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What bombing campaign in Vietnam brought the North Vietnamese back to the negotiating table?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Hanoi knew the US was leaving South Vietnam (leaving the war) as early as 1969, as that was Nixon's election campaign in 1968 (leaving with honor). Consequently, North Vietnam didn't want to do anything that would hinder that objective. Largely ineffective in winning the war, the US had to have some sort of "accomplishment" in Vietnam (after decades of fighting), Hanoi no doubt believed that if the "US was to save face (peace with honor) then it would be a "win win situation" if the US believed that "Operation Linebacker/Linebacker II" brought Hanoi back to the peace talks." With good timing and political language (political rhetoric) Linebacker/Linebacker II were credited with bringing Hanoi back to the negotiating table.
However, if the student will study those bombing campaigns real closely, they will find that SAC (Strategic Air Command) B52 fleet was suffering greatly; in some cases US crews were talking about refusing to fly missions over Hanoi due to excessive B52 losses (mostly to SAMS). There were only about 200 B52s left in the fleet (roughly only 700 had been built, and around 400 had been destroyed by treaties with the Soviet Union), 30 had been lost in the Vietnam War, and Linebacker/Linebacker II had cost the USAF over a dozen B52s shot down in just a few weeks. If the bombing campaign continued as it was for another 6 months (Rolling Thunder lasted 3 years) 6 months times 12 bombers destroyed equated to 72 B52s lost. This figure would have approached (if not reached) a 50% loss rate of SACs B52s...and remember the US was still fighting the cold war with the Soviet Union in 1972. The B52 was Americas ONLY effective manned offensive bomber against the USSR.
True, other US jets could have been used to level North Vietnam...the A6 Intruder medium bomber for one, but only 600 of those had been built, and 1/6th of that number had been destroyed in the war. With another 1/3rd being worn out or damaged as a result of wartime operations. The primary fighter bomber of the war over North Vietnam was Republics F105 Thunderchief (this single engine/single manned jet carried MORE bombs than a four engined WWII B17 heavy bomber). But only 833 Thunderchiefs had been built, and nearly 400 had been destroyed in the war. The "Thud" was pulled out of the war (the first US aircraft in history to be pulled off the front lines due to excessive loss rates) due to it's 50% loss rate (no longer combat effective in military jargon) and was replaced by the F4 Phantom II.
Bottom line: Linebacker II could've continued with victory if Hanoi became stubborn; but it would have cost an awful lot of very expensive US aircraft, and the crewmen that manned them.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What were the Christmas bombings?
The Christmas bombing was From Dec. 18 until Dec. 30 in 1972 in the Vietnam war. The United States conducted a campaign of intensive aerial bombing, using massive B-52s, over North Vietnam. President Richard Nixon unleashed the bombing to make the South and North Vietnamese sit down at the bargaining table to negotiate the end of the Vietnam War.
How were the North Vietnamese victorious in the Vietnam War if they were convinced by Nixon's bombing campaign to negotiate a ceasefire which would actually give the South Vietnamese the advantage?
A CIA spymaster named Orrin DeForest wrote a great book about Vietnam called "Slow Burn." In it he says the North Vietnamese started violating the ceasefire before the ink was dry.
How did President Lyndon Johnson respond to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?
By bombing North Vietnamese Navy installations in North Vietnam.
What was the first extensive your bombing of north Vietnam?
LBJ ordered retaliatory bombing of the North Vietnamese Navy's torpedo boat docking facilities in August 1964 following the Tonkin Gulf incidents 02/04 August 1964.
What did opposition to the Vietnam War prompt President Johnson to do?
Opposition to the Vietnam war caused President Lyndon Johnson to halt aerial bombing of the North Vietnamese and engage in peace talks instead of escalating the war.
What were the Christmas bombings?
The Christmas bombing was From Dec. 18 until Dec. 30 in 1972 in the Vietnam war. The United States conducted a campaign of intensive aerial bombing, using massive B-52s, over North Vietnam. President Richard Nixon unleashed the bombing to make the South and North Vietnamese sit down at the bargaining table to negotiate the end of the Vietnam War.
How were the North Vietnamese victorious in the Vietnam War if they were convinced by Nixon's bombing campaign to negotiate a ceasefire which would actually give the South Vietnamese the advantage?
A CIA spymaster named Orrin DeForest wrote a great book about Vietnam called "Slow Burn." In it he says the North Vietnamese started violating the ceasefire before the ink was dry.
How did President Lyndon Johnson respond to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?
By bombing North Vietnamese Navy installations in North Vietnam.
What was the brutal killing of innocent civilians in Vietnam known as?
When the US and South Vietnam committed wanton killings, they used the names 'free fire zones', 'strategic bombing', 'area bombing', and 'pacification'. The US and South Vietnam may have caused the deaths of up to 2 million non-combatants. When the North Vietnamese conquered the south in 1975, a huge wave of organized murder resulted. North Vietnamese leaders called this payment of 'blood debt.' Around 600,000 died from forced relocation and labor camps in the 'reeducation plan'. Tens of thousands perished fleeing the country. The Communist forces also did a genocidal or ethnic cleansing pogrom against the highlanders. One such campaign resulted in the death or disappearance of 150,000 people. Another genocidal campaign was waged in the south by the Khmer Rouge, who essentially came into Vietnam and slaughtered anyone who was Vietnamese. The Communist leadership in Vietnam responded with a similarly vicious campaign which drove the Khmer Rouge out of Vietnam and ended with the Vietnamese Army toppling the Khmer Rouge leadership in Cambodia. My Lai Massacre
What president ordered bombing raids on north Vietnam.?
LBJ started the bombing by attacking North Vietnamese Navy torpedo boat bases in North Vietnam; in retaliation for their attacks on US Navy destroyers in the Tonkin Gulf in August 1964.
What did president Johnson hope to accomplish with his heavy bombing of north Vietnam?
Bombing them into submission. Making them accept our terms. Making them want to negotiate.
Which president ordered a continuous bombing campaign over North Vietnam and sent the first combat troops to South Vietnam?
Lyndon Johnson :) hope I helped!!!! Have a good day!
The campaign of sustained bombing launched by Lyndon Johnson against North Vietnam in 1964 was known as?
Operation Rolling Thunder. It aimed to weaken North Vietnam's ability to wage war and to pressure them to negotiate a settlement. The bombing campaign lasted for three years but did not achieve its objectives and instead intensified the conflict.
What was the first extensive your bombing of north Vietnam?
LBJ ordered retaliatory bombing of the North Vietnamese Navy's torpedo boat docking facilities in August 1964 following the Tonkin Gulf incidents 02/04 August 1964.
Why did president Johnson believe that it was important for the U.S to win Vietnam?
President Johnson believed in the domino theory. He feared a communist takeover in Southeast Asia if the United States left Vietnam.
What did opposition to the Vietnam War prompt President Johnson to do?
Opposition to the Vietnam war caused President Lyndon Johnson to halt aerial bombing of the North Vietnamese and engage in peace talks instead of escalating the war.
To convince North Vietnam to stop reinforcing the Vietcong President Johnson ordered Operation Rolling Thunder which .?
began a sustained bombing campaign
