The Vietnam War E-Book

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 817

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

The Vietnam War was the bloodiest and one of the most fascinating conflicts in the history of warfare. It began with America pouring massive military aid upon the South Vietnamese in an attempt to thwart a Communist takeover, and culminated in the "peace with honour" withdrawal by the Nixon administration. This authoritative account accurately details every aspect of the Vietnam War and provides an overall view of the impact which it continues to have to this day.

Leseprobe

CLASSIC CONFLICTS

THE VIETNAM WAR

CLASSIC CONFLICTS

THE VIETNAM WAR

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA’S CONFLICT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

CONSULTANT EDITOR BERNARD C. NALTYFOREWORD BY GENERAL WILLIAM C. WESTMORELAND

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

KEY INDIVIDUALS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

CHRONOLOGY OF MAIN EVENTS

THE END OF FRENCH RULE IN INDOCHINA

RIVAL IDEOLOGIES IN A DIVIDED NATION

US INTERVENTION AND THE FALL OF DIEM

COMMUNIST AGGRESSION PROVOKES US RETALIATION

THE US COMMITMENT BECOMES IRREVOCABLE

THE AIR WAR AGAINST NORTH VIETNAM

A US STRATEGY TO STEM THE COMMUNIST TIDE

A BATTLE FOR THE PEOPLE’S HEARTS AND MINDS

THE MILITARY BUILD-UP IN NORTH AND SOUTH

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMUNIST ARMIES

US NAVY AND MARINE CORPS OPERATIONS IN VIETNAM

THE IN-COUNTRY ENEMY: BATTLE WITH THE VIET CONG

COMMUNIST THRUST: THE TET OFFENSIVE OF 1968

SEVENTY-SEVEN DAYS: THE SIEGE OF KHE SANH

THE AIR WAR ON THE LAOTIAN SUPPLY ROUTES

VIETNAMIZATION: THE SOUTH MUST SAVE ITSELF

STRIKING THE COMMUNIST SANCTUARIES IN CAMBODIA

SOUTHERN DEFEAT ON THE HO CHI MINH TRAIL

B-52S: STRATEGIC BOMBERS IN A TACTICAL ROLE

DISENGAGEMENT ABROAD – DISENCHANTMENT AT HOME

SPRING 1972: NORTHERN INVASION REPULSED

DEFEAT AND RETALIATION: THE COMMUNIST TRIUMPH

THE CONTINUING CONFLICT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

US VETERANS AND POWS RETURN TO THEIR HOMELAND

US PERSONNEL MISSING IN SE ASIA

INDEX

FOREWORD

Twenty-five centuries ago a Chinese warrior-philosopher, Sun Tzu, wrote profoundly on the art of war. Fighting, he declared, is the cruelest form of warfare. He advised, instead:

Break the will of the enemy to fight, and you accomplish the true objective of war. Cover with ridicule the enemy’s tradition. Exploit and aggravate the inherent frictions within the enemy country. Agitate the young against the old. Prevail if possible without armed conflict. The supreme excellence is not to win a hundred victories in a hundred battles. The supreme excellence is to defeat the armies of your enemies without ever having to fight them.

The Communist leader of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, could hardly have been unaware of Sun Tzu’s dicta when he devised a strategy both for his war of liberation against France and for his war of aggression against South Vietnam, in which the United States was his principal adversary. Although he was unable to prevail in either conflict without giving battle, he – or his successors – was able in both cased to “exploit and aggravate the inherent frictions within the enemy country” and to “agitate the young against the old”, and in the war with the United States he was also able to “cover with ridicule the enemy’s tradition”. In at least some circles, the North Vietnamese succeeded in changing the long established image of the United States as a champion of liberty into that of a big power interfering harshly and inhumanely in the internal affairs of a small nation. In the process, the North Vietnamese “broke the will of the enemy to fight” and, despite American victory on virtually every battlefield, emerged in the end triumphant.

Therein lies a cardinal lesson for the democracies. No nation should put the burden of war on its military forces alone. It matters not whether a war is total or limited; a nation must be wholly dedicated in its purpose, firm in its resolve, and committed to sacrifice by more than one segment of its society. As the war in Vietnam clearly demonstrated, without that dedication, that resolve, that commitment, no matter what the performance on the field of battle, victory will be elusive.

The interest of the United States in South Vietnam was born in the post-World War II era, when Communist movement into insecure and unstable areas around the world appeared to be a monolithic threat. In that atmosphere, President Harry S. Truman in 1947 pledged the nation to unconditional support of free people who are “resisting attempted subjugation by minorities or by outside pressures”. Congress approved that doctrine by a large majority.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his turn emphasized that policy of containment in association with a strategy of massive retaliation. With South Vietnam much in mind, the Eisenhower administration sponsored the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, which the Senate in 1955 ratified with only one dissenting vote.

When John F. Kennedy became president, he developed personal interest in the problem posed by a Communist strategy of small wars of “national liberation”. Chastened by failure at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba and by a personal confrontation with Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, the young president reputedly told a correspondent for the New York Times: “We have a problem in making our power pertinent and Vietnam looks like the place.”

President Kennedy set the tone of his administration in his inaugural address, pledging the nation “to bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend and oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty”. To attempt to foil the Communist strategy of wars of national liberation fitted that ideal.

President Kennedy thus sharply increased American involvement in South Vietnam, but in his zeal made the unfortunate mistake of approving American participation in the overthrow of South Vietnam’s President Ngo Dinh Diem. That action morally locked the United States into Vietnam, and despite political chaos in South Vietnam amply demonstrating a lack of leadership and unity, neither Mr. Kennedy nor his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, chose to risk the likely domestic political repercussions of pulling out.

While determined to pursue Mr. Kennedy’s policy in Vietnam, President Johnson was nevertheless obsessed with his program of domestic achievement, the Great Society. Although he expanded American military commitment, he pursued a policy at home of business as usual. Had it not been for the draft and sensational coverage of the war piped for the first time by television into American living rooms, only those who served and their loved ones would have recognized that the nation was at war.

Despite Congressional endorsement for military action as firm as that provided Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy, President Johnson was determined to keep the war limited and publicly announced that he would sanction no expansion of it. That locked American military forces into a defensive strategy, and anyone versed in military history knows that a force on the offensive has advantages over one on the defensive, for the force on the offensive possesses the initiative and can mass its strength at the time and place of its own choosing. North Vietnam had the additional advantage of knowing that its operating bases in neighboring Cambodia and Laos and – for the most part – in North Vietnam were virtually inviolate. Although those of us in Vietnam were acutely conscious that a defensive strategy contributed to a prolonged war, and that a prolonged war contributed to the success of the strategy the enemy had borrowed from Sun Tzu, we were powerless, in view of the political restrictions, to shift to an offensive strategy and bring the war to a swift conclusion.

Only in the bombing of North Vietnam did President Johnson sanction an offensive strategy, and even in that he bowed to political advice and accepted a selective, on-again, off-again campaign reflecting political pressures at home and abroad. To North Vietnam it must have been clear that the bombing demonstrated not strength and determination but political weakness and uncertainty.

Actions by vocal elements of American society to frustrate the will of the majority, highlighted and sometimes glorified by the news media, no doubt helped convey that message. “Illegal war” and “immoral war” became clichés of the times.

In the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, passed by the Congress in 1964 with only two dissenting votes in both houses, President Johnson obtained clear authority to commit military forces as he deemed necessary to achieve the national objective of assuring a free and independent South Vietnam; but as the war dragged on without decisive American military action, the mood of the Congress changed, a reflection of public attitudes strongly influenced by the news media, particularly television. When the war became intensely controversial, the President should have asked for reaffirmation each year of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution; indeed, Congressional leaders should have demanded it. Yet neither the President nor Congressional leaders wanted to face open national debate, and a rift between legislative and executive branches of the government was allowed to widen.

Despite dissent at home and restrictions on military operations against enemy sanctuaries beyond the borders of South Vietnam, American and South Vietnamese military forces by the end of 1967 had achieved substantial progress, both on the battlefield and in establishing security for the South Vietnamese people. Then came the enemy’s Tet offensive of early 1968. Despite the fact that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong incurred a military defeat of such proportions that it took them four years to recover, reporting of the offensive by press and television in the United States gave an impression if not of American and South Vietnamese defeat, then of an endless war that could never be won.

Even a number of senior officials in Washington were deceived, failing to heed the fact that historically an enemy who is losing may launch a desperate effort to reverse the tide of battle, as in the German offensives of 1918 and in the Battle of the Bulge. Halting the bombing of most of North Vietnam, President Johnson removed himself from the political arena, which led to political negotiations in Paris; but the negotiations were for long years meaningless, achieving little more than to decide the shape of the conference table. Yet the war went on, and more American soldiers were killed (while their enemy ostensibly parlayed peace in Paris) than had been killed before the negotiations in Paris began.

Once the North Vietnamese had failed in a major conventional invasion of South Vietnam in 1972 and President Richard M. Nixon had directed a renewed and, finally, intensive bombing campaign against North Vietnam, the Communist representatives in Paris at long last made some concessions, however minor. They might have been compelled to make more, but under ever-mounting political pressure and agitation, Mr. Nixon had already begun pulling out American troops, and he underscored his determination to withdraw whatever the cost by making a major concession: to accept a continued presence of North Vietnamese troops inside South Vietnam. Despite that one-sided concession, the cease-fire agreement reached in Paris early in 1973 was theoretically workable – if the threat (and reality) of American airpower remained. By adopting the Case-Church Amendment in the summer of 1973, which prohibited “any funds whatsoever to finance directly or indirectly combat activities by the United States military forces in, over, or from off the shore of North Vietnam, South Vietnam or Cambodia”, the United States Senate took away that threat. Subsequent sharp cuts in military aid to South Vietnam must have reinforced the North Vietnamese leaders in their recognition that the United States on its own volition had executed an act of surrender.

By that time there were still weaknesses in the South Vietnamese government, military leadership, and body politic, but the country had made great strides toward becoming a viable nation and could no doubt have handled any threat of internal subversion alone. Yet the country still faced a powerful external military force entrenched within its borders, and the cut in American aid left South Vietnamese military units short of equipment, ammunition, and replacement parts and virtually devoid of air support, severely impairing morale at all levels. The enemy meanwhile was amply equipped and supplied and remained free to concentrate at the time and place of his choosing. Thus South Vietnam was doomed to eventual defeat.

The Leaders in Hanoi had learned Sun Tzu’s dicta well. Having achieved ridicule of their enemy’s tradition, having exploited and aggravated inherent frictions within their enemy’s old country, and having agitated the young against the old, they had removed their primary adversary from the right and were free to exploit their raw military power, with only minimal assistance from the southern revolutionaries, to conquer South Vietnam and impose on the country a harsh Communist regime.

The essays that follow tell in detail the story of the war in Vietnam, from the opening days to the last. They have been written by a diversity of able historians and predictably reflect a diversity of views. Although I cannot in all cases agree with their interpretations and conclusions, the participant in history – whatever his role – must accept the fact that history may not always see events in the same way he sees them. The essays are, in any event, informative and provocative, and thus conducive to helping democratic people to learn from the trials, the errors, the failures, and the successes that occurred in the course of a long, frustrating, and tragic war in a little corner of the world known as Vietnam.

William C. Westmoreland, General, US Army, Retired

KEY INDIVIDUALS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

These were the men most concerned in the struggle for hegemony in Southeast Asia

ABRAMS, General Creighton Williams, USA (1914-1994)

Commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, 1968-72; US Army Chief of Staff, 1972-74.

BALL, George Wildman (1909-1994)

US Under Secretary of State, opposed to American military involvement in Vietnam, 1961-66.

BAO DAI (b. Nguyen Vinh Thuy) (1911-)

Last Emperor of Vietnam, 1925-45; “Citizen Prince” under Ho Chi Minh, 1945-46; Premier and “puppet Emperor” under French, deposed after referendum, 1945-55; exile in France.

BIGEARD, General de Corps d’Armée Marcel (1916-)

France’s leading airborne officer; served in Indochina, 1945-54; led parachute drop at Dien Bien Phu, 20 November 1953; in Viet Minh captivity, 1954; commander of parachute regiment in Algeria, 1958-60; promoted four-star general, 1974.

BOUN OUM (1911-)

American-backed, right-wing Premier of Laos, 1960-61; member of Souvanna Phouma’s National Union government from 1962.

BUNDY, McGeorge (1919-)

US Special Assistant for National Security Affairs under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, when a major influence on US foreign policy, 1960-66.

BUNDY, William Putnam (1917-)

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, influential on President Johnson’s decision to begin bombing North Vietnam, 1965.

BUNKER, Ellsworth (1894-)

US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1967-73.

CASTRIES, General Christian Marie, Comte de la Croix de (1902-)

French Army commander at Dien Bien Phu, 1954.

CLIFFORD, Clark MacAdams (1906-)

US Secretary of Defense, March 1968-January 1969.

CUSHMAN, General Robert Everton, Jr., USMC (1914-1985)

Commander, III Marine Amphibious Force, Vietnam, 1967-69; Deputy Director, CIA, 1969-71; Commandant, United States Marine Corps, from 1972.

DULLES, Allen Welsh (1893-1969)

Director, CIA, 1953-61.

DULLES, John Foster (1888-1959)

US Secretary of State under President Eisenhower, a major architect of US Cold War policy, 19653-59; brother of Allen Dulles.

DUONG VAN MINH, Lieutenant General (called “Big Minh”) (1916-)

Led campaign against Binh Xuyen bandits, 1955; Military Adviser to President Diem of South Vietnam, 1962-63; a leader of the coup against Diem, 1963; Chairman, Revolutionary Military Committee government, November 1963-January 1964; head of State, South Vietnam, January-October 1964; in Bangkok, Thailand, 1964-68; as last President of South Vietnam (for two days only) surrendered Saigon to Communist forces, 30 April 1975.

ELLSBERG, Daniel (1931-)

Member of staff of Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, 1964-65; with Department of State staff, Vietnam, 1965-67; Assistant to US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1967; reported to have leaked the “Pentagon Papers” to the press, published from 13 June 1974; criminal charges against Ellsburg dropped, May 1973.

ELY, General Paul Henri Romuald (1897-1975)

French Commander in Chief, Indochina, supervising withdrawal of French troops after his appeal for US military assistance failed, 1954; Chief of General Staff, 1953-61.

FELT, Admiral Harry Donald, USN (1902-)

US Commander in Chief, Pacific, 1958-64.

FORD, President Gerald Rudolph, Jr., (1913-)

Acceded to US presidency on Nixon’s resignation, 1974; continued policy of disengagement in Southeast Asia; ordered refugee airlift and military action in “Mayaguez incident”, in 1975; defeated by Jimmy Carter in presidential election, 1976.

GAYLER, Admiral Noel Arthur Meredyth, USN (1914-)

US Commander in Chief, Pacific, from September 1972.

HARKINS, General Paul Donal, USA (1904-)

Chief of US Military Assistance Advisory Group in Vietnam and the first Commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, February 1962-June 1964.

HARRIMAN, William Averell (1891-1986)

US Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, playing a leading part in negotiating Geneva Agreements and Laotian settlement, 1961-63; ambassador to Paris peace talks, 1968-69.

HO CHI MINH (b. Nguyen That Thanh) (1890-1969)

Founder of Indochinese Communist Party, 1930; founder of Viet Minh, 1941; leader of North Vietnam until his death.

JOHNSON, President Lyndon Baines (1908-1973)

Acceded to US presidency on assassination of Kennedy, 1963; re-elected, 1964; consistently attacked by “doves” for increasing US commitment to anti-Communist stands in Southeast Asia, refused to seek re-election, 1968; retired from public life, 1969.

KENNEDY, President John Fitzgerald (1917-1963)

Elected US President, defeating Nixon, 1960; pledged increased support for South Vietnam, 1961; assassinated, 22 November 1963.

KHIEU SAMPHAN (1932-)

Cambodian Secretary of State for Commerce, joined Khmer Rouge, 1967-70; named Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense in government-in-exile of Norodom Sihanouk, 1970; Commander in Chief, Khmer Rouge High Command, from 1973; Head of State, 1976-79; Prime Minister of Khmer Rouge Opposition Government fighting Vietnamese forces, from December 1979.

KISSINGER, Doctor Henry Alfred (1923-)

Assistant for National Security Affairs from 1968 and Secretary of State from 1973, when a chief architect of US foreign policy, including initiation of strategic arms limitation talks, 1969, and Paris Agreement on the Vietnam War, January 1973; Nobel Peace Prize, 1973 (also awarded to Le Duc Tho).

KOMER, Robert William (1922-)

Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 1966-67; Deputy to Commander US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, for Civil Operations and Rural Development Support, 1967-68; US Under Secretary of Defense, from 1979.

KONG LE, Captain (1924-)

Leader of neutralist military force in Laos, 1960-62; seized control of Vientiane, August 1960.

LAIRD, Melvin R. (1922-)

US Secretary of Defense, January 1969-January 1973; Domestic Adviser to President Nixon, 1973-74.

LANSDALE, Major General Edward G., USAF (1908-)

US counter-insurgency expert, attached CIA and adviser to President Diem, South Vietnam, 1954-66; Special Assistant to US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1965-68.

LATTRE DE TASSIGNY, Marshal Jean de (1889-1952)

Commander, French First Army, World War II; rallied military and civilian morale during brief period as French Commander in Chief, Indochina, 1950-51; posthumously promoted Marshal of France, 1952.

LE DUAN (1908-1986)

Founder member of Indochinese Communist Party, 1930; member of Central Committee, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Hanoi, 1945; directed Communist subversion in South Vietnam from 1954; instrumental in forming National Liberation Front, 1960; First Secretary, Vietnam Workers Party from 1959 and Secretary General From December 1976.

LE DUC THO (b. Phan Dinh Khai) (1911-1990)

Founder member of Indochinese Communist Party, 1930; founder member of Viet Minh, 1941; chief North Vietnamese negotiator at Paris peace talks, 1968-73; declined to share jointly awarded Nobel Peace Prize with Henry Kissinger, 1973.

LODGE, Henry Cabot (1902-1985)

Unsuccessful vice presidential candidate on Nixon ticket, 1960; US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1963-64 and 1965-67; chief US negotiator at Paris peace talks, 1969.

LON NOL, Marshal (1913-1985)

Pro-American Cambodian leader of campaign against Vietnamese Communists; Commander in Chief, Khmer Royal Armed Forces, under Sihanouk’s regime; Premier and Minister of Defense, 1969-71; President of Khmer Republic and Supreme Commander of Armed Forces from March 1972 until overthrow and exile in Hawaii, April 1975.

MANSFIELD, Senator Michael Joseph (1903-)

Montana Democrat, Majority Leader of US Senate from 1961, a prominent Vietnam “dove”; US Ambassador to Japan, from 1977.

MARTIN, Graham Anderson (1912-1990)

US Ambassador to Thailand, 1963-67; Special Assistant to Secretary of State for Refugee and Migration Affairs, 1967-69; last US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1973-75.

MCCAIN, Admiral John Sidney, Jr., USN (1911-1981)

US Commander in Chief, Pacific, 1968-72.

MCNAMARA, Robert Strange (1916-)

US Secretary of Defense, January 1961-February 1968.

MOMYER, General William Wallace, USAF (1916-)

Commander, US Seventh Air Force, 1966-68, serving also as General Westmoreland’s deputy for air operations.

MOORER, Admiral Thomas H., USN (1912-)

US Chief of Naval Operations, 1967-70; Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1970-74.

NAVARRE, General Henri (1898-1983)

Commander in Chief, French forces in Indochina, 1953-54.

NGO DINH DIEM (1901-1963)

Minister of the Interior under Emperor Bao Dai before World War II; refused office under Ho Chi Minh and went into exile, 1945; US-backed President of South Vietnam from 1954; overthrown and murdered, 1963.

NGO DINH NHU (1910-1963)

Brother and principle adviser of Ngo Dinh Diem; died with him during coup, 1963.

NGUYEN CAO KY, General (or Air Vice Marshal) (1930-)

Former member of French forces and a violent anti-Communist, commander of the South Vietnamese Air Force from 1963; a leader of the military coup against Phan Huy Quat, 1965; Premier of South Vietnam, 1965-67; Vice President, 1967-71; exiled in US from April 1975.

NGUYEN HUU THO (1910-)

Vietnamese nationalist leader, agitated against French and US intervention, 1949-50; imprisoned by Diem, 1954-61; although a non-Communist, President of National Liberation Front, 1961-69; Vice President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1976-80; Acting President, April 1980-July 1981; Vice President, Council of State, from 1981.

NGUYEN KHANH, General (1927-)

Chief of Staff to General Duong Van Minh and associated with him in coup against Diem, 1963; led coup against Minh and was briefly Premier of South Vietnam, 1964; semi-exile from 1965.

NGUYEN VAN THIEU, Lieutenant General (1923-)

Led coup against Diem, 1963; US-backed Head of State of South Vietnam, 1965-67; elected President, 1967; re-elected, 1971; resigned in favor of Tran Van Huong, 21 April 1975; retired to Taiwan, later to UK.

NIXON, President Richard Milhous (1913-1994)

US Vice President, 1953-61; lost presidential election to Kennedy, 1960; defeated Hubert H. Humphrey in presidential election, 1968; ordered “secret bombing” of Cambodia, 1969-70; implemented “Nixon doctrine” of replacing troops abroad by increased advice and economic aid and progressively reduced US commitment to Vietnam; re-elected 1972; resigned as a result of Watergate scandal, August 1974.

NORODOM SIHANOUK, Prince Samdech Preah (1922-)

King of Cambodia, 1941-55; Premier, 1955-60; neutralist Head of State, 1960-70; overthrown by Lon Noi and formed government-in-exile in Peking, 1970; restored as Head of State, 1075; resigned 1976; Special Envoy of Khmer Rouge to UN, 1979; retirement in Korea, from 1979.

PHAM VAN DONG (1906-)

Co-founder of Viet Minh, 1941; Premier of North Vietnam, 1955-76; Premier, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 1976-80; Chairman, Council of Ministers, from 1981.

PHOUMI NOSAVAN, General (--)

Pro-US commander of Royal Laotian Army; Defense Minister, 1958; drove Kong Le from Vientiane and overthrew Souvanna Phouma, 1960; went into exile after failure of coup, 1965.

POL POT (also TOL SAUT, POL PORTH) (1925-)

Plantation worker, joined HO Chi Minh in opposition to French in 1940s; member of Indonesian Communist Party until 1946, thereafter of Cambodian Communist Party, elected Party Secretary, 1963; elected to People’s Representative Assembly of Kampuchea, March 1976; Prime Minister, Kampuchea, April-September 1976; resigned for health reasons, resumed office September 1977; overthrown after Vietnamese invasion and sentenced to death in absentia for crimes of genocide, August 1979; leader of guerrilla army, from 1979.

RIDGWAY, General Matthew Bunker, USA (1895-1993)

Commanded US 8th Army, Korea, 1950-51; Supreme Commander, Far East, 1951-52; Supreme Commander, Europe, 1952-53; US Army Chief of Staff, opposed to ground war in support of the French in Indochina, 1953-55.

ROSTOW, Walt Whitman (1916-)

Deputy Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 1961; Chairman, US State Department Policy Planning Council, 1961-66.

RUSK, David Dean (1909-)

US Secretary of State, a vigorous advocate of US action in Vietnam, 1961-69.

SCHLESINGER, James Rodney (1929-)

Director, Central Intelligence Agency, 1973; US Secretary of Defense, 1973-75.

SHARP, Admiral Ulysses S. Grant, USN (1906-)

Commander in Chief, Pacific, and US Military Adviser to SEATO, 1964-68.

SOUPHANOUVONG, Prince (1902-)

Half-brother of Souvanna Phouma, associated with Ho Chi Minh since before World War II; founder member of Communist Pathet Lao, 1950; vice Premier of Laos, then imprisoned and escaped to lead pro-Communist military faction, 1962; Chairman, Joint National Political Council, 1974-75; President, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, from December 1975.

SOUVANNA PHOUMA, Prince (1901-1984)

Neutralist leader, Prime Minister of Laos, 1962-75; Counselor to Government of Laos, 1976.

TAYLOR, General Maxwell Davenport, USA (1901-1987)

Commander US 8th Army, Korea, 1953; US and UN Commander, Far East, 1955; US Army Chief of Staff, 1955-59; Military Adviser to President Kennedy, 1961-62; Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1962-64; US Ambassador to South Vietnam, 1964-65; Special Consultant to the President, and Chairman, President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, 1965-69; President, Institute of Defense Analyses, 1966-69.

TRAN THIEN KHIEM, General (1925-)

Co-leader with Nguyen Khanh, of coup against Duong Van Minh, 1964; Defense Minister and Commander in Chief Armed Forces, South Vietnam, 1964’ Ambassador to US, 1964-65; Ambassador to Republic of China (Taiwan), 1965-68; Deputy Prime Minister, South Vietnam, 1969; Prime Minister, 1969-75; fled to Taiwan, April 1975.

TRAN VAN HUONG (1903-)

Viet Minh activist against French, Mayor of Saigon, 1954; imprisoned, 1960; Prime Minister, South Vietnam, 1964-65 and 1968-69; Vice President, 1971-75; President, 21-28 April 1975.

VO NGUYEN GIAP, General (1912-)

Co-founder of Viet Minh, 1941; Minister of Interior, 1945; Commander in Chief, Viet Minh armed forces from 1946, victor of Dien Bien Phu, 1954; Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Commander in Chief, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, until 1976; Vice Premier, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, from July 1976; Minister of National Defense, 1976-80.

WALT, General Lewis William, USMC (1913-)

Commander, III Marine Amphibious Force, and Senior Adviser to I Corps Military Assistance Command, South Vietnam, 1965-67; Assistant Commandant, United States Marine Corps, 1968-71.

WESTMORELAND, General William Childs, USA (1914-)

Commissioned 2nd Lt., US Army, 1936; Chief of Staff, 9th Infantry Division, 1944-45; Chief of Staff 82d Airborne Division, 1947-50; commander, 187th Airborne RCT, Korea and Japan, 1951-53; Superintendent, US Military Academy, 1960-63; Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps, 1963; Commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, 1964-68; US Army Chief of Staff, 1968-72; retired, 1972.

WEYAND, General Frederick Carlton, USA (1916-)

Commander, US 25th Infantry Division, Vietnam, 1966-68; Military Adviser at Paris peace talks, 1968-70; Deputy Commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, 1970-72, and Commander 1972-73; Vice Chief of Staff, US Army, 1973; Chief of Staff, US Army, 1974-76.

WHEELER, General Earle Gilmore, USA (1908-)

US Army Chief of Staff, 1962-64;

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1964-70.

ZUMWALT, Admiral Elmo Russell, Jr., USN (1920-)

Commander, US Naval Forces, Vietnam, 1968-70; US Chief of Naval Operations, 1970-74.

CHRONOLOGY OF MAIN EVENTS

Principal events in Southeast Asia from the Japanese occupation to the present

1945

March 9. An “independent” Vietnam, with Emperor Bao Dai as nominal ruler, is proclaimed by Japanese occupation authorities.

September 2. The Communist-dominated Viet Minh Independence League seizes power; Ho Chi Minh establishes the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (GRDV) in Hanoi.

September 22. French troops return to Vietnam and clash with Communist and Nationalist forces.

1946

March 6. France recognizes the Democratic Republic of Vietnam as a free state within the Indochinese Federation and French Union.

December 19. The Viet Minh initiate the eight-year Indochina War with an attack on French troops in the north.

1949

March 8. France recognizes an “independent” state of Vietnam; Bao Dai becomes its leader in June.

July 19. Laos is recognized as an independent state with ties to France.

November 8. Cambodia is recognized as an independent state with ties to France.

1950

January. The newly established People’s Republic of China, followed by the Soviet Union, recognizes the Democratic Republic of Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh.

May 8. US announces military and economic aid to the pro-French regimes of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

1954

May 7. The remnants of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrender.

July 7. Ngo Dinh Diem, newly chosen premier of South Vietnam, completes the organization of his cabinet.

July 20-21. The Geneva Agreements are signed, partitioning Vietnam along the 17th Parallel and setting up an International Control Commission to supervise compliance with the Agreements.

September 8. An agreement is signed at Manila establishing a Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, aimed at checking Communist expansion.

October 5. The last French troops leave Hanoi.

October 11. The Viet Minh formally assume control over North Vietnam.

October 24. President Dwight D. Eisenhower advises Diem that the US will provide assistance directly to South Vietnam, instead of channeling it through French authorities.

1955

March 29. Diem launches his successful campaign against the Binh Xuyen and the religious sects.

May 10. South Vietnam formally requests US instructors for armed forces.

May 16. The United States agrees to furnish military aid to Cambodia, which becomes an independent state on 25 September.

July 20. South Vietnam refuses to take part in the all-Vietnam elections called for by the Geneva Agreements, charging that free elections are impossible in the Communist North.

October 23. A national referendum deposes Bao Dai in favour of Diem, who proclaims the republic of Vietnam.

1956

February 18. While visiting Peking, Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Sihanouk renounces SEATO protection for his nation.

March 31. Prince Souvanna Phouma becomes prime minister in Laos.

April 28. An American Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) takes over the training of South Vietnamese forces; the French Military High command disbands and French troops leave South Vietnam.

August 5. Souvanna Phouma and the Communist Prince Souphanouvong agree to a coalition government in Laos.

1957

January 3. The International Control Commission declares that neither North Vietnam nor South Vietnam has carried out the Geneva Agreements.

May 29. Communist Pathet Lao attempt to seize power in Laos.

June. The last French training missions leave South Vietnam.

September. Diem is successful in South Vietnamese general election.

1958

January. Communist guerrillas attack a plantation north of Saigon.

1959

April. A branch of the Lao Dong (Worker’s Party of Vietnam), of which Ho Chi Minh became secretary-general in 1956, is formed in the South, and Communist underground activity increases.

May. The US commander in chief, Pacific, begins sending the military advisers requested by the South Vietnamese government.

June-July. Communist Pathet Lao forces attempt to gain control over northern Laos, receiving some Vietnamese Communist assistance.

July 8. Communist South Vietnamese wound American advisers during an attack on Bien Hoa.

December 31. General Phoumi Nosavan seize control in Laos.

1960

August 9. Captain Kong Le occupies Vientiane and urges restoration of a neutral Laos under Prince Souvanna Phouma.

November 11-12. A military coup against Diem fails.

December. The Communist National Liberation Front (NLF) of South Vietnam is formed.

December 16. The forces of Phoumi Nosavan capture Vientiane.

1961

January 4. Prince Boun Oum organizes a pro-Western government in Laos; North Vietnam and the USSR send aid to the Communist insurgents.

May 16. A 14-nation conference on Laos meets at Geneva.

September 1-4. Viet Cong forces carry out a series of attacks in Kontum province, South Vietnam.

September 18. A Viet Cong battalion seizes the provincial capital of Phuoc Vinh.

October 8. The Lao factions agree to form a neutral coalition headed by Souvanna Phouma.

November 16. President Kennedy decided to increase military aid to South Vietnam, without committing US combat troops.

1962

February 3. The “Strategic Hamlet” program begins in South Vietnam.

February 7. American military strength in South Vietnam reaches 4,000, with the arrival of two additional Army aviation units.

February 8. The US MAAG is reorganized as the US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), under General Paul D. Harkins, USA.

May 6-27. Phoumi Nosavan’s forces are routed, paving the way for a settlement in Laos.

August. The first Australian Military Aid Forces (MAF) arrive in South Vietnam.

1963

January 2. Battle of Ap Bac: ARVN with US advisers is defeated.

April. Inception of the Chieu Joi (“Open Arms”) amnesty program, aimed at rallying VC to support of the government.

May 8. Riots in Hue, South Vietnam, when government troops try to prevent the celebration of Buddha’s birthday; country-wide Buddhist demonstrations continue into August.

June 11. The first of seven Buddhist monks to commit suicide by fire in protest against government repression dies in Saigon.

November 1-2. A military coup overthrows Diem; he and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu are murdered.

November 6. General Duong Van Minh, leading the Revolutionary Military Committee, takes over leadership of South Vietnam.

November 15. Following a prediction by Defense Secretary McNamara that the US military role will end by 1965, the US government announces that 1,000 of the 15,000 American advisers in South Vietnam will be withdrawn early in December.

1964

January 30. A junta headed by General Nguyen Khanh deposes Duong Van Minh in South Vietnam.

June 20. General William C.

Westmoreland, USA, replaces General Harkins as Commander, US MACV.

July 2. General Maxwell D. Taylor is named as US ambassador to South Vietnam.

August 2. North Vietnamese torpedo boats attack the destroyer USS Maddox.

August 4. the destroyer USS C. Turner Joy reports a similar attack.

August 5. American Seventh Fleet carrier aircraft retaliate by attacking the bases used by the torpedo boats and other military targets in North Vietnam.

August 7. The US Congress adopts the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, endorsing whatever measures the President may consider necessary to repel attacks on American forces and to prevent further aggression.

November 1. After two months of political turmoil, Tran Van Huong becomes South Vietnam’s Premier.

December 24. Terrorist bombing in Saigon kills two Americans and injures 52.

December 31. Total US strength in South Vietnam is 23,000.

1965

January 8. Two thousand South Korean troops arrive in South Vietnam.

February 7. Viet Cong attack the US base at Pleiku.

February 8. US Air Force and South Vietnamese planes retaliate by attacking military targets in North Vietnam.

February 10. Viet Cong terrorists bomb a billet a Qui Nhon, killing 23 American soldiers.

March 2. “Operations Rolling Thunger”, the sustained aerial bombardment of North Vietnam, gets underway.

March 8. The first US Marine infantry battalion arrives at Da Nang, South Vietnam.

March 30. A terrorist bomb, detonated outside the American Embassy at Saigon, kills two Americans and wounds, among others, Deputy Ambassador U. Alexis Johnson.

May 3. The US Army’s 173d Airborne Brigade begins landing in South Vietnam.

June. Nguyen Cao Ky emerges as head of the Saigon government.

June 18. B-52 bombers from Guam make their first strikes of the war against targets in South Vietnam.

June 27. The 173d Airborne Brigade launches a major offensive northeast of Saigon. The number of American soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen in South Vietnam exceeds 50,000.

October. A South Korean combat division begins landing in South Vietnam.

October 27. American troops launch the month long la Drang campaign.

November. Anti-war demonstrations are widespread in the USA.

December 31. Total US strength in South Vietnam is 181,000.

1966

January 31. US bombing of North Vietnam resumes after a 37-day pause.

March. Communists capture a US Special Forces camp in the A Shau Valley, gaining control of this vital access route into South Vietnam.

March 2. Secretary of Defense McNamara announces that American forces in South Vietnam number 215,000, with another 20,000 en route.

April 12. For the first time B-52s bomb targets in North Vietnam, attacking near Mu Gia Pass.

June 23. South Vietnamese troops seize Buddhist headquarters at Saigon, bringing to an end a wave of protest that had begun in March with agitation against military rule.

October. Some 2,000 non-combatant Filipino troops arrive in South Vietnam.

October 24-25. Manila Conference of Free World nations committed to the Vietnam conflict.

December 31. Total US strength in South Vietnam is 385,000.

1967

January 8. American and South Vietnamese forces launch “Operation Cedar Falls”, a sustained offensive north of Saigon against the Communist-controlled Iron Triangle.

February 22. “Junction City”, largest operation of the war to date, begins in Tay Ninh province.

February 28. The commander, Naval Forces, Vietnam, establishes the Mekong Delta Mobile Riverine Force.

May 1. American military strength in South Vietnam reaches 436,000.

May 4. Ambassador Robert W. Komer becomes General Westmoreland’s deputy for Civil Operations and Rural Development Support (CORDS).

September 3. General Nguyen Van Thieu is elected president of South Vietnam; Nguyen Cao Ky is vice-president.

September 29. A contingent of Thai combat troops arrives in South Vietnam.

October 4. The North Vietnamese siege of Con Thien is broken.

December 31. American military strength in South Vietnam is 486,000.

1968

January 22-April 7. The combat base at Khe Sanh sustains a 77-day siege and is successfully relieved.

January 30-31. The Tet offensive erupts throughout South Vietnam, lasting until late February.

March 16. The My Lai massacre takes place.

March 31. President Johnson restricts the bombing of North Vietnam to the panhandle region, he announces that he will not seek re-election.

April 10. President Johnson announces that General Creighton W. Abrams will take over from General Westmoreland as Commander, MACV, in June.

May 3. President Johnson accepts a North Vietnamese offer to conduct preliminary peace discussions in Paris.

May 4-5. A wave of attacks – less severe than those of the Tet offensive – hits 109 cities, towns, and bases in South Vietnam.

May 13. Delegates from the United States and North Vietnam hold their first formal meeting in Paris.

May 31. “Operations Toan Thang” comes to an end: for 60 days, 42 American and 37 South Vietnamese battalions have searched out enemy units near Saigon.

June 23. The Khe Sanh combat base is abandoned.

October 31. President Johnson announces that the bombing of North Vietnam will end the following day, although reconnaissance flights will continue.

November. President Richard M. Nixon elected; he promises a gradual troop withdrawal from Vietnam.

December 31. American military strength in South Vietnam is 536,100.

1969

January 25. Formal truce negotiations begin in Paris.

February 23-24. Communist forces carry out rocket and mortar attacks against 115 bases, towns, and cities in South Vietnam.

June 5. American planes make the first raids against North Vietnam since the bombing halt of 1 November 1968, in retaliation for the shooting down of a reconnaissance aircraft.

June 8. While meeting at Midway Island with President Thieu, President Nixon announces the planned withdrawal of 25,000 American combat troops.

September 4. Radio Hanoi announces the death of Ho Chi Minh.

September 16. President Nixon reveals a plan to withdraw an additional 35,000 men.

September 30. The US and Thai governments announce a planned withdrawal of 6,000 Americans, mostly airmen, from Thailand.

October 8. Souvanna Phouma requests increased American aid to meet heavier Communist pressure in Laos.

November 15. “Moratorium”: massive anti-war demonstrations in USA.

December 15. President Nixon announces that an additional 50,000 Americans will be withdrawn from South Vietnam by 15 April 1970.

December 18. Congress prohibits the use of current Department of Defense appropriations to introduce ground combat troops into Laos or Thailand.

December 21. Thailand announces plans to withdraw its 12,000-man contingent from South Vietnam. South Korea will maintain its 50,000-man force. The Filipino non-combatants have already departed.

December 31. US troop strength in South Vietnam is 474,000.

1970

February 10. Souvanna Phouma states that he will take no action against Communist supply activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail if North Vietnam will withdraw combat troops from Laos.

March 18. General Lon Noi ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk (who has visited Moscow on 13 March) and seizes power in Cambodia.

March 27. South Vietnamese forces, supported by US helicopters, attack Communist base camps across the Cambodian border.

April 4. An estimated 50,000 persons gather at Washington, D.C., to support President Nixon’s conduct of the war.

April 14. Cambodian President Lon Nol appeals for foreign military assistance.

April 29. MACV announce American participation in a South Vietnamese offensive into Cambodia.

May 2. Anti-war demonstrations break out on a number of US college campuses.

May 9. An estimated 75,000 to 100,000 demonstrators gather in Washington to oppose the Cambodian involvement. Protests, exacerbated by the fatal shooting of four Kent State University students by members of the Ohio National Guard during a demonstration against the war, continue at some 400 colleges.

June 29. US ground troops withdraw from Cambodia, President Nixon having declared that their combat role would end by June 30. Air operations continue.

October 15. President Nixon announces that a further 40,000 American troops will be withdrawn from South Vietnam by the end of the year.

December 29. Congress adopts legislation that denies funds for the introduction of ground combat troops into Laos or Thailand but does not include a proposed ban on further operations elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

December 31. Congress repeals the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. American military strength in South Vietnam is 335,800.

1971

April 7. President Nixon announces at 100,000 American troops will leave South Vietnam by the end of the year.

April 24. Up to 500,000 anti-war protesters converge upon Washington, D.C.; at least 150,000 take part in a similar demonstration in San Francisco, California.

June 13. The New York Times begins releasing the Pentagon Papers, a study of the American involvement in Vietnam that was originally prepared for Secretary of Defense McNamara.

August 18. Australia and New Zealand declare that they will withdraw their troops from South Vietnam.

September 9. South Korea announces that most of its 48,000 troops in South Vietnam, will depart by June 1972.

October. Presidential elections result in the confirmation of Nguyen Van Thieu as president of South Vietnam.

November 12. President Nixon states that an additional 45,000 American troops will leave South Vietnam during December and January.

December 26-30. In reaction to a North Vietnamese buildup, American planes attack airfields and other military targets in the southern part of the country – the most extensive air operations against the Communists since the November 1968 bombing halt.

1972

January 13. President Nixon announces withdrawals that will reduce American troop strength in South Vietnam to 69,000 by 1 May.

March 30. North Vietnamese forces invade South Vietnam.

April 3. USS Kitty Hawk is the first of four additional aircraft carriers to join the two carriers already on station off Vietnam.

April 5. US Air Force fighter-bombers began reinforcing the units in Thailand.

April 6. Marine aircraft begin landing at Da Nang; the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Thomas W. Moorer, USN, announces the resumption of aerial attack and naval bombardment against North Vietnam.

April 26. President Nixon states that American strength in South Vietnam will fall to 49,000 by 1 July.

May 1. Quang Tri City falls to the North Vietnamese.

May 8. President Nixon announces the mining of North Vietnamese harbors.

June 12. South Vietnamese troops break the siege of An Loc, begun on 5 April.

June 29. General Frederick C. Weyand, USA, replaces General Abrams as commander, US Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.

August 12. The last American ground combat troops leave South Vietnam; 43,500 airmen and support personnel remain.

August 29. President Nixon announces withdrawals that will reduce total US strength in South Vietnam to 27,000 by 1 December.

September 16. The South Vietnamese recapture Quang Tri city, but most of the province remains in Communist hands.

December 18. President Nixon orders the resumption of bombing north of the 20th Parallel, following a two-month pause; the Paris peace talks are suspended until 8 January 1973.

December 30. Bombing north of the 20th Parallel comes to an end after the North Vietnamese agree to negotiate a truce.

1973

January 15. The President suspends American military operations against North Vietnam.

January 27. The Paris peace accord is signed and the Vietnam war is officially ended.

January 28. Lon Nol proposes a cease-fire in Cambodia.

February 12. Five hundred eighty eight Americans being held by the North Vietnamese, Pathet Lao or Viet Cong are released during Operation Homecoming.

February 21. Souvanna Phouma and the Communists conclude a cease-fire in Laos.

March 17. A Cambodian pilot bombs the presidential palace at Phnom Penh in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Lon Nol.

March 29. The last American troops leave South Vietnam, only a Defense Attaché Office remains.

April 1. The last Americans held prisoner in North Vietnam arrive at Clark Air Base, Philippines.

April 9. Prince Sihanouk acting as spokesman for the Cambodian rebels, rejects Lon Nol’s truce proposal.

June 29. Congress bans aerial bombing in Cambodia after 15 August.

1974

January 4. President Thieu claims that the war in South Vietnam has resumed; 55 government soldiers are killed in two clashes with Communist troops.

January 15-28. Cambodian rebels inflict large numbers of civilian casualties when shelling Phnom Penh.

January 27. Saigon reports that 13,778 government soldiers, 2,159 civilians, and 45,057 Communists have died in the fighting since the January 1973 truce.

April 5-7. Communist insurgents overrun six outposts protecting Phnom Penh.

July 9. Prince Sihanouk rejects another request by Lon Nol for truce talks.

November 30. Lon Nol again proposes a cease-fire in Cambodia.

1975

April 1. Lon Nol flees Cambodia.

April 9-11. Clashes occur between Communist insurgents and Laos government troops.

April 10-15. After heavy fighting, North Vietnamese troops capture Zuan Loc, 38 miles east of Saigon.

April 12. The US ambassador to Cambodia and his staff leave Phnom Penh.

April 13. The Department of Defense announces that US aircraft are parachuting supplies into Phnom Penh; the airport has been closed by enemy fire.

April 17. Phnom Penh falls to the insurgents.

April 21. President Thieu resigns.

April 28. Duong Van Minh, who helped overthrow Diem in 1963, takes over the government of South Vietnam.

April 30. North Vietnamese troops enter Saigon, as the remaining Americans and many of their South Vietnamese allies are evacuated. President Duong Van Minh announces unconditional surrender.

May 15. US Marines land on Koh Tang Island to free the American freighter SS Mayaguez, seized by the Cambodian Communists.

May 16. In Laos, the Pathet Lao seize Pakse.

May 20. Savannakhet falls to the Pathet Lao.

June. Pathet Lao troops seize US Embassy property in Vientiane.

August 23. The Pathet Lao consolidates the Communist takeover of Laos.

December 3. The Lao coalition headed by Souvanna Phouma is abolished; Laos becomes a Communist state with Souphanouvong as President.

December. The Congress of the National United Front of Cambodia approves a new, republican constitution; the state is renamed Democratic Kampuchea.

1976

March 26. Dr. Kissinger, US secretary of state, announces that the US is “in principle” prepared to normalize relations with Vietnam.

April 2. Sihanouk resigns as head of state in Kampuchea and Khieu Samphan takes his place; Pol Pot becomes prime minister.

April 25. Nationwide elections are held in Vietnam for a National Assembly of 249 deputies from the North and 243 from the South; it is claimed that 98.7 percent of the electorate votes.

April. It is estimated that 30,000 to 50,000 refugees have entered Thailand from Kampuchea since April 1975.

June 8. The Laotian government claims that dissident Meo tribesmen, who had regained control of Long Chong in January, have been “swept away”.

June 24. The National Assembly of Vietnam meets for the first time; the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is proclaimed on 2 July and, among other decisions, Hanoi becomes the capital of united Vietnam and Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

September 15. Vietnam is admitted to membership of the International Monetary Fund.

September. Pol Pot temporarily relinquishes the office of prime minister of Kampuchea because of ill-health; Nuon Chea replaces him (until September 1977).

October 6. An anti-Communist regime takes power in Thailand, causing a worsening of relations with Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea.

November 15. The US vetoes Vietnam’s application for membership of the United Nations on the grounds of the country’s “brutal and inhumane” attitude to US servicemen still listed as missing in Vietnam.

November 22. Border clashes occurred between Thai and Kampuchean troops.

December 14-20. The Vietnamese Workers Party, now renamed the Communist Party of Vietnam, holds its Fourth National Congress in Hanoi, electing Le Duan as secretary-general.

December 29. In answer to a petition presented to the UN by 90 former leading US opponents of the Vietnam War, protesting at violations of human rights by the Communist regime, Vietnamese officials claim that 95 percent of soldiers and officials of the former regime now enjoy full civil rights.

1977

February 3. Western embassies in Vientiane are asked by Laos to reduce their staffs by 50 percent; the Laotians suspect the embassies are aiding dissidents, whose activities continue to trouble the Communist regime.

March 12. Meo dissidents attack installations near Luang Prabang, Laos; ex-King Savang Vatthana and Crown Prince Vongsavang are arrested and sent to a re-education center.

March 14. Kampuchea refuses a US request for a meeting between an American delegation and Kampuchean authorities.

March 16. Refugees report that anti-Communist guerrillas have blown up the Long Binh ammunition dump, near Ho Chi Minh City; similar acts of resistance are reported throughout the year.

March 17-18. The bodies of 12 missing US pilots are handed over in Hanoi as a first move in improving US-Vietnamese relations.

May. The Kampuchean attaché in Moscow is recalled, breaking Kampuchea’s last diplomatic link with the USSR. The US announces that it will no longer oppose Vietnam’s admission to the UN.

June 30. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is dissolved. It is estimated that more than 700,000 people have left Ho Chi Minh city for resettlement in agricultural areas since the beginning of the year.

July 18. Laos and Vietnam sign a treaty of friendship and cooperation; there are an estimated 45,000 Vietnamese troops in Laos.

July. Relations between Vietnam and Kampuchea worsen; there are severe border clashes throughout the year. US estimates suggest that “possibly” 1,200,000 people have died in Kampuchea, many from disease or starvation, since the Communist takeover.

August 6. The prime minister of Thailand announces that there have been 400 border incursions by Kampuchea since the beginning of the year and threatens military action.

August 19. Khmer Rouge defectors to Thailand state that Pol Pot wields almost total power in Kampuchea and that Khieu Samphan is “only a figurehead”.

September 23. Following reports that 20 Soviet MiG aircraft have been delivered to Vientiane. Thailand imposes an embargo on oil, food, and “strategic supplies” for Laos.

September 27. The existence of the ruling Kampuchean Communist Party is officially confirmed for the first time; Prime Minister Pol Pot, who resumes office this month, is its secretary.

September. Vietnam is admitted to membership of the UN.

October. Kampuchea’s total isolation policy is relaxed when Pol Pot visits Peking and North Korea.

November. Announcement of talks to resolve difficulties between Kampuchea and Thailand.

Meo refugees state that more than 5,000 anti-government guerrillas have been killed in Laos in a major offensive by Laotian and Vietnamese troops near the Plain of Jars.

December 17-22. President Souphanouvong of Laos makes an official visit to Kampuchea.

December 31. Kampuchea accuses Vietnam of “criminal activities” in supporting abortive coupes in Kampuchea in 1975-1976.

Vietnam launches a major offensive into the Parrot’s Beak area of eastern Kampuchea; Talks between the US and Vietnam, aimed at stabilizing their relationship, are resumed. The number of refugees leaving Vietnam by sea in late 1977 is estimated at 1,500 per month; about 7,000 Vietnamese have been admitted to Australia since 1975.

1978

January 8. Vietnam states that nearly 1,330,000 people have been resettled in “new economic zones” in 1976-1977.

January 9-12. Vietnam signs an agreement with Thailand on trade and economic and technical cooperation; similar agreements are reached with Malaysia and the Philippines.

January-February. Vietnamese troops establish themselves within Kampuchea’s borders; Vietnam calls for a cease-fire and the establishment of a demilitarized zone along the border.

March 3. Vietnam announces that 90 percent of those placed in re-education camps since 1975 (a total variously estimated at between 40,000 and 400,000) have now been released.

June 20. Vietnam agrees that Chinese ships may evacuate members of Vietnam’s Chinese minority who wish to leave; the number is estimated at between 30,000 and 300,000. China claims that more than 130,000 Chinese have left Vietnam since the beginning of hostilities with Kampuchea.

June. Refugees from Kampuchea increase as Pol Pot launches a purification campaign. Since 1975, an estimated 2 million Kampucheans have died in purges of disease and starvation, or as a result of forcible resettlement.

Vietnam becomes a member of COMECON, the Soviet-dominated economic alliance. Encouraged by China, Kampuchea refuses a Vietnamese request for an immediate border cease-fire and settlement talks.

June-July. The propaganda war between China and Vietnam escalates as China reportedly moves 15 divisions to the Vietnamese border and Vietnam deploys five divisions to face them.

July. Vietnam launches a major offensive against Kampuchea; US sources estimate that up to 80,000 Vietnamese troops are committed.

September 1-5. Pham Van Dong accuses China of instigating Kampuchean aggression and subverting Vietnam’s Chinese minority.

Kampuchea accuses the USSR of supplying arms to Vietnam for the border conflict.

September 17. Following the visit of the UN high commissioner for refugees to Vietnam, Hanoi agrees to allow some of the 150,000 Cambodian refugees received since 1975 to leave for Western countries.

September. Pham Van Dong begins a tour to seek support from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Singapore Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

October. Kampuchean refugees are entering Thailand at the rate of 200 per week; 150,000 have escaped to Vietnam since the beginning of hostilities.

November 3. Vietnam and the USSR sign a mutual defense pact in Moscow; Vietnam accuses China of intensifying its military activities on the Sino-Vietnamese border.

November 9. Ending a five-day visit to Thailand to win support.

November 21. Sir Robert Thompson, counter-insurgency expert and former head of British Advisory Mission in Saigon, states that “The Vietnam War was lost on the television screens of the US”.

November 22. Malaysia states that there are now 37,947 Vietnamese refugees in the country illegally.

November 29. The US announces that it will double the number of refugees admitted for resettlement and that an extra 21,875 refugees – 75 per cent of them “boat people” – will be admitted by spring 1979. Malaysia estimates its refugee population at 42,500 and expresses concern that local hostility will trigger racial violence.

December 1. The newly appointed soviet ambassador to Thailand, Yuri Kuznetsov, accuses China of “interfering in the internal affairs of Vietnam” and fomenting war between Vietnam and Kampuchea, describing China as the foremost threat to peace and stability in Southeast Asia.

December 3. Vietnam announces the establishment of the ‘Kampuchea National United Front for National Salvation’ (KNUFNS) – a guerrilla organization similar to the Viet Cong – to fight against the Phnom Penh regime. It is the first Communist insurgency ever to seek the overthrow of a Communist government.

December 4. US intelligence reports heavy Kampuchean casualties in large-scale frontier battles.

December 5. The president of the Front for National Salvation is variously identified by Western observers as So Phin, a former commissar of the Kampuchean Communist Party, or Heng Samrin, a former Kampuchean Army officer.

December 7. Kampuchea, still avoiding mention of the Front for National Salvation, alleges that the USSR and Vietnam are conspiring to overthrow the Phnom Penh government. China denounces the Front as a Vietnamese tool to establish a “puppet regime” in Kampuchea, and warns that the effort will be expanded to include other Southeast Asia nations.

Western observers report that Vietnam is invading the ‘Parrot’s Beak’ and ‘Fish Hook’ areas of Kampuchea in strength. The front is seen as a way for Vietnam to avoid international condemnation by portraying the war as a “legitimate” movement by indigenous dissidents rather than an act of aggression by a foreign power.

December 10. Claiming that 40,000 Vietnamese troops have entered Kampuchea from Laos, Thailand places its army on the alert.

December 11. Vietnamese refugees reaching Australia claim that there has been a sharp increase in anti-Communist insurgency within Vietnam.

December 12. Following a clash between a Vietnamese gunboat and a Chinese fishing vessel, Radio Hanoi claims that Chinese troops have made an incursion into Cao Bang province and that China is moving “thousands of reinforcements” to border areas. At a 40-nation conference to discuss the refugee problem, in Geneva, Vietnam denies that it is organizing the flight of refugees by sea and claims that China is inciting the exodus of ethnic-minority refugees from Vietnam. The conference estimates that some 320,000 refugees have now fled from Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea; about 150,000 are in camps in Thailand.

December 15. Reports from Peking suggest that Pol Pot has been advised by the Chinese to leave Kampuchean capital, Phnom Penh, though this sprawling city is not under immediate threat, to wage a protracted guerrilla war from the countryside.

December 25. The anticipated all-out dry-season offensive is launched by Vietnamese-led forces in Kampuchea.

December 27. The master of a Panamanian freighter, Tung An, claiming to have saved about 2,500 refugees from the South China Sea on December 10, reported to officials in Manila Bay that 200 other refugees had fallen struggling into the sea and drowned in the panic to board the freighter.

1979

January 1. Kampuchean guerrillas claim in radio broadcasts to have overrun the Mekong River town of Kratie, “effectively placing the country’s north-east region under rebel control”.

January 2. Kampuchean President Khieu Samphan broadcasts that Vietnamese troops are attacking along a 200-mile wide front.

Radio Hanoi admits there is fighting under way deep in Kampuchea, but claims that KNUFNS guerrillas are acting alone.

January 3. Radio Phnom Penh broadcasts that the Kampuchean forces are abandoning classical warfare tactics for guerrilla operations.

January 4. Radio Phnom Penh claims 14,100 Vietnamese forces killed or wounded and 64 Soviet-built tanks destroyed in the week since the “invasion” began.

January 7. Radio Hanoi reports that the Kampuchean capital “has been successfully liberated”.

There are reports that Phnom Penh fell without conflict in the city itself, suggesting that Kampuchean Government leaders have escaped.

January 9. Vietnam is the first country to recognize a provisional revolutionary People’s Council set up in Phnom Penh on January 8. Recognition by Laos follows immediately. KNUFNS claims control of all 19 Kampuchean provinces, but heavy fighting is reported still in south-western and western regions.

January 11. Leng Sary, former Kampuchean deputy premier, flies into Hong Kong after Thai government apparently airlifted him from the border town of Pol Pet in an unmarked helicopter. Radio Hanoi announces that, under the new Phnom Penh regime Kampuchea would now be officially known as the People’s Republic of Kampuchea, and assures non-Communist Southeast Asian nations that Vietnam’s policies towards her neighbors would not be affected by recent conflict in Kampuchea.

January 15. A UN Security Council resolution presented by seven non-aligned states and supported by 13 other members, calling for a ceasefire in Kampuchea and the withdrawal of all foreign troops, was vetoed by the Soviet Union, whose ambassador, Mr. Troyanovsky, persists in supporting Vietnamese claims that no Vietnamese troops have taken part in the overthrow of the Phnom Penh regime.

January 16. Thai Navy sources reports a naval battle in the Gulf of Thailand between Vietnamese-led forces and units loyal to Pol Pot. At least 22 boats were thought to be involved in fierce fighting, part of a naval, air and amphibious operation by Vietnam/KNUFNS forces to seal off Kampuchea’s only stretch of coastline and to take control of Koh Kong island.

January 29. Radio Hanoi says that some 200 Chinese troops have raided the northern frontier province of Lang Son. Khmer Rouge guerrillas claim to have isolated the Vietnamese garrison in Phnom Penh and say that ten other Kampuchean cities are threatened.

February 6. Heng Samrin, president of the Kampuchean Revolutionary Council, calls on all citizens to oppose the Khmer rouge, who claim 736 Vietnamese killed and 18 tanks destroyed between 26 January-2 February. It is believed that Chinese supplies are reaching anti-government forces by way of Thailand.

February 9. The US State Department expresses “serious concern” at the Chinese buildup on the border with Vietnam, and similar concern at Vietnamese activity in Kampuchea.

February 15. Vietnam says that China is “feverishly preparing for war”. Western analysts believe that China now has 19 divisions (150,000 to 160,000 men) and several hundred military aircraft within 40 miles (64km) of the Vietnamese border.

February 16. Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong arrives in Phnom Penh for talks with Kampuchean leaders.

Western analysts estimate that Vietnam has 100,000 militia, with artillery and air support, near the Chinese border, and that up to 18 divisions are now committed in Kampuchea.

February 17. Some eight Chinese divisions attack 26 border-crossing points and invade Vietnam. Claiming that in the past six months Vietnam, “emboldened by the support of the Soviet Union”, has made more than 700 armed provocations against China, killing more than 300 Chinese, the official Chinese news agency says that, “driven beyond forbearance, Chinese frontier troops have been forced to rise in counter-attack”. It is emphasized that China has no territorial ambitions. The US calls for a Chinese withdrawal from Vietnam and a Vietnamese withdrawal from Kampuchea.

February 18.