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January
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The CIA begins supplying, training and supporting the
Hmong (Meo) tribesman in Laos under Vang Pao (Operation Momentum)
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1st
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Kong Le’s troops take control of the
Plaine des Jarres, join forces with the
Pathet Lao and receive airdropped Soviet supplies.
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6th
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Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev makes a speech promising support for "wars of national
liberation"
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7th
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The Royal Laotian Army launches a failed attempt to capture the Plaine des Jarres
from Kong Le, despite significant numerical superiority.
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20th
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John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States
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28th
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Kennedy approves the Counterinsurgency Plan (CIP) for Vietnam, which offers money
to increase the size of the Army and Civil Guard in exchange for
Ngo Dinh Diem broadening his government, streamlining the military chain
of command and agreeing a national strategy to defeat the
Viet Cong
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February
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13th
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U.S. opens negotiations on the CIP with Diem. The talks drag on until May without
much success as a result of his reluctance to move away from centralized decision-making.
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March
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15th
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Frederick Nolting Jr. replaces Elbridge Durbrow as U.S. ambassador to the Republic
of Vietnam
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23rd
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President Kennedy tells the American public "The security of all Southeast Asia
will be endangered if Laos loses its neutral independence."
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April
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9th
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Diem re-elected President of the Republic of Vietnam
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19th
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After 3 days of fighting, the CIA’s invasion force of 1,543 Cuban exiles is defeated
at the Bay of Pigs by Castro’s army. The U.S. Navy rescues 26 members of the Brigade,
the rest are captured or killed.
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May
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3rd
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The Royal Laotian Army and Pathet Lao declare a ceasefire, though PL / North Vietnamese
forces continue their attack on the Hmong outpost of Padong
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11th
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In National Security Action Memorandum (NSAM) 52, President Kennedy approves the
deployment of a 400-man Special Forces group to Nha Trang to accelerate
ARVN training.
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11th - 13th
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U.S. Vice President Lyndon Johnson visits South Vietnam and proclaims strong U.S.
support for Diem.
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16th
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A Laos peace conference is convened in Geneva attended by the Neutralists, Pathet
Lao and Rightists. Also in attendance are Laos’ neighbours, the
ICC member countries as well as the U.S. and France.
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June
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1st
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CIA backed Hmong tribesman abandon Padong to the Pathet Lao / North Vietnamese,
and establish a new base at Long Cheng
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9th
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President Ngo Dinh Diem requests U.S. troops to train the Republic of Vietnam Armed
Forces (RVNAF) officers and technical specialists. He also proposes increasing the
ARVN from 170,000 to 270,000 men and that
MAAG be enlarged accordingly to train the new soldiers.
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27th
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In order to avoid accusations of violating the Laos ceasefire agreement, the CIA
stop all military shipments to the Hmong
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August
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11th
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In NSAM 65 Kennedy agrees to support an increase in the ARVN to 200,000 men, if
Diem produces a plan for using the forces.
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September
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15th
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MAAG Vietnam publishes the “Geographically Phased National Level Operation Plan
for Counterinsurgency”. It improves on the original CIP with a specific three-phase
timetable of operations for winning control of the countryside from the Viet Cong.
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18th
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Viet Cong forces attack Phuoc Vinh, 55 miles from Saigon, and behead the province
chief
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21st
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5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces activated at Fort Bragg
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30th
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The British Advisory Mission (BRIAM) is established in Saigon under Robert Thompson
to advise and assist the GVN
in their efforts to suppress the Communist insurgency
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October
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5th
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National Intelligence Estimate states that 80% to 90% of the Viet Cong are recruited
locally, rather than infiltrating from the North.
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11th
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President Kennedy, in NSAM 104, authorizes the introduction of the ‘Air Force
"Jungle Jim" Squadron into Viet Nam for the inital purpose of training Vietnamese
forces.’ Codenamed "Farm
Gate", detachment 2A of the 4400th Combat Crew Training Squadron departs
for its covert mission in Vietnam on November 5th.
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18th
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RVN President Diem proclaims a state of emergency
General Maxwell D. Taylor, President Kennedy’s Special Military Representative,
arrives in Vietnam to investigate the possibility of employing U.S. combat troops.
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November
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U.S. Special Forces, under the direction of the CIA, begin working with the
Montagnard tribesman of Buon Enao village as a counterinsurgency experiment.
They fortify the hamlet and create a 30-man strike force to patrol the village and
to conduct ambushes to ward off Viet Cong.
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1st
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In a eyes only cable to President Kennedy, General Taylor states that the Viet Cong
guerrillas are well on their way to success in South Vietnam. He recommends increasing
the number of American advisory personnel, improving ARVN mobility and argues that
a U.S. task force (6-8,000 troops) be sent under the guise of assisting with flood
relief in the Mekong Delta. The task force would "conduct such combat operations
as are necessary for self-defense and for the security of the area in which (it)
is stationed"
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3rd
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In his formal report to President Kennedy, General Maxwell Taylor recommends:
- U.S. military forces be sent to Vietnam to demonstrate American resolve and boost
ARVN confidence
- To solve the weaknesses of the Diem regime the U.S. should form a “limited partnership”
with GVN. (i.e. in exchange for increased material assistance the U.S. would expect
to "share in decision-making", rather than "advise only")
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7th
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Special National Intelligence Estimate 10-4-61 assesses that North Vietnam would
respond to larger U.S troop commitments by increasing support to the Viet Cong
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13th
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Robert Thompson, head of BRIAM in Saigon, submits to Diem a plan to clear the Viet
Cong from the Mekong Delta and to secure the population through the creation of
“strategic” and “defended hamlets”. Rather than killing insurgents, the plan aims
to win the loyalty of the rural population by providing the necessary security for
economic and social improvements to progress.
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22nd
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In NSAM 111 President Kennedy adopts most of Maxwell
Taylor's “limited partnership” recommendations, but decides not to send combat troops
to Vietnam. The U.S. will substantially increase the number of advisors and provide
GVN with helicopters and transport aircraft. In return Diem is expected to broaden
his government and streamline the military command structure.
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25th
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Diem tells Ambassador Nolting that the quid pro quo aspects of the U.S proposal
will allow the Communists to capture the nationalist cause. He also states that
broadening the government to make it more popular is putting the cart before the
horse. Giving security to the people is vital to regain popular support.
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27th
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State Department tells Ambassador Nolting to drop the insistence on explicit U.S.
influence on decisions by Diem's government. Instead, State assumes such influence
will be a by-product of the close collaboration between U.S. and GVN.
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December
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11th
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The first U.S. Army helicopter units, the 57th and 8th Transportation Companies,
arrive in Saigon. The 32 "Flying Banana" CH-21 helicopters are to provide air transportation
for ARVN soldiers.
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31st
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U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam: 3,205
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February
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3rd
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President Diem creates the Inter-Ministerial Committee for
Strategic Hamlets (IMCSH). Nominally under Bui Van Long, the committee is
actually controlled by the President’s brother, Ngo Dinh Nhu.
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8th
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Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)
formed to support the increased American involvement in RVN. Headquartered in Saigon
it is placed under the command of General Paul D. Harkins. MAAG remains responsible
for training the Republic of Vietnam’s Armed Forces (RVNAF).
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March
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19th
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Diem approves Robert Thompson’s Delta Pacification Plan
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22nd
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GVN launches Operation Sunrise, a test of the Strategic Hamlet program. Rather than
beginning in the Mekong Delta, Diem chooses the heavily infiltrated province of
Binh Duong, north of Saigon.
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April
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15th
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Marine Helicopter squadrons arrive in Soc Trang, southwest of Saigon, as part of
Operation Shufly. The Marines are to provide air support to ARVN troops fighting
the Viet Cong.
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May
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8th
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Pathet Lao forces attack Phoumi Nosavan’s garrison in Nam Tha in northwest Laos.
The defenders flee across the Mekong.
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15th
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Kennedy sends 5,000 Marines and 50 jet fighters to Thailand in response to the recent
Communist attacks in Laos
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June
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23rd
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Souvanna Phouma forms a new coalition government in Laos with the neutralists, Pathet
Lao and rightists all having seats in the cabinet.
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July
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23rd
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After receiving optimistic reports on the situation in Vietnam, Defense Secretary
Robert McNamara requests the development of a plan to build up the RVNAF and phase-out
U.S. involvement by 1965.
All 14 nations sign the Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos in Geneva. The agreement
states that all foreign military personnel are to leave the country by October 7th
1962.
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31st
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The Australian Army Training Team, Vietnam (AATTV)
begins to arrive in South Vietnam to assist with teaching the ARVN
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August
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14th
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General Paul Harkins, head of MACV, is instructed to develop a Comprehensive Plan
for South Vietnam (CPSVN) in accordance with McNamara’s directive of 23rd July.
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October
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6th
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All U.S military personnel, including Special Forces, are withdrawn from Laos, in
accordance with the Geneva neutrality agreement.
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14th
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A U-2 spy plane photographs Soviet nuclear missile sites in Cuba
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22nd
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In a televised address President Kennedy announces the discovery of medium-range
ballistic missiles (MRBM) in Cuba
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27th
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An American U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba
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28th
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Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that he has agreed to remove the missiles
from Cuba
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November
|
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26th
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Diem reorganizes the RVNAF and increases the Corps Tactical Zones (CTZ)
from three to four
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December
|
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31st
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U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam: 11,300
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