(VOVworld)- 44 years ago, following the “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory, the US signed the Paris Agreement and withdrew its troops from Vietnam, leading to Vietnam’s eventual total liberation in 1975.

Hero Pham Tuan flew Mic-21 and downed a B-52 bomber

44 years ago, the US launched an air attack deploying B-52 fighters over Hanoi and other cities in northern Vietnam. The operation was intended to redeem the US’s failure on the southern battle front and reassure Vietnam to make concessions at the Paris Conference. But the creative leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the ideology of President Ho Chi Minh and the determination of the Vietnamese people and army fought off the attack shooting down 81 US warplanes, 34 of them B52s. Vietnam’s Air Defense Force shot down 53 American warplanes, 32 of them B52s. Lieutenant General Pham Tuan, who was three times honored with the Hero title, was one of the pilots who shot down an American B52 bomber: “Our victory was thanks to an accurate analysis on the US’s strategy. President Ho Chi Minh forecast that the US would lose after they were defeated in Hanoi’s airspace and that the US would mobilize B52s to attack Hanoi. Being able to forecast the situation, we won”.

The failure of the air raids forced the US and its henchmen to sit down at the negotiating table in 1973 and sign the Paris Peace Agreement, putting an end to the war in Vietnam. In the photo, Nguyen Thi Binh, Foreign Minister of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, penned the agreement on January 27, 1973.

The “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory after 12 days and nights in December, 1972 forced the US to sign the Paris Agreement and end its war in Vietnam. This was the victory of Vietnamese people’s wisdom and staunch spirit. It reflected the inheritance and development of Vietnamese military tactics as well as Vietnam’s intellectuality, brainpower and braveness. Lieutenant General Pham Tuan said: “We were disadvantaged in terms of weapons and equipment. But we won, meaning that we were stronger. At the beginning, we identified and understood our enemy and then developed a political stance for our soldiers. They needed to have strong determination and acquire military tactics, the two keys to our victory”.

The coordination and unity of all forces created a combined strength for Vietnam to win the “Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory in December, 1972.