A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
A Concise History of the US Air Force - Air Force Historical Studies ...
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The Tet <strong>of</strong>fensive proved a military defeat for <strong>the</strong> Communists,<br />
who lost between 50,000 and 80,000 soldiers, but it represented a politi-<br />
cal victory that galvanized <strong>the</strong> antiwar movement in <strong>the</strong> United States. It<br />
led many o<strong>the</strong>r Americans to question <strong>the</strong> war’s objectives, especially in<br />
<strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> General Westmoreland’s announcement just before its launch-<br />
ing that he could see “<strong>the</strong> light at <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tunnel.” The Tet <strong>of</strong>fen-<br />
sive (and a poor showing in <strong>the</strong> New Hampshire primary) convinced<br />
President Johnson not to run for reelection. It also brought to <strong>the</strong> Oval<br />
Office a new president, Richard Nixon, committed to ending American<br />
involvement in <strong>the</strong> war and turning it over to <strong>the</strong> South Vietnamese. F-5<br />
Freedom Fighters streng<strong>the</strong>ned <strong>the</strong> South Vietnamese <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> while<br />
Nixon withdrew American ground units. On March 30, 1972, <strong>the</strong> North<br />
Vietnamese Army invaded South Vietnam with 12 divisions from <strong>the</strong><br />
north and west. Although South Vietnamese forces were no match for <strong>the</strong><br />
invaders, <strong>the</strong> Spring <strong>of</strong>fensive was a major miscalculation. American<br />
ground forces were gone, but U.S. <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> and U.S. Navy aviation<br />
remained. For <strong>the</strong> first time in <strong>the</strong> war, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong> was up against <strong>the</strong><br />
kind <strong>of</strong> conventional war it could win. Eighteen thousand fighter-bomber<br />
and 1,800 B-52 sorties stiffened South Vietnamese resolve. In <strong>the</strong> des-<br />
peration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> moment, fighter pilots found <strong>the</strong>mselves aiming 2,000-<br />
pound laser-guided bombs at Communist tanks-not cost effective, but<br />
effective never<strong>the</strong>less. The massive employment <strong>of</strong> air power bought<br />
more time for South Vietnam.<br />
Although American air power had repelled <strong>the</strong> invasion, implica-<br />
tions for Nixon’s Vietnamization strategy were clear. American hopes for<br />
ending <strong>the</strong> war revolved around <strong>the</strong> <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Force</strong>’s applying greater pressure<br />
on North Vietnam to influence its negotiators to return to <strong>the</strong> Paris peace<br />
talks. The LINEBACKER I bombing campaign from May to October<br />
1972 was a major escalation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> war and included <strong>the</strong> mining <strong>of</strong><br />
Haiphong and o<strong>the</strong>r ports. Bridges that had resisted bombing now fell<br />
before precision laser-guided and electro-optically-guided bombs. Before<br />
LINEBACKER, peer pressure and pride drove American aircrews, even<br />
as <strong>the</strong>y asked: “What <strong>the</strong> hell is this all about?’ During LINEBACKER<br />
<strong>the</strong>y had a clear and limited objective-forcing <strong>the</strong> regime in Hanoi back<br />
to Paris.<br />
In Paris some progress was made, but in December 1972 Com-<br />
munist negotiators became recalcitrant. Their delaying tactics prompted<br />
President Nixon to order <strong>the</strong> most concentrated bombing campaign <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
war-LINEBACKER 11. For 11 days beginning on December 18, with a<br />
Christmas break, SAC B-52s struck at rail yards and o<strong>the</strong>r targets in <strong>the</strong><br />
outskirts <strong>of</strong> Hanoi and Haiphong. On <strong>the</strong> first mission, 129 B-52s pene-<br />
66