that ruled the northern half of Vietnam
from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference
and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War
, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout the country. It is also known as North Vietnam from 1954 to 1976.
During World War II
, Vietnam was a French
colony under Japanese occupation.
1945 Vietnam declares its independence, forming the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
1946 Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1954 First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
1954 First Indochina War: The Viet Minh take control of North Vietnam.
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.
1964 Vietnam War: at a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Khanh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
1964 Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving US President Lyndon B. Johnson broad war powers to deal with North Vietnamese attacks on American forces.
1964 Vietnam War: U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam.
1964 Vietnam War: National Security Council members agree to recommend that U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson adopt a plan for a two-stage escalation of bombing in North Vietnam.
1964 Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam.