why did operation rolling thunder fail

[20] Johnson later noted: By keeping a lid on all the designated targets, I knew I could keep the control of the war in my own hands. Operation Rolling Thunder failed on both accounts. "Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Vietnam", " "", "", - - - ", "Vietnamese Aces - MiG-17 and MiG-21 pilots", "Vietnamese Aces MiG-17 and MiG-21 pilots", "An Appraisal of the Bombing of North Vietnam 1 July - 31 October 1968", "Estimated Casualties in North Vietnam Resulting From the Rolling Thunder Program", "Civilian Casualties Resulting from ROLLING THUNDER Program in North Vietnam", "Effects of the Rolling Thunder Program: Bomb Damage, Civilian Casualties, And Morale in North Vietnam", "An Assessment of the Rolling Thunder Program Through December 1967", "414Th Combat Training Squadron "Red Flag", United States Army Center of Military History, "Declassified CIA documents concerning Operation Rolling Thunder". [87], The U.S. Air Force and the US Navy continued to have expectations of the F-4 Phantom, assuming that the massive arms, the perfect on-board radar, the highest speed and acceleration properties, coupled with the new tactics would provide "Phantoms" an advantage over the MiGs. After attacking their targets (usually by dive-bombing) the strike forces would either fly directly back to Thailand or exit over the relatively safe waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Even the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Earle G. Wheeler, was not present for most of the critical discussions of 1965 and participated only occasionally thereafter. The Air Force noted that most of their air-to-air losses were due to unseen attacks from the rear, and thus the problem could be addressed through additional technology that would provide early warning of such attacks. Of these, 107 (56 percent) were forced to jettison their bombs. [71], The northern economy was decentralized for its protection, and large factories, located in the heavily populated Red River Delta region, were broken up and scattered into caves and small villages throughout the countryside. [d] This did not, however, satisfy the military chiefs, who demanded a wider and more aggressive campaign.[18]. [54][m], Another problem exposed by Rolling Thunder was the unpreparedness of the Air Force for the operations it was undertaking. On the same day, 19 RVNAF A-1 Skyraiders struck the Quang Khe Naval Base. It cost the United States nearly 900 million in aircraft damage while only costing North Vietnam 300 million dollars worth of damage. [112], The CIA privately estimated that damage inflicted in the north totaled $500million in total damage. See full answer below. Operation Rolling Thunder was a demonstration of America's near total air supremacy during the Vietnam War. As an interdiction rather than strategic bombing campaign, Rolling Thunder had three broad objectives: to reduce the flow of external assistance being provided North Vietnam; to reduce those military and industrial resources that contributed most to the support of North Vietnamese aggression against South Vietnam; and to harass, disrupt, and [78], The nature of the gradual escalation had given Hanoi time to adapt to the situation. [43], On 5 April 1965, U.S. reconnaissance discovered that the North Vietnamese were constructing positions for what could only be surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries. General William W. Momyer, commander of the Seventh, had the impression that CINCPAC and PACAF wanted to keep the Thai-based aircraft out of his hands. The operation continued, with occasional suspensions, until President Johnson, under increasing domestic political pressure, halted it on October 31, 1968. [34] For the first time in the campaign, targets were to be chosen for their military, rather than their psychological, significance. This could distract enemy pilots, or even occasionally cause them to drop ordnance prematurely to lighten their aircraft enough to dodge the nonexistent missile. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Operation Rolling Thunder was a demonstration of America's near total air supremacy during the Vietnam War. scarcity and dearness of food; famine. The North Vietnamese guerrillas knew the jungle and made use of elaborate underground bases and tunnels to shelter from US bombs, and often re-used unexploded American bombs against US soldiers. There was also little consultation between Johnson and the military chiefs during the target selection process. [98] The Secretary of Defense marshaled his objections to an indiscriminate air war and adeptly rebutted the charges of the military chiefs. Two more hours produced an operational site. They also introduced a passive guidance mode, whereby the tracking radar could lock on the jamming signal itself and guide missiles directly towards the jamming source. [32], The majority of strikes during Rolling Thunder were launched from four air bases, in Thailand: Korat, Takhli, Udorn, and Ubon. It was obvious that McNamara, the only civilian subpoenaed and the last to testify before the committee, was to be the scapegoat. The air force and navy then filed a joint appeal to Washington for permission to strike the sites, but they were refused since most of the sites were near the restricted urban areas. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". U.S. Department of State, p. 60. 1 / 11. [77], After two days, President Johnson gave the order to attack all known SA-2 positions, which had also been discovered outside the 30-mile exclusion zone. [95][v] The limited goals entailed in American foreign policy and the military's goal of total victory were simply not reconcilable. It had a huge financial and human cost. Analysis: Operation Rolling Thunder was notorious for its extravagant scale and want on destruction. [89] During 1968, MiGs accounted for 22 percent of the 184 American aircraft (75 Air Force, 59 Navy, and five Marine Corps) lost over the north. [91], Despite the best interdiction efforts of Rolling Thunder, however, the VC and PAVN launched their largest offensive thus far in the war on 30 January 1968, striking throughout South Vietnam during the lunar new year holiday. After that time, strikes that interfered with requirements for the southern battlefield were either cut back or canceled. 153154. [109] They were correct. "[64] All except those deemed "truly indispensable to the life of the capital" were evacuated to the countryside. The great conundrum had then become how to defeat North Vietnam without defeating North Vietnam. First, to halt the invasion of the South; second, to force Hanoi to resume peace negotiations. Soviet and Vietnamese calculations claimed the destruction of 31 aircraft, the Americans acknowledged the loss of 13 aircraft. [122] Sortie rates and the number of bombs dropped, however, equaled efficiency, not effectiveness. Operation Rolling Thunder's strategic objectives were never met. Operation Rolling Thunder was a stop-start bombing campaign over targets in North and Central Vietnam between March 1965 and November 1968. [96], On 9 August 1967 the Senate Armed Services Committee opened hearings on the bombing campaign. Why Operation Rolling Thunder Failed. Sometimes the opposite is true and these communities turn into all-out cults. [b] No further commitment by the Americans would occur without tangible proof of the regime's survivability. U.S.:1,054 killed, wounded or captured[3] The North Vietnamese guerrillas knew the jungle and. [103] Within months Clifford too began to adopt the views of the man he had replaced, gradually becoming convinced that the U.S. had to withdraw from an open-ended commitment to the war. The Air Force was also embarrassed by the fact that the Navy was better prepared. [113] They also estimated that by April 1967, 52,000 casualties including 21,000 deaths had occurred as a result of the operation. For various reasonsincluding fear of provoking a confrontation with North Vietnam's Russian and Chinese alliesall sorts of restrictions and constraints were imposed. [119], Rolling Thunder had begun as a campaign of psychological and strategic persuasion, but it changed very quickly to interdiction, a tactical mission. An experienced F-4 pilot could end up flying FAC missions in an, The 1972 figure might also reflect the redeployment of anti-aircraft battalions after the end of. The Vietnam War was destined to fail from the very beginning. How much did Operation Rolling Thunder cost? People who have the same ideals and purposes often come together to share their resources and ideas. Under these conditions, measures to observe the regime of camouflage and radio silence became especially important. Head, p. 23. "[24], It was believed that selective pressure, controlled by Washington, combined with diplomatic overtures, would prevail and compel Hanoi to end its aggression. OTHER WORDS FOR dearth 1 shortage, want, paucity, insufficiency. [77], North Vietnam's deployment of SAMs forced American pilots to make hard choices: either approach targets at higher altitudes (to avoid anti-aircraft fire) and become prey to SAMs, or fly lower to avoid the missiles and become the target of anti-aircraft batteries. [44] Then, on 24 July, an F-4 was shot down by a SA-2 Guideline missile. On the morning of 27 July, 48 F-105s were to participate in the strike, designated Operation Spring High. 171177. But matters came to a head with the attack on Camp Holloway on 7 February 1965, which demanded immediate action, and resulted in a reprisal raid known as Operation Flaming Dart. According to an estimate by CIA, damage inflicted by U.S. bombardment in North Vietnam was about . Is it easy to get an internship at Microsoft? [26][f], The first mission of the new operation was launched on 2 March against an ammunition storage area near Xom Bang. It was quickly decided that, in order to limit airspace conflicts between air force and naval strike forces, North Vietnam was divided into six target regions called "route packages", each of which was assigned to either the air force or navy and into which the other was forbidden to intrude. U.S claimed missile success rate fell from one kill in 30 launches to less than one kill in 50. U.S aircraft flew at an altitude of 45 kilometers, and the Vietnamese anti-aircraft guns were unable to reach them. These anti-aircraft guns were lethal at close range, the Vietnamese shot down six aircraft, and more than half of the remaining U.S aircraft suffered damage from groundfire. [69], The simple appearance of MiGs could often accomplish their mission by causing American pilots to jettison their bomb loads as a defensive measure. A series of interventions to halt the flow of arms and supplies between North and South Vietnam. On 8 April, responding to requests for peace negotiations, North Vietnamese premier, Pham Van Dong, stated that they could only begin when: the bombing was halted; the U.S. had removed all of its troops from the south; the Saigon government recognized the demands of the VC, and it was agreed that the reunification of Vietnam would be settled by the Vietnamese themselves. MiG-21 intercepts of F-105 strike groups were effective in downing US aircraft or forcing them to jettison their bomb loads. According to the Vietnamese, the SA-2 shot down 31% of all downed US aircraft. [30], Although some of these restrictions were later loosened or rescinded, Johnson (with McNamara's support) kept a tight rein on the campaign, which continuously infuriated the American military commanders, right-wing members of Congress, and even some within the administration itself. [11] Events in South Vietnam, however, outpaced this plan. The trigger for the operation was the Vietcong attack on the US base, Camp Holloway, which killed 8 American soldiers and injured hundreds more. Explains that operation rolling thunder was an aerial bombing campaign during the vietnam war, conducted by the united states air force, us navy, and republic of vietnam air force. The Operation was borne out of President Johnson 's desire to stop North Vietnamese resistance, cut off their supplies and bring them to the negotiation table. [89] Only central Hanoi, Haiphong, and the Chinese border area remained prohibited from attack. [48], During the war, the Soviet Union delivered 95 SA-2 systems and 7,658 missiles to the Vietnamese. Average time for the deployment of a SAM battery was four hours. In March 1964 the Commander in Chief Pacific (CINCPAC) began developing plans for a sustained eight-week air campaign designed to escalate in three stages. 1 Why is Operation Rolling Thunder a failure? The Americans have at least 200 USAF F-4s and 140 USAF F-105s, plus at least 100 U.S Navy aircraft (F-8s, A-4s and F-4s) which operated from the aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin, plus scores of other support aircraft. "[83] During 1967, the second full year of Rolling Thunder operations, 362 U.S. aircraft had been lost over North Vietnam (208 Air Force, 142 Navy, and 12 Marine Corps). noun an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack: There is a dearth of good engineers. The North Vietnamese guerrillas knew the jungle and made use What were the results of Operation Rolling Thunder? Failure of Operation Rolling Thunder The bombing campaign failed because the bombs often fell into empty jungle, missing their targets. Morocco, p. 142. Considered a failure, because it did not discourage the North from continuing it's war against the South . Due to altered tactics and the increased use of electronic radar jamming, the record of SAM kills decreased over time. Instead it had the opposite effect. The Air Force's unpreparedness was further revealed by its lack of adequate aerial reconnaissance aircraft (e.g. [39], As part of a large attack on the Thanh Ha Bridge on 3 April, the VPAF first appeared as two flights of four Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17s launched from Noi Bai airbase and shot down an F-8 Crusader,[i] while losing just one of their own aircraft, written off when it landed on a river bed after running short of fuel. North Vietnamese fighters also became a particular problem because of the lack of radar coverage in the Red River Delta region, which allowed the MiGs to surprise the strike forces. [99] He bluntly admitted that there was "no basis to believe that any bombing campaignwould by itself force Ho Chi Minh's regime into submission, short, that is, of the virtual annihilation of North Vietnam and its people. The U.S strike had destroyed two worthless targets for the loss of six aircraft and five pilots. There was widespread concern that an air campaign could lead to a wider conflict involving the Chinese or Soviets. [114] 45 percent of casualties in 1965 were civilians and logistics workers while that figure was 80 percent in 1966. President Johnson was inclined to take the advice of his divided civilian advisors, rather than his military advisors. They began modifying their aircraft with built-in M61 Vulcans for close-in use, adopted the Sidewinder and began upgrading them to improve their performance, and introduced new ground and air-based radars to provide an overall watch over the battlefield. The operation became the most intense air/ground battle waged during the Cold War period; it was the most difficult such campaign fought by the United States since the aerial bombardment of Germany during World War II. After the combat launches, the anti-aircraft missile division was to leave the region immediately, otherwise it was destroyed by a bomb-assault strike. [88] During the war, 13 VPAF's flying aces attained their status while flying the MiG-21 (compared to three in the MiG-17). Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Described by historians as an anatomical failure, Operation Rolling Thunder seemed almost destined to fail. [53], This bizarre command structure went against the grain of the Air Force's single air manager concept, which dictated that one commander was to control and coordinate all aircraft within a combat theater. From beginning to end, Rolling Thunder was hampered by a policy of gradual escalation, which robbed air strikes of their impact and gave North Vietnam time to recover and adjust. "[47], By 24 December 1965, 180 U.S. aircraft had been lost during the campaign (85 Air Force, 94 Navy and one Marine Corps). It reported to the Seventh on operational matters and to the Thirteenth Air Force (whose headquarters was in the Philippines) for logistical and administrative concerns. From May to December 1966, the U.S lost 47 aircraft in air battles, destroying only 12 enemy fighters. [51], The Navy's Task Force 77 took its orders via 7th Fleet from CINCPAC, a Navy admiral based in Honolulu, through his subordinate, the Air Force commander of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was started in an effort to demoralise the North Vietnamese people and to undermine the capacity of the government in North Vietnam to govern. [48], To survive in this ever more lethal air defense zone, the U.S. had to adopt newer, more specialized tactics. They continuously claimed that the campaign was working, yet they also had to continuously demand greater latitude in order to make the campaign succeed. General John W. Vogt Jr., commander of the Seventh Air Force, reported to the USAF Chief of Staff that they were losing the air war. [86], While F-105s did score 27 air-to-air victories, the overall exchange ratio was near parity. Operation Rolling Thunder, one of the most famous engagements in the history of the "Americanized" period of the Vietnam War, came to an end after negotiations gave way to a mutual agreement to conclude it. The brutal tactics used by US troops often drove more Vietnamese civilians to support the Vietcong. Westmoreland referred to "an almost paranoid fear of nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union" and a "phobia" that the Chinese would invade. Operation Rolling Thunder failed on both accounts. Both SAM sites were devoid of missiles and equipment, as the Vietnamese had substituted white-painted bundles of bamboo for the fake SA-2s. As the research will take a position that Operation Rolling Thunder failed in achieving its primary objectives, a qualitative inquiry into the "what", "hows", and "whys" serve as a . Further information on the origins of American involvement in Vietnam: Further information on the positions of the secretary of defense: Wikisource has several original texts related to. What were the effects of Operation Rolling Thunder? Operation ROLLING THUNDER exemplifies a micromanaged operation that ignored the capabilities, experience and doctrine of the armed services. The Vietcong guerrillas knew the jungle and. The daily target selection meetings were soon replaced by weekly sessions and finally by the creation of bi-weekly "force packages. Food shortages in North Vietnam became widespread, especially in the urban areas, as rice farmers went into the military or volunteered for service repairing bomb damage. If the aircraft fired one, the Shrike could be neutralized with the side-pointing technique without sacrificing any SA-2s. From 1965 to 1968, about 643,000 tons of bombs were dropped on North Vietnam, and a total of nearly 900 U.S. aircraft were lost during Operation Rolling Thunder. This "guerrilla warfare in the air" proved very successful. One was shot down and three were damaged by SA-2 missiles. See antonyms for dearth on Thesaurus.com QUIZ Question false Every U.S. bombing mission was preceded by an upsurge of traffic involving logistics, ordnance loading, weather flights, and aerial refueling tankers, and even if none of the content of the signals was readable, the pattern was a dead giveaway." The USAF's 2nd Air Division (replaced by the Seventh Air Force on 1 April 1966) was ostensibly responsible for aerial operations over North and South Vietnam. [108], Hanoi, which had continuously stipulated that it would not conduct negotiations while the bombing continued, finally agreed to meet with the Americans for preliminary talks in Paris. There were 2 main reasons the bombing tactics of Operation Rolling Thunder failed: Supplies continued to get through to the Vietcong via the extensive tunnel system and the Ho Chi Minh Trail . Vietnam [1965-1968] Operation Rolling Thunder was a military operation conducted by the United States of America against North Vietnam from 2 March 1965 to 2 November 1968.