What was the air campaign conducted against North Vietnam from 1965 to 1968 called?

What was the air campaign conducted against North Vietnam from 1965 to 1968 called?

• A. Operation Rolling Thunder
• B. Operation Linebacker
• C. Operation Northwoods
• D. Operation Market Garden

Answer: (A)

Rolling Thunder was the sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam that began in 1965 and continued through 1968. It was designed to degrade North Vietnamese military capabilities, disrupt supply routes, and apply pressure on Hanoi to negotiate an end to the war. The effort targeted airfields, industrial sites, and transportation networks, and it extended attempts to interdict the Ho Chi Minh trail and other logistic lines. While it intensified U.S. airpower and aimed to persuade North Vietnam to shift its position, it faced criticism for civilian casualties and limited short-term strategic success, which is why later campaigns like Linebacker (which occurred in 1972) were launched after Rolling Thunder ended. The other options don’t fit: Northwoods was a proposed 1962 plan for false-flag actions against the U.S. to justify intervention in Cuba, Market Garden was a World War II operation, and Linebacker came years after 1965.

Rolling Thunder was the sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam that began in 1965 and continued through 1968. It was designed to degrade North Vietnamese military capabilities, disrupt supply routes, and apply pressure on Hanoi to negotiate an end to the war. The effort targeted airfields, industrial sites, and transportation networks, and it extended attempts to interdict the Ho Chi Minh trail and other logistic lines. While it intensified U.S. airpower and aimed to persuade North Vietnam to shift its position, it faced criticism for civilian casualties and limited short-term strategic success, which is why later campaigns like Linebacker (which occurred in 1972) were launched after Rolling Thunder ended. The other options don’t fit: Northwoods was a proposed 1962 plan for false-flag actions against the U.S. to justify intervention in Cuba, Market Garden was a World War II operation, and Linebacker came years after 1965.