The inauguration of Richard Nixon in January led to a reevaluation of the U.S. role in the war. U.S. forces peaked at 543,000 in April. U.S. military strategy remained relatively unchanged from the offensive strategy of 1968 until the Battle of Hamburger Hill in May which led to a change a more reactive approach. The U.S. and South Vietnam agreed on a policy of Vietnamization with South Vietnamese forces being expanded and equipped to take over more of the ground combat from the departing Americans which began to withdraw in late June without any reciprocal commitment by the North Vietnamese. The morale of U.S. ground forces began to fray with increasing racial tensions and the first instances of fragging and combat refusal. The antiwar movement in the U.S. continued to grow and public opinion turned increasingly antiwar when the Mỹ Lai massacre was revealed in November.
January
Operation Rice Farmer was a U.S. 9th Infantry Division and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 5th Division operation in Dinh Tuong, Kien Tuong and Kien Hoa Provinces. The operation resulted in 1,860 PAVN/VC killed.
Operation Quyet Thang II was an ARVN 7th Division, 9th Division and 21st Division clear and search operation in IV Corps. The operation resulted in 37,874 PAVN/VC killed.
A Vietcong (VC) bomb exploded in a messhall at Củ Chi Base Camp killing 15 Americans mostly from the 554th Engineer Battalion and two Vietnamese kitchen staff.
The South Vietnamese Minister of Education, Dr. Le Minh Tri, was killed when two VC on a motorcycle threw a hand grenade through the window of the car in which he was riding.
In Operation Bold Mariner the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines clear, search and depopulate the Batangan Peninsula a VC stronghold in Quảng Ngãi Province.
During Operation Toan Thang II a convoy of the 48th Transportation Group was ambushed in Tây Ninh Province, 122 PAVN/VC were killed and three individual and one crew-served weapons were captured; U.S. losses were seven killed.
The parties to the Paris Peace Talks came to an agreement on the shape of the conference tables and the placement of the representatives who were negotiating an end to the war. After being delayed for nearly six weeks over procedural disagreements raised by South Vietnamese Vice President Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, the parties came to an accord that "The two sides would be 'clearly separated' by two rectangular tables with a round one in the middle" and that the tables would have "no nameplates, no flags and no written minutes of the understanding" on the setup.
Richard Nixon is inaugurated as 37th President of the United States.
The White House issues National Security Study Memorandum 1 to the U.S. Ambassador in Saigon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) "to develop an agreed evaluation of the situation in Vietnam as a basis for making policy decisions."
The U.S. 3rd Marine Division launched Operation Dewey Canyon to attack People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) base areas in the A Shau and Song Đa Krông Valleys of Quảng Trị Province. The operation results in 1,617 PAVN killed while 130 Marines were killed.
An ambush patrol of Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines observed approximately 300 PAVN cross the Song Ky Lam River, 6 km west of Điện Bàn. The company called in artillery fire and then engaged the unit, with Company D, 5th Marines joining the action. A search of the area at dawn found 72 PAVN dead.
The first M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance Vehicles arrived in South Vietnam and were deployed by the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
February
Operation Cheyenne Sabre was a 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division operation in Biên Hòa Province. The operation resulted in 600 PAVN/VC killed.
Kỳ announced that South Vietnam would negotiate a political settlement with the VC once the PAVN had withdrawn from South Vietnam.
A Gallup poll showed that 35% of Americans favor an immediate withdrawal from South Vietnam, up from 21%.
U.S. Army and ARVN forces begin the multi-division Operation Toan Thang III to keep pressure on PAVN/VC forces in III Corps. The operation results in 41,803 PAVN/VC killed and 3,299 captured, U.S. losses were 1,533 killed.
A bicycle bomb exploded in a shop in Truc Giang, Kien Hoa Province, killing six civilians and wounding 16.
The PAVN launched the Tet 1969 offensive against U.S. military targets near Saigon and Da Nang. The attacks were quickly beaten off. In the attack on Bien Hoa Air Base the PAVN lost 264 killed and 87 captured while ARVN losses were 10 killed and U.S. losses were one killed. Around Da Nang the PAVN/VC lost over 500 killed.
The PAVN attacked Tiên Phước Camp which was defended by the 5th Special Forces Detachment A-102 and Civilian Irregular Defense Group program (CIDG) forces. The base was secured the following morning for a loss of 1 U.S. and 54 CIDG killed.
A PAVN rocket attack on Da Nang Air Base destroyed a 450,000 gallon fuel tank beside the base and damaged a Marine A-6 Intruder.
PAVN sappers attacked Hill 327 and the positions of the 2nd Battalion 7th Marines northwest of the Hill, both attacks were beaten back with 18 Marines killed and 80 wounded while the PAVN lost 75 killed or captured.
A PAVN sapper attack on Dầu Tiếng Base Camp resulted in 21 U.S. and 73 PAVN killed.
The PAVN 271st and 272nd Regiments attacked Patrol Base Diamond I occupied by the U.S. 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment. The attack was repulsed with artillery and gunship fire with an estimated 118 PAVN killed and two captured.
The ARVN 2nd Division conducted Operation Quyet Thang 22 in Quảng Ngãi Province. The operation resulted in 777 PAVN/VC casualties.
The North Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on Radio Hanoi stated that the "South Vietnamese people" could attack U.S. forces "at any place on Vietnamese territory" and denied that there was any agreement not to conduct such attacks in return for the bombing halt.
A PAVN sapper attack on Củ Chi Base Camp destroyed nine Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters of the 242nd Assault Support Helicopter Company.
A PAVN rocket hit LCU-1500 while it was loading at the Bridge Ramp in Da Nang killing 13 crewmen.
In Paris the U.S. stated that the Tet 69 attacks, particularly against civilian targets, breached the understanding behind the bombing halt.
Operation Quảng Nam was conducted by the ARVN 1st Ranger Group in Quảng Nam Province. The operation resulted in 688 PAVN/VC killed.
In the Fourth Battle of Nakhang the PAVN 316th Division overran Royal Lao Army (RLA) forces at Lima Site 36 at Na Khang. The PAVN lost an estimated 250 killed and the RLA lost nine killed. The PAVN lost 26 killed while an entire RLA battalion was killed.
The U.S. 101st Airborne Division and ARVN 1st Division launched Operation Massachusetts Striker to keep pressure on the PAVN in the southern A Shau Valley. The operation results in 223 PAVN killed and two captured while U.S. losses were 59 killed.
The 11th Light Infantry Brigade launched Operation Iron Mountain to attack PAVN/VC bases and logistics routes in southeastern Quảng Ngãi Province. The operation resulted in 4,589 PAVN/VC killed and 137 captured while U.S. losses are 440 killed.
March
Operation Wayne Grey was conducted by the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division in the Plei Trap Valley, Kontum Province. The operation resulted in 575 PAVN killed and four captured, U.S. losses were 106 killed and one missing.
The 4th Marine Regiment launched Operation Purple Martin against three PAVN regiments operating near the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The operation results in 347 PAVN killed and approximately 100 Marines killed.
Operation Kentucky Jumper was a clear and search operation conducted by the 101st Airborne Division, 9th Infantry Division and ARVN 3rd Regiment, 1st Division in Thừa Thiên Province. The operation resulted in 317 PAVN/VC killed for the loss of 61 U.S. killed.
In the DMZ Campaign (1969-71) the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) assumed responsibility for the defense of the DMZ from the 3rd Marine Division as it withdrew from South Vietnam.
Chinese People's Liberation Army troops attacked Soviet border guards on Zhenbao Island, marking a new low in relations between North Vietnam's principal allies.
Village and hamlet elections were held throughout South Vietnam, largely free of PAVN/VC interference.
Nixon met Lodge and Kỳ and Paris and subsequently stated that further attacks would not be tolerated.
Ben Het Camp was attacked by the PAVN 66th Regiment, supported by armored vehicles of the 4th Battalion, 202nd Armored Regiment. Two PT-76s and one BTR-50 were destroyed by U.S. M-48s of the 1st Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment in one of the few armored battles of the war.
Company A, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry lost 21 killed fighting a PAVN battalion at Landing Zone Brace in the Plei Trap Valley approximately 44 km west of Kontum.
The Rector of Saigon University, Professor Tran Anh, was shot by VC on a motorcycle; previously he had been notified that he was on the "death list" of the "Suicide Regiment of the Saigon Youth Guard."
South Vietnamese Prime Minister, Tran Van Huong, narrowly escaped assassination by a four man VC team as he was being driven to his home in Saigon. Huong's car was attacked by the VC who were wearing stolen Ranger uniforms, however Saigon police and ARVN troops opened fire and gave the driver time to accelerate and escape.
The PAVN/VC fired seven rockets into Saigon killing 22 civilians.
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Earle Wheeler visited South Vietnam.
Kon Sitiu and Kon Bobanh, two Montagnard villages in Kon Tum Province, were raided by VC; 15 persons killed; 23 kidnapped, two of whom were later executed; three long-houses, a church and a school burned. A hamlet chief is beaten to death. Survivors said that the VC explained that: "We are teaching you not to cooperate with the government."
The 3rd Marine Division and a regiment from the ARVN 1st Division launch Operation Maine Crag in the "Vietnam Salient" of Quảng Trị Province. The operation uncovered large amounts of supplies and resulted in 207 PAVN killed.
The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment conducted Operation Atlas Wedge in the Michelin Rubber Plantation, resulting in 335 PAVN killed and 11 captured for the loss of seven U.S. killed.
Operation Raindance was a USAF interdiction bombing campaign to support RLA forces fighting the PAVN/Pathet Lao on the Plain of Jars.
Operation Menu was the codename of a covert United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombing campaign conducted in eastern Cambodia from 18 March 1969 until 26 May 1970. The supposed targets of these attacks were PAVN/VC sanctuaries and base areas used for resupply, training, and resting between campaigns across the border in the South Vietnam.
The 196th Light Infantry Brigade and ARVN 5th Regiment, 2nd Division launched Operation Frederick Hill to pacify the coastal areas of Quảng Tín Province. The operation results in 7,514 PAVN/VC killed and 133 captured, U.S. losses are 572 killed.
The 198th Light Infantry Brigade and ARVN 6th Regiment, 2nd Division launch Operation Geneva Park to pacify Quảng Ngãi Province. the operation results in 2,337 PAVN killed and 67 captured, U.S. losses are 231 killed.
Operation Quyet Thang 25 was conducted by the ARVN 4th Regiment, 2nd Division in Quảng Ngãi Province. The operation resulted in 592 PAVN/VC killed.
A Kon Tum Province refugee center was attacked for the second time by a PAVN battalion using mortars and B-40 rockets. Seventeen civilians were killed and 36 wounded, many of them women and children. A third of the center was destroyed.
A Gallup poll showed that 32% of Americans favor escalating the war, 19% favor continuing the current policy, 26% favor withdrawal and 21% had no opinion.
The 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines and elements of the 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division launch Operation Montana Mauler against the PAVN 27th Regiment north of Firebase Fuller in Quảng Trị Province. The operation results in 271 PAVN killed, U.S. losses are 38 killed.
The VC attacked Tam Soc Base in Sóc Trăng Province killing two U.S. advisers from MACV Advisory team 71 and capturing another two, both of whom died in captivity.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their first Bed-In for Peace at the Hilton Amsterdam.
Mass graves of victims of the VC's Massacre at Huế were uncovered.
The 1st Marine Division and ARVN 51st Regiment, 1st Division launched Operation Oklahoma Hills in southwest Quảng Nam Province. The operation resulted in 589 PAVN killed, U.S. losses were 43 killed.
April
The number of American military personnel in Vietnam peaked at 543,000.
Laird announced that B-52 bombing missions over South Vietnam would be reduced by 10% due to reductions in the defense budget.