1965
A. March 8, 1965
Two battalions of U.S. Marines land in Da Nang.                     
B. August 18 To 24, 1965
First major U.S. ground combat operation. Marines maul the 1st Viet Cong Regiment, the 60th Battalion is destroyed, and the 80th Battalion suffers heavy losses.
C. November 10 To 20, 1965
On November 14, the 1st Battalion 7th Cavalry lands between two North Vietnamese Army regiments. Though nearly overrun several times, troops hold out. On November 17,however, the NVA ambushes the 2nd Battalion 7th Cavalry. American casualties are heavy.

1966
D. January 24 To March 6, 1966
Masher/White Wing - First U.S. search-and-destroy operation of the war. The 1st Cavalry Division forces two VC and two NVA regiments away from the coast of II Corps and into the An Loa Valley.

1967
E. February 22 To May 14, 1967
Junction City - Twenty-six Allied battalions attack War Zone C in an attempt to eliminate the Viet Cong's 9th Division. Fighting is sporadic but heavy. By the end of Junction City, 2,728 VC and NVA are killed in action. U.S. casualties are 282 killed and 1,576 wounded.

1967-1968
F. October 1967 To March 1968
Khe Sanh - After preliminary skirmishes, two reinforced NVA divisions attack Marines, beginning a classic siege by constructing trenches. Zigzag approaches and parallels. On February 29, the NVA launches the only serious ground attack of the siege but is driven back. On April 8, the 1st Cavalry Division links up with the Marines , ending the siege.

1968
January 30 To February 24, 1968
Tet Offensive - The NVA and Viet Cong attack with approximately 84,000 troops. Fighting is bloody, but within a few days they are turned back nearly everywhere except Hue, where they manage to hold out until March 2. Though the communists lose more than 50,000 men, Tet is the decisive battle of the war and a strategic psychological accomplishment for them.

1969
G. May 11 To 20, 1969
Hamburger Hill - A patrol runs into the NVA 29th regiment on Ap Bia Mountain and suffers heavy casualties. The Air Force pounds the NVA with bombs and napalm, while artillery and helicopter gunships hammer them. The position is finally taken in a four-battalion assault and brutal bunker-by-bunker, hand-to-hand combat.

1970
H. April 25 To June 30, 1970
Cambodian Incursion - President Nixon orders ground forces into Cambodia. The Cambodian incursion eventually involves 50,000 ARVN and 30,000 U.S. troops, the largest Allied operation of the war. The incursion provides the South Vietnamese a one-year breather as the Americans withdraw.
I. July 1 To 23, 1970
Fire Base Ripcord in western Thua Tien province is attacked. The battle is the costliest of the year. On July 20, reconnaissance patrols report between 9,000 and 11,000 NVA around the base. On July 23, the remaining 300 defenders withdraw, and B-52s destroy what is left.

1972
J. April 1972
An Loc - As a key element of the "Easter Offensive," several VC and NVA divisions strike An Loc. The ARVN 5th Infantry Division, supported by B-52s and gunships, repulse the attack. The last American casualty of the war is killed by artillery in An Loc.
August 11, 1972
The last American combat units depart Vietnam.

1975
K. April 29 To 30, 1975
Fall of Saigon - Ambassador Graham Martin orders evacuation of U.S. Embassy in Saigon. Communists seize presidential palace, and General Duog Van Minh surrenders. The Republic of Vietnam ceases to exist.
L. May 12 To 14, 1975
Khmer Rouge seize U.S. merchant ship Mayaguez in the Gulf of Thailand. Marines attack Koh Tang Island and bomb Rearn Air Force Base. The ship and crew are recovered.

 

Ho Chi Minh Trial

An intricate network of jungle trails, paths, and roads leading from the panhandle of Northern Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia into the border provinces of South Vietnam. At the height of the Vietnam War, it was a major re-supply artery for Hanoi's armed forces operating in South Vietnam.

Source: Philip Gutzman, author of "Vietnam: A Visual Encyclopedia," Gutzman is a multiple-tour Vietnam veteran who served in three of the four Corps areas during the war. He also authored the book: "A Dictionary of Military, Defense Contractor and Troop Slang Acronyms."