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Home > Fact Sheets > 1972
1972
South Vietnam
On March 30, 1972, North Vietnam launched a large, three-pronged invasion of South Vietnam, using tanks and mobile armored units. The biggest battle was at An Loc where, by the end of June, the enemy had lost all of its tanks and artillery. When the offensive came to a halt, however, North Vietnam had occupied much of South Vietnam below the DMZ and a strip of land along the South Vietnamese border with Laos and Cambodia.
North Vietnam
Because of the North Vietnamese offensive, President Nixon on May 8 suspended peace talks and ordered Operation Linebacker, the renewed bombing of North Vietnam and the aerial mining of its harbors and rivers. When North Vietnam appeared ready to talk peace in October, yet another bombing halt was directed. North Vietnam then balked for two months over some of the cease-fire provisions, so President Nixon ordered on Dec. 18, 1972, the heaviest bombing of the war against Hanoi and Haiphong -- Operation Linebacker II. For 11 days, the USAF pounded every possible military and transportation target with B-52s and tactical fighters. This brought a North Vietnamese agreement on Dec. 29 to return to the peace table.
Laos: Panhandle
Commando Hunt VII operations ended in March of 1972. When North Vietnam launched its new offensive into South Vietnam on March 30, U.S. support was required inside South Vietnam and its air strikes in Laos dropped to their lowest point since 1965.
Laos: Plain of Jars
In northern Laos, the Communists made additional gains during the year but failed to overwhelm government forces. In November the Pathet Lao agreed to meet with Laotian Government representatives to discuss a cease-fire.
Cambodia
During the year, Cambodian forces were able to win localized victories but could not drive out the Communists. On the other hand, the Communists were unable to capture their primary target, the capital, Phnom Penh. During these ground operations, U.S. airpower, including B-52s, continued to hammer the enemy, but there was a limit to what air power could accomplish when the enemy showed little regard for the lives of its own troops.
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