Ho Chi-Minh Biography

Birth of Ho Chi Minh

Petitions Woodrow Wilson at the Peace Conference for the independence of Vietnam

Appointed Member of French Communist Party

After the 5th Congress of the Communist International in Moscow, Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi-Minh) left for Guangzhou as an interpreter of Mikhail Borodin (the alias of Mikhail Gruzenberg). With a Chinese pseudonym Ly Thuy , he was in fact mandated to promote communist movements in Indochina as well as in the rest of Southeast Asia

This record states: During 1925-1927, the Guangzhou headquarters operated as the Central Committee and the directing centre for their underground revolutionary movements in Vietnam.

This record states: Founds the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League, considered as the first truly Marxist organization in Indochina and the beginning of Vietnamese Communism.

This record states: Preparing the prominent leadership for the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Revolution.

This record states: With the support of Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomingtang Left, during the period of 1925-1927, the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League managed to educate and train a considerable number of Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries.

The Road to Revolution (Duong kach menh), a training manual for the League s members, was a collection of Nguyen Ai Quoc s lecture notes for the training course. This pamphlet was published by the propaganda sector of the League of Oppressed Peoples in 1927

Many students from Cochinchina participated in the League, meeting up with their peers from Tonkin and Annam in Guangzhou

Recruitment into the League was at its peak, for young Vietnamese were extremely disaffected by the French authorities after the death of Phan Chu Trinh and the arrest of Nguyen An Ninh in March 1926.

The Road to Revolution (Duong kach menh), a training manual for the League s members, was a collection of Nguyen Ai Quoc s lecture notes for the training course.

This pamphlet was published by the propaganda sector of the League of Oppressed People's in 1927.

In March 1929, some radical members of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth League form the first communist cell in French Indochina

Following appeals for unity by Ho Chi-Minh, the Communist Party of Indochina united with the Communist Party of Annam and the Communist League of Indochina and founded the Communist Party of Vietnam

Following appeals for unity by Ho Chi-Minh, the Communist Party of Indochina united with the Communist Party of Annam and the Communist League of Indochina and founded the Communist Party of Vietnam

The name is changed almost immediately to the Indochinese Communist Party (ICP), ostensibly to include revolutionaries from Kampuchea and Laos. Ho Chi Minh founds the Vietnamese Communist Party by unifying three smaller communist movements that had emerged in northern, central and southern Vietnam during the late 1920. Founds the Indo China Communist Party

Helps lead a Communist led peasant revolt

Imprisoned by the Chinese for 1 year. Arrested crossing the border into China to recruit support for the Vietminh

Forms the Vietminh & leads the independence movement as head of the Vietminh

Released by Chang Fa-kwei with when he forms part of a mutual alliance

Appointed Head of the Vietnam Revolutionary League, a nationalist organisation

Sets up by the Chinese as head of the Vietnam Revolutionary League

2 million Vietnamese die of famine in the North because Japan orders more peanuts & jute

Dissolves the Indochinese Communist Party & forms the Association for Marxist Studies

Dissolves the Indochinese Communist Party & forms the Association for Marxist Studies

The British will take the south & Chinese nationalists the north of Vietnam. The Allied leaders divide Vietnam at the 16th parallel

The first Vietminh troops enter Hanoi

Summons 60 comrades to Tran Ho to form the National Liberation Committee

Summons 60 comrades to Tran Ho to form the National Liberation Committee

Appointed President of the National Liberation Committee

Enter Hanoi & declares independence. Arrives in a Vietminh dominated Hanoi

The Emperor abdicate giving Ho Chi Minh the "mandate of heaven"

The Emperor abdicate giving Ho Chi Minh the "mandate of heaven"

Proclaims the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Proclaims the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

Japan surrenders to the Allies & Ho declares independence

Chinese troops move down to the 16th parallel, as agreed with the Allies

In response to French violence in Saigon the Vietminh abandon their policy of pacifism

Signs a modus vivendi covering the economy & cessation of hostilities

France & the Vietminh then reach an accord. France concedes territorial rights to China which agrees to withdraw from Vietnam

France breaks referendum agreement by proclaiming a Cochinchina Government. Agrees to hold a referendum to determine if Tonkin, Annam & Cochinchina should reunite

A Sino-French Treaty provides for the return of French troops from South East Asia

France recognizes Vietnam as a free state within the Indochina federation

France recognizes Vietnam as a free state within the Indochina federation

France & the Vietminh then reach an accord

France recognizes the Republic of Vietnam as a Free State within the French Union

France recognizes the Republic of Vietnam as a Free State within the French Union. Accepts the stationing of French troops in the nth

French troops enter Hanoi

France supports the establishment of a separate republic of Cochin China

France supports the establishment of a separate republic of Cochin China

Walks out of the Conference of Fontainbleau

The French cruiser Suffren shells Hai Phong. General Valluy gives the Viet Minh a 2 hr ultimatum to leave Hai Phong which expires

Creates rural bases & begins war against the French

Vietminh forces withdraw from Hanoi after attacking the French garrisons. The Viet Minh are driven out of Hanoi & establish themselves in the Viet Bac region

The Viet Minh launch a surprise attack on the French troops in Hanoi

The French under General Valluy fail to remove the Viet Minh from the Viet Bac region

Promises the Vietminh will be neutral if Vietnam is granted inependence

Promises the Vietminh will be neutral if Vietnam is granted inependence

Promises the Vietminh will be neutral if Vietnam is granted inependence. Issues a last appeal for a comprimise with the French

Bases the Declaration of Independence on the American Declaration of Independence

Bases the Declaration of Independence on the American Declaration of Independence

The French reinstall Bao Dai as the ruler of Vietnam, including Cochin China

France releases 1,700 POWs to fight the Vietminh. France attempts to recover Vietnam from communist resistance led by Ho Chi Minh

China & Russia provide support for Vietnam

France concludes a Treaty granting Vietnam independence within the French Union

The Democratic Republic is recognized by China, Russia & Yugoslavia. Declares the Democratic Republic of Vietnam the only legal Government

Ho Chi Minhs Vietminh is recognized as the legitimate Government of Vietnam by China

Russia recoginzes Ho Chi Minhs claim to represent the whole of Vietnam

The ICP is reorganized into three national units-the Vietnam Workers Party, the Lao Itsala, and the Kampuchean (or Khmer) Peoples Revolutionary Party (KPRP)

The ICP is reorganized into three national units-the Vietnam Workers Party, the Lao Itsala, and the Kampuchean (or Khmer) Peoples Revolutionary Party (KPRP)

Forms the National Liberation Front, the "Viet Cong"

Appointed President of North Vietnam

Dienbienphu falls to the Viet Minh

Dienbienphu falls to the Viet Minh

The Viet Minh overwhelm the French garrison of Dien Bien Phu

Both China and the Soviet Union, for their own strategic reasons, refused to back the Viet Minh claim to govern all of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh’s chief negotiator, Pham Van Dong, chose not to align too closely with Moscow or Beijing, preferring that North Vietnam remain in charge of its own destiny

Opening day of the Geneva Conference to discuss peace in Vietnam

The Viet Minh delegates did not wish to sign: they sceptical about the scheduled 1956 elections and reluctant to agree to the 17th parallel border, which would mean surrendering territory to the South. In the end the Viet Minh representatives signed on the instructions of Ho Chi Minh, who was himself under pressure from the Soviet Union and China

A ceasefire with France is agreed

This record states: A ceasefire with France is agreed.

This record states: Agrees to temporarily divide Vietnam in half pending elections unite Vietnam.

This record states: Despite general agreement the "Final Declaration" is not signed.

This record states: French troops be withdraw from north Vietnam & the Vietminh will withdraw from the sth.

This record states: South Vietnam, Laos & Kampuchea will become independent states protected by SEATO.

This record states: Territory north of the 17th Parallel will go to the Government of Ho Chi Minh.

This record states: The US does not want to recognize Beijing & Hanoi.

This record states: Vietnam is partitioned above latitude 17 degrees north.

Agrees to temporarily divide Vietnam in half pending elections unite Vietnam

Vietnam is partitioned above latitude 17 degrees north

The French establish a garison in order to tempt the Viet Minh into battle

China promises to give North Vietnam $338m in economic aid

Creates Group 559 to enlarge the Ho Chi Minh Trail into South Vietnam

Creates Group 759 to supply troops & provisions by Sea into South Vietnam

Hanoi established the 559th Transportation Group under the command of Colonel (later General) Vo Bam to improve and maintain a transportation system to supply the Vietcong uprising against South Vietnamese Government

Hanoi established the 559th Transportation Group under the command of Colonel (later General) Vo Bam to improve and maintain a transportation system to supply the Vietcong uprising against South Vietnamese Government. Creates Group 559 to enlarge the Ho Chi Minh Trail into South Vietnam

Creates a broad front to overthrow President Diem

Creates a broad front to overthrow President Diem. Announces the creation of the National Liberation Front in South Vietnam

The Vietcong attack army posts in Phuoc Tahn & Darlac Provinces

The Vietcong stand their ground against American machinery and South Vietnamese soldiers. The Vietcong 514th Battalion and local guerrilla forces ambush the South Vietnamese

US Air Force Operation Barrel Roll carries out the first systematic bombardment of the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos

US Air Force Operation Barrel Roll carries out the first systematic bombardment of the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos

Barrel Roll was one of the most closely held secrets and one of the most unknown components of the American military commitment in Southeast Asia.

Due to the ostensible neutrality of Laos, guaranteed by the Geneva Conference of 1954 and 1962, both the US and North Vietnam strove to maintain the secrecy of their operations and only slowly escalated military actions there.

US Air Force Operation Barrel Roll carries out the first systematic bombardment of the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.

China, North Vietnams neighbor and ally, successfully tests an atomic bomb

US air support succeeds in bombing the attackers into retreat. The 272nd Regiment of the Vietcong 9th Div attack the American 3rd Brigade

Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) estimate credited the North Vietnamese with 600 miles (970 km) of truckable roads within the corridor, at least 200 miles (320 km) of which were good enough for year-round use

On Route 13 linking Vietnam to the Kampuchean border US forces are brutally assaulted

Heavy fighting near Con Thien kills nearly 1,300 North Vietnamese troops

By the end of the year the North Vietnamese had completed 2,959 kilometers of vehicle capable roads, including 275 kilometers of main roads, 576 kilometers of bypasses, and 450 entry roads and storage areas

The Vietcong capture Hue & massacre many with "blood-debt-lists"

The Vietcong capture Hue & massacre many with "blood-debt-lists"

Demands as a precondition of peace talks the US cease all bombing & acts of war

The Vietcong capture Hue & massacre the local population with "blood-debt-lists"

Launches the Tet Offensive. Launches the offensive during the Tet truce while the south celebrates New Year. 70,000 troops attack 100 cities

4,000 troops reach Saigon but the offensive is routed a month later

The Viet Cong are driven back from Saigon

The Tet offensive is contained by the US at the cost of 165,000 civilian lives

The Vietcong do not agree to negotiation conditions. The US announces a cessation of bombing & that negotiations will begin

Insists upon US unilateral withdrawal from Vietnam & the overthrow of President Thieu

Sends a letter to Nixon rejecting his peace proposals. Insists upon US unilateral withdrawal from Vietnam & the overthrow of President Thieu

Declares that there will be no comprimise in Vietnams aim of re-unification

Death of Ho Chi Minh, age 79

Hanoi also creates the 470th Transportation Group to manage the flow of men and supplies to the new battlefields in Kampuchea, the new "Liberation Route"

The Liberation Route route extends past Siem Prang and reaches the Mekong River near Stung Treng. Hanoi also creates the 470th Transportation Group to manage the flow of men and supplies to the new battlefields in Kampuchea, the new "Liberation Route"

The Liberation Route route extends past Siem Prang and reaches the Mekong River near Stung Treng. Hanoi also creates the 470th Transportation Group to manage the flow of men and supplies to the new battlefields in Kampuchea, the new "Liberation Route"

The Laotian towns of Attopeu and Saravane, at the foot of the Bolovens Plateau were seized by the North Vietnamese

The Laotian towns of Attopeu and Saravane, at the foot of the Bolovens Plateau were seized by the North Vietnamese

The PAVN take Paksong and advance to Pakse, at the heart of the Bolovens Plateau region of Laos

The PAVN take Paksong and advance to Pakse, at the heart of the Bolovens Plateau region of Laos

The PAVN take Paksong and advance to Pakse, at the heart of the Bolovens Plateau region of Laos

The PAVN take Paksong and advance to Pakse, at the heart of the Bolovens Plateau region of Laos