Contemporary
Singapore Independence 1965: Separation from Malaysia
Singapore left the Federation of Malaysia and became a sovereign republic, joining the United Nations in September 1965.
Region
Asia
Contemporary
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965: Kashmir and the Tashkent Agreement
A UN-demanded ceasefire on 23 September 1965 ended the fighting in a military stalemate; the Tashkent Declaration of January 1966 restored pre-war positions.
Contemporary
Indonesian Mass Killings 1965-1966: The Anti-Communist Purge
An estimated 500,000 to 1 million people were killed, the Communist Party of Indonesia was destroyed and Suharto replaced Sukarno, establishing the New Order.
Contemporary
Alexei Leonov and the First Spacewalk (1965) on Voskhod 2
Leonov became the first person to leave a spacecraft in orbit, and the crew survived a series of dangerous failures to land safely in the Urals.
Contemporary
Battle of Long Tan (1966): Australia at War in Vietnam
D Company held its ground until relieved; 18 Australians were killed and at least 245 Viet Cong bodies were found, and the 1st Australian Task Force kept control of its area.
Contemporary
Cultural Revolution 1966-1976: Mao, the Red Guards and Upheaval
A decade of political persecution, violence and economic disruption ended after Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four; the Party later condemned it as a catastrophe.
Contemporary
Luna 9 (1966): The First Soft Landing on the Moon
Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land softly on another world and returned panoramic pictures proving the lunar surface could support a landing craft.
Contemporary
USS Pueblo Incident (1968): US Spy Ship Seized by North Korea
North Korea held the 82 surviving crew for 11 months, releasing them on 23 December 1968; the ship itself was never returned.
Contemporary
Battle of Hue (1968): Urban Combat in Vietnam's Imperial City
US and South Vietnamese forces retook Hue after about a month of street fighting, but much of the city was destroyed and thousands of civilians died.
Contemporary
Battle of Khe Sanh (1968): The 77-Day Siege of a Marine Base
The Marine base held and the siege was lifted in April 1968, but US forces dismantled and abandoned Khe Sanh in July 1968.
Contemporary
My Lai Massacre (1968): War Crime and Cover-Up in Vietnam
Between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians were killed; the massacre was covered up for over a year, and of those charged only Lieutenant William Calley was convicted.
Contemporary
Tet Offensive (1968): The Surprise Attack That Turned the War
The offensive was beaten back with very heavy communist losses, but it shattered American confidence, led Johnson to limit the bombing and not seek re-election, and opened the way to peace talks.