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January
The United States resumes bombing after a New Year truce. Operation
McLain, a pacification program in Binh Dinh Province, continues. Operation
Pershing II, also in Binh Dinh Province, continues and is followed by Operation
Jeb Stuart.
North Vietnamese troops stage a series of attacks close to the United States
Marine stronghold at Khe Sanh, near the demilitarized zone and the Laotian border.
The United States Army shifts 15,000 paratroops and other men to the northern
most area of South Vietnam to help the Marines there meet what Gen.William
Westmoreland describes as a "sizable invasion" by the North
Vietnamese.
The Communists begin the Tet (Lunar New Year) offensive with attacks on major
cities in the South. A Vietcong terrorist attack on the United States
Embassy in Saigon ends after a wild night that saw the Vietcong terror squad
take and hold a section of the embassy grounds against initial attempts by U.S.
rescue forces to fight their way in.
The Vietcong capture Hue, and a long siege begins there.
February
Vietcong forces hold pockets of Saigon and other areas after their spectacular
attacks on cities and American bases throughout South Vietnam. President Nguyen
Van Thieu declares a nationwide state of martial law.
Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams takes his renowned picture of a
South Vietnamese police chief executing a Vietcong officer with a single shot to
the head.
Vicious street fighting continues in many South Vietnamese towns and cities,
and the Vietcong attack three more province capitals as the Tet offensive rages
on.
President Johnson responds to the new enemy challenges in South Vietnam with a
vow that "the enemy will fail again and again" because "we
Americans will never yield".
United States marines in Hue storm into enemy-held houses, throwing canisters
of tear gas and nonpoisonous nausea gas, but enemy forces don gas masks and hold
onto most of the city.
Secretary of State Dean Rusk says that the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong,
in carrying out their general offensive, spurned a month-long diplomatic
sounding by the United States aimed at starting peace talks.
In Operation Tran Hung Dao, South Vietnamese troops are sent into Saigon to help
root out Vietcong guerrillas and bring the fighting there to an end. Operation
Maeng Ho 10, a South Korean operation in Binh Dinh Province, is under way.
Operation Napoleon/Saline, a Marine operation in Quang Tn Province, is under
way.
United States troops are also in Saigon to end the fighting there.
The American-led camp at Lang Vei, near the heavily defended United States
Marine stronghold at Khe Sanh, falls after being assaulted by Soviet—made
tanks.
The Johnson Administration begins rushing 10,500 more combat troops to South
Vietnam to reinforce its stretched lines of defense and to cope with the threat
of another enemy assault on Vietnamese cities.
South Vietnamese troops capture the Imperial Palace in Hue. The capture of the
700-yard—square walled palace area seems to signal the collapse of heavy enemy
resistance, and the battle of Hue appears to be nearing its end.
The United States mission in Saigon concedes that the allied effort to pacify
the countryside has suffered a "considerable setback" as a result of
the Vietcong offensive.
CBS News Correspondent Walter Cronkite returns from Saigon and reports that it
seems "more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to
end in a stalemate."
Gen. Earle Wheeler sends his report on the Tet offensive to President Johnson,
concluding that although the enemy failed in its objective to bring the war to
an end, it has the will and capability to continue fighting.
March
Operation Truong Cong Dinh and Operation People's Road begin. The objective of
Operation People's Road is to provide security for engineers working on Route 4.
Clark Clifford replaces Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense.
Vietcong guerrillas storm into the capital of South Vietnam's southernmost
province, An Xuyen, and occupy a hospital for several hours. In fighting that
rages for most of the day, the hospital, the American military compound and some
public buildings are extensively damaged. More than 1,000 homes are destroyed.
General Westmoreland asks for 206,000 more American troops for Vietnam, and
the request touches off a divisive internal debate within high levels of the
Johnson Administration.
The allied forces announce that they have launched the largest offensive
operation of the war to date in an effort to capture or destroy the 8,000 to
10,000 enemy troops believed to be near Saigon.
United States soldiers, led by Lt. William Calley under the command of Captain
Ernest L. Medina, massacre -a reported 347 men, women and children in the hamlet
of My Lai. The incident is not revealed publicly for more than a year.
The Central Intelligence Agency concludes that the enemy's strength in South
Vietnam at the beginning of the Tet offensive was significantly greater than
United States officials thought
at the time.
It is reported that in a year-end report submitted 29 days before the offensive,
General Westmoreland predicted that the allied war gains of the previous year
would be increased manyfold in 1968.
President Johnson announces his intention to appoint General Westmoreland as
Army Chief of Staff, replacing him as commander of American forces in Vietnam
sometime before July 2.
North Vietnamese infantrymen attack American troops near Kontum with flame
throwers, grenades and machine guns in one of the most savage battles in months.
President Johnson announces: "I shall not seek and I will not accept the
nomination of my party as your President."
President Johnson announces that he has ordered a halt in the air and naval
bombardment of most of North Vietnam and invites the Hanoi Government to join
him in a "series of mutual moves toward peace." It is also reported
that the President, without announcing it, has limited air strikes from the
demilitarized zone to the 19th parallel, a stretch of about 170 miles.
April
Operation Pegasus/Lam Son 207, an offensive to relieve Khe Sanh, begins.
Operation Carentan II begins in Quang Tn and Thua Thien Provinces. Operation
Burlington Trail, a sweep in Quang Tin Province, is under way. Operation
Scotland II continues around Khe Sanh.
North Vietnam and the United States exchange public statements in which they
agree to establish contact between their representatives.
CBS News correspondent Charles Collingwood interviews North Vietnam's Foreign
Minister, Nguyen Duy Trinh, who says that his Government is prepared to meet
with the United States.
A major offensive aimed at relieving the isolated Marine fortress at Khe Sanh is
opened by American and South~ Vietnamese troops. Two days later, the 76-day
North Vietnamese siege of the base is officially declared lifted.
President Johnson designates Gen. Creighton W. Abrams as the next commander of
American forces in South Vietnam, succeeding General Westmoreland.
President Johnson orders 24,500 military reservists called to active duty to
meet the needs of the Vietnam War and strengthen the depleted Active Strategic
Reserve.
Operation Delaware/Lam Son 216, a massive assault in the Ashau Valley, an enemy
stronghold near the Laotian border, begins.
May
The United States Command says that the massive sweep into the Ashau Valley has
cut off a major infiltration route for the North Vietnamese.
The United States and North Vietnam agree to begin formal talks in Paris in the
next week or soon thereafter.
Operation Allen Brook in southern Quang Nam Province is under way. Operation Jeb
Stuart III, airmobile operations along the Quang Tn and Thua Thien Province
borders, begins. Operation Nevada Eagle continues in Thua Thien Province.
Operation Mameluke Thrust, a 1st Marine Division operation in
Quang Nam Province, is under way.
As part of a series of assaults across South Vietnam, the
Vietcong step up attacks on Saigon, lobbing mortar shells and rockets
on the city's Tan Son Nhut air base, the national police headquarters, a power
station and South Vietnamese military installation.
It is reported that a group of Americans with long experience in South Vietnam's
pacification program have prepared a report suggesting that sweeping changes are
needed if the allies want to win control of the countryside.
June
Operation Toan Thang II continues in Saigon.
Gen. Westmoreland leaves Vietnam and returns to the United States as Chief of
Staff of the Army.
Americans abandon Khe Sanh. Hanoi says the United States was forced to
retreat from the base at Khe Sanh.
July
Operation Quyet Chien, operations in IV Corps, is under way.
B-52 bombers resume their missions north of the demilitarized zone. They had
been suspended in May.
President Johnson meets with South Vietnam President Thieu in Hawaii. He says
that United States support of the war will continue unless North Vietnam
agrees to some form of mutual de-escalation.
August
Operation Lam Son 245, ARVN operation in Thua Thien Province, is under way.
Operation Tien Bo, ARVN operation in Quang Duc Province, is under way.
The North Vietnamese attack three of the four military regions of South
Vietnam.
Police and National Guardsmen battle anti—war demonstrators in downtown
Chicago, about 100 are injured.
September
Operation Lam Son 261, ARVN operation in Thua Thien and Quang Tn Provinces, is
under way.
October
Operation Lam Son 271, ARVN operation in Quang Tn Province, is under way.
Operation Henderson Hill, a Marine search—and—clear operation in Quang Nam
Province, is under way.
President Johnson proposes enlarging the formal peace talks to include the
Vietcong and the South Vietnamese government.
President Johnson announces that the United States will cease all air, naval and
artillery bombardment of North Vietnam as of Nov.
November
It is disclosed that United 'States bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos
will be stepped up to compensate for the end of bombing in North Vietnam.
South Vietnamese President Thieu says his government will not attend peace talks
scheduled to begin in Paris in a few days until North Vietnam agrees not to
include the National Liberation Front as a separate delegation.
The North Vietnamese begin shelling United States positions south of the
demilitarized zone for the first time since the bombing halt.
Defense Secretary Clark M. Clifford warns South Vietnam that the peace talks may
go on without them, unless they agree to participate.
Saigon announces that it is "prepared to participate" in expanded
Vietnam peace talks. American officials assure the South Vietnamese Government
that its negotiators will "take the lead" in talks on South Vietnam's
political future.
The Phoenix Program is initiated to neutralize the Vietcong.
December
Operation Speedy Express begins. Operation Taylor Common begins in Quang Nam
Province. Operation Le Loi I, ARVN pacification operation, begins.
Allies accuse the Vietcong of breaking a Christmas truce. Two attacks are
reported 536,000 United States troops are in Vietnam at years end.
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