This Day in History: 18 December 2019
18 December 1972
47 years ago, today, US President Richard Nixon announced the beginning of a large bombing onto North Vietnam to break their stalemate, as this was during the Vietnam War, which lasted for 19 years, mainly between South and North Vietnam. This gained many informal titles, such as 'The December Raids' and 'The Christmas Bombings', and was carried out for over a week. Peace talks between the US and Communist-supported North Vietnam collapsed prior, and the negotiators on both sides swapped charges as to who was to blame. President Nixon was angered by this, and as a response, ordered plans to be drawn up for retaliatory bombings on North Vietnam, resulting in OperationLinebacker II. This began on this day, and 20,000 bombs were dropped on the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong, but the US also lost 26 fighter planes in total during the attack. North Vietnam also claimed that over 1,600 civilians were killed in this operation.
On December 29, the North Vietnamese finally agreed to resume the peace negotiations. A few weeks later, on 27 January 1973, the Paris Peace Accords were signed, ending direct US involvement in the war, and also created a ceasefire between North and South Vietnam. Some historians argue that these 'Christmas Bombings' forced the North Vietnamese back to the negotiating table, while others have suggested the attacks had little impact, apart from the deaths of many and the destruction it caused. The main impact of these bombings may have been seen as finally convincing the South Vietnamese that the US would not desert them, as they were highly suspicious of the initial peace treaty proposed previous to the bombings.
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