Vietnamization was the Nixon administration's strategy for reducing United States ground-force involvement while expanding the military responsibilities and capabilities of South Vietnam. It combined troop withdrawals with equipment, training and continued American air and logistical support.
The strategy unfolded alongside widening operations in Cambodia and Laos, negotiations in Paris and continuing heavy combat. It shifted the composition of the war but did not resolve the fundamental political and military contest between North and South Vietnam.
Richard Milhous Nixon, Henry Alfred Kissinger, Melvin Laird, Nguyen Van Thieu, Creighton Abrams
Washington, Midway Island, Saigon
Near-identical rows with the same date and place are consolidated for this page. The underlying database records remain unchanged and searchable on the main Vietnam War page.
Chronology is ordered by year, month and day where those fields are present.
Nixon implements a policy of Vietnamization that aims to gradually withdraw US troops while expanding the combat role of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) so that it would be capable of independently defending South Vietnam
Forms joint US & Vietnam Armed Forces Joint General Staff. Adopts a policy of "Vietnamization", transfer burden of war from U.S. to ARVN
Meets Richard Nixon as Vietnamization is announced
Announces the first major US troop withdrawal under Vietnamization
Appeals to the silent majority for support of Vietnamization
Invents the term "Vietnamization" to cover American troop withdrawals
Commands US forces in Vietnam during Vietnamization and the Cambodia campaign
Backs the South Vietnamese operation into Laos as a test of Vietnamization
Announces on TV that "Vietnamization has succeeded"
This authority page consolidates World History Database records into a readable chronology. The database rows are research-index entries; important claims should be checked against primary documents and specialist histories.
Full Vietnam War chronology · Browse Vietnam War by year · Search all Vietnam War database records
Compiled and edited by the World History Database from structured historical records. This page consolidates 12 matching rows into 9 chronology entries to reduce duplicate and near-duplicate display. Last reviewed 2026-10-06.