Lessons Learned From the Tet Offensive of 1968

Introduction

Offensive and defensive operations place extreme importance on employing deadly effects of combat power against the adversary. In these operations the element of shock and surprise are essential considerations. Historically, the side better able to combine them defeats its opponent rapidly while incurring fewer losses.1 In late January of 1968 in the execution of the Tet Offensive, the North Vietnamese and communist Viet Cong forces executed their sneak attack offensive with speed, shock and surprise. However, the United States forces were able to overcome the shock and surprise and decisively repel the communist attack, delivering a devastating blow to their country’s enemies in the ground war. However, as many experts would point out, the United States suffered significant and unintentional political damage because of the battles, which also succeeded, largely by accident, in persuading America to throw away the fruits of a major allied victory and start down the road to defeat and humiliation.2 Ultimately, some experts believe, the Tet Offensive even contributed to President Lyndon Johnson’s decision of not seeking a second term as President.

History

Elements of the United States 9th Marine Expeditionary Force came ashore in Vietnam at Da Nang on 8 March 1965, to provide security for the United States air base there. A month later, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of United States ground troops for offensive combat operations in Vietnam marking a significant change in United States involvement in Vietnam.3 By the end of 1965 almost 200,000 American troops were in Vietnam, and by the end of 1967 almost 500,000.

Over the next two years, the war between the People’s Army of Vietnam and the ...

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...tes and South Vietnam, using guerilla warfare tactics and booby traps. While initially achieving the element of surprise, sustained operations in this capacity were doomed to fail when outmatched to this extent.

Works Cited

Field Manual 3-0 OPERATIONS. Washington, DC: Headquarters Department of the Army, 2008.

Flynn, John. "The Tet Offensive." Declassified. Ten Worlds Productions March 09 2006.

Llewellyn, Jennifer, Jim Southey, and Steve Thompson. "“The Tet offensive”, Alpha History." Accessed January 26, 2014. http://alphahistory.com/vietnam/tet-offensive/

Office of the Historian. U.S. Department of State, "Milestones: 1961–1968." Last modified October 31, 2013. Accessed January 18, 2014. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/tet.

Willbanks, James. The Tet Offensive: A Concise History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.