Tet Offensive Essay

During the Vietnam War on January 30th, 1968, the communist Vietnam troops in the North, with assistance from the Viet Cong, commenced a series of attacks against the forces in the south and the US, known as the famous “Tet Offensive.” The name “Tet Offensive” is derived from the most important holiday on the Vietnamese calendar. It is a celebration of the lunar New Year. General Vo Nguyen Giap, along with the forces in the north, decided to attack on this day because it is supposed to be a “truce period” between the north and south. On this day, the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) was at its lowest level of alertness. (Dunn, 2005) The offensive consisted of three phases. The first phase took place on January 31st and lasted until March 28th. During this phase, the North Vietnamese forces wanted to draw the allied forces out of heavily populated cities and lowlands and then launch attacks on those cities. (Staff, 2014) This was a major surprise. The second phase, also known as “mini-tet”, took place on May 5th and lasted through June 15th. This phase consisted of massive attacks on villages and cities aiming to hit 119 targets. (Staff, 2014) This phase was a complete failure. The last and final phase of the offensive ranged from August 17th to September 23rd. This attack consisted of more attacks on villages and cities and was handled only by the North Vietnamese soldiers, without the help of Viet Cong, ending in another failure. (Staff, 2014) The Tet Offensive was a highly publicized attack with the daily media coverage it received. It was also regarded to as one of the turning points of the Vietnam War. After the failed attacks of the North forces, Viet Cong was ruined as a military force. (Dunn, 2005)

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...edge that an attack was coming, but if we had more intelligence in the North, then we might have been better prepared. The offensive seemed to indicate to most observers that the three years of “big-unit war” that followed to deployment of U.S forces in 1965 had produced only a steady stream of casualties on all sides. (Wirtz, 1991) Some of the lessons learned from the Tet Offensive include: “If the enemy has quantity and quality, do not attack”, “superior firepower almost always trumps ideological commitment”, “Guerrillas rarely win set-piece battles against well-armed regulars with access to unlimited stock of ammunition” and “don’t assume civilians will embrace a revolution forced on them at gunpoint.” (Dudley, 2001) The Tet Offensive quelled the crusading spirit that characterized America’s postwar rush to intervene in conflicts in the Third World. (Wirtz, 1991)