Operation Rolling Thunder

1. Operation Rolling Thunder By: Jeremy Leatherbarrow, Mitch Roberts, and Tom Elling

2. Background Information • In the 1950s, air strikes occurred to help South Vietnam resist a Communist takeover by North Vietnam • In 1962, limited air operations were held with the purpose of destroying suspected Viet Cong bases in South Vietnam, and spraying defoliants in the jungle to eliminate cover • Retaliatory air strikes in 1964 happened as a result of the Gulf of Tonkin conflict, and later that year bombings of the Ho Chi Minh Trail were held to stop the flow of enemy supplies • In 1965, Operation Rolling Thunder began as a response to the Viet Cong attack on the U.S. Air base Pleiku

3. Nature of Conflict/Who Was Involved • The United States was on the offensive with the aid of South Vietnam using the US 2nd Air Division and the US Navy • The Republic of Vietnam defended themselves with their Air Force

4. Details • The Johnson administration cited a number of reasons for shifting U.S. strategy to include systematic aerial assaults on North Vietnam. Administration officials believed that heavy bombing might encourage North Vietnamese leaders to accept the non-Communist government in South Vietnam. The administration also wanted to reduce North Vietnam's ability to produce and transport supplies to help the Viet Cong fighters. The president and his advisors hoped to boost morale in South Vietnam while destroying the Communists' will to fight

5. Details • Although North Vietnam did not have much of an air force, its leaders managed to effectively defend themselves. With assistance from China and the Soviet Union, the North Vietnamese made a decent air-defense system. Using what they had been given by their allies, the Communists shot down hundreds of American planes. As a result, pilots and aircraft weapon systems operators accounted for the majority of the American prisoners of war who were captured and held by North Vietnam

6. Influence • The bombing campaign came close to crippling North Vietnam's capacity to wage war in the minds of many. However, some people also believe that the campaign's effectiveness was limited. They say that rules of engagement put in place to avoid provoking Communist China to prevent damaging Hanoi and Haiphong made it impossible for the U.S. air strikes to hit a number of important targets, including air fields, shipyards, power plants and oil storage facilities. They also say that the leaders failed to coordinate the bombings in North Vietnam with the ground operations in South Vietnam

7. Influence • Although many people and targets were destroyed in this campaign, many people say that the bombings are questionable. The destruction may have only pushed our enemy to fight harder, and we lost many of our own people in the process

8. Additional Information • North Vietnamese leaders took a number of steps to reduce the impact of the bombing raids. They constructed networks of bombproof tunnels and shelters, and dispatched crews by night to rebuild the roads, bridges, communication systems and other facilities hit by bombs. Also, the Communists used the destructive air strikes for propaganda purposes to increase anti-American patriotism among North Vietnamese citizens

9. Additional Information • http://www.history.com/shows/vietnam-in-hd/videos/vietnam-deconstructed#vietnam-deconstructed

10. Additional Information