Book Description
More bombs were dropped on North Vietnam from May to December of 1972 than were absorbed by any other country in history. "Linebacker I" dropped 150,000 tons of bombs from May to October, while "Linebacker II" delivered 20,000 tons during eleven days in December. Although the bombings failed disastrously to bring the North Vietnamese to their knees, the untold story of the military strategies, plans, and results now make clear what really happened. In riveting detail and masterful scope, an expert in air history shows how the bombings were successful by conventional tactical standards, in terms of accuracy, destruction of sites, and loss of pilots and planes. The failure lay in the inability of political and military planners to prosecute a war in support of an ally that proved unable to organize a government without American support, and against an enemy that could survive with its infrastructure in shambles. "The main failing, " the author concludes, "was that they were seeking a military solution to a political problem." 208 pages, 50 b/w illus., 6 x 9 1/4.
