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South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
Timeline of Events
1954
7.21.1954
First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
10.24.1954
Dwight D. Eisenhower pledges United States support to South Vietnam
1955
5.18.1955
Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
10.26.1955
Ngô Đình Diệm declares himself Premier of South Vietnam.
1957
2.22.1957
Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam survived a communist shooting assassination attempt in Ban Me Thuot.
9.2.1957
President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam becomes the first foreign head of state to make a state visit to Australia.
1958
8.31.1958
A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, fails to kill King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
1960
11.11.1960
A military coup against President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam is crushed.
1961
11.18.1961
United States President John F. Kennedy sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam.
1963
5.30.1963
A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam's National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
6.3.1963
The Buddhist crisis: Soldiers of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam attack protesting Buddhists in Huế, South Vietnam, with liquid chemicals from tear gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalised for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
6.11.1963
Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
11.2.1963
South Vietnamese President Ngô Ðình Diệm is assassinated following a military coup.
11.6.1963
Vietnam War: Following the November 1 coup and execution of President Ngo Dinh Diem, coup leader General Duong Van Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam.
11.24.1963
Vietnam War: Newly sworn-in US President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms that the United States intends to continue supporting South Vietnam both militarily and economically.
1964
7.19.1964
Vietnam War: at a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
7.20.1964
Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Dinh Tuong Province, Cai Be, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of which are children).
7.27.1964
Vietnam War: 5,000 more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
8.16.1964
Vietnam War: A ''coup d'état'' replaces Duong Van Minh with General Nguyen Khanh as President of South Vietnam. A new constitution is established with aid from the U.S. Embassy.
9.18.1964
North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration of South Vietnam.
1965
2.9.1965
Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam.
5.27.1965
Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
6.9.1965
Civilian Prime Minister of South Vietnam Phan Huy Quat resigned after being unable to work with a junta led by Nguyen Cao Ky.
6.14.1965
Nguyen Cao Ky became Prime Minister of South Vietnam at the head of a military junta; General Nguyen Van Thieu became the figurehead chief of state.
6.18.1965
Vietnam War: The United States uses B-52 bombers to attack National Liberation Front guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
7.28.1965
Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
9.7.1965
Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlight, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Piranha on the Batangan Peninsula.
10.23.1965
Vietnam War: The 1st Cavalry Division (United States) (Airmobile), in conjunction with South Vietnamese forces, launches a new operation seeking to destroy North Vietnamese forces in Pleiku in the II Corps Tactical Zone (the Central Highlands).
11.28.1965
Vietnam War: In response to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson's call for "more flags" in Vietnam, Philippines President Elect Ferdinand Marcos announces he will send troops to help fight in South Vietnam.
1966
1.12.1966
Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
3.10.1966
Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyen Cao Ky sacked rival General Nguyen Chanh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
5.15.1966
After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky of South Vietnam's ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Ton That Dinh, forcing him to abandon his command.
12.24.1966
A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.
1967
12.4.1967
Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta.
1968
1.22.1968
Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.
1.30.1968
Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks in South Vietnam.
2.1.1968
Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.
2.24.1968
Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
7.26.1968
Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzũ is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
11.11.1968
Vietnam War: Operation Commando Hunt initiated. The goal is to interdict men and supplies on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, through Laos into South Vietnam.