Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. LINEBACKER Operations, September - December 1972
Abstract
This report continues the chronology of events from the termination date of a previous CHECO report, Linebacker: Overview of the First 120 Days, which covered the period from 10 May to 10 September 1972. This study also shows the evolution of bombing tactics and technologies from 11 September 1972 until the final cease-fire announcement on 14 January 1973. Other topics highlighted in this report are discussions of significant historical events, expansion of command and control systems, effectiveness of penetration aids, force composition and selection, impact of guided bombs, and significance of weather on decision-making. Although the focus, geographically, will be on air activities within North Vietnam, the operational area must be viewed in broader terms. Forces engaged in air operations over NVN originated from staging bases in Thailand, South Vietnam, and Guam, and from Navy carriers off the coast. Activities against enemy units outside North Vietnam-the Linebacker area--however, will not be addressed except when requirements in these areas had an adverse impact upon completion of the Linebacker mission. Politically, the situation was deteriorating rapidly at the Paris peace talks because of the continued North Vietnamese invasion across the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which began in March 1972. Militarily, the situation had stabilized in the fall of 1972, with a continuing interdiction effort over NVN, SVN, and Laos. Although significant bomb damage had been inflicted by Allied air power, the enemy supply effort was not stopped. The Allied team was being pushed into a corner. One could almost predict the dealing of the ultimate blow, the 11-day air campaign in December of 1972. A similar political-military dilemma had confronted America nearly 20 years before in Korea. At that time, General Douglas MacArthur's forces neatly slipped into the port of Inchon to slice the North Korean supply line in two.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 31, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA487182
Entities
People
- Calvin R. Johnson
Organizations
- Pacific Air Forces