|
January
|
|
2nd
|
At Ap Bac, ARVN units
equipped with U.S. helicopters and armored personnel carriers suffer their first
major pitched battle defeat by
Viet Cong forces.
|
|
May
|
|
8th
|
Buddhists in Hue demonstrate against a recently imposed ban on the public display
of religious flags. When initial attempts to disperse the crowd fail, government
troops fire on the protesters, killing nine and wounding fourteen.
President Diem blames the incident on the Viet Cong.
|
|
10th
|
Buddhist clergy submit a manifesto to the
GVN. Their demands include; freedom to fly the Buddhist flag, legal equality
with the Catholic church and the punishment of the perpetrators of the May 8th incident.
|
|
18th
|
Ambassador Nolting attempts to persuade Diem to address the Buddhist grievances
and admit responsibility for the May 8th incident.
|
|
30th
|
Approximately 350 Buddhist monks demonstrate in front of the National Assembly in
Saigon.
|
|
June
|
|
4th
|
GVN creates a committee headed by Vice President Tho to resolve the Buddhist dispute.
|
|
11th
|
A Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc, burns himself to death in protest against the
Diem regime. The incident shocks the world.
|
|
16th
|
Following negotiations, a joint GVN-Buddhist communique outlines details of a settlement.
However, no responsibility for the May 8th incident is affixed and the agreement
only papers over the crisis.
|
|
17th
|
GVN crushes further Buddhist riots
|
|
27th
|
President Kennedy announces that Henry Cabot Lodge will replace Frederick Nolting
as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam (RVN).
|
|
July
|
|
15th
|
Ambassador Nolting convinces Diem make a radio address announcing concessions to
the Buddhists.
|
|
19th
|
Under U.S. pressure, Diem coldly delivers a two-minute radio address announcing
minor Buddhist concessions.
|
|
August
|
|
5th
|
A second Buddhist monk commits suicide by fire in protest against Diem’s administration.
Madame Nhu, the wife of Diem's brother, refers to the immolations as barbecues.
|
|
14th
|
In his final meeting with Ambassador Nolting, Diem agrees to publicly repudiate
Madame Nhu's remarks.
|
|
15th
|
Diem tells the New York Herald Tribune that conciliation with the Buddhists has
been his policy from the start
|
|
20th
|
Senior Generals ask Diem to declare martial law so that they can return Buddhist
monks from outside Saigon to their own provinces and thereby reduce tensions in
the capital. Diem approves the request at midnight.
|
|
21st
|
Under the cover of martial law, forces loyal to Nhu ransack Pagodas across the country,
arresting over 1,400 monks. The raids finally destroy any U.S. illusions about Diem's
conciliatory approach to the Buddhists.
|
|
22nd
|
Henry Cabot Lodge, the new U.S. Ambassador, arrives in Saigon
|
|
23rd
|
General Kim, deputy to General Don, tell Rufus Phillips of the U.S. mission that
a firm American stand for the removal of the Nhus would unify the army and permit
it to act against them.
|
|
24th
|
Ambassador Lodge tells the State Department that "Nhu, probably with the full support
of Diem, had a large hand in planning the action against the Buddhists..."
Believing that Dem's handling of the crisis is losing popular support and harming
the war effort, State Department officials Hilsman, Harriman and Forrestal instruct
Lodge that the U.S. can no longer tolerate Nhu's continuation in power. If Diem
is unwilling to remove Nhu, the generals are to be told that the U.S. will be prepared
to halt economic and military support and will assist them any interim breakdown
of the GVN.
The authors of the Aug 24 cable are widely criticised in Washington for encouraging
a coup. However, neither the White House or the State Department rescind the instructions
to Lodge
|
|
29th
|
General Duong Van Minh tells the CIA's Lou Conein that the U.S. should suspend aid
to Diem's regime as a sign of U.S. support for the coup
|
|
31st
|
Unable to get sufficient forces to Saigon, General Minh calls off the coup.
|
|
September
|
|
2nd
|
In an interview with Walter Cronkite, President Kennedy says that more effort is
needed by the GVN to win popular support. This can be achieved "with changes in
policy and perhaps personnel".
|
|
10th
|
General Krulak and Joseph Mendenhall return from a 4-day assessment trip to Vietnam.
Krulack reports that the shooting war is going well and that the political crisis
has had little impact. Disagreeing, Mendenhall argues that disaffection with Diem's
regime threatens the breakdown of the government. After receiving the contradictory
reports President Kennedy asks "You two did visit the same country, didn't you?"
|
|
11th
|
The White House delays economic aid renewal for Vietnam whilst examining how it
might used to pressure Diem.
|
|
October
|
|
2nd
|
After visiting Vietnam to further assess the military and political situation, Defense
Secretary Robert McNamara and General Maxwell Taylor confirm the progress of the
war. However, they recommend that some aid be suspended (but without formal announcement)
to put pressure on Diem to reform. They also advise against a coup but state that
alternative leadership should be identified and cultivated.
In accordance with the McNamara-Taylor recommendations, the White House announces
plans to withdraw 1,000 U.S. troops from Vietnam by the end of the year.
|
|
5th
|
President Kennedy approves the McNamara-Taylor recommendations, including the unannounced
suspension of the commodity import program.
In a meeting with the CIA's Lou Conein, General Minh ask for clarification of the
U.S. position with respect to a change of government in South Vietnam.
|
|
6th
|
President Kennedy tells Ambassador Lodge, the U.S. doesn’t want to stimulate a coup
against Diem, but does not wish to thwart one either.
|
|
27th
|
Diem meets with Ambassador Lodge, but is unwilling to discuss changes to his administration
|
|
27th
|
Lodge tells Washington that he is powerless to stop the coup, the matter is entirely
in Vietnamese hands.
|
|
November
|
|
1st
|
General Duong Van Minh leads an assault on the Presidential palace. Diem and Nhu
initially manage to escape to the Cholon area of Saigon via an underground passage.
After finally surrendering the following morning, the pair are murdered in the back
of an Amored Personnel Carrier.
|
|
5th
|
The new government of South Vietnam (GVN) is announced. General Minh becomes President
and Chief of the Military Committee, which will oversee a civilian cabinet.
|
|
5th
|
General Minh is announced as Chairman of the Executive committee of the Military
Revolutionary Council
|
|
8th
|
The U.S. recognizes the new GVN
|
|
22nd
|
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is
sworn in as the new U.S. leader.
|
|
26th
|
In National Security Action Memorandum 273
President Johnson reaffirms Kennedy's policies and establishes economic and military
aid to the new Minh government. NSAM 273 also states that plans should be developed
for covert military operations up to 50km into Laos and asks the GVN to focus its
counterinsurgency efforts on the Mekong Delta, where the Viet Cong threat is greatest.
|
|
December
|
|
6th
|
A USOM report on Long An province in the Mekong Delta describes the near collapse
of the
Strategic Hamlet program.
|
|
31st
|
U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam: 16,300
|
General Nguyen Khanh, commander of II Corps, seizes power from the Minh government
North Vietnam begins infiltration of regular army units in to the South.
Gen. Westmoreland replaces General Paul Harkins as MACV Commander
New Zealand troops arrive to work with the Australians in Phuoc Tuy province.
The Viet Cong launch their first major attack against a U.S. military base. The
camp at Nam Dong is home to USSF Detachment A-726. Special Forces Captain
Roger H. C. Donlon will be awarded the first Medal of Honour of the Vietnam
war for his actions during the battle.
23,000 U.S. military personnel in Vietnam.
