Vietnamese History Timeline : 1953-1963
From official history to the personal and particular life : we always try to give the historical context of our archives, so here is the timeline’s snapshot for the first decade after the end of French colonisation.
1954 – Viet Minh forces attack an isolated French military outpost in the town of Dien Bien Phu. The attempt to take the outpost lasts two months, during which time the French government agrees to peace talks in Geneva.
Vietnam is split into North and South at Geneva conference.
1956 – South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem begins campaign against political dissidents.
1957 – Beginning of Communist insurgency in the South.
1959 – Weapons and men from North Vietnam begin infiltrating the South.
1960 – American aid to Diem increased.
1962 – Number of US military advisors in South Vietnam rises to 12,000.
1963 – Viet Cong, the communist guerrillas operating in South Vietnam, defeat units of the ARVN, the South Vietnamese Army.
President Diem is overthrown and then killed in a US-backed military coup
(From BBC website)