| |
| 1971, Feb |
| |
| U.S. and South Vietnamese troops entered southern Laotian territory in an effort to sever the communications route between the NLF and the North Vietnamese regulars (See April). These U.S.-engineered moves of 1970–71 effectively enlarged the theater of war to all of former Indochina. | 1 |
| |
| 1972, Dec |
| |
| Late in the month, Hanoi and Haiphong came under heavy bombardment from U.S. warplanes, eliciting sharp international censure. | 2 |
| |
| 1973, Jan |
| |
| The Paris Peace Accords were signed (See 1973, Jan. 27). A cease-fire went into effect (Jan. 28), and U.S. forces were guaranteed safe withdrawal. South Vietnam lost the superior U.S. air power. | 3 |
| |
| 1975, April 30 |
| |
| Surrounded by Communist forces, Saigon accepted unconditional surrender, and South Vietnam's military forces were finally defeated by North Vietnam and the NLF. The U.S. embassy staff left the country. A provisional revolutionary government took over in South Vietnam. In a blow to the NLF, North Vietnam dispatched its own people to take over administration of the southern half of the country. Saigon was renamed Hô Chi Minh City. | 4 |
| The pre-1975 regime in the south had never secured a meaningful mandate from its populace; its rulers were extraordinarily corrupt military men, with little following outside the armed forces and related industries. Although better armed and possessing greater troop strength than the north, South Vietnam's anti-Communist rulers were not able to keep the trust of even the traditional anti-Communist elites, such as the Buddhist and Catholic clergy. All the billions of dollars in U.S. aid, hundreds of thousands of U.S. (and allied) troops, millions of tons of bombs, and threatening pronouncements made little difference on the field of battle, where North Vietnam and its Viêt Cong allies were willing to make countless sacrifices in the interest of ultimate victory. The U.S. lost 57,939 men and women; the Vietnamese lost 10 to 20 times that number. | 5 |
| |
| Nov |
| |
| A political consultative council met in Saigon to discuss reunification of the country. | 6 |
| |
| |
