namese had several reasons for planning this attack at this specific time:- They hoped that the offensive would harm Nixon during his presidential election year in America. - They hoped to stand a fair chance of winning as a result to the American troop withdrawal. - They hoped the strength of the anti-war movement in America would prevent a U.S. retaliatory response. - The poor performance of the South Vietnamese army in 1971, gave them the idea that they had more chance of winning.As a response to their first attack, Nixon authorised air strikes and naval gunfire to target North Vietnamese troops involved with the offensive. The North Vietnamese continued their attack, their strategy was to capture Quang Tri City, in the northern part of, Kontum in the midsection and An Loc in the southern part of South Vietnam. By capturing these cities, they hoped to be able to split South Vietnam, widening their territory. The consequence of the attacks was that the Americans started bombarding the cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. The reaction of the American public was as expected by the North Vietnamese, new protests erupted against the bombings. On May 1, the North Vietnamese took over Quang Tri City. In response to the ongoing offensive, Nixon initiated operation Linebacker I, the intensified bombings of harbours, roads, bridges and oil factories in North Vietnam. The powers of the North Vietnamese weakened. When they tried to capture Kontum, they were thwarted by the South. After this small victory, the South Vietnamese troops tried to recapture Quang Tri city, which they eventually succeed in, in September, 4 months later. Whilst the Americans aided the South Vietnamese by means of bombardments, they were still withdrawing American troops. On August 23, the last combat troops finally departed from Vietnam. The South Vietnamese troops continued the fighting on land, while America fought from the air. The Eastertide offensive failed. It was the he...
