Nixon ordered the heaviest bombing of the entire Vietnam War just before a peace deal was signed. The deal he got was essentially the same one he could have had 11 days earlier.
By October 1972, Nixon's national security advisor Henry Kissinger had negotiated a draft peace agreement with North Vietnam. He declared publicly that 'peace is at hand.' Then South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu rejected it. North Vietnam hardened its position. Talks collapsed on December 16. Two days later, Nixon ordered the largest strategic bombing campaign since World War II.
Operation Linebacker II ran from December 18 to 29, 1972 — eleven days, with a brief Christmas Day pause. More than 200 B-52 Stratofortresses flew around 700 sorties over Hanoi and Haiphong. They dropped over 20,000 tons of bombs. The targets included rail yards, power plants, communications facilities, and air defense systems. The Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi was destroyed, killing 28 medical staff and patients.
North Vietnam's air defenses were formidable. Surface-to-air missiles downed 15 B-52s over the course of the campaign — the highest loss rate for the bomber since it entered service. Ninety-two American airmen were killed, wounded, or captured. The Air Force had to change its tactics mid-campaign; early raids flew predictable routes and the North Vietnamese learned to anticipate them.
International condemnation was swift and came from unexpected quarters. Sweden's prime minister compared the bombing to the Nazi destruction of Guernica. Even American allies in NATO expressed alarm. Within the United States, congressional leaders — back in session after the holiday — announced plans to cut off funding for the war. The bombing was widely referred to as the 'Christmas bombings' and was deeply unpopular.
Nixon halted the campaign on December 29 after North Vietnam agreed to return to negotiations. The Paris Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973. The terms were functionally identical to what had been available in October — before the bombing began. Critics argued the entire campaign was unnecessary theater, conducted at enormous cost in lives and aircraft for an agreement already within reach.
Nixon and his defenders argued the bombing forced North Vietnam back to the table and secured marginally better terms — that it demonstrated American resolve and gave South Vietnam a fighting chance. Whatever its strategic value, the peace it produced was temporary. North Vietnam resumed its offensive in 1975, and the South fell that April. The bombing stands as one of the most disputed military decisions of the entire war.