The Tet Offensive was a major turning point in the Vietnam War and began on January 30th, 1968, when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam. The offensive expanded on January 31st, 1968, and eventually struck more than 100 towns and cities, including Saigon, Huế, and many provincial capitals. In fact, this was the largest military operation carried out by either side up to that point in the Vietnam War.
WHAT WAS THE VIETNAM WAR?
The Vietnam War was a major Cold War conflict fought mainly between North Vietnam and South Vietnam, but it also drew in the United States, the Soviet Union and China. The war grew out of earlier tensions in Vietnam after the end of French colonial rule and became much larger after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident in August of 1964 and the major escalation of American involvement from 1965 to 1968. In fact, by the end of 1965, the United States had committed nearly 200,000 troops to Vietnam, and by 1968 that number had risen to more than 500,000.
Before the Tet Offensive, many American officials believed that the United States and South Vietnam were making progress in the war. American strategy focused heavily on wearing down communist forces through bombing, search-and-destroy missions, and large-scale troop deployments.
TET OFFENSIVE – CAUSES
There were several important causes behind the Tet Offensive. First, North Vietnamese leaders wanted to break the military and political position of South Vietnam and weaken American will to continue fighting. According to communist planning, a massive offensive against urban centers might trigger uprisings inside South Vietnam and possibly cause the South Vietnamese government to collapse. Regardless of whether that larger goal was realistic, it shaped the thinking behind the attacks.
Second, the timing of the Tet Offensive was very important. The attacks were launched during the Tet holiday, when many South Vietnamese soldiers were on leave and when a temporary ceasefire was expected in some areas. In short, the Tet holiday is the most important Vietnamese holiday and celebrates the Lunar New Year. As such, this gave the Tet Offensive its surprise element and was an important part of the military plan.
A third cause was the broader military situation in 1967 and early 1968. For instance, North Vietnam had suffered heavy losses, but it still believed that a large offensive might change the direction of the war. At the same time, fighting around places such as Khe Sanh helped draw American attention toward the northern part of South Vietnam. This resulted in the Tet Offensive being launched within a larger strategy of pressure, distraction and surprise.
TET OFFENSIVE – MAJOR EVENTS
The Tet Offensive unfolded in several stages, but the main shock came at the end of January of 1968 and in February of 1968. This was when roughly 77,000 to 80,000 communist troops attacked across South Vietnam, hitting provincial capitals, district towns, military bases and major cities. For instance, one of the most famous attacks occurred at the United States Embassy in Saigon on January 31st, 1968, when a small Viet Cong sapper force broke into the embassy compound. Although the attackers were eventually killed or captured and failed to hold the embassy, the image of fighting at the American embassy had a major psychological effect on Americans at the time.
Another major part of the Tet Offensive was the fighting in Huế. Beginning on January 31st, 1968, communist forces captured much of the city, and heavy urban combat continued until March 2nd, 1968. The battle became one of the longest and bloodiest urban battles of the entire war. As well, the fighting in Huế was followed by the execution of thousands of people in what became known as the Massacre of Huế.
Although the initial attacks caught American and South Vietnamese forces off guard, the Tet Offensive did not produce the communist uprising that North Vietnamese leaders had hoped for. For instance, within weeks and months, American and South Vietnamese troops recovered many of the places that had been attacked. The offensive continued in later phases through September 23rd, 1968, but the main military surprise had passed by then. This resulted in very heavy losses for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, especially in the first phase of the offensive.
TET OFFENSIVE – IMPACTS
The immediate military outcome of the Tet Offensive was that the Viet Cong suffered severe casualties, and many of its local networks in South Vietnam were badly weakened. In a battlefield sense, American and South Vietnamese forces had survived the attacks and regained control of the major cities. For that reason, the Tet Offensive is often described as a tactical defeat for the attackers.
However, the political impact was very different. In the United States, many people had been told that the war was moving in the right direction. The Tet Offensive made those claims much harder to believe. In fact, many Americans were shocked that communist forces could attack on such a scale after years of American escalation. This resulted in greater skepticism toward the war, growing strength in the anti-war movement, and deeper public doubt about the leadership of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The Tet Offensive also changed the larger direction of American policy. Later in 1968, Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election, and the war became even more politically divisive in the United States. This did not mean that the Tet Offensive ended the war immediately. However, it did help shift the war from a struggle measured mainly by battlefield reports to one judged more heavily by public opinion.
TET OFFENSIVE – SIGNIFICANCE
The Tet Offensive was significant because it exposed the gap between military reports and public perception. More specifically, American forces could repel the attacks and still lose confidence at home because the offensive showed that the war was far from won. That is one reason the Tet Offensive remains one of the clearest examples in modern history of how a battlefield outcome and a political outcome can be very different.
Overall, the Tet Offensive included major attacks in Saigon and Huế, caused enormous destruction and reshaped the course of the Vietnam War. Therefore, the Tet Offensive remains one of the most important turning points of the entire conflict.
