12. The Strategic Aim Behind Invading North Vietnam
American planners figured that by capturing and securing the Hanoi-Haiphong area, outside support for North Vietnam would be drastically curtailed. By extension, so would the support for the communist forces in South Vietnam. The two major railroads linking North Vietnam to China would be severed, the country’s main seaport would be in American hands, and the lines of communications to the South would be interdicted.
Starved of Chinese and Soviet arms, munitions, and supplies, and cutoff from a steady infusion of North Vietnamese manpower, planners expected that organized armed resistance in South Vietnam would wane and collapse. While the plan stood a high chance of success against the North Vietnamese, it was deemed too dangerous because China would likely join the fray.
