“Dien Bien Phu in the Air” victory celebrated in Hanoi

In December 1972, US launched a strategic aerial bombing operation called “Linebacker II” in Hanoi and Hai Phong. In this operation, the US military mobilised the greatest force since World War II: 193 of the 400 B-52 bombers that the US had at that time; 1,077 of the 3,043 tactical aircraft (including a squadron of about 50 F-111 fighters); six of the 24 aircraft carriers; more than 50 tanker aircraft, other types of service planes, and 60 warships of all kinds from the US Seventh Fleet in the Pacific.

Throughout 12 days and nights, US planes dropped more than 100,000 tonnes of bombs onto Hanoi, Hai Phong and a number of localities in northern Vietnam.

Vietnamese defence forces and people of the North resisted strongly, shooting down 81 aircraft, including 34 B-52s, and killing or catching hundreds of US pilots. The heavy losses forced the US administration to stop bombardments on areas to the north of the 20th parallel, invite Vietnam to return to the negotiations in Paris, and prepare for the signing of the agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam.

The Paris Agreement, signed on January 27, 1973, laid the foundation for the complete liberation of the south and reunification of the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung affirmed that the victory has always been a bright symbol of the indomitable will and the pride of the Vietnamese nation, people and army.

It was one of the most glorious feats of arms in the country’s history of fighting foreign invaders in the Ho Chi Minh era, he continued, stressing that the entire Party, people and army are resolved to preserve and promote the tradition during the cause of national construction and defence.

Hanoi’s Party organisation, people and armed forces have upheld the valuable lessons learned from the struggle for national liberation and reunification, including those from the “Dien Bien Phu in the Air” campaign, to serve the city’s development, as well as national construction and defence, the official said.

Delegates at the event recalled the 12 days and nights of the campaign, and enjoyed special art performances celebrating the victory.

Prior to the ceremony, a delegation of the Party Committee, People’s Council and People’s Committee, Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, departments and agencies of Hanoi paid tribute to victims of the 1972 bombing at a monument on Kham Thien Street.