The United States continued its unilateral withdrawal of forces from South Vietnam notwithstanding the lack of progress at the Paris Peace Talks. The removal of Prince Norodom Sihanouk from power in Cambodia in March and his replacement by General Lon Nol, began the Cambodian Civil War. South Vietnamese and U.S. forces entered Cambodia in late April to attack People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Vietcong (VC) bases and supply lines there which had long been used to support the insurgency in South Vietnam. The expansion of the war revitalized the antiwar movement in the U.S. and led to the Kent State shootings and Jackson State killings in May. While U.S. ground forces withdrew from Cambodia at the end of June and legislation was passed to prevent their reintroduction, the South Vietnamese conducted operations in Cambodia for the rest of the year and the U.S. provided air support and military aid to the Cambodian government. Despite this support the Cambodians lost control of vast areas of the country to the PAVN. Within South Vietnam the second half of the year saw a reduction in large U.S. operations with the focus shifting to pacification and population security and supporting Vietnamization. The PAVN/VC generally reverted to sapper attacks and attacks by fire but they fought hard to defend their base areas and infiltration routes.
Under the cover of monsoon rains the Vietcong (VC) 409th Battalion attacked the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines at Firebase Ross with mortars and sappers penetrating the wire. The attack was repulsed by 04:00 with 13 Marines and 38 VC killed.[4]: 48–50
8 January
President of South VietnamNguyễn Văn Thiệu announced that it would be impossible for U.S. forces to fully withdraw from South Vietnam by the end of 1970 and called for increased aid and training and phased U.S. withdrawal over several years.[3]: 325
16 January
The VC attacked a refugee camp on the Batangan Peninsula killing 16 civilians and wounding 21.[3]: 325
The first Tour de Vietnam cycle race in 14 years began, following a 500 miles (800 km) course from Nha Trang to Long Xuyên. The race was to demonstrate the extent of government control over the countryside, however the competitors were escorted by armored vehicles and helicopter gunships.[5]
United States Air Force (USAF) jets attacked an SA-2 missile site near the Mụ Giạ Pass after it fired on a U.S. reconnaissance jet. One USAF F-105GWild Weasel was shot down during the raid. Jolly Green 71 an HH-53B combat search and rescue helicopter was shot down by a missile fired from a Mig-21 piloted by Vu Ngoc Dinh of the Vietnam People's Air Force 921st Fighter Regiment as it attempted to rescue the aircrew. The 6-man crew were all killed.[9][3]: 326
Nixon stated that Vietnamization was "irreversible" but that he would respond forcefully to any increase in North Vietnamese military activity.[3]: 326
The PAVN 31st Regiment ambushed a 1st Battalion, 7th Marines patrol near Firebase Ross in the Quế Sơn valley. The U.S. 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment was sent to support the Marines. U.S. losses were 13 killed.[11][4]: 50–1
14 February
A Gallup poll showed that 55% of Americans opposed an immediate withdrawal from South Vietnam compared to 35% in favor.[3]: 327
16 February
Two ARVN Ranger battalions and the 1st Armored Brigade reported killing 280 PAVN and capturing 36 after a series of encounters over five days 18 miles (29 km) south of Da Nang. ARVN losses were 23 killed.[12]
17 February
Military Policemen were called to a murder scene in an apartment at Fort Bragg. Special ForcesCaptainJeffrey R. MacDonald claimed that four intruders attacked his family killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters. The case remains one of the most litigated murder cases in American criminal history.[13]
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, William Colby, head of Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support (CORDS) denied that the Phoenix Program was an assassination program, while acknowledging that "some illegal killings" had taken place. Colby stated that in 1969 19,534 suspected VC cadres had been "neutralized" of which 6,187 had been killed, 8,515 captured and 4,832 defected. Colby said "I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the future of this program or Vietnam."[14]
USAF B-52 bombers were reported to be bombing PAVN and Pathet Lao forces on the Plain of Jars, the first time the heavy bombers had been used in northern Laos.[3]: 328
19 February
In the Son Thang massacre five U.S. Marines killed five Vietnamese women and 11 children in Sơn Thắng, Quế Sơn Valley. Four of the Marines were charged with murder, two were acquitted and two convicted but only served sentences of one year.[4]: 345–7
21 February
Despite the U.S. bombing, PAVN and Pathet Lao forces captured Xiangkhouang airfield and most of the Plain of Jars while the Royal Lao Army forces retreated west.[3]: 329
PAVN forces ambushed a mechanized infantry unit from the 196th Light Infantry Brigade in the Quế Sơn valley, killing 14 and wounding 29 in a five hour battle. PAVN losses were four killed.[11]
27 February
A PAVN/VC rocket attack on Bien Hoa Air Base damaged three A-37s, two F-100s and a C-7. Two USAF personnel were killed in these attacks and 74 wounded.[7]: 246
Anti-Vietnamese demonstrations erupted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia while head of state Prince Norodom Sihanouk was touring Europe, the Soviet Union and China. Crowds attacked the North Vietnamese and VC embassies.[3]: 330
12 March
Cambodian prime minister Lon Nol closed the port of Sihanoukville to the North Vietnamese and demanded that all PAVN and VC forces withdraw from Cambodian soil within 72 hours (on 15 March) or face military action.[3]: 330
In the SS Columbia Eagle incident two crewmembers seized the SS Columbia Eagle with the threat of a bomb and handgun and forced the captain to sail towards Cambodia. Twenty-four of the crew were forced to abandon the ship in lifeboats, while the remaining 13 sailed the ship into Cambodian waters and the two mutineers Clyde McKay, Jr. and Alvin Glatkowski surrendered to the Cambodia government which gave them asylum. The mutineers were later arrested and imprisoned in Cambodia, but released later in the year. Glatowski eventually turned himself in to the U.S. Embassy, was extradited to the U.S. and served seven years in prison, while McKay sought refuge with the Khmer Rouge who apparently killed him.[17]: 141
The Peers Commission presented their report on the Mỹ Lai massacre. The report found that members of the 23rd Infantry Division had killed at least 175–200 Vietnamese men, women and children and that senior officers at brigade and divisional levels had participated in covering-up the incident.[3]: 330
18 March
The Cambodian National Assembly voted to remove Sihanouk from power with Lon Nol taking the powers of the Head of State on an emergency basis.[3]: 330–1
Sihanouk on Beijing radio called for a general uprising against Lon Nol and the formation of FUNK.[3]: 331
25 March
North Vietnam withdrew its diplomats from Cambodia.[3]: 331
26 March
North Vietnam refused an offer by South Vietnam for the release and repatriation of 343 wounded or ill prisoners of war, declaring that there were no members of the PAVN in the south. The North Vietnamese representatives at the Paris Peace Talks asserted that the captives were, instead, "illegally arrested patriots" from among South Vietnamese citizens rebelling against the Saigon government.[21]
The South Vietnamese Government began the Land to the Tiller program of land reform designed to redistribute land to tenant farmers and undermine support for the VC.[22]
27-8 March
ARVN Rangers with armored cavalry support and support from U.S. helicopter gunships made the first large-scale South Vietnamese attack into Cambodia attacking a PAVN base in Kandal Province, killing 53 PAVN and capturing one for the loss of three ARVN killed.[3]: 331
28 March
The White House announced that based on the judgment of commanders in the field, U.S. forces could cross into Cambodia in response to PAVN/VC threats. The White House denied that this represented any change in policy or widening of the war.[3]: 331
A U.S. Navy F-4 Phantom II shot down a VPAF MiG-21 while escorting a reconnaissance jet near Thanh Hóa in the first aerial engagement since the November 1968 bombing halt.[3]: 332
29 March
The PAVN 272nd Regiment hit Firebase Jay with mortar, rocket and recoilless rifle fire hitting the command post and knocking out communications. The base was occupied by Companies A and E, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 12th Artillery and B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery. The PAVN then launched infantry attacks on the base perimeter but were beaten back by dawn. U.S. losses were 13 killed, while 74 PAVN dead were found in and around the base.[23]: 617–8
The PAVN launched Campaign X against the Cambodian Khmer National Armed Forces (FANK), quickly seizing large portions of the eastern and northeastern parts of the country, isolating and besieging or overrunning a number of Cambodian cities including Kampong Cham.[24]: 61
Three PAVN battalions attacked Song Mao Base Camp which was defended by the U.S. 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry and the ARVN 44th Regiment, 23rd Division. The attack was repulsed resulting in two U.S., two ARVN and 151 PAVN killed.
1 April to 8 May
The PAVN besiege Dak Seang Camp. On 15 April 1970 the 170th Assault Helicopter Company dropped the 3rd Battalion, 42nd ARVN Regiment into a landing zone near Dak Seang, resulting in the loss of two helicopters.
A group of 50,000 demonstrators picketed in Washington D.C. in the "March for Victory", organized by fundamentalist radio evangelist Carl McIntire. The marchers, mostly middle-aged white Americans, protested Nixon's decision to reduce the American commitment rather than to take the war into North Vietnam.[29]
5 April
Photojournalist Gilles Caron disappeared on Highway 1 in Cambodia. He was the first of 25 journalists to disappear or be killed by the Khmer Rouge/PAVN between 5 April and 28 October 1970.[30]
6 April
Photojournalists Sean Flynn and Dana Stone disappeared on Highway 1 in Cambodia. Later investigations revealed that they were captured by the PAVN and then handed over to the Khmer Rouge who executed them.[31]
6-10 April
The PAVN/VC attacked Khmer National Army (ANK) forces near Chiphou in Svay Rieng Province killing 20 with 30 more missing. The ANK claimed to have killed 300 PAVN/VC on 9 April, but the ANK then withdrew all its forces from the Parrot's Beak region of Svay Rieng Province abandoning it to the PAVN/VC and forming a new defensive line at Prasot village, where the ANK killed numerous ethnic Vietnamese.[3]: 333
Following a mortar and Rocket-propelled grenade barrage, PAVN sappers attacked Mai Loc Camp which was defended by CIDG forces and a U.S. artillery unit. The PAVN withdrew leaving 19 dead, while U.S. losses were six killed and 14 CIDG were killed.[33]
11 April
A Gallup poll showed that 48% of Americans approved of Nixon's Vietnam policy while 41% disapproved.[3]: 333
12 April - May
Two PAVN battalions attacked Dak Pek Camp and the defenders were forced back to a small fighting position before air support forced the PAVN back. The PAVN then besieged the camp until early May when they withdrew. Total losses were 34 CIDG and 420 PAVN killed.[34]
13 April
In the village of Xom Bien, a massacre of about 600 Vietnamese Cambodians was carried out by the ANK as part of a campaign by the Lon Nol government against the nation's Vietnamese-speaking minority. Shortly after midnight, troops entered the village, founded as a Roman Catholic mission on the waters of the Mekong River in the Chrouy Changvar area near Phnom Penh and removed the men and boys and shot them. Days later, hundreds of the corpses of the victims (which included more from outside of Xom Bien) were seen floating down the Mekong into South Vietnam.[35]
A PAVN sapper company attacked Firebase Nancy defended by a unit of the ARVN 1st Regiment, 1st Division and a U.S. artillery unit, returned fire and the PAVN withdrew. At dusk ARVN soldiers sweeping the perimeter made sporadic contact with PAVN. PAVN losses were 71 killed and nine captured and 11 individual and six crew-served weapons captured; U.S. losses were four killed.[25]: 37
14 April
Lon Nol appealed for foreign military assistance to counter the PAVN/VC.[3]: 333
14-7 April
Operation Toan Thang 41 was a 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, ARVN 49th Regiment, 31st, 36th and 52nd Ranger Battalions and 10th and 18th Armored Cavalry operation against a PAVN logistics and rest area in the Angel's Wing, Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia. The operation resulted in 378 PAVN/VC killed.[36]
15 April
A VC booby-trap made from a 105mm shell detonated ammunition at a U.S. camp near Đức Phổ killing 14 Americans from the 11th Infantry Brigade and wounding 32.[3]: 333
16 April
The PAVN 95C Regiment attacked Firebase Atkinson which was defended by Companies B and E, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry and B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 19th Artillery. The PAVN attacks were beaten back with seven U.S. and 66 PAVN killed.[23]: 723
20 April
Nixon announced that he would order the withdrawal of a further 150,000 American troops from South Vietnam over the next 12 months as part of the process of turning conduct of the war over to the South Vietnamese.[37]
20-3 April
Operation Cuu Long/SD9/06 was conducted by elements of the ARVN 9th Infantry Division attacking 6 km (3.7 mi) into Cambodia west of the "Crow's Nest". The ARVN claimed 187 PAVN/VC killed and over 1,000 weapons captured for a cost of 24 killed. Thirty CH-47sorties were flown to remove captured weapons and ammunition before it was decided to destroy the remainder in situ. The ARVN force returned to South Vietnam on 23 April.[38]: 48–9
22 April
In a meeting at the White House of his National Security Council, Nixon discussed the options for the U.S. response to the continuing use of Cambodia by the PAVN/VC as a base. National security adviser, Henry Kissinger, would recount later that the three choices were to continue the current response, favored by Secretary of Defense Laird and Secretary of State William P. Rogers; providing financial and adviser aid to an invasion by the ARVN without committing ground troops (favored by Kissinger); or sending U.S. troops and planes into Cambodia to attack the sanctuaries (favored by General Earle Wheeler, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). While Nixon supported Kissinger's option, U.S. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew made the argument for committing U.S. troops to Cambodia, the decision that Nixon ultimately adopted[39]
23 April
Nixon issued an Executive Order ending any future deferment from the military draft based on occupation, agriculture or fatherhood.[40]
24-5 April
At a conference near Canton, Sihanouk, Souphanouvong, Phạm Văn Đồng and Nguyễn Hữu Thọ pledged to jointly oppose the U.S.. The resolution was endorsed by Zhou Enlai.[3]: 334
27 April
Two Marine A-4 Skyhawks accidentally bombed a CIDG unit during a battle 77 miles (124 km) southwest of Da Nang killing ten and wounding 20.[3]: 335
28 April
Kien Tuong ProvinceRegional Forces with support from the 9th Division attacked 3 km (1.9 mi) into the "Crow's Nest" again in a two-day operation, reportedly killing 43 PAVN/VC and capturing two for the loss of two killed.[38]: 49 During the same period the Regional Forces also raided northwest of Kampong Rou District killing 43 PAVN/VC and capturing 88 for the loss of 2 killed.[38]: 49–50
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee announced its opposition to extending U.S. military aid to Cambodia.[41]
29 April
The PAVN again attacked Firebase Granite, the attack was repulsed with seven U.S. killed and one missing and 18 PAVN killed.[42]
29 April – 22 July
The Cambodian Campaign (also known as the Cambodian Incursion) was a series of military operations conducted in eastern Cambodia by the U.S. and the South Vietnam. A total of 13 major operations were conducted by the ARVN and U.S. forces between 1 May and 30 June.[27] In addition to the capture of large amounts of supplies and equipment 11,369 PAVN/VC were killed and 2,328 captured, ARVN losses were 638 killed and 35 missing and U.S. losses were 338 killed and 13 missing.[43]
30 April
President Nixon announces the Cambodian Incursion
In a nationally televised address, Nixon announced that he had sent 2,000 American combat troops into Cambodia and ordered U.S. B-52 bombers to begin airstrikes. Nixon reversed his April 20 announcement that he would withdraw 150,000 troops from Vietnam over the next year, in effect providing that there would again be a need to draft young American men to maintain the current force level. Nixon told viewers "This is not an invasion of Cambodia." rather the attacks were upon territory in Cambodia that were "completely occupied and controlled by North Vietnamese forces."[44]
30 April to 4 May
A PAVN regiment captured Hiệp Đức District and ARVN and U.S. forces ejected them resulting in 219 PAVN, 12 ARVN and seven U.S. killed.[3]: 336
May
1 May
Operation Toan Thang IV a multi-division U.S./ARVN operation in III Corps concludes. U.S. losses are 685 killed while PAVN/VC losses are 14,479 killed.[25]: 83
Protests against the expansion of the war into Cambodia began on U.S. college campuses.[45]
For the first time in more than 50 years, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to ask for a meeting with a U.S. president, after having been given no notice of the invasion, and the request was unanimous from both political parties.[46]
1-2 May
U.S. aircraft bombed PAVN supply depots in Nghệ An and Quảng Bình Provinces. The Nixon Administration described the raids as defensive.[3]: 336
3 May
A PAVN artillery and sapper attack on Firebase Betty resulted in five U.S. killed and 25 wounded.[47]
A PAVN rocket attack on Chu Lai Air Base resulted in 12 U.S. killed and 33 wounded.[49]
5 May
Sihanouk announced from Beijing that he had formed a government-in-exile that would ally with the Communist government of China and the Khmer Rouge to overthrow head of state Lon Nol. Sihanouk's group was called "GRUNK" and was a coalition of government officials exiled in China (former premier Penn Nouth as the Prime Minister) and Khmer Rouge leaders within Cambodia, chief of whom was Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan.[50]
China severed diplomatic relations with Cambodia.[51]
Nixon met with Congressional leaders and pledged that U.S. forces would be withdrawn from Cambodia within seven weeks and that he would not allow them to penetrate deeper than 21 miles (34 km) without Congressional preapproval.[3]: 337
The PAVN/VC attacked Quế Sơn District Headquarters with mortar fire followed by a battalion-sized ground attack. Marines of Company H, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, supported by artillery aided the besieged RF/PF units. The RF/PF lost 10 killed, the Marines one killed and the PAVN/VC 27 killed.[4]: 444
More than 100 colleges and universities across the U.S. shut down as a result of students protests over the Cambodian Incursion and the Kent State shootings.[3]: 337
Thiệu announced that he had reached an agreement in principle with Lon Nol for South Vietnamese combat operations in eastern Cambodia. Unlike the U.S. forces, the South Vietnamese would not be restricted in time or by geographical limits.[3]: 338
Hours before a large anti-war protest began at Washington, D.C., Nixon surprised most of his Secret Service bodyguards and about eight demonstrators by walking in to the Lincoln Memorial at 4:55 in the morning. The Associated Press described it as a "strange encounter, unique in recent political annals."[55] As word got around that Nixon was chatting with students, the group had increased to 50 by the time he left, and his parting words were "Go shout your slogans on the Ellipse. Just keep it peaceful."[56] Later in the day, a crowd of about 100,000 demonstrated peacefully in the event organized by the New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam in one of many anti-war protests that took place across the nation that day.[57]
12 May
Major General John A. B. Dillard and eight others were killed when their helicopter was shot down southwest of Pleiku.[58]
Kỳ announced that Republic of Vietnam Navy boats were blockading the Cambodian coastline to prevent the PAVN/VC from being resupplied by sea.[3]: 339
Lair announced that Vietnamization was progressing so well that U.S. forces would cease to be involved in combat by the end of June 1971.[3]: 339
22-year-old Specialist 4 James E. Paul fired a rifle at other American soldiers as they waited in bleachers to see a stage show in Tây Ninh. Two people were killed and ten others were wounded. Paul was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison.[59]
A pro-war rally attracted 150,000 people to New York's City Hall Park, with a crowd that included blue collar workers and union members who supported the Nixon administration's policies in the war.[60]
Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong, the de facto leader of the People's Republic of China, issued a statement to his people for the first time in five years, with Radio Peking delivering the word to listeners nationwide. Urging Chinese citizens to work together "to defeat U.S. imperialism" in Vietnam and Cambodia, Mao's statement declared, "People of the world, unite and defeat the U.S. aggressors and all their running dogs!" Mao went on to say that "Nixon's fascist atrocities have kindled the raging flames of the revolutionary mass movement" and added that "The Chinese people firmly support the revolutionary struggle of the American people", predicting that "the fascist rule in the United States will inevitably be defeated."[61]
27 May
South Vietnamese and Cambodian diplomats sign agreements reestablishing diplomatic relations between South Vietnam and Cambodia, providing for economic and military cooperation and protecting ethic Vietnamese in Cambodia.[3]: 340
PAVN/VC troops who had captured positions in Dalat withdrew evading South Vietnamese forces. The PAVN/VC lost 47 killed while ARVN losses were 16 killed.[3]: 340
June
1-3 June
The PAVN 9th Battalion, 66th Regiment struck Firebase Tun Tavern (16.567°N 106.935°E) with mortar fire followed by a ground attack. The defenders returned fire supported by artillery, helicopter gunships and airstrikes. PAVN losses were 136 killed while ARVN losses were 41 killed and U.S. losses two killed.[3]: 340
3 June
Nixon announced in a nationwide television and radio address that American troops would be pulled back out of Cambodia after the achievement of "all our major military objectives", and that half of the 31,000 U.S. troops in Cambodia had been returned to fight in South Vietnam.[63]
6 June
In a speech to the Cambodian parliament, Kỳ states that South Vietnam has no territorial aims in Cambodia and will send military support whenever requested.[3]: 341
8 June
In a speech in Hanoi, Sihanouk states that Cambodians will fight with the Vietnamese against U.S. imperialism.[3]: 341
In the Battle of Kompong Speu a combined forces of the ARVN and ANK fought to recapture the provincial capital of Kompong Speu. The town was captured by PAVN/VC forces on June 13 but was retaken by Allied forces on June 16. 183 PAVN, four ARVN and 40-50 civilians are killed in the fighting.[3]: 341
15 June
The Battle of Prey Veng was part of the ARVN's campaign in Cambodia. It took place in Prey Veng on June 15, 1970, where ARVN and Cambodian troops battled the PAVN/VC. It ended with an Allied victory with 110 PAVN and 13 ARVN killed.[3]: 341
16-21 June
PAVN attacks almost completely isolated Phnom Penh, severing Highways 1 and 4 and cutting the railway line to the Thai border.[3]: 342
22 June
Đặng Thùy Trâm a 27 year old PAVN doctor and a colleague were killed near Đức Phổ, Quảng Ngãi Province by a patrol from the U.S. 4th Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment in a Free-fire zone. Two of her diaries recovered by U.S. forces were later published under the title Nhật ký Đặng Thùy Trâm (Đặng Thùy Trâm's Diary (Last Night I Dreamed Of Peace)).[64]
24 June
The United States Senate voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that had supported U.S. intervention in the Vietnam War since 1964.[65]
26 June
Laird confirmed that U.S. bombing of Cambodia would continue after the 30 June date for withdrawal of U.S. forces.[3]: 342
Nixon described the operation in Cambodia as successful, while stating that in future the defense of Cambodia would be the responsibility of Cambodia and its allies without U.S. ground forces.[3]: 342
The U.S. Senate voted 58:37 to approve the Cooper–Church Amendment to end funding to retain U.S. ground troops and military advisors in Cambodia and Laos after 30 June 1970; bar air operations in Cambodian airspace in direct support of Cambodian forces without congressional approval and end U.S. support for South Vietnamese forces outside territorial South Vietnam.[3]: 343
July
In response to North Vietnam's support of Soviet Union in the Sino-Soviet split China removes its final anti-aircraft troops from North Vietnam.[68]
1 July
Nixon named diplomat David K.E. Bruce to head the U.S. delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.[3]: 343
To unify command and strengthen the administration of the South Vietnamese military Thiệu incorporated the Regional and Popular Forces into the ARVN and redesignated Corps Tactical Zones as Military Regions (MRs). Under the reorganization the Corps deputy commander conducted major offensive operations in the MR while the MR deputy commander, in charge of territorial defense and pacification, commanded the RFs and PFs. Concurrently, MACV and the Joint General Staff completed plans to incorporate the CIDGs into ARVN Border Defense Ranger Battalions.[4]: 445
While on a congressional tour of the South Vietnamese prison on Côn Sơn Island, aide Tom Harkin photographed the "tiger cages" which were used to hold communist cadres, the photos were published in Life Magazine on 17 July 1970 causing international outrage.[69]
2-17 July
Operation Maeng Da was an RLA operation against the PAVN logistics hub at Tchepone. The PAVN 9th Regiment offered stiff resistance and the RLA were forced to withdraw having only temporarily interrupted PAVN supply routes.[70]: 269–71
3 July
The Hải Lăng PF Platoon; RF group 1/11 and Companies 121 and 122; and CAPs 4-3-2 and 4-1-2, located 9 km southeast of Quảng Trị, were attacked by a PAVN/VC force. Supported by gunships and artillery, the Marines/ARVN killed 135 PAVN/VC and captured 74 weapons while losing 16 killed and six missing.[4]: 445
At 11:30, elements of Troop A, 2/17th Cavalry attacked a 250 strong PAVN force from the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 9th Regiment 4 km southwest of Khe Sanh. The PAVN withdrew after eight hours leaving 139 dead and four captured; U.S. losses were four killed.[3]: 343
9 July
The Cooper-Church Amendment was defeated 237:153 in the U.S. House of Representatives.[3]: 343
9-15 July
The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and the ARVN 3rd Regiment, 1st Division launched Operation Clinch Valley to engage the PAVN 9th Regiment on the Khe Sanh plateau. The operation resulted in 266 PAVN killed.[72]
11 July
A CH-53D was hit by a surface to air missile and crashed near Quảng Trị, killing three crewmen and 45 South Vietnamese Marines.[73]
Company B, 1/7 Marines patrol during Operation Pickens Forest
The 1st Marine Division launched Operation Pickens Forest to attack PAVN base areas in the mountains of Quảng Nam Province. The operation resulted in 99 PAVN killed, Marine losses were four killed.[4]: 77
22 July - 30 January 1971
The 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment and elements of the ARVN 1st Division launched Operation Wolfe Mountain to conduct reconnaissance in force, rocket suppression and night ambush operations in Quảng Trị Province. The operation resulted in 242 PAVN killed, U.S. losses were 27 killed.[72]: E-13
24 July - 11 August
The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and the ARVN 1st Division launched Operation Chicago Peak in the A Shau Valley. The operation resulted in 99 PAVN killed and 3 ARVN killed.[72]: E-13
31 July
Thiệu declared that there was no change to South Vietnam's peace conditions and ruled out any coalition government with the VC other one formed after internationally supervised elections.[3]: 344
August
August 1970-February 1971
Operation Chenla I was an operation involving the ANK launched the operation during late August 1970 with limited air support from the ARVN and Republic of Vietnam Air Force. The operation was terminated in February 1971, after the Cambodian High Command made a decision to withdraw some units from Tang Kauk to protect Phnom Penh after Pochentong Airbase was attacked. The objective of the operation was to reconnect Skoun and Kompong Cham along Route 7, which was repeatedly attacked by PAVN/VC forces.
4 August
ARVN forces killed 44 PAVN/VC in the Mekong Delta for the loss of six killed.[3]: 344
9 August - 7 October
In the siege of Firebase O'Reilly 570 PAVN were killed for the loss of 61 ARVN and two U.S.[72]: G-9
12-15 August
ARVN units Principally Regional and Popular Forces) killed over 285 PAVN and captured 33 for the loss of 21 killed in scattered fighting southeast of Quảng Trị.[3]: 344
19 August
The U.S. and Cambodia signed a military aid package for $40 million worth of equipment and training for the period to 30 June 1971.[3]: 345
21 August
A VC mortar attack on the village of Bo Chuc in the Mekong Delta killed 11 civilians and wounded 42.[3]: 345
At the end of Operation Elk Canyon a CH-47 (#67-18445) carrying personnel and munitions came in for landing at Landing Zone Judy (15°22′N108°05′E / 15.37°N 108.08°E / 15.37; 108.08) when it was hit by PAVN fire and crashed in flames killing 30 onboard and 1 soldier on the ground.[76]
27 August
In a speech at the end of a visit to South Vietnam Agnew praised the South Vietnamese and said there would be no reduction in U.S. support.[3]: 345
28 August
Thailand announced that it planned to withdraw its forces from South Vietnam.[3]: 345
The VC attacked a Buddhist orphanage south of Da Nang killing 15 civilians and wounding 45.[3]: 345
30 August
The South Vietnamese Senate election was held and two-thirds of the eligible voters participated despite random attacks on polling places by the PAVN/VC. The polling was for 30 of the 60 seats in the Senate. At least 11 voters were killed, most of them in the Bình Định Province.[78]
A PAVN/VC rocket attack on Cam Ranh Base destroyed two 420,000 gallon jet fuel storage tanks.[79]
31 August
Buddhist candidates won 10 of the 30 Senate seats, however Catholics controlled 30 seats despite being a minority in South Vietnam.[3]: 345
The U.S. Senate voted against the McGovern–Hatfield Amendment by Senators George S. McGovern (D-South Dakota) and Mark O. Hatfield (R-Oregon) to force President Nixon to withdraw all American troops from Indochina by mid-1971. The vote had 39 supporters (including seven Republicans) and 55 voting against it.[80]
1 September - 7 May 1971
Elements of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines await a heli-lift during Operation Imperial Lake
North Vietnam's lead negotiator Xuân Thủy returned to the Paris Peace Talks after walking out in December 1969, however he stated that North Vietnam's negotiating position remained unchanged requiring and unconditional U.S. withdrawal and abandoning the Saigon government.[3]: 346
4 September
VC attacked a South Vietnamese training center in Bình Định Province, killing 14.[3]: 346
5 September - 8 October 1971
Operation Jefferson Glenn, an operation by the 101st Airborne Division and the ARVN 1st Division to shield critical installations in Huế and Da Nang began. It was the last operation of the 101st Airborne during the war. the operation resulted in 2,026 PAVN/VC killed.[81]
7 September
Kissinger held his first secret talks with North Vietnamese negotiators in Paris and made no progress.[3]: 347
The Republic of Vietnam Navy and Marines mounted an operation against PAVN bases and infiltration routes between the Bassac and Mekong Rivers, 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Phnom Penh, resulting in 233 PAVN killed.[3]: 347–8
21 September
The Hamlet Evaluation System indicated that 92.8% of the South Vietnamese population was under the control of the South Vietnamese government.[3]: 347–8
26 September
A Gallup poll found that 55% of Americans supported the McGovern–Hatfield Amendment if there was no declaration of war, while 36% of Americans were opposed.[3]: 348
26 September - 7 January 1971
Operation Counterpunch was an RLA offensive to recapture Moung Soui and pre-empt the PAVN wet season offensive. The operation succeeded in capturing Moung Soui and delayed the PAVN offensive by one month.[70]: 265–7
27 September
Two U.S. helicopters collided 44 miles (71 km) northeast of Saigon killing all eight crewmen.[3]: 348
October
3 October
A pro-war rally was held in front of the Washington Monument attended by approximately 20,000 people.[3]: 348
4 October
Nixon met with his peace negotiators David Bruce and Philip Habib in Dublin.[3]: 348
Fifteen civilians were killed in VC attacks north of Saigon.[3]: 348
5 October
A PAVN/VC mortar attack on a refugee camp killed 20 civilians and wounded 40. RF/PF forces engaged 100 VC in the same area killing 20. A VC attack on an RF/PF outpost in Phú Yên Province killed 20 ARVN.[84]
6 October
A PAVN/VC mortar attack on a refugee camp near Phú Mỹ killed seven civilians and wounded 52.[3]: 348
7 October
In a nationwide address, Nixon announced a five-point proposal for a truce to halt the war, with all sides to begin a ceasefire and the release of all prisoners of war, in exchange for broader negotiations in the Paris Peace Talks [85] The North Vietnamese and VC delegations to the Paris Peace Talks both denounced Nixon's proposal the next day as "a maneuver to deceive world opinion," but stopped short of rejecting it entirely.[86]
9 October
Flag of the Khmer Republic
The Khmer Republic was proclaimed in Cambodia, four days after the parliament voted unanimously to abolish the 1,168 year old monarchy. Lon Nol was inaugurated as the republic's first president.[87]
11 October
A U.S. helicopter gunship accidentally fired on ARVN troops in the Mekong Delta killing eight.[3]: 349
11-12 October
The U.S. 199th Light Infantry Brigade departed South Vietnam.[3]: 349
13 October
In a report to Nixon, British counterinsurgency expert Robert Grainger Ker Thompson said that the VC infrastructure remained largely intact despite U.S. pacification efforts and that destroying it was essential to end the insurgency.[3]: 349
14 October
Hanoi rejected Nixon's 7 October peace proposal and called for the U.S. to accept the 17 September North Vietnamese/VC proposal.[3]: 350
Nine U.S. and one ARVN soldiers were killed by a VC booby-trap 66 miles (106 km) southeast of Da Nang.[3]: 350
15 October
The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines handed over An Hoa Combat Base to the ARVN 1st Battalion, 51st Regiment.[4]: 102
18 October
A U.S. plane accidentally bombed an ARVN camp at Thien Ghon killing 18.[3]: 350
19-21 October
The PAVN/VC attacked Thường Ðức Camp but were repelled by ARVN forces with artillery, helicopter gunship and air support. The PAVN/VC lost 163 killed and 20 captured.[3]: 350 [88]
20 October
Seven Americans were killed when two helicopters collided northwest of Quảng Ngai.[88]
19 October - 13 November
The Tchepone Operation was mounted by the RLA to attack PAVN positions at Tchepone and Muang Phine. The operation failed to secure either objective.[70]: 268–72
25 October
Fourteen Americans were killed in mine and booby-trap explosions in Quảng Tín and Quảng Nam Provinces. The ARVN killed 37 PAVN/VC in an operation in Quảng Tín Province.[3]: 350
The Associated Press reported that U.S. special forces had been conducting secret cross-border operation in Laos and that casualties had been included in general casualty figures.[89]
The New York Times reported on the declining morale among career U.S. servicemen as a result of the war, anti-war protests, drug and racial problems and the impact of the My Lai massacre.[91]
28 October
UPI journalists Frank Frosch and Kyōichi Sawada were killed by Khmer Rouge on their way to the Kirirom Pass in Cambodia.[92]
29 October
ARVN units engaged a PAVN force near Snuol, Cambodia killing 44 PAVN for the loss of one ARVN. In fighting elsewhere 41 VC were killed.[93]
MACV reported that deaths from drug abuse among U.S. servicemen were 25 for the year to date compared with 16 for all of 1969.[95]
The South Vietnamese Supreme Court annulled the ten year sentence given to Tran Ngoc Chau on espionage charges.[96]
30 October to 1 November
Heavy flooding in South Vietnam's northern provinces killed 293 people including four U.S. Marines and left more than 200,000 homeless.[3]: 351
31 October
Thiệu declared that the North Vietnamese had no intention of negotiating peace unless it gave them total domination of South Vietnam, that the North regarded the Paris negotiations as a way to achieve victory gradually and that peace could only be achieved through battlefield victory.[97]
November
2 November
U.S. Army Landing Craft Utility LCU-63 capsized in bad weather east of Huế killing all 11 onboard, only two bodies were recovered.[98]
The PAVN/VC fired four rockets into Saigon killing seven civilians and wounding 25.[3]: 352
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought by Massachusetts to challenge the constitutionality of the war.[3]: 352
10 November
CBS broadcast a report showing troops of the 1st Cavalry Division at Firebase Aries smoking marijuana through a shotgun barrel.[17]: 104
13 November
PAVN gunners shot down a U.S. reconnaissance jet 42 miles (68 km) south of Vinh killing both crewmen. Laird said the shootdown violated understandings agreed as part of the November 1968 bombing halt.[3]: 353
Six U.S. soldiers were killed when their truck hit a mine near Quảng Ngai.[99]
15 November
Nine Americans were killed by mines and booby-traps.[3]: 353
16 November
Speaking at West Point at the start of a two week visit to the U.S., Kỳ said that the PAVN would overrun Cambodia in 24 hours if the South Vietnamese withdrew. He warned the Nixon Administration about yielding to antiwar factions and against withdrawing too fast from South Vietnam.[3]: 353
17 November
A PAVN/VC rocket attack on Bien Hoa Air Base killed three Americans and two South Vietnamese and wounded 14 civilians.[3]: 353
The court-martial of William Calley began at Fort Benning.[3]: 353
18 November
Nixon requested $155m in supplemental aid for the Cambodian government.[3]: 354
A VC threw a hand grenade into an open-air cinema at Cong Thanh 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Saigon killing nine civilians and wounding 43.[3]: 354
20 November
Following a scandal surrounding the award of the Silver Star to Brigadier General Eugene Forrester, MACV and the Pentagon announced a review of the basis for awarding medals for heroism to officers.[101]
21 November
Operation Ivory Coast was a failed mission to rescue U.S. prisoners of war from the Son Tay prison camp conducted by U.S. Special Forces and other elements of the U.S. military. 25 PAVN guards were killed in the attack for no U.S. losses. One hour after the raid U.S. jets carried out intensive attacks below the 19th parallel which Laird said were in response to the continued North Vietnamese firing on U.S. reconnaissance jets.[3]: 354 The North Vietnamese would later claim that 49 civilians were killed and 40 wounded in the attacks.[3]: 355
22 November
U.S. Navy SEALs and ARVN Special Forces rescued 19 ARVN prisoners from a POW camp in the Mekong Delta.[3]: 354–5
23 November
The North Vietnamese and VC delegations announced they would not attend the next session of the Paris Peace Talks in response to the U.S. attacks against North Vietnam.[3]: 355
24 November
Lard testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in relation to the Son Tay Raid and said that he would recommend a resumption of bombing of North Vietnam if the North continued with its violations of the tacit understanding behind the November 1968 bombing halt.[3]: 355
An RVNAF UH-1 helicopter collided with a U.S. observation plane over the Mekong Delta killing four U.S. and 13 ARVN onboard.[3]: 355
27 November
A USAF C-123K on approach to Nha Trang Air Base in poor visibility crashed into terrain killing six U.S. crew and 73 South Vietnamese.[102][103]
The PAVN attacked an ARVN task force near Krek, Cambodia losing 48 killed. In fighting in the Rung Sat Special Zone 33 VC were killed.[3]: 355
29 November
A USAF C-123K on approach to Cam Ranh Air Base crashed into terrain killing 32 Americans and 12 South Vietnamese onboard with two Americans surviving.[104]
A USAF F-105G fired on a North Vietnamese SAM site 5 miles (8.0 km) east of the Laos-North Vietnam border in what was later described as a "protective reaction" strike in exercise of what Laird called an "inherent right of self-defense."[105]
December
1-8 December
An ARVN force attacked a PAVN/VC force in the U Minh Forest killing 182 VC for the loss of eight ARVN.[3]: 356–7
In Quy Nhon a U.S. soldier accidentally killed a 12 year old South Vietnamese schoolboy while firing to scare away thieves from an Army truck. The killing caused two days of rioting by South Vietnamese with several vehicles burned and Americans attacked before a 24 hour curfew was imposed in the city.[106]
200 PAVN attacked an ARVN forces in the Fishhook, Cambodia killing 30 ARVN.[3]: 357
10 December
Nixon warned that if the North Vietnamese increased the level of fighting in South Vietnam as U.S. forces withdrew he would restart bombing North Vietnam.[4]: 447 Meanwhile the North Vietnamese called for redoubled efforts to win the war.[3]: 357
12 December
A unit of the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) on patrol 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the DMZ inadvertently entered an old U.S. minefield and detonated anti-personnel mines killing six U.S.[3]: 357
17 December to 19 January
The ARVN 1st Task Force conducted Operation Hoang Dieu 101, a province-wide campaign of saturation patrolling in the lowlands. In the month-long effort, the South Vietnamese and cooperating U.S. and Korean Marine units claimed to have killed 538 PAVN/VC and to have captured 87 prisoners and 171 weapons. Another 45 PAVN/VC surrendered as Chieu Hoi.[4]: 214
22 December
North Vietnam released their first accounting of American prisoners of war held there, with a partial list of 368 names in "the closest thing yet to an official accounting by Hanoi".[107]
North Vietnamese Defense Minister Võ Nguyên Giáp stated that U.S. reconnaissance aircraft had no right to fly over North Vietnam and would be shot down.[3]: 358
23 December
South Vietnamese forces captured Nguyễn Tài the chief of security for the Saigon-Gia Dinh Party Committee and the highest ranking North Vietnamese cadre captured during the war.[108]
24 December
A U.S. artillery unit accidentally fired on a unit of the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division 11 miles (18 km) south of Huế killing nine.[3]: 358
27 December
Nhân Dân stated that Nixon would "invite upon himself heavier attacks" unless he learnt from Johnson's "failure".[3]: 358
29 December
The Senate approved Nixon's $255m aid package for Cambodia with a revised version of the Cooper–Church Amendment restricting the introduction of ground troops in Laos.[3]: 358
The ARVN repelled an attack by a PAVN force inside Cambodia, killing 74 PAVN for the loss of ten ARVN.[109]
31 December
The VC killed 19 People's Self-Defense Force members in a hamlet in Hậu Nghĩa Province, 90 minutes after the beginning of a VC declared ceasefire.[110]
^Wooten, James T. (15 March 1971). "500 G.I.'s at Debut of Antiwar Show". The New York Times.
^ abLipsman, Samuel; Doyle, Edward (1984). Fighting for Time (The Vietnam Experience). Boston Publishing Company. ISBN9780939526079.
^"Headquarters MACV Monthly Summary March 1970"(PDF). Headquarters United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. 11 July 1970. pp. 34–5. Retrieved 14 July 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Tảng, Truong Như; Chanoff, David (1985). A Vietcong memoir. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. p. 177. ISBN978015193636-6.
^"Reds Won't Take Own Sick POWs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 27 March 1970. p. 6.
^Prosterman, Roy (August 1970). "Land-to-the-Tiller in South Vietnam : The Tables Turn". Asian Survey. 10 (8): 751–764. doi:10.2307/2642811. JSTOR2642811.
^Sak, Sutsakhan (1984). The Khmer Republic at war and the final collapse. United States Army Center of Military History. ISBN9781780392585. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^"Nixon Abolishes Job, Fatherhood Draft Deferment". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 24 April 1970. p. 1.
^"Key Senate unit opposes sending Cambodia arms". The New York Times. 28 April 1970. p. 1.
^Nolan, Keith (2007). Ripcord: Screaming Eagles Under Siege, Vietnam 1970. Random House. p. 105. ISBN9780307416551.
^Tran, Dinh Tho (1979). The Cambodian Incursion(PDF). United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 193–4. ISBN9781981025251. Archived(PDF) from the original on August 31, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^"GIs Attacking in Cambodia, Not an Invasion, Says Nixon". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1 May 1970. p. 1.
^"Tear Gas Scatters Stanford Protesters". Tucson (AZ) Citizen. 1 May 1970. p. 1.
^"Senators call Nixon— Fulbright group wants conference on Cambodia". The Tampa Times. 1 May 1970. p. 1.
^"30 U.S. casualties at base". The New York Times. 4 May 1970. p. 13.
^"4 Killed, 10 Hurt At Kent State — Firing Erupts As Guardsmen Chase Crowd". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 5 May 1970. p. 1.
^"Sihanouk Organizes 'Royal Government'". Orlando Evening Star. 5 May 1970. p. 5.
^Nguyen, Lien-Hang (2012). Hanoi's War: An International History of the War for Peace in Vietnam. University of North Carolina Press. p. 169. ISBN978-0807835517.
^ abcd"Command History 1970 Volume III"(PDF). Headquarters Military Assistance Command Vietnam. 19 April 1971. p. E-12. Archived(PDF) from the original on February 17, 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^Bates, Tom (1993). Rads: The 1970 Bombing of the Army Math Research Center at the University of Wisconsin and Its Aftermath. Harper. ISBN9780060167547.
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