Operation Linebacker bombing campaign begins

The People’s Army of Vietnam launched a major conventional offensive across the demilitarized zone and into the Central Highlands. South Vietnamese forces resisted with substantial U.S. air support....

North Vietnamese forces attacked Lộc Ninh, a district town near Cambodia. The battle formed part of the wider 1972 offensive and involved intense ground fighting and displacement. Its location near...

North Vietnamese forces began a major assault on An Lộc, where South Vietnamese troops and civilians endured a prolonged siege and heavy bombardment. The battle demonstrated the destructive reach of...

During the Easter Offensive, North Vietnamese forces took the provincial capital after South Vietnamese defenses collapsed. Civilians fled amid fighting and bombardment. The event became central to...

The U.S. announced that mines would be laid in Haiphong and other ports to disrupt external supply. The decision sharply escalated pressure on North Vietnam and affected shipping, while expanding...

After months of fighting and extensive U.S. air and naval support, South Vietnamese forces regained the city. The battle had devastated the area and displaced residents. Competing accounts of...

U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger publicly said that a peace agreement was near after secret negotiations with Lê Đức Thọ. President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu rejected key terms and the...

Negotiations between U.S. and North Vietnamese representatives broke down. Nixon then ordered the massive Linebacker II air campaign, showing how coercive bombing was used as leverage while...

The Nixon administration began intensive air attacks on Hanoi and Haiphong after negotiations stalled. The bombing killed civilians and damaged infrastructure; it did not settle the underlying...

The Nixon administration halted the intensive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong after eleven days. Civilian deaths and destruction drew international criticism. Negotiations resumed, but the bombing’s...