“The Attack That Changed Our Fate”

             The Tet Offensive had a profound psychological effect on all South Vietnam due to the

violence and undesirable outcome of the conflict. In late January, 1968, during the lunar year (or

Tet) holiday, North Vietnamese and Communists National Liberation Front (or Viet Cong) forces

launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in South Vietnam. North Vietnamese

and Communist Viet Cong forces launched a coordinated attack against a number of targets in

South Vietnam. The lunar festival, was an occasion where the offensive military coordinated a

surprise attack aimed at breaking the stalemate in the Vietnam War. The aftermath of the Tet

Offensive was devastating, for both the civilians and the government itself. The Tet Offensive

played a turning point in the Vietnam War, resolving a few conflicts on both sides.

       The Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) suffered heavy losses and were

fighting through critical conditions. However, the Vietnamese Communists were still in the fight;

and had no intentions of giving up. General Vo Nguyen Giap, ran a massive campaign in the

hopes of changing the face of the war. He called it  the ‘General Offensive-General Uprising’ to

show a goal to the supporters. First, was a series of diversionary campaigns the would draw

American troops out of the urban centers into countryside. The second, was the Viet Cong and

the NVA would attack the major cities, promoting an uprising of the South Vietnamese people

against the Saigon government (Gale of Encyclopedia Of US History 1). Furthermore, Giap

believed the alliance between South Vietnam and the U.S. was unstable, he hoped the

offensive would drive the final wedge between them and convince American leaders to give up

their defense of South Vietnam. On the early morning of January 30, 1968, Viet Cong forces

attacked thirteen cities in central South Vietnam, just as many families began their observances

of the lunar new year.

  The communist forces--mostly Viet Cong, but including substantial numbers of

North Vietnamese-were heavily outnumbered and even more heavily outgunned

when the offensive began... To have even a chance of victory they would have

needed good coordination and near-complete surprise. He demand for surprise

prevented them from disseminating their plan widely among their own forces,

causing a massive failure of coordination (Moise 1).

Though Giap succeeded in achieving a surprise, his forces were spread too thin in the

ambitious offensive, and U.S. forces managed to successfully counter most of the attacks and

inflict heavy Viet Cong losses. “[Communist forces did not fade back even though the] Combat

was continually heavy until late June… [till the end of september]. By that time the Communists

were seriously weakened by their cumulative losses and desperately needed a respite…. An

accelerated pacification campaign-providing rural areas with civic improvements and increased

security to weaken the Viet Cong's influence--encountered less resistance and restored the

South Vietnamese government's control in many villages that had been lost in the first half of

the year” (Moise 3). Despite its heavy casualty toll, and its failure to inspire widespread rebellion

among the South Vietnam, the Tet Offensive proved to be a strategic success for the North

Vietnamese.”On March 31, a beleaguered President Johnson, declared that he was limiting the

bombing of North Vietnam to the area below the 20th parallel (thus sparing 90 percent of

communist-held territory) and calling for negotiations to end the war. At the same time, he

announced that he would not be running for re-election that November” (Benson 2). Though

peace talks would drag on for another five years—during which more American soldiers were

killed than in the previous years of the conflict—Johnson’s decision to halt escalation after the

Tet Offensive marked a crucial turning point in American participation in the Vietnam War.

Dozens of cities, towns, and military bases–including the U.S. embassy in Saigon–were

attacked (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History 2).

 The Tet Offensive consisted of simultaneous attacks by some 85,000 troops under the

direction of the North Vietnamese government. The attacks were carried out against five major

South Vietnamese cities, dozens of military installations, and scores of towns and villages

throughout South Vietnam.

 The enemy violently attacked the northernmost provincial capital of Quang Tri City,

seized and occupied the ancient imperial capital of Hue for 24 days, and committed

11 battalions to assault six key targets in Saigon (US embassy as well). The primary

purpose of this operation was to secure a decisive battlefield victory by destabilizing

the Saigon regime, instigate a popular uprising amongst the general populace,

compel U.S. forces to abandon Vietnam, and "liberate" South Vietnam..., the senior

military leaders of the North Vietnamese army engineered a brilliantly synchronized

major offensive against the South, which included the use of deception, surprise,

speed, and shock action. The Tet Offensive of 1968 represented the most defining

moment of the Vietnam War. Although it qualified as a costly military failure for the

North Vietnamese army, it set the US on a determined path of disengagement from

the war that would ultimately lead to the fall of Saigon 7 years later on 30 April 1975

(Miller 1).

The military wanted to take advantage of the Tet Offensive and expand America's presence in

Vietnam. Despite battlefield success, American public opinion of the Vietnam War began to shift in

the fall of 1967. 

Responding with quick-reaction teams, military police units fought block-to-block,

house-to-house, and floor-to-floor--effectively disrupting the enemy battle rhythm and

providing the margin necessary for infantry and armor units to arrive on the scene.

Employing small-unit infantry tactics, military police units fought significant actions at

Da Lat, Kontum, Pleiku, Qui Nhon, Ban Me Thoat, (etc).... During the Battle of

Saigon, the 716th Military Police Battalion and its attached units emerged as the first

line of defense in the most intense battle (they had ever faced).... Significant combat
 actions were fought in the vicinity of bachelor officer quarters No. 3; the Phu Tho

Racetrack on Plantation Road; the South Korean Embassy; the vicinity of the South

Vietnamese Presidential Palace; and the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

annex.” (Miller 2).

At the end of the Tet Offensive, both sides endured losses, and both sides claimed victory. The U.S.

and South Vietnamese military response almost completely eliminated the NLF forces and regained

all of the lost territory. “On 24 February 1968, the Tet Offensive came to an end with the recapture of

Hue, although scattered fighting continued across South Vietnam for another week….Adapting to a

different style of warfare in Vietnam, the Military Police Corps was also redesignated from a combat

service support branch to a combat support branch on 14 October 1968” ( Miller 4). At the same

time, the Tet Offensive weakened domestic support for the Johnson Administration as the vivid

reporting on the Tet Offensive by the U.S. media made clear to the American public that an overall

victory in Vietnam was not imminent.

Throughout Vietnam, cities that had been immune from the war were attacked and, in many

cases, destroyed during the Tet Offensive. The attack was a shock to the South Vietnamese

because Tet was the most important holiday in Vietnam. “The general public had been assured by

President Johnson...  that victory in Vietnam was just around the corner... (the Tet Offensive proceed

the complete opposite). To continue fighting the war would mean the loss of thousands of more

American lives, greater economic sacrifice on the homefront, and the destruction of South

Vietnamese homes and innocent lives. The price would be incredibly high, and the Tet Offensive

promised as much” (Benson 2). In the 1950s, Americans had almost unconditionally supported a

vigorous American response to communism; the reaction to the Tet Offensive seemed to reflect the

growing skepticism of the 1960s, when Americans felt increasingly doubtful about the efficacy of

such Cold War tactics.In the wake of the Tet Offensive, support for the U.S. effort in Vietnam began

steadily to decline, and public opinion turned sharply against President Johnson.”American and

South Vietnamese forces lost over 3,000 men during the offensive. Estimates for communist losses
ran as high as 40,000” (Fredrickson 1). U.S. and ARVN forces discovered evidence of the massacre

after they regained control of the city on February 26. In addition to more than 2,800 bodies, another

3,000 residents were missing, and the occupying forces had destroyed many of the grand city’s

temples, palaces and other monuments (Benson 3).

       The massive offensive was not a military success for the Communists, but its size and intensity

shook the confidence of many Americans who were led to believe, by the administration of President

Lyndon B. Johnson, that the war would shortly be coming to a successful close. The Tet Offensive

was considered the turning point of Vietnam conflict because of the serial sporadic attacks. The

government suffered and was sticker with humanity because of the increase abandonment of

army Inability to protect the citizens because the war was exceedingly separating the nation.

The Tet Offensive played a huge role in the outcome of the Vietnam War.
 Works Cited

Benson, Sonia, et al. "Tet Offensive." UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. vol. 8. UXL. 2009. pp.    

             1537-1539. Research in Context.

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3048900605/MSIC?u=bartram&sid=MSIC&xid=bb5e61da .

Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Fredericksen, Rick. "SCENES FROM SAIGON, 2018: Fifty years after the devastation of the Tet 

Offensive a much different city was on view." Vietnam. Feb. 2019. p. 52+. General OneFile.

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A563458201/ITOF?u=bartram&sid=ITOF&xid=c5a62432 . 

Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Miller, Ronney Z. "THE TET OFFENSIVE OF 1968." Military Police. Spring 2018. p. 25+. General 

OneFile.

 https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A541346216/ITOF?u=bartram&sid=ITOF&xid=3ff7bb8d . 

Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Moise, Edwin E. "TET IN THE NEWS." Vietnam. Feb. 2019. p. 30+. General OneFile. 

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A563458198/ITOF?u=bartram&sid=ITOF&xid=9dac6136 . 

Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

"The Tet Offensive." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: War. Gal. 2009. Research in Context.

s://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3048500245/MSIC?u=bartram&sid=MSIC&xid=0136be24 . 

Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.