Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the Air Timely adjustment of forces and battle-fields earns a win PANO - In late 1972, US imperialists carried out the Linebacker II operation with the involvement of the air force and navy in an attempt to destroy North Vietnam, especially the capital Hanoi and Hai Phong City. The operation was launched after US troops had failed to “Vietnamise the war” with their military strength. Realizing the enemy's dark scheme, from June 1972, the Capital High Command had set up 8 concentrated militia companies. In Hanoi, each ward formed one 100mm anti-aircraft artillery company consisting of five batteries with a mission to reinforce fire-power in order to shoot down the enemies’ aircraft. Agencies and firms inside Hanoi also set up their own fighting units of around 70 militia men each. Provided with anti-aircraft machine-guns, these units continued working while standing in combat readiness and serving as pioneer forces in overcoming war aftermath. Meanwhile each outlying district established its own concentrated infantry company, equipped with weapons, and acted as mobile fighting forces in the localities. Moreover, 62 battlefields of militia were set up to down low-altitude aircraft, positioned nearby protected targets. Furthermore, the militia and guerrillas of each village and commune were divided into three forces, including a mobile fighting force equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns, a local fighting force with infantry guns and a fighting supporting force. From August 25th, 1972, well organized and practised, four 100mm artillery companies of four inner Hanoi wards took turns to be on duty at the border between inner and outer Hanoi. At 19:25 on December 18th, 1972, our air defence campaign against the US strategic air raid started. The capital militia’s four 100mm artillery companies, 192 battlefields, 721 14.5mm and 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine guns and more than 40,000 militia equipped with rifles, sub-machine guns and mortars were ready to wipe off enemies from the sky and pursued the enemy’s running away pilots. To minimize war losses, Hanoi evacuated 55,000 local people and set up thousands of individual shelters, hundreds of collective shelters and more than 10,000 kilometres of trenches. Despite less advanced equipment and force, we firmly and wisely organized forces and formed an air defence posture with multiple layers and dense fire networks that could attack the enemies from different directions and altitudes to cope with US’ advanced military equipment and weapons. In fact the people’s air defence of Hanoi capital was further consolidated through fighting and under the united direction from the General Staff and direct guidance from the Air Defence and Air Force Service High Command, and they ingeniously and resiliently destroyed US strategic aircraft and tactics. While fighting, the armed forces of the capital showed their ingenuity, bravery, resilience and had adjusted the set posture into a low-altitude air defence fire network so as to avoid the enemies’ bombing and force them to raise their altitude. This created good conditions for our missile and air force troops to bring their advantages into full play to shoot down B-52s. At that time, to threaten our people, the enemies used a trick of operating F-111s at low and very low altitude over Hanoi on raids. However, acknowledging that cunning, the capital’s armed forces adjusted their forces, formation and battlefields more reasonably. Accordingly, they formed a self-defence company with five 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine guns, comprising three platoons whose forces were workers from factories of Hanoi Timber, Mai Dong Mechanics and Luong Yen Mechanics. The company took responsibility of shooting low-altitude aircraft, with a focus on F-111s and defending factories and targets at the Red River port, Vietnam-Soviet Hospital and Military Hospital 108. The company’s preparation was completed before 16:00. At 20:00, getting a level 1 order, the company was in position. At 20:18, the platoons found a target and opened fire at once. The enemy aircraft was shot and fell in Luong Son district (Hoa Binh province). This feat of arms consolidated our confidence in victory and strongly consolidated the fighting spirit of Hanoi’s troops and people. From December 25, US imperialists conducted a new trick and used aircraft to destroy fiercely our air defence battlefields and airports in daylight and operated B-52 bombers and tactical aircraft to raid targets in Hanoi, Hai Phong and Thai Nguyen at night. To cope with the enemies’ new tactic and to learn from fighting experience, the Capital High Command re-organized the concentrated battlefields into 23 to ambush and catch the enemies´ planes earlier. Besides, four 100mm artillery companies were provided with additional ammunition. As a result, our troops and people fought much more efficiently. Meanwhile, during the enemy’s destructive war, as a gateway and armour of the capital, Ha Tay was always side by side with and closely coordinated with the capital to destroy many enemy B-52s and F-111s. In Ha Dong and Son Tay towns, the 12.7mm guns of the Ha Tay militia were placed on the rooftops of buildings. At the same time, 37mm artillery batteries of militia set up their commanding positions at important dyke sections in Ba Vi, Phuc Tho, Dan Phuong, Thuong Tin and Phu Xuyen districts. Together with the low-altitude air defence battlefields, thousands of balloons with explosives were let out in the sky to prevent the enemies’ aircraft from approaching the targets and dodging the precise attacks of our missile troops. In 12 days and nights in late December 1972, My Duc district’s militia and Xuan Mai Farm militia shot down one F-4 and one F-111, respectively, while guerrillas in Chuong My district cooperating with Ngo Quyen, Nguyen Trai Regiments and Luong Son district’s troops and people pursued the enemy pilot and destroyed an US chopper that came to rescue their troops. Our militia’s low-altitude air defence battlefields forced US aircraft to rise their altitude, facilitating our missile units to shoot down five US aircraft of different kinds. With tight coordination and brave fighting spirit, our armed forces in charge of defending Hanoi shot down dozens of US B-52 bombers and tactical aircraft within 12 days and nights. Accepting their huge losses, at 7:00 on December 30, 1972, US President Nixon had to declare an end to the strategic air raid with B-52s in Hanoi and Hai Phong, and to stop bombing Vietnam from the 20th latitude northwards. The victory of our troops and people in the 12-day and-night air defence campaign in late 1972 was very significant to force the US to sign in the Paris Accords on ending the war in Vietnam. That victory was the victory of our capital’s troops and people, resulting from our fighting tradition and moral principle of “taking great cause and human’s mind to defeat cruelty”. The victory also proved the ideal of our time that “nothing is more precious than independence and freedom” That victory added to the glorious history of the nation that could never be forgotten. Translated by Mai Huong