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1969
January 1969
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President Richard M. Nixon takes office as the new President of the United States . With regard to Vietnam , he promises to achieve "Peace With Honor." His aim is to negotiate a settlement that will allow the half million U.S. troops in Vietnam to be withdrawn, while still allowing South Vietnam to survive.
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President Richard M. Nixon |
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February 1969
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In spite of government restrictions, President Nixon authorizes Operation Menu, the bombing of North Vietnamese and Vietcong bases within Cambodia . Over the following four years, U.S. forces will drop more than a half million tons of bombs on Cambodia .
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February 22, 1969
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In a major offensive, assault teams and artillery attack American bases all over South Vietnam , killing 1,140 Americans. At the same time, South Vietnamese towns and cities are also hit. The heaviest fighting is around Saigon , but fights rage all over South Vietnam . Eventually, American artillery and airpower overwhelm the Vietcong offensive.
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An American soldier leaps into a bunker during a Vietcong assault |
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April 1969
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U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam exceed the 33,629 men killed in the Korean War.
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June 8, 1969
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President Nixon meets with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu on Midway Island in the Pacific, and announces that 25,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn immediately.
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1970
April 29, 1970
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South Vietnamese troops attack into Cambodia , pushing toward Vietcong bases. Two days later, a U.S. force of 30,000 -- including three U.S. divisions -- mount a second attack. Operations in Cambodia last for 60 days, and uncover vast North Vietnamese jungle supply depots. They capture 28,500 weapons, as well as over 16 million rounds of small arms ammunition, and 14 million pounds of rice. Although most Vietcong manage to escape across the Mekong , there are over 10,000 casualties.
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1971
February 8, 1971
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In Operation Lam Son 719, three South Vietnamese divisions drive into Laos to attack two major enemy bases. Unknowingly, they are walking into a North Vietnamese trap. Over the next month, more than 9,000 South Vietnamese troops are killed or wounded. More than two thirds of the South Vietnamese Army's armored vehicles are destroyed, along with hundreds of U.S. helicopters and planes.
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A South Vietnamese soldier crouches behind a hill in Operation Lam Son 719 |
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Summer 1971
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While herbicides containing Dioxin were banned for use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1968, spraying of Agent Orange continues in Vietnam until 1971. Operation Ranchhand has sprayed 11 million gallons of Agent Orange -- containing 240 pounds of the lethal chemical Dioxin -- on South Vietnam . More than one seventh of the country's total area has been laid waste.
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1972
January 1, 1972
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Only 133,000 U.S. servicemen remain in South Vietnam . Two thirds of America 's troops have gone in two years. The ground war is now almost exclusively the responsibility of South Vietnam , which has over 1,000,000 men enlisted in its armed forces.
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