For nine years, the United States were hell-bent in achieving their rightful victory in Vietnam, however, destiny had different plans for them. The Tet Offensive is considered the turning point of the Vietnam Conflict because of the fact that the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army surprised the U.S and South Vietnam with several sporadic attacks. Consequently, many effects from these attacks were expected, not only for America, but for North and South Vietnam as well. With U.S citizens’ opinions quickly turning against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, South Vietnam faced much disaster. Its government was stricken with humility because of the increased abandonment of their army, leading to the inability to protect its citizens. On the other hand, North Vietnam began accepting great amounts of land along with the power to frighten the rural population.
Soon after the Tet Offensive, citizens of the United States began having second opinions about concentrating our troops in Vietnam: “Within weeks [of the Tet attacks], many average Americans who previously were supporters had turned against the war” (Omicinski 2). A small cluster of Vietcong forces made their way into the compound of the United States embassy located in Saigon, proving to Americans that even though there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting in Vietnam, the U.S. had progressed only slightly (Dudley 131). The people were constantly being told that the conflict would soon end, however, increased need of military assistance had U.S. citizens questioning the veracity of our government. The phrase "credibility gap" surfaced to describe the growing public scepticism (Gerdes 14). This factor led to the government’s loss of support from most of the population. Ano...
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Dennison, John D. Tet Offensive of 1968 - A Simpler Version. 24 Aug 2004. 1st Cav Medic Radio Station. 3 May 2007 .
Dudley, William. The Vietnam War: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc, 1998.
Gerdes, Louise. Examining Political Issues Through Political Cartoons: The Vietnam War. Greenhaven Press, 2005.
Omicinski, John. “Tet Offensive 30 years ago: A turning point of Last Half-Century.” USA Today. Jan. 31, 1998. SIRS Researcher. Waubonsie Valley H. S. Lib., Aurora, IL. 3 May 2007 .
Vietnamization: Lasting Effects On South Vietnam. 1999. StudyWorld. 11 May 2007 .
Never before had such a broad range of Americans come to doubt their government. The faith most citizens had in their leaders coming out of WWII was so near complete that the realization that they had been lied to about Vietnam represents the most significant change in the relationship between a people and their leaders America, perhaps much of history, has ever seen.
Senior Leaders have analyzed wars for years in hopes of finding the most efficient way to conduct war. This paper explores the events of that took place during the Battle of Bien Hoa in 1968. Research was conducted through internet and non-internet sources to provide the most accurate facts concerning this battle. The 29th of January 1968 was the beginning of Battle of Bien Hoa when the Bien Hoa Air Base went under attack. On 31 January the first Tet Offensive began by the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam in order to shift the invading army and regain control by the Vietnamese. A total of 39 encounters were recorded in this battle fought by brave Soldiers from the 17th Calvary, the 11th Armored Calvary, the 101st Airborne Division, the 47th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the 199th Infantry Brigade, the Air Force, Marines, and the South Vietnamese Army, against enemy forces (North Vietnamese Army, and the Viet Cong). Pleiku, Phan Theit, Ban Me Thuot, Thu Duc, An My, and Kontum are some of the cities near the Saigon area where the encounters took place. (Starry, 1931) Before the battle begun there was a huge dilemma about engaging armored vehicles in Vietnam; however once fully engaged the results created an atmosphere of change, innovation, power, and confidence that changed the strategies of war forever.
Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, portrays stories of the Vietnam War. Though not one hundred percent accurate, the stories portray important historical events. The Things They Carried recovers Vietnam War history and portrays situations the American soldiers faced. The United States government represents a political power effect during the Vietnam War. The U. S. enters the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. The U.S. government felt if communism spreads to South Vietnam, then it will spread elsewhere. Many Americans disapproved of their country’s involvement. Men traveled across the border to avoid the draft. The powerful United States government made the decision to enter the war, despite many Americans’ opposition. O’Brien’s The Things They Carried applies New Historicism elements, including Vietnam history recovery and the political power of the United States that affected history.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
Sherwin, M. (1973). The atomic bomb and the origins of the cold war. American Historical Review, 78: 1-7.
The Vietnam War was the longest and most expensive war in American History. The toll we paid wasn't just financial, it cost the people involved greatly, physically and mentally. This war caused great distress and sadness, as well as national confusion. Everyone had that one burning question being why? Why were we even there? The other question being why did America withdrawal from Vietnam. The purpose of this paper is to answer these two burning questions, and perhaps add some clarity to the confusion American was experiencing.
This book details the discussion of government policy in the stages of the Vietnam crisis from 1961-July 1965. It examines the main characters of President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara, in addition to the military, which included the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It began in the Kennedy era amidst the Bay of Pigs incident and how that led to mistrust of the military planning by advisors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It continues with Johnson and his administration making decisions over and over that continued to commit more and more involve...
The U.S. Public Opinion as a Major Factor in the Withdrawal of American Troops from Vietnam
The Tet Offensive was the turning point in the Vietnam War due to the surprising high causalities, but most importantly the psychological effects towards the American citizens. Although NVA and Vietcong made a devastating tactical error, which caused them to miserably lose against the US army and SVA, they were able to end the American assistance to the SVA. General S. L. A. Marshall said,” a potential major victory turned into a disastrous defeat through mistaken estimates, loss of nerve, and a tidal wave of defeatism (Zabecki).” The Tet offensive should have been a clear victory for the US. However, without the US, the NVA and Vietcong would eventually defeat SVA. If US had continued the war, southern Vietnam would have triumph over northern Vietnam.
Buckley, Tim. "Tet Offensive & Khe Sahn Vietnam War Footage." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Nov. 2007. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
The political and societal ramifications of Vietnam's Tet Offensive indubitably illustrate the historical oddity of 1968. 1967 had not been a bad year for most Americans. Four years after the profound panic evoked by the assassination of John Kennedy, the general public seemed to be gaining a restored optimism, and even the regularly protested Vietnam War still possessed the semblance of success (Farber and Bailey 34-54). However, three short weeks following the eve of 68, Americans abruptly obtained a radically different outlook. The Tet Offensive, beginning on January 30, 1968, consisted of a series of military incursions during the Vietnam War, coordinated between the National Liberation Front's People's Liberation Armed Forces (PLAF), or "Viet Cong," and the ...
Self-Interest and Civilians' Attitudes Toward the Vietnam WarRichard R. Lau, Thad A. Brown and David O. SearsThe Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Winter, 1978), pp. 464-483
Contending versions of the Vietnam War and the antiwar movement began to develop even before the war ended. The hawks' version, then and now, holds that the war was winnable, but the press, micromanaging civilian game theorists in the Pentagon, and antiwar hippies lost it. . . . The doves' version, contrarily, remains that the war was unwise and unwinnable no matter what strategy was employed or how much firepower was used. . . Both of these versions of the war and the antiwar movement as they have come down to us are better termed myths than versions of history because they function less as explanations of reality than as new justifications of old positions and the emotional investments that attended them (Garfinkle, 7).
The surprising success of the Tet Offensive ended the American government’s hopes that the war could be easily won and caused the public to finally understand that they needed to question the decision to continue having boots on the ground in Vietnam. Before 1968, the number of Americans strongly against the war and actively protesting it was small but after the Tet Offensive, hundreds of thousands of people were passionate about ending the war in Vietnam including many famous scholars and celebrities. Most notably, Martin Luther King Jr. publically disagreed with the United States’ decisions in the war, announcing, “we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Vietnam”. King garnered vast attention to the anti-war campaign, but the civil rights activist was not the only social leader to publicize their opinion about the war. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Vietnam, took advantage of the divisions within the American population when he said, “No Vietnamese has ever come to make trouble in the United States. Yet, half a million U.S. troops have been sent to South Viet Nam who are daily massacring Vietnamese people and burning and demolishing Vietnamese towns and villages”. Ho Chi Minh understood that diminishing public support for
Agent Orange was sprayed from the years of 1962 to 1971 by airplanes, boats, helicopter and soldiers with backpacks. They sprayed 3,181 villages, wreaking havoc and devastation to these areas. Not only did the Vietnamese suffer from the after-effects of Agent Orange, but some U.S. soldiers also became sick due to this deadly toxin. In the U.S., people were exposed as well. The employees that were loading the tubs on to the planes and those who also handled the backpacks of it were affected. At the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. The workers were impacted because the barrels were stored on site before th...