Tet Offensive
Villagers carried coffins filled with guns and ammunition through towns, accompanying them were the sounds of fireworks and flutes. Those sounds soon turned to the sound of assault rifle fire and explosions. Flares and green tracers dart through the night sky like hundreds of fireflies; gun flashes replaced Tet fireworks, and could be seen as far as the eye could see. This major event in the Vietnam War is called the Tet Offensive. After a surprise attack in the beginning, the United States and South Vietnamese army came back to overpower the Vietcong and NVA (North Vietnamese Army) and decisively win all the battles. Even though the United States and South Vietnamese won the Tet Offensive, it was a major turning point towards ending the Vietnam War. Escalation of the war would end and withdraw would begin. The Vietcong and NVA lost the battle on the battlefield but they had won a major political battle. The American public became disillusioned with what was called a military intervention. Intelligence failure, Johnson's over confidence in the war, and its profound impact on American attitudes about involvement in Vietnam are three major reasons why the Tet Offensive was the turning point in ending the war.
Intelligence failure was one of the main reasons why the Tet offensive happened. The allies undergo a failure of intelligence before Tet, a failure that helped plan the stages for changes in the strategies of the US. The four parts of intelligence are crucial in determining the actions of the enemy. The four tasks consist of collection of information, the analysis of the information, the decision to respond to a warning issued in the analytical stage, dissemination of the order to respond to the field co...
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This was not our first intelligence failure. Looking back to 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed. We knew that there were indications that Japan was going to bomb us but the intelligence community failed to recognize the imminent attack. The Tet Offensive could be compared to the Battle of the Bulge where the German caught the US off guard; this was the same for Tet Offensive when the Vietcong and the NVA attacked unexpectedly during the Lunar New Year cease fire. After the Vietnam War, the United States almost reverted to isolationism of post WWI. From the Time that America pulled out of the Vietnam War until the Gulf War, as Americans we tried to avoid any conflicts that we compare to the Vietnam War. If only our intelligence information would have been analyzed fully we might not have impacted the United States public opinion so dramatically.
The Vietnam War was the most publicized war during its era; moreover, this was the most unpopular war to hit the United States. All over the country riots began to rise, anti-war movement spread all over the states begging to stop the war and chaos overseas. This truly was a failure on the political side of things. For the public, all they saw was a failed attempt in a far away country. Events such as the Tet Offensive where the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong established an all out attack on key locations around Vietnam, and although the Viet Cong was virtually wiped out, this still had a large affect psychologically on the troops as well as the populist back in the United States.
After World War II American intelligence had the need to be transformed. The inexperience along with bureaucracy and poor coordination among American intelligence officers obligated the United States intelligence community to change dramatically in order to confront the new challenges that emerged after the end of WWII. From Early America through WWI the intelligence system of the United States of America was involved in operations in which they had to construct intelligence systems virtually from scratch (Andrew 1995). Human intelligence was already developed, but with certain limitations and other intelligence disciplines were underdeveloped and very seldom sophisticated. After WWI America recessed and settled in a period of peace. The United States faced no threat to its security from its neighbors, from powers outside of the Western Hemisphere (Lowenthal 2006). That caused a visible absence of intelligence activities, leaving America out of sight for any international conflicts; the United States of America focused and limited its activities beyond its own borders. In later years the Japanese attack to Pearl Harbor, America rushed to reactivate their military forces, moving from a passive country to full participation into a another international conflict; WWII. As a consequence, the United States engaged in activities that improved its intelligence system increasing its capabilities needed to address seriously the future threats of the Cold War.
The Tet Offensive was a series of battles which took place during the Vietnam War. It was a major offensive by the North Vietnamese Army, and the Viet Cong, beginning on the night of January 30-31, of 1968, which was the Chinese New year. The objective of the 1968 Tet Offensive was to take the Nationalist and the US armies by surprise since North Vietnam's government proposed a ceasefire for the celebration of the Lunar New Year.
It was on January 31, 1968 that the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong launched a massive attack against South Vietnam. This assault, which is better known as the Tet Offensive, was an attempt to get the South Vietnamese riled up in hopes that they would rebel against the American backed government and join the North Vietnamese army. The Tet Offensive came to be a large military defeat for the communist north and the Vietcong. It was after being effectively countered by the South Vietnamese and U.S. military that the Vietcong retreated to an area known to Americans as “Pinkville”. So we ask the question, why on March 16, 1968 did the U.S. troops sweep across a small hamlet called My Lai and slaughter all of the civilians?
Throughout history there are multiple intelligence failures such as 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. These failures are due to intelligence collected which was either delayed or misdirected to the rest of the intelligence community. Both events had catastrophic consequences and yet these tragic events has allowed the intelligence community to develop better security like warning signals and combat readiness to protect the United States. Pearl Harbor is still considered one of the worst intelligence failure in the history of the United States to date. During the upcoming months before the attack the U.S Naval Fleet intercepted and deciphered vast amounts of encrypted messages from Japan’s Imperial Navy. Due to manpower and at the time Japan being perceived as not a threat intercepted messages were disregarded or were delayed in being read. “The United States did not perceive the Japanese ability to attack the United States Naval Fleet at all and thus to bring the U.S into war- a step in which logically appeared to be a gross strategic miscalculation, as it indeed was” (Grabo, 2004). But ...
The sun had not set and PAVN commanders made the tactical blunder of sending a select few of the units that were being utilized to capture Hue to their positions in advance to disperse the movement of the following units. While the American bombing was effective, it didn’t even put a dent in the PAVN fighting force. There was no BDA or “battle damage assessment” conducted after the bombing nor were ground troops sent to search the surrounding area for additional PAVN troops. On the morning of 30 January 1968 the PAVN units surrounding Hue were in position and awaiting the order to attack and liberate the ancient Buddhist stronghold from the Americans and their puppet South Vietnamese Christian president. The PAVN soldiers were briefed by their PAVN officers that the citizens of Hue desperately longed to be freed from American occupation. PAVN forces held this belief to such an extent that they wore their best uniforms and ensured they were neatly groomed so they would look presentable in the parade that would follow inside Hue after they effectively captured the city. As the ARVN and American forces inside the city walls of Hue rested with very little concern of the thought of being attacked especially since the holiday of Tet or the lunar New Year had begun. As customary at the time during Vietnam there was a 7 day ceasefire during Tet to allow both sides of Vietnam to celebrate with their families. PAVN senior officers knew that tens of thousands of civilians in North and South Vietnam would be traveling long distances to visit family during the country’s largest holiday. They used this opportune time to transport supplies, equipment, and soldiers to strategic positions surrounding Hue. Apart from the very minor setback that the American bombing caused PAVN forces
Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) is a very critical step in gaining expert knowledge of the environments, layout and demographic features, and how it affects the unit's defensive operations and activities. While gaining an understanding of the IPB its advantages and disadvantages while applying it to our unit’s battle plan will require some critical thinking, the resulting outcome will be a better-prepared organization with a solid plan to defend our forces from whatever adversary we may encounter
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 ...
During the beginning of this battle the North Vietnam and Vietcong had the advantage because many allied forces were caught off guard by this sneak attack. General Vo Nguyen Giap planned this attack. Despite heavy losses from the North Vietnamese army, they achieved a victory. They even attacked and overrun the United States embassy in Saigon. Giap had hopped to drive a wedge between the South Vietnam forces and the North Vietnam forces (Tet Offensive). Trying to drive a wedge between South Vietnam and the United States (Tet Offensive) was a brilliant move that follows one of Sun Tzu’s principles. “If an enemy has alliances, the problem is grave and the enemy’s position is strong; if he has no alliances, the problem is minor and the enemy’s position is weak” (Sun Tzu). Giap realized that the United States were very strong when combined with the South Vietnam forces. In order to try to stop this alliance, Giap tried to split them up, which he was successful to some extent. This surprise attack follows one of Sun Tzu’s principles perfectly. “In conflict, straightforward actions generally lead to engagement, Surprising actions generally lead to victory” (Sun Tzu). The North Vietnam forces followed this principle perfectly. They waited until a ceasefire when the United States and South Vietnamese forces had the guard down. During the Tet ceasefire, the United States along with the South
...these intelligence failures, more emphasis is now placed on the creation of intelligence products used on the battlefield. All possible enemy courses of actions are now red teamed in an attempt to produce a much accurate analytical product.
The Viet Cong had also prepared for the previous war, which was counterinsurgency against the French from 1946 to 1954. Krepinevich says, "The strategy of the Viet Cong again under the direction of General Vo-Nguyen Giap was an adaptation of Mao Zedong's people's war in China. Insurgency is done in three phases: First, mobilize the masses against the occupying force; second, guerrilla operations and direct violence; third, the organized open warfare against the occupier. It can be summed up as contention, equilibrium, and counteroffensive"(7). The Vietnam War lines up directly with this outline, increasing violence and protests with United States entrance, increasingly powerful guerrilla strikes, cumulating directed offensives, such as the Tet offensive, which, according to Nagl, "was instrumental in convincing the United States public that Vietnam could not be won through advancing though territory"(7). Minh, the leader of Communist North Vietnam was was critical in the war, through his
Wirtz, James J. The Tet Offensive: Intelligence Failure in War. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1991. Print.
The communist side launched the Tet Offensive (named for the lunar New Year) that same year in the late night hours on January 30th. It was the largest military operation conducted by either side up to that point in the war. 70,000 Vietnamese troops under General Vo Nguyen Giap’s command coordinated a series of brutal attacks on more than 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam. The initial attacks stunned both the U.S. and South Vietnamese armies, causing them to temporarily lose control of several cities however, they quickly regrouped, beat back the attacks, and inflicted heavy casualties on North Vietnamese forces. The Tet Offensive failed in its goal of overthrowing the South Vietnamese government however, it did become the turning point of the war because it persuaded many U.S. citizens that its government's claims of progress toward winning the war were false. In the U.S. a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed. Horrific images of the war on television caused Americans on the home front to turn against the war. In October 1967 35,000 demonstrators staged an antiwar protest outside the Pentagon. Adversaries of the war argued that civilians, not enemy combatants, were the primary victims of the war and that the U.S. was supporting a corrupt dictatorship in Saigon. This caused President Johnson’s approval rates to drop in the U.S. and because it was an election year he called a stop to bombing in North Vietnam in
This is short discussion of the policies and analysis that led to U. S. Intelligence failures in the Korean War. Unfortunately, no one believed North Korea had the guts to risk war with the U.S. and invade the South. Politicians and Senior leaders silenced anyone who dared to challenge this world view.
Kennedy and Diem were both killed in 1963 and 1964. Johnson took control of the situation by increasing the amount of money and manpower put into Vietnam. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving the president full military power. After Johnson dramatically escalated the amount of soldiers in Vietnam, The North Vietnamese mounted a surprise attack during the Vietnamese new year, and this strike was called the Tet Offensive. It made America more aware of what they were up against, that the communists were capable of fierce, guerrilla warfare, unlike anything Americans had ever fought before. Images of the terror and disarray reached back home, and the U.S. began to wonder how effective their involvement in Vietnam really was.