A delegate from imperial China establishes the kingdom of Nam-Viet with himself as king

The city of Angkor and the great temple of Angkor Wat are created by the Khmer dynasty in Cambodia

Napoleon III sends forces to capture the port of Da Nang, beginning the French colonization of Vietnam

France brings Cambodia and Vietnam into a federation of protectorates under the title French Indochina

The Vietminh is founded as a guerrilla force to liberate Vietnam from the Japanese, and Ho Chi Minh soon emerges as the leader

With the surrender of the Japanese, Vietminh guerrillas seize the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh proclaims the democratic republic of Vietnam, independent of the colonial power, France

The Indochina War breaks out in Vietnam between the French colonial forces and the Vietminh

Hungarian photographer Robert Capa is killed by a land mine in Vietnam

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends with the surrender to the Vietminh of 12,000 French troops

The French abandon Vietnam, leaving the country divided at the seventeenth parallel

In an armistice ending the Indochina War, France acknowledges the independence of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

Graham Greene's novel The Quiet American is set in contemporary Vietnam and foresees troubles ahead

With US backing, South Vietnam declares itself an independent republic

The Vietcong, or NLF, is formed as a guerrilla force to liberate South Vietnam from the US-backed government

A reported incident in the Gulf of Tonkin triggers US intervention against North Vietnam, in a significant step towards the Vietnam War

US President Lyndon Johnson launches a regular bombing campaign against North Vietnam

The Vietnam War enters a new dimension with the deployment of US ground troops in the country

Australia sends a first contingent of 1500 troops to fight in Vietnam

The Vietcong launch widespread attacks on South Vietnamese cities during the Tet (lunar new year) holiday

US soldiers massacre hundreds of unarmed civilians in the Vietnamese village of My Lai

Norman Mailer publishes The Armies of the Night, based on his experiences on an anti-Vietnam demonstration in Washington in October 1967

US film director Robert Altman launches a successful and long-running theme with his Vietnam black comedy, M*A*S*H

Four students are killed by National Guards during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration at Kent State University in Ohio

US and South Vietnamese troops cross the border to invade Laos