Aussies In Vietnam: The Battle at Long Tan

LONG TAN DAY TIMELINE 1945 The Aftermath of WWII Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia are declared independent after the Japanese troops in Indochina overthrow the French authorities, ending colonial rule. 1955 The Vietnam War Hostilities boil over and Vietnam erupts into civil war, the northern states pitched against the south. 1964 The U.S. Gets Involved A North Vietnamese patrol boat torpedoes the USS Maddox, and this attack on the U.S. Navy has President Johnson call for airstrikes on the VietCong boats, which leads the U.S. to shoot two aircraft down and take prisoners. 1973 The End of the War The U.S. leaves Vietnam, Viet Cong operations grow more intense, Saigon is taken, and the Vietnam War officially ends.