History of Vietnam war

Historical Importance of the Vietnam War: The Vietnam War was the prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government an

Historical Importance of the Vietnam War: The Vietnam War was the

prolonged struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country

of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States (with the aid of the South Vietnamese) attempting to prevent the spread of communism Engaged in a war that many viewed as having no way to win, U.S leaders lost the American public's support for the war Since the end of

the war, the Vietnam War has become a benchmark for what not to do in all

future U.S foreign conflicts

Dates of the Vietnam War: 1959 April 30, 1975

Also Known As: American War in Vietnam, Vietnam Conflict, Second

Indochina War, War Against the Americans to Save the Nation

Overview of the Vietnam War:

Ho Chi Minh Comes Home

There had been fighting in Vietnam for decades before the Vietnam War began The Vietnamese had suffered under French colonial rule for nearly six decades when Japan invaded portions of Vietnam in 1940 It was in 1941, when Vietnam had two foreign powers occupying them, that communist Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh arrived back in Vietnam after spending thirty years traveling the world

Once Ho was back in Vietnam, he established a headquarters in a cave in northern Vietnam and established the Viet Minh, whose goal was to rid Vietnam of the French and Japanese occupiers Having gained support for their cause in northern Vietnam, the Viet Minh announced the establishment

of an independent Vietnam with a new government called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945 The French, however, were not willing to give up their colony so easily and fought back

For years, Ho had tried to court the United States to support him against the French, including supplying the U.S with military intelligence about the Japanese during World War II Despite this aid, the United States was fully dedicated to their Cold War foreign policy of containment, which meant preventing the spread of Communism This fear of the spread of Communism was heightened by the U.S "domino theory," which stated that if one country in Southeast Asia fell to Communism then surrounding countries would also soon fall To help prevent Vietnam from becoming a communist country, the U.S decided to help France defeat Ho and his revolutionaries by sending the French military aid in 1950

France Steps Out, U.S Steps In

In 1954, after suffering a decisive defeat at Dien Bien Phu, the French decided to pull out of Vietnam At the Geneva Conference of 1954, a number

of nations met to determine how the French could peacefully withdraw The agreement that came out of the conference (called the Geneva Accords) stipulated a cease fire for the peaceful withdrawal of French forces and the temporary division of Vietnam along the 17th parallel (which split the country into communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam)

In addition, a general democratic election was to be held in 1956 that would reunite the country under one government The United States refused to agree to the election, fearing the communists might win

With help from the United States, South Vietnam carried out the election only in South Vietnam rather than countrywide After eliminating most of his rivals, Ngo Dinh Diem was elected His leadership, however, proved so horrible that he was killed in 1963 during a coup supported by the United States Since Diem had alienated many South Vietnamese during his tenure, communist sympathizers in South Vietnam established the National Liberation Front (NLF), also known as the Viet Cong, in 1960 to use guerilla warfare against the South Vietnamese

First U.S Ground Troops Sent to Vietnam

As the fighting between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese continued, the U.S continued to send additional advisers to South Vietnam When the North Vietnamese fired directly upon two U.S ships in international waters

on August 2 and 4, 1964 (known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident), Congress responded with the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution This resolution gave the President the authority to escalate U.S involvement in Vietnam President Lyndon Johnson used that authority to order the first U.S ground troops to Vietnam in March 1965

Johnson's Plan for Success

President Johnson's goal for U.S involvement in Vietnam was not for the U.S to win the war, but for U.S troops to bolster South Vietnam's defenses until South Vietnam could take over By entering the Vietnam War without a goal to win, Johnson set the stage for future public and troop disappointment when the U.S found themselves in a stalemate with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong

From 1965 to 1969, the U.S was involved in a limited war in Vietnam Although there were aerial bombings of the North, President Johnson wanted the fighting to be limited to South Vietnam By limiting the fighting parameters, the U.S forces would not conduct a serious ground assault into the North to attack the communists directly nor would there be any strong effort to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Viet Cong's supply path that ran through Laos and Cambodia)

Life in the Jungle

U.S troops fought a jungle war, mostly against the well-supplied Viet Cong The Viet Cong would attack in ambushes, set up booby traps, and escape through a complex network of underground tunnels For U.S forces, even just finding their enemy proved difficult Since Viet Cong hid in the dense brush, U.S forces would drop Agent Orange or napalm bombs which cleared

an area by causing the leaves to drop off or to burn away In every village, U.S troops had difficulty determining which, if any, villagers were the enemy since even women and children could build booby traps or help house and feed the Viet Cong U.S soldiers commonly became frustrated with the fighting conditions in Vietnam Many suffered from low morale, became angry, and some used drugs

Surprise Attack

On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese surprised both the U.S forces and the South Vietnamese by orchestrating a coordinated assault with the Viet Cong to attack about a hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns Although the U.S forces and the South Vietnamese army were able to repel the assault known as the Tet Offensive, this attack proved to Americans that the enemy was stronger and better organized than they had been led to believe The Tet Offensive was a turning point in the war because President Johnson, faced now with an unhappy American public and bad news from his military leaders in Vietnam, decided to no longer escalate the war

Nixon's Plan for "Peace With Honor"

In 1969, Richard Nixon became the new U.S President and he had his own plan to end U.S involvement in Vietnam President Nixon outlined a plan called Vietnamization, which was a process to remove U.S troops from Vietnam while handing back the fighting to the South Vietnamese The withdrawal of U.S troops began in July 1969 To bring a faster end to hostilities, President Nixon also expanded the war into other countries, such

as Laos and Cambodia a move that created thousands of protests, especially on college campuses, back in America To work toward peace, new peace talks began in Paris on January 25, 1969

When the U.S had withdrawn most of its troops from Vietnam, the North Vietnamese staged another massive assault, called the Easter Offensive (also

called the Spring Offensive), on March 30, 1972 North Vietnamese troops crossed over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the 17th parallel and invaded South Vietnam The remaining U.S forces and the South Vietnamese army fought back

The Paris Peace Accords

On January 27, 1973, the peace talks in Paris finally succeeded in producing

a cease-fire agreement The last U.S troops left Vietnam on March 29, 1973, knowing they were leaving a weak South Vietnam who would not be able to withstand another major communist North Vietnam attack

Reunification of Vietnam

After the U.S had withdrawn all its troops, the fighting continued in Vietnam

In early 1975, North Vietnam made another big push south which toppled the South Vietnamese government South Vietnam officially surrendered to communist North Vietnam on April 30, 1975 On July 2, 1976, Vietnam was reunited as a communist country, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

1858-1884 - France invades Vietnam and makes Vietnam a colony

October 1930 - Ho Chi Minh helps found the Indochinese Communist Party September 1940 - Japan invades Vietnam

May 1941 - Ho Chi Minh establishes the Viet Minh (League for the

Independence of Vietnam)

September 2, 1945 - Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam, called

the Democratic Republic of Vietnam

January 1950 - The Viet Minh receive military advisors and weapons from

China

July 1950 - The United States pledges $15 million worth of military aid to

France to help them fight in Vietnam

May 7, 1954 - The French suffer a decisive defeat at the Battle of Dien Bien

Phu

July 21, 1954 - The Geneva Accords creates a cease-fire for the peaceful

withdrawal of the French from Vietnam and provides a temporary boundary between North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel

October 26, 1955 - South Vietnam declares itself the Republic of Vietnam,

with newly elected Ngo Dinh Diem as president

December 20, 1960 - The National Liberation Front (NLF), also called the

Viet Cong, is established in South Vietnam

November 2, 1963 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is

executed during a coup

August 2 and 4, 1964 - North Vietnamese attack two U.S destroyers

sitting in international waters (the Gulf of Tonkin Incident)

August 7, 1964 - In response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, the U.S

Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

March 2, 1965 - A sustained U.S aerial bombing campaign of North

Vietnam begins (Operation Rolling Thunder)

March 8, 1965 - The first U.S combat troops arrive in Vietnam

January 30, 1968 - The North Vietnamese join forces with the Viet Cong to

launch the Tet Offensive, attacking approximately one hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns

March 16, 1968 - U.S soldiers kill hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the

town of Mai Lai

July 1968 - General William Westmoreland, who had been in charge of the

U.S troops in Vietnam, is replaced by General Creighton Abrams

December 1968 - U.S troops in Vietnam reaches 540,000

July 1969 - President Nixon orders the first of many U.S troop withdrawals

from Vietnam

September 3, 1969 - Communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh dies at

age 79

November 13, 1969 - The American public learns of the Mai Lai massacre April 30, 1970 - President Nixon announces that U.S troops will attack

enemy locations in Cambodia This news sparks nationwide protests, especially on college campuses

June 13, 1971 - Portions of the Pentagon Papers are published in The New

York Times

March 1972 - The North Vietnamese cross the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at

the 17th parallel to attack South Vietnam in what became known as the Easter Offensive

January 27, 1973 - The Paris Peace Accords are signed that provide a

cease-fire

March 29, 1973 - The last U.S troops are withdrawn from Vietnam

March 1975 - North Vietnam launches a massive assault on South Vietnam April 30, 1975 - South Vietnam surrenders to the communists

July 2, 1976 - Vietnam is unified as a communist country, the Socialist

Republic of Vietnam

November 13, 1982 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C

is dedicated

The Vietnam War occurred in present-day Vietnam, Southeast Asia It represented a successful attempt on the part of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam, DRV) and the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam (Viet Cong) to unite and impose a communist system over the entire nation Opposing the DRV was the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam, RVN), backed by the United States The war in Vietnam occurred during the Cold War, and is generally viewed as an indirect conflict between the United States and Soviet Union, with each nation and its allies supporting one side

Causes of the Conflict

Photograph Source: Public Domain

The Vietnam War first began in 1959, five years after the division of the country by the Geneva Accords Vietnam had been split into two, with a communist government in the north under Ho Chi Minh and a democratic government in the south under Ngo Dinh Diem Ho launched a guerilla campaign in South Vietnam, led by Viet Cong units, with the goal of uniting the country under communist rule The United States, seeking to stop the spread of communism, trained the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and provided military advisors to help combat the guerillas

Post World War II Vietnam

The causes of the Vietnam War trace their roots back to the end of World War II A French colony, Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia) had been occupied by the Japanese during the war In 1941, a Vietnamese nationalist movement, the Viet Minh, was formed by Ho Chi Minh to resist the occupiers

A communist, Ho Chi Minh waged a guerilla war against the Japanese with the support of the United States Near the end of the war, the Japanese began to promote Vietnamese nationalism and ultimately granted the country nominal independence

Following the Japanese defeat, the French returned to take possession of their colony Their entrance into Vietnam was only permitted by the Viet Minh after assurances had been given that the country would gain independence as part of the French Union Discussions broke down between the two parties and in December 1946, the French shelled the city of Haiphong and forcibly reentered the capital, Hanoi

These actions began a conflict between the French and the Viet Minh known

as the First Indochina War Fought mainly in North Vietnam, this conflict ended when the French were decisively defeated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 The war was ultimately settled by the Geneva Accords of 1954, which

temporarily partitioned the country at the 17th parallel, with the Viet Minh in control of the north and a non-communist state to be formed in the south under Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem This division was to last until 1956, when national elections would be held to decide the future of the nation

The Politics of American Involvement

Initially, the United States had little interest in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, however as it became clear that the post-World War II world would be dominated by the US and its allies and the Soviet Union and theirs, isolating communist movements took an increased importance These concerns were ultimately formed into the doctrine of containment and domino theory First spelled out 1947, containment identified that the goal of Communism was to spread to capitalist states and that the only way to stop it was to “contain” it within its present borders Springing from containment was the concept of domino theory which stated that if one state in a region were to fall to Communism, then the surrounding states would inevitably fall as well These concepts were to dominate and guide US foreign policy for much of the Cold War

In 1950, to combat the spread of Communism, the United States began supplying the French military in Vietnam with advisors and funding its efforts against the “red” Viet Minh These efforts continued in 1956, when advisors were provided to train the army of the new Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) Despite their best efforts, the quality of the Army of the Republic

of Vietnam (ARVN) was to remain consistently poor throughout its existence

Early Life:

Born in the village of An Xa on August 25, 1911, Vo Nguyen Giap was the son of Vo Quang Nghiem At 16, he began attending a French lycée in Hue, but was expelled after two years for organizing a student strike He later attended the University of Hanoi where he earned degrees in political economy and law Departing school, he taught history and worked as a journalist until he was arrested in 1930, for supporting student strikes Released 13 months later, he joined the Communist Party and began protesting against French rule of Indochina During the 1930s, he resumed work as a writer for several newspapers

Exile & World War II:

In 1939, Giap married fellow socialist Nguyen Thi Quang Thai Their marriage was brief as he was forced to flee to China later that following the French outlawing of communism While in exile, his wife, father, sister, and sister-in-law were arrested and executed by the French In China, Giap joined with

Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the Vietnamese Independence League (Viet Minh) Between 1944 and 1945, Giap returned to Vietnam to organize guerilla activity against the Japanese Following the end of the World War II, the Viet Minh was given power by the Japanese to form a provisional government

First Indochina War:

In September 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and named Giap as interior minister The government was short-lived as the French soon returned to take control Unwilling to recognized Ho Chi Minh's government, fighting soon broke out between the French and the Viet Minh Given command of the Viet Minh's military, Giap soon found this his men could not defeat the better-equipped French and he ordered a withdrawal to bases in the countryside With the victory of Mao Zedong's communist forces in China, Giap's situation improved as he gained a new base for training his men

Over the next seven year's Giap's Viet Minh forces successfully drove the French from most of North Vietnam's rural areas, but were unable to take any of the region's towns or cities At a stalemate, Giap began attacking into

Laos, hoping to draw the French into battle on the Viet Minh's terms With French public opinion swinging against the war, the commander in Indochina, General Henri Navarre, sought a quick victory To accomplish this he fortified Dien Bien Phu which was situated on the Viet Minh's supply lines to Laos It was Navarre's goal to draw Giap into a conventional battle where he could be crushed

To deal with the new threat, Giap concentrated all of his forces around Dien Bien Phu and surrounded the French base On May 13, 1954, his men opened fire with newly obtained Chinese 105mm guns Surprising the French with artillery fire, the Viet Minh slowly tightened the noose on the isolated French garrison Over the next 56 days, Giap's troops captured one French position at time until the defenders were compelled to surrender The victory

at Dien Bien Phu effectively ended the First Indochina War In the ensuing peace accords, the country was partitioned with Ho Chi Minh leading communist North Vietnam

Vietnam War:

In the new government, Giap served as minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the People's Army of Vietnam With the outbreak of hostilities with South Vietnam, and later the United States, Giap led North Vietnam's strategy and command In 1967, Giap oversaw the planning for the massive Tet Offensive While initially against a conventional attack, Giap's goals were both military and political In addition to achieving a military victory, Giap desired the offensive to spark an uprising in South Vietnam and show that American claims about the war's progress were wrong

While the 1968 Tet Offensive proved to be a military disaster for North Vietnam, Giap was able to achieve some of his political objectives The offensive showed that North Vietnam was far from being defeated and significantly contributed to changing American perceptions about the conflict Following Tet, peace talks began and the US ultimately withdrew from the war in 1973 Following the American departure, Giap remained in command

of North Vietnamese forces and directed General Van Tien Dung and the Ho Chi Minh campaign that finally captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon in 1975

Postwar:

With Vietnam reunified under Communist rule, Giap remained minister of defense and was promoted to deputy prime minister in 1976 He stayed in these positions until 1980 and 1982 respectively Now retired, Giap is the

author of several military texts including People's Army, People's War and Big Victory, Great Task

The Tet Offensive

On January 21, 1968, an intense barrage of artillery hit the US Marine base

at Khe Sanh in northwest South Vietnam This presaged a siege and battle that would last for seventy-seven days and would see 6,000 Marines hold off 20,000 North Vietnamese Anticipating that American forces would be drawn north to the fighting at Khe Sanh, Viet Cong units broke the traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) cease-fire on January 30, 1968, by launching major attacks against most cities in South Vietnam

For the next two months, US and ARVN forces successfully beat back the Viet Cong assault, with particularly heavy combat in the cities of Hue and Saigon Once the fighting had ended, the Viet Cong had been permanently crippled and ceased to be an effective fighting force On April 1, US forces began Operation Pegasus to relieve the Marines at Khe Sanh After opening the road to Khe Sanh (Route 9) with a mix of air mobile and ground forces, US troops linked up with the besieged Marines on April 8

Aftereffects of Tet

While the Tet Offensive proved to be a military victory for the US and ARVN,

it was a political and media disaster Public support began to erode as Americans started to question the handling of the conflict Others doubted Westmoreland’s ability to command, leading to his replacement in June

1968, by General Creighton Abrams President Johnson’s popularity plummeted and he withdrew as a candidate for reelection Ultimately, it was the media’s reaction and stressing of a widening “credibility gap” that did the most damage to the Johnson Administration’s efforts Noted reporters, such

as Walter Cronkite, began to openly criticize Johnson and the military leadership, as well as called for negotiated end to the war Though he had low expectations, Johnson conceded and opened peace talks with North Vietnam in May 1968

Handing Off the War

Campaigning under the slogan “Peace with Honor,” Richard M Nixon won the

1968 presidential election His plan called for the “Vietnamization” of the war which was defined as the systematic build up of ARVN forces to the point that they could prosecute the war without American support As part of this plan, American troops would slowly be removed Nixon complemented this approach with efforts to ease global tensions by reaching out diplomatically

to the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China In Vietnam, the war shifted to smaller operations geared towards attacking North Vietnamese logistics

Trouble on the Home Front

While the antiwar movement in the US was pleased with Nixon’s efforts at détente with communist nations, it was inflamed in 1969, when news broke about a massacre of 347 South Vietnamese civilians by US soldiers at My Lai (March 18, 1968) Tension grew further when, following a change in stance

by Cambodia, the US began bombing North Vietnamese bases over the border This was followed in 1970, with ground forces attacking into Cambodia, a move viewed as expanding the war rather than winding it down Public opinion sunk lower in 1971 with the release of the Pentagon Papers A top secret report, the Pentagon Papers detailed American mistakes in Vietnam since 1945, as well as exposed lies about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, detailed US involvement in deposing Diem, and revealed secret American bombing of Laos The papers also painted a bleak outlook for American prospects of victory

First Cracks

Despite the incursion into Cambodia, Nixon had begun the systematic withdrawal of US forces, lowering troop strength to 156,800 in 1971 That same year, the ARVN commenced Operation Lam Son 719 with the goal of severing the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos In what was seen as a dramatic failure for “Vietnamization,” ARVN forces were routed and driven back across the border Further cracks were revealed in 1972, when the North Vietnamese launched a conventional invasion of the South, attacking into the northern provinces and from Cambodia This offensive was only defeated with the support of US airpower (Operation Linebacker)

Conflict & Dates:

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was fought from March 13 to May 7, 1954, and was the decisive engagement of the First Indochina War (1946-1954), the precursor to the Vietnam War

Armies & Commanders:

French

• Brigadier General Christian de Castries

• Colonel Pierre Langlais

• Major General Rene Cogny

• 10,800 men (March 13)

Viet Minh

• Vo Nguyen Giap

• 48,000 men (March 13)

Battle of Dien Bien Phu Overview:

With the First Indochina War going poorly for the French, Premier Rene Mayer dispatched General Henri Navarre to take command in May 1953 Arriving in Hanoi, Navarre found that no long-term plan existed for defeating the Viet Minh and that French forces simply reacted to the enemy's moves Believing that he was also tasked with defending neighboring Laos, Navarre sought an effective method for interdicting Viet Minh supply lines through the region Working with Colonel Louis Berteil, the "hedgehog" concept was developed which called for French troops to establish fortified camps near Viet Minh supply routes

Supplied by air, the hedgehogs would allow French troops to block the Viet Minh's supplies, compelling them to fall back The concept was largely based

on the French success at the Battle of Na San in late 1952 Holding the high ground around a fortified camp at Na San, French forces had repeatedly beaten back assaults by General Vo Nguyen Giap's Viet Minh troops Navarre believed that the approach used at Na San could be enlarged to force the Viet Minh to commit to a large, pitched battle where superior French firepower could destroy Giap's army

In June 1953, Major General René Cogny first proposed the idea of creating a

"mooring point" at Dien Bien Phu in northwest Vietnam While Cogny had envisioned a lightly defended airbase, Navarre seized on the location for trying the hedgehog approach Though his subordinates protested, pointing out that unlike Na San they would not hold the high ground around the camp, Navarre persisted and planning moved forward On November 20,

1953, Operation Castor commenced and 9,000 French troops were dropped into the Dien Bien Phu area over the next three days

With Colonel Christian de Castries in command, they quickly overcame local Viet Minh opposition and began building a series of eight fortified strong points Given female names, de Castrie's headquarters was located in the center of four fortifications known as Huguette, Dominique, Claudine, and Eliane To the north, northwest, and northeast were works dubbed Gabrielle, Anne-Marie, and Beatrice, while four miles to the south, Isabelle guarded the base's reserve airstrip Over the coming weeks, de Castries' garrison increased to 10,800 men supported by artillery and ten M24 Chaffee light tanks

Moving to attack the French, Giap dispatched troops against the fortified camp at Lai Chau, forcing the garrison to flee towards Dien Bien Phu En route, the Viet Minh effectively destroyed the 2,100-man column and only

185 reached the new base on December 22 Seeing an opportunity at Dien Bien Phu, Giap moved approximately 50,000 men into the hills around the French position, as well as the bulk of his heavy artillery and anti-aircraft guns The preponderance of Viet Minh guns came as a surprise to the French who did not believe that Giap possessed a large artillery arm

Though Viet Minh shells began falling on the French position on January 31,

1954, Giap did not open the battle in earnest until 5:00 PM on March 13 Utilizing a new moon, Viet Minh forces launched a massive assault on Beatrice behind a heavy barrage of artillery fire Extensively trained for the operation, Viet Minh troops quickly overcame French opposition and secured the works A French counterattack the next morning was easily defeated The next day, artillery fire disabled the French airstrip forcing supplies to be dropped by parachute

That evening, Giap sent two regiments from the 308th Division against Gabrielle Battling Algerian troops, they fought through the night Hoping to

relieve the beleaguered garrison, de Castries launched a counterattack north, but with little success By 8:00 AM on March 15, the Algerians were forced to retreat Two days later, Anne-Maries was easily taken when the Viet Minh were able to convince the T'ai (a Vietnamese ethnic minority loyal to the French) soldiers manning it to defect Though the next two weeks saw a lull

in fighting, the French command structure was in tatters

Despairing over the early defeats, de Castries secluded himself in his bunker and Colonel Pierre Langlais effectively took command of the garrison During this time, Giap tightened his lines around the four central French fortifications On March 30, after cutting off Isabelle, Giap began a series of assaults on the eastern bastions of Dominique and Eliane Achieving a foothold in Dominique, the Viet Minh's advance was stopped by concentrated French artillery fire Fighting raged in Dominique and Eliane through April 5, with the French desperately defending and counterattacking

Pausing, Giap shifted trench warfare and attempted to isolate each French position Over the next several days, fighting continued with heavy losses on both sides With his men's morale sinking, Giap was forced to call for reinforcements from Laos While the battle raged on the eastern side, Viet Minh forces succeeded in penetrating Huguette and by April 22 had captured 90% of the air strip This made resupply, which had been difficult due to heavy anti-aircraft fire, next to impossible Between May 1 and May 7, Giap renewed his assault and succeeded in overrunning the defenders Fighting to the end, the last French resistance ended by nightfall on May 7

Aftermath

A disaster for the French, losses at Dien Bien Phu numbered 2,293 killed, 5,195 wounded, and 10,998 captured Viet Minh casualties are estimated at around 23,000 The defeat at Dien Bien Phu marked the end of the First Indochina War and spurred peace negotiations which were ongoing in Geneva The resulting 1954 Geneva Accords partitioned the country at the 17th Parallel and created a communist state in the north and a democratic state in the south The resulting conflict between these two regimes ultimately grew into the Vietnam War

General

• Length: 159 ft 4 in

• Wingspan: 185 ft

• Height: 40 ft 8 in

• Wing Area: 4,000 sq ft

• Empty Weight: 185,000 lbs

• Loaded Weight: 265,000 lbs

• Crew: 5 (pilot, copilot, radar navigator (bombardier), navigator, and

electronic warfare officer)

Performance

• Power Plant: 8 × Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3/103 turbofans

• Combat Radius: 4,480 miles

• Max Speed: 650 mph

• Ceiling: 50,000 ft.

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon (remote controlled tail turret)

• Bombs/Missiles: 60,000 lbs of bombs, missiles, & mines in

numerous configurations

B-52 Stratofortress Design & Development:

On November 23, 1945, only weeks after the end of World War II, the US Air Material Command issued performance specifications for a new long-range, nuclear bomber Calling for a cruising speed of 300 mph and a combat radius

of 5,000 miles, AMC invited bids the following February from Martin, Boeing, and Consolidated Developing the Model 462, a straight-wing bomber

powered by six turboprops, Boeing was able to win the competition despite the fact that the aircraft's range fell short of the specifications Moving forward, Boeing was issued a contract on June 28, 1946, to build a mock-up

of the new XB-52 bomber

Over the next year, Boeing was forced to change the design several times as the US Air Force first showed concern over the XB-52's size and then increased the required cruising speed By June 1947, the USAF realized that when complete the new aircraft would nearly be obsolete While the project was put on hold, Boeing continued to refine their latest design That September, the Heavy Bombardment Committee issued new performance requirements demanding 500 mph and an 8,000-mile range, both of which were far beyond Boeing's latest design

Lobbying hard, the president of Boeing, William McPherson Allen, was able to prevent their contract from being terminated Coming to an accord with the USAF, Boeing was instructed to begin exploring recent technological advances with an eye to incorporating them into the XB-52 program Moving forward, Boeing presented a new design in April 1948, but was told the next month that the new aircraft should incorporate jet engines After swapping out turboprops for jets on their Model 464-40, Boeing was ordered to design

a completely new aircraft utilizing the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet on October 21, 1948

A week later, Boeing engineers first tested the design that would become the basis for the final aircraft Possessing 35-degree swept wings, the new XB-52 design was powered by eight engines placed in four pods under the wings During testing, concerns arose regarding the fuel consumption of the engines, however the commander of the Strategic Air Command, General Curtis LeMay insisted the program move forward Two prototypes were built and the first flew on April 15, 1952, with famed test pilot Alvin "Tex" Johnston at the controls Pleased with the result, the USAF placed an order for 282 aircraft

Operational History:

Entering operational service in 1955, the B-52B Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36 During its initial years of service, several minor issues arose with the aircraft and the J57 engines experienced reliability problems A year later, the B-52 dropped its first hydrogen bomb during testing at Bikini Atoll

On January 16–18, 1957, the USAF demonstrated the bomber's reach by having three B-52s fly non-stop around the world As additional aircraft were built, numerous changes and modifications were made In 1963, the Strategic Air Command fielded a force of 650 B-52s

With the US entry into the Vietnam War, the B-52 saw its first combat missions as part of Operations Rolling Thunder (March 1965) and Arc Light (June 1965) Later that year, several B-52Ds underwent "Big Belly" modifications to facilitate the aircraft's use in carpet bombing Flying from bases in Guam, Okinawa, and Thailand, B-52s were able to unleash devastating firepower on their targets It was not until November 22, 1972, that the first B-52 was lost to enemy fire when an aircraft was downed by a surface-to-air missile

The B-52's most notable role in Vietnam was during Operation Linebacker II

in December 1972, when waves of bombers struck targets across North Vietnam During the war, 18 B-52s were lost to enemy fire and 13 to operational causes While many B-52s saw action over Vietnam, the aircraft continued to fulfill its nuclear deterrence role B-52s routinely flew airborne alert missions to provide a rapid first strike or retaliation capability in case of war with the Soviet Union These missions ended in 1966, following the collision of a B-52 and a KC-135 over Spain