The latest United States bombing offensive on North Vietnam flattened large area's of the country's capital, Hanoi, and killed thousands of people according to North Vietnamese accounts. This official film from North Vietnam was the first from the country since the start of the latest intensive round of bombing, which was the heaviest of the war. President Richard Nixon announced on Saturday (December 30) that he had called off the massive bombardment north of the 20th parallel. He said that the Paris peace talks would be resumed. The bombing began twelve days before when the Paris negotiations broke down.

Since the latest bombing began, the United States suffered its heaviest air losses of the war. The U.S. admitted losing 25 aircraft including 15 of the large, high-flying B-52 bombers. Hanoi claims to have shot down 76 aircraft, including 33 of the B-52's. The raids were criticised and condemned in many parts of the world and the North Vietnamese had insisted that peace talks could not be resumed until the raids were called off. Considerable criticism came from Sweden, which partly financed the Bach-Mai hospital in Hanoi. This film clearly shows the damage at the hospital. Sweden likened the American bombing to the German terror attacks of the Second World War.

SYNOPSIS: The latest bombing offensive on North Vietnam left the United States Air Force with its heaviest losses of the war.

The U.S. admits it lost twenty-five aircraft like this, including fifteen of the B-Fifty-Two bombers which spear-headed the attacks. Hanoi claims seventy-six aircraft were shot down including thirty-three of the B-Fifty-Two's.

North Vietnam had endured twelve days of the most intensive bombing of the war before President Nixon announced on Saturday that the raids had ended and the Paris peace talks would resume. The Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi was devastated. It was partly financed by Sweden and the attack which caused this damage has led to a rift between Sweden and the United States.

The U.S. raids were likened to German terror attacks during World War Two. This official film from North Vietnam is the first of the latest intensive bombing, north of the twentieth parallel. Large areas of the capital, Hanoi, were flattened and North Vietnamese accounts say thousands were killed.

Although the Swedish protests to the United States were among the most vigorous, the bombing was criticised and condemned in many parts of the world.

Hanoi had insisted that the Paris talks could not be resumed until the U.S. called off the raids. They began on December 18 after the negotiations were broken off.

The sudden and unexpected announcement of the bombing halt was accompanied by a statement that said it was clear that serious negotiations could be resumed at both a technical level and between ???. The U.S. statement did not rule out the possibility that the raids could be renewed. Observers in Washington said that the tons of parts of the announcement suggested more bombing could follow if the talks were deadlocked again.