Tet offensive

The Tet Offensive was the real turning point in the Vietnam War. On its 40th anniversary, Alan Woods analysed the events that led to the Vietnam War and the significance of the Tet Offensive in bringing about the defeat of US imperialism, and drew some parallels with Iraq. But these figures pale in insignificance beside the horrific casualties suffered by the Vietnamese.

Visit Website Furthermore, Giap believed the alliance between South Vietnam and the United States 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.

The Tet Offensive - The Vietnam War

Visit Website Did you know? In Februaryin the wake of the Tet Offensive, the respected TV journalist Walter Cronkite, who had been a moderate and balanced observer of the war's progress, announced that it seemed "more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.

As President Lyndon B. Tet Offensive Begins On the early morning of January 30,Viet Cong forces attacked 13 cities in central South Vietnam, just as many families began their observances of the lunar new year.

Tet Offensive Surprises Americans

In a particularly bold attack on the Tet offensive. The audacious attack on the U. Embassy, and its initial success, stunned American and international observers, who saw images of the carnage broadcast on television as it occurred.

Though Giap had succeeded in achieving surprise, his forces were spread too thin in the ambitious offensive, and U. The Battle of Hue Particularly intense fighting took place in the city of Hue, located on the Perfume River some 50 miles south of the border between North and South Vietnam.

Early in their occupation of Hue, Viet Cong soldiers conducted house-to-house searches, arresting civil servants, religious leaders, teachers and other civilians connected with American forces or with the South Vietnamese regime.

They executed these so-called counter-revolutionaries and buried their bodies in mass graves. The toughest fighting in Hue occurred at the ancient citadel, which the North Vietnamese struggled fiercely to hold against superior U. In scenes of carnage recorded on film by numerous television crews on the scene, nearly U.

Marines were killed in the Battle of Hue, along with some South Vietnamese troops. On the North Vietnamese side, an estimated 5, soldiers were killed, most of them hit by American air and artillery strikes. Impact of the Tet Offensive Despite its heavy casualty toll, and its failure to inspire widespread rebellion among the South Vietnamese, the Tet Offensive proved to be a strategic success for the North Vietnamese.

Before Tet, Westmoreland and other representatives of the Johnson administration had been claiming that the end of the war was in sight; now, it was clear that a long struggle still lay ahead.

Westmoreland requested more thannew troops in order to mount an effective counteroffensive, an escalation that many Americans saw as an act of desperation.

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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.In the Tet Offensive of , Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces launched a massive countrywide attack on South Vietnam. Though the Communists failed to achieve their tactical and operational objectives, James .

Jun 04,  · The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War held by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong (National Liberation Front) against South Vietnam, the United States and their allies.

Tet Offensive, attacks staged by North Vietnamese forces beginning in the early hours of January 31, , during the Vietnam caninariojana.com Tet Offensive consisted of simultaneous attacks by some 85, 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.

For Vietnam, it was a comfortable assignment. As an Army specialist, I had been assigned since May as a clerk-typist for MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam) Advisory Team 3, which provided U.S.

military advisers to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam’s 1st Infantry Division.

Tet Offensive - Wikipedia

The Tet Offensive (Vietnamese: Sự kiện Tết Mậu Thân ), or officially called The General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than (Vietnamese: Tổng Tiến công và Nổi dậy Tết Mậu Thân ) by North Vietnam and the Viet Cong, was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, launched on January 30, , by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese.

was a year like no other, and throughout this year "Sunday Morning" will be taking occasional looks back.

We begin this morning in Vietnam, with the Tet Offensive, which began 50 years ago.