Vietnam War Chronology
Chronology of the Vietnam War, 1954-1975
"`We Held The Day In The Palm of Our Hand': Vietnam in History and Literature"
1954
May 7 --- French surrender at Dien Bien Phu.
May 8 --- Geneva conference on Indochina begins.
June 26 --- Ngo Dinh Diem arrives in Saigon as premier-designate of a democratic state in southern Vietnam.
July 21 --- Geneva conference ends with three ceasefires and an unsigned final declaration.
September 8 --- The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization is established with an extension offering protection to Cambodia, Laos, and the
Republic of Vietnam.
1955
January 1 --- U.S. aid begins flowing to the Diem government.
February 12 --- U.S. advisers replace French in training Diem's army.
March --- Diem defeats the sects.
June 28 --- John Foster Dulles states that the United States was not a party to the Geneva "armistice agreements."
August 9 --- The Diem government refuses to negotiate with the DRV concerning elections to unify the country.
August 31 --- Dulles supports Diem's position concerning nation-wide elections on unification.
October 23 --- Fraudulent referendum held to establish a republic and depose Bao Dai, 98.2% ballots support Diem.
October 26 --- The Republic of Vietnam proclaimed with Ngo Dinh Deim as first president.
1956
April 6 --- RVN declares it under no obligation to abide by the Geneva Agreements since it did not sign the documents. Saigon turns down Hanoi's offer to negotiate.
April 28 --- U.S. Military Assistance and Advisory Group officially takes over from the French in order to train ARVN.
July 21 --- The time limit expires concerning the referendum on elections to unify the country.
September --- The Vietnam Workers' Party, Communist, Party Central Committee declares that land reform is completed and forecasts a difficult struggle for unification.
December --- Instructions from the Politburo tell Southern Cadres to persist in the political struggle, while preparing for both self defense and armed propaganda in the South.