In the early to mid-1900s, after the end of World War II, the communist North Vietnamese government with the aid of their guerrilla allies within the boundaries of South Vietnam waged war against the South Vietnamese leadership and the French. Seeing the ongoing fight for the French and South Vietnamese, the powerful United States provided assistance in support of their allies, but limited their involvement to supplying equipment and personnel support in efforts to fight off the advances of the Chinese and Soviet Union backed North Vietnam. As the conflict progressed, the American footprint and role in South Vietnam continued to grow in both financial obligation and personnel. From 1950 to 1954, the aid in the form of tanks, artillery, airplanes,
…show more content…
Operation Rolling Thunder officially ended on 31 October 1968. In January 1969 peace talks with North Vietnam began in Paris, but attacks by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese continue (Gavin, 1996). At the completion of Operation Rolling Thunder, the U.S. and Vietnamese aircraft expended 643,000 tons of high explosive, cluster bombs, guided bombs, and fuel air explosive bombs lending to the total of 4.6 million tons dropped in Vietnam during the War (History.com Staff, 2010). In comparison to previous conflicts, Operation Rolling Thunder was the largest single bombing campaign to that date. Unfortunately, the U.S. suffered a loss of approximately 900 aircraft due to North Vietnamese air defense. In estimation, the amount of damage inflicted to the enemy power was roughly $300 million, yet dealt a price tag of triple that to the United States weighing in around $900 million (Trueman, 2015). The financial and human loss dealt to the United States during this campaign gives many historians the impression that Operation Rolling Thunder was a failure. However, numerous advancements in technology and tactics developed and evolved because of the campaign, though this does not necessarily justify the impacts imposed by the extensive campaign. Despite the downfalls of Operation Rolling Thunder, future President Richard Nixon used similar bombing campaigns later in the Vietnam War with Operation Linebacker and Linebacker II in 1972 (Nastasi, 2002). Conventional bombing campaigns have since decreased in modern conflict, but air power and air superiority are present in the Global War on Terror against an enemy that employs similar guerrilla tactics employed by the communist North Korea and their Viet Cong supporters. The American footprint of the current war in Iraq, like the Vietnam War prior to 1965 and prior, is
Operation Rolling Thunder officially ended on 31 October 1968. In January 1969 peace talks with North Vietnam began in Paris, but attacks by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese continue (Gavin, 1996). At the completion of Operation Rolling Thunder, the U.S. and Vietnamese aircraft expended 643,000 tons of high explosive, cluster bombs, guided bombs, and fuel air explosive bombs lending to the total of 4.6 million tons dropped in Vietnam during the War (History.com Staff, 2010). In comparison to previous conflicts, Operation Rolling Thunder was the largest single bombing campaign to that date. Unfortunately, the U.S. suffered a loss of approximately 900 aircraft due to North Vietnamese air defense. In estimation, the amount of damage inflicted to the enemy power was roughly $300 million, yet dealt a price tag of triple that to the United States weighing in around $900 million (Trueman, 2015). The financial and human loss dealt to the United States during this campaign gives many historians the impression that Operation Rolling Thunder was a failure. However, numerous advancements in technology and tactics developed and evolved because of the campaign, though this does not necessarily justify the impacts imposed by the extensive campaign. Despite the downfalls of Operation Rolling Thunder, future President Richard Nixon used similar bombing campaigns later in the Vietnam War with Operation Linebacker and Linebacker II in 1972 (Nastasi, 2002). Conventional bombing campaigns have since decreased in modern conflict, but air power and air superiority are present in the Global War on Terror against an enemy that employs similar guerrilla tactics employed by the communist North Korea and their Viet Cong supporters. The American footprint of the current war in Iraq, like the Vietnam War prior to 1965 and prior, is