‘Taking to the Streets against the Vietnam War’: A Timeline History of Australian Protest 1962-1972 –– Prologue

1945

August – ‘August Revolution’ in Saigon ousts Japanese

September 2 – Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnamese independence

French colonial forces re-occupy Vietnam and are resisted by Viet Minh – the first Indo-China war begins

 

1954

U.S finances cost of French war in Vietnam and uses air force in battle of Dien Bien Phu.  Eisenhower Administration considers use of atomic weapons to save besieged French forces

May 7 – French colonial forces surrender to Viet Minh at Dien Bien Phu

July 7 – Ngo Dinh Diem elevated to power in Saigon

July 20 – Fourteen nations sign Geneva Agreement to determine the political future of Vietnam. The United States does not sign.  The Agreement temporarily divides Vietnam at ‘Seventeenth Parallel’ but stipulates democratic election within two years to unify Vietnam under single national government

 

1955

November – U.S military ‘advisors’ arrive in South Vietnam to support Diem regime

 

1956

U.S and Diem scuttle election promised at Geneva (fear of Ho Chi Minh victory)

Wilfred Burchett publishes North of the Seventeenth Parallel and explains the epic implications of the Vietnam conflict

 

1956-60

U.S pours in military combat ‘advisors’ and money to support Diem army in repressing opposition

 

1959

November – ANZ Congress for International Cooperation and Disarmament (CICD) formed at Peace Congress in Melbourne

 

1960

September – Democratic Republic of Vietnam (‘North Vietnam’) decides to increase support for resistance to Diem in the South

December 20 – Formation of National Liberation Front (NLF) of South Vietnam

Menzies Government legislates for amendments to the Crimes Act. The amendments introduce harsh new penalties for ‘Treason’

 

1961

February 15 – NLF Liberation Army established and begins armed resistance to U.S-backed Diem regime

 

Download the full timeline here, or click through below for a year-by-year timeline (with pictures) of this momentous period.

 

‘Taking to the Streets against the Vietnam War’: A Timeline History of Australian Protest 1962-1972

Introduction

Prologue

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

Postscript

 

Citation: Ken Mansell, ‘Taking to the Streets against the Vietnam War’: A Timeline History of Australian Protest 1962-1972, Labour History Melbourne (8 May 2020).

©Ken Mansell