the Paris Peace Accords, marking the beginning of the end to the war. Largely facilitated by U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Vietnamese diplomat Lê Đức Thọ, the historic agreement called for the withdrawal of all American and Allied forces within 60 days and a commitment to the peaceful reunification of Vietnam. Both North and South Vietnam almost immediately violated the conditions of the agreement. Battle between the warring factions resumed by March 1973, but this time without American military involvement. By March 29, 1973, American troops had been fully extricated from Vietnam and the war was left to be fought between North and South.  

The Fall of Saigon // April 30, 1975

As the final part of their 1975 spring offensive, North Vietnamese forces seized control of South Vietnam’s capital city, Saigon, on April 30, 1975, signaling the end of the war—just over two years after American troops vacated the region. The South Vietnamese government had finally collapsed under the military might of Vietnam’s communist forces. The actual fall of Saigon was preceded by Operation Frequent Wind, a massive helicopter evacuation of remaining American diplomatic personnel and at-risk South Vietnamese citizens. 

The North Vietnamese troops were met with little resistance by the time they entered Saigon. While the sacking of Saigon may have posed few challenges to the North Vietnamese military, the war’s burgeoning refugee crisis and economic instability made it difficult for Vietnam to fully reunite under its new communist regime. Despite this, Vietnam was officially reunited as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 2, 1976, just over a year after communist forces took Saigon. 

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