The Eastertide Offensive begins as 200,000 NVA soldiers under General Vo Nguyen Giap attack to split South Vietnam in half by capturing Quang Tri, Kontum and An Loc. North Vietnam's Communist leaders hope a victory will cause Richard Nixon's defeat at the presidential election.

NVA Eastertide attack on Quang Tri begins.

In response to the Eastertide Offensive, President Nixon authorizes the U.S. 7th Fleet to target NVA troops massed around the Demilitarized Zone with air strikes and naval gunfire.

In a further response to Eastertide, President Nixon authorizes a massive bombing campaign targeting all NVA troops invading South Vietnam along with B-52 air strikes against North Vietnam. "The bastards have never been bombed like they're going to bombed this time," Nixon privately declares.

Heavy B-52 bombardments ranging 145 miles into North Vietnam begin.

NVA Eastertide attack on Kontum begins in Central Highlands, with objective of cutting South Vietnam in two.

April 15, 1972 - Hanoi and Haiphong harbor are bombed by the U.S.

Protests against the bombings erupt in America.

NVA Eastertide attack on An Loc begins.

Paris peace talks resume.

U.S. troop levels drop to 69,000.

South Vietnamese abandon Quang Tri City to the NVA.

Due to the ongoing NVA Eastertide Offensive, the U.S. mines North Vietnam's harbors and intensifies bombing of roads, bridges, and oil facilities in Operation Linebacker I. The announcement brings international condemnation of the U.S. and ignites more anti-war protests in America.

South Vietnamese pilots accidently drop napalm on South Vietnamese civilians, including children. Filmed footage and a still photo of a badly burned nude girl fleeing the destruction of her hamlet becomes yet another enduring image of the war.

Operation Linebacker I commences with U.S. jets laying mines in Haiphong harbor.

USARV (U.S. Army Vietnam) headquarters is decommissioned.

According to U.S. reports, Operation Linebacker I damages North Vietnam's ability to supply NVA troops engaged in the Eastertide Offensive.

President Nixon meets with Leonid Brezhnev inthe Soviet Union to establish better diplomatic relations with the Communist nation. Nixon's visit causes great concern in Hanoi that their Soviet ally might be inclined to agree to an unfavorable settlement of the war to improve Soviet relations with the U.S.

NVA attack on Kontum is thwarted by South Vietnamese troops, aided by massive U.S. air strikes.

Hanoi admits Operation Linebacker I is causing severe disruptions.

Senior U.S. military advisor John Paul Vann is killed in a helicopter crash near Pleiku. He had been assisting South Vietnamese troops in the defense of Kontum.

June 17, 1972 - Five burglars are arrested inside the Watergate building in Washington while attempting to plant hidden microphones in the Democratic National Committee offices. Subsequent investigations will reveal they have ties to the Nixon White House.

South Vietnamese troops begin a counter-offensive to retake Quang Tri Province, aided by U.S. Navy gunfire and B-52 bombardments.

General Frederick C. Weyand replaces Gen. Abrams as MACV commander in Vietnam.

Paris peace talks resume.

The Democrats choose Senator George McGovern of South Dakota as their presidential nominee. McGovern, an outspoken critic of the war, advocates "immediate and complete withdrawal."

During a visit to Hanoi, actress Jane Fonda broadcasts anti-war messages via Hanoi Radio.

South Vietnamese troops begin a major counter-offensive against NVA in Binh Dinh Province.

Henry Kissinger meets again with Le Duc Tho in Paris.

The last U.S. combat troops depart Vietnam.

Quang Tri City is recaptured by South Vietnamese troops.

Heavy U.S. air raids against airfields in North Vietnam destroy 10 percent of their air force.

The stalemate between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho finally ends as both sides agree to major concessions. The U.S. will allow North Vietnamese troops already in South Vietnam to remain there, while North Vietnam drops its demand for the removal of South Vietnam's President Thieu and the dissolution of his government. Although Kissinger's staff members privately express concerns over allowing NVA troops to remain in the South, Kissinger rebuffs them, saying, "I want to end this war before the election."

Kissinger visits President Thieu to discuss the peace proposal. An emotional Thieu adamantly opposes allowing North Vietnamese troops to remain indefinitely in South Vietnam. An angry Kissinger reports Thieu's reaction to President Nixon, who then threatens Thieu with a total cut-off of all American aid. But Thieu does not back down. Kissinger then returns to Washington.

Operation Linebacker I ends. U.S. warplanes dropped over 125,000 tons of bombs during 40,0000 sorties to disrupt the North Vietnam Eastertide Offensive. The North suffered an estimated 100,000 military casualties and lost half its tanks and artillery. General Vo Nguyen Giap was quietly ousted in favor of his deputy Gen. Van Tien Dung. 40,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died stopping the offensive in the heaviest fighting of the entire war.

President Thieu publicly denounces Kissinger's peace proposal.

Radio Hanoi reveals terms of the peace proposal and accuses the U.S. of attempting to sabotage the settlement. At the White House, now a week before the presidential election, Henry Kissinger holds a press briefing and declares "We believe that peace is at hand. We believe that an agreement is in sight."

Richard M. Nixon wins the presidential election in the biggest landslide to date in U.S. history.

President Nixon sends a letter to President Thieu secretly pledging "to take swift and severe retaliatory action" if North Vietnam violates the proposed peace treaty.

American troop withdrawal from Vietnam is completed, although there are still 16,000 Army advisors and administrators remaining to assist South Vietnam's military forces.

At the Paris peace talks, Kissinger presents a list of 69 changes demanded by President Thieu to Le Duc Tho and the talks collapse.

President Nixon issues an ultimatum to North Vietnam to negotiations within 72 hours. Hanoi does not respond, so Nixon orders Operation Linebacker II, eleven days and nights of maximum force bombing against military targets in Hanoi by B-52 bombers.

Operation Linebacker II (the "Christman bombings") begins. The bombing is denounced by many American politicians, the media, and various world leaders including the Pope.

North Vietnam agrees to resume peace negotiations within five days of the end of bombing.

Operation Linebacker II ends the most intensive bombing campaign of the entire war with over 100,000 bombs dropped on Hanoi and Haiphong. Fifteen of the 121 B-52s participating were shot down by the North Vietnamese who fired 1,200 SAMs. Hanoi propaganda reports 1,318 civilian deaths.

Kissinger and Le Duc Tho resume negotiations in Paris.

Kissinger and Le Duc Tho resolve remaining differences. President Thieu, threatened again by Nixon with al cut-off of American aid, unwillingly accepts the peace agreement which allows North Vietnamese troops to remain in South Vietnam and calls it "tantamount to surrender".

President Nixon announces that an agreement has been reached which will "end the war and bring peace with honor."

The Paris Peace Accords are signed. Under the terms, the U.S. agrees to immediately halt all military activities and withdraw all remaining military personnel within 60 days. The North Vietnamese agree to an immediate cease-fire and the release of all American POWs within 60 days. An estimated 150,000 North Vietnamese soldiers presently in South Vietnam are allowed to remain. Vietnam is still divided. South Vietnam is considered to be one country with two governments, one led by President Thieu, the other led by Viet Cong, pending future reconciliation.

Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces the end of the draft.

LTC William B. Nolde becomes the last American soldier to die in combat in Vietnam.