The Tet Offensive

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The Tet Offensive

What problems did America face in

Vietnam?

•Low

morale and inexperience

•Vietnam’s

Neighbours

•Hearts

and minds

•Conduct

of American soldiers: The My Lai massacre

•Lack

of support from the American people

•The

media

•Anti-Vietnam

war protests

*But the problems would become worse with

the Tet

Offensive in

1968*

Summary

•In

January 1968, during the Tet New year holiday, the North - Viet Cong launched a massive offensive

•They

attacked and took over 100 cities and military targets in the south

•They

also attacked the American embassy in Saigon

•At

first the Americans were forced to retreat, but with more troops they were able

to regain all that had been captured.

•By

the end of the offensive 60,000 communist troops had been killed

•It

was a major turning point of the war

The Tet New Year is a very important day for the Vietnamese and nearly all-normal day-to-day activities stop to allow those who can the opportunity to celebrate the lives of their ancestors.

In January 1968, the NLF (Vietcong) had brought forward Tet by two days. On January 31st 70,000 NLF soldiers attacked over 100 targets, including the capital in the South, Saigon.

The Americans had been fighting classic guerrilla tactics since 1965. Though the US had faced a number of conventional attacks in late 1967, most US military were thinking that it was still oriented around the concept of guerrilla warfare. Therefore the Tet Offensive took them by surprise, especially the sheer scale of it.

The US Embassy in Saigon was attacked and a few members of the NLF got into the embassy compound. Five US Marines were killed but the attack was repulsed. The NLF also captured the main radio station in Saigon, which acted as a major shock to US morale. Though the station was only occupied for a few hours, it showed to the US military that they were not just dealing with a ramshackle army of amateurs.

However, in military terms, the US could claim victory in the Tet Offensive. The North Vietnamese could not afford major losses in terms of manpower. During the Tet Offensive the NLF lost 37,000 soldiers while the US lost 2,500 men. Yet the Tet Offensive was a major blow to US military pride. In late 1967 the US had been told by General Westmoreland that the NLF had taken such heavy losses in open combat that they would be incapable of maintaining any military momentum in 1968. Yet during the Tet Offensive the NLF had entered the US Embassy and occupied the main radio station for three hours before being repulsed.

The impact of the Tet Offensive is difficult to gauge. The NLF and the government in North Vietnam would have played heavily on

their successes in Saigon – the very heart of US influence. Yet their losses would have had a major impact of their ability to fight.

The impact of the Tet Offensive on America was stark. President Johnson was told by his advisors that the war could not be won

and he was advised to negotiate a withdrawal from the region. In late 1968, Johnson announced to the US people that he intended

to seek a negotiated peace settlement in Vietnam.

Even though the Tet offensive was a failure for

the Viet Cong and the North many historians believe it was the event which

convinced President Johnson to start looking for ways to withdraw

American troops

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