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What were the tet offensive after effects
Political effects of vietnam war
Political effects of vietnam war
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The Tet Offensive was a major turning point in the Vietnam War for both North Vietnam and the United States. The offensive caught the United States and South Vietnam by surprise and really called into question the claims of the Johnson administration that the United States was winning the war: “The North Vietnamese appeared so bloodied by the campaigns of 1967 that the Americans did not conceive they could bounce back and deliver a blow of the magnitude of Tet” (Herring, 237). Tet also had an impact on the opinion of the American public regarding the war. The confidence many Americans had in their government was already on shaky ground prior to the offensive, but I believe Tet was a reality check for anybody who believed that the Vietnam War …show more content…
military victory, despite the fact that the North Vietnamese forces suffered heavy losses. However, the NLF did most of the fighting during Tet and suffered huge losses from which it could not recover and may have severely crippled its ability as an effective fighting force (Herring, 240). Hanoi’s attempt to deliver a knockout blow to South Vietnamese and American forces was hindered due to the prematurity of attacks in some areas and poor timing (Herring, 237). Had Tet been much more coordinated, it is very possible that the losses suffered by the U.S. and South Vietnam could have been far greater. I would have to say that Tet definitely was a strategic and political loss for the United States. The strategy for pacifying rural areas in South Vietnam was interrupted because ARVN forces had to mobilize to defend the cities and damage and destruction of the cities produced a massive amount of refugees that the Saigon government lacked the ability to deal with (Herring, 240). Politically, Tet was damaging to the Johnson administration because it exposed the reality of the situation in Vietnam. Many Americans who may have believed that the war was coming to an end were in for an unpleasant
On the contrary it can be argued that the Americans had lost the war for not being able to win the hearts and minds of their own people and thus already losing support of their country additionally their inability to cope with the rigorous environment of the Vietnamese landscape and the Vietcongs use of guerrilla tactics proved devastating to their war effort.
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.
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.
In conclusion, I think that the United States became increasingly involved in the Vietnamese War because of the policies they had made as a promise to fight communism, and because they had sorely underestimated Vietcong’s ability to fight back using Guerrilla warfare. They refused to pull out of the war in fear of losing face before the world, but this pride factor scored them massive losses in the war. In the end, with both side sustaining heavy losses, the US were still seen as mutilators in the war, with advanced showing what their intervention had costed, and Vietnam was still fully taken over by Communism – they had achieved nothing and lost a lot.
1968, the year of the Tet Offensive, was the peak of US involvement in the war. The Tet Offensive was a series of battles between the Communist and Anti-Communist forces in South Vietnam. Although it was a victory for the United States, public support decreased due to the number of casualties and struggle to win the offensive. President Johnson, in his comments on the Tet Offensive, bashed the public opinion (doc 4). He pointed out that in terms of numbers, the US and South Vietnamese had a huge victory. His point of view was simply from a statistical standpoint. But the public saw that many Vietnamese civilians were harmed and affected by the war. The Tet Offensive was the beginning of the decline of public support for the war, as well as decline in US involvement in the war due to the public opinion. In addition, President Johnson was losing support because of his stubborn foreign policy outlook. Robert Kennedy, the Senator of New York, was contemplating a presidential run to oppose the President 's Vietnam policy. In addition, Johnson was losing democratic primaries to Senator Eugene McCarthy, who also opposed Johnson’s Vietnam policy. The public support for McCarthy showed that the American people were now against participation in the Vietnam War. Soon after the Tet Offensive, President Johnson announced a slow decrease in bombings of North Vietnam, started to
In conclusion, the Tet Offensive changed the US's attitude towards the Vietnam war by leading to further anti-war protests, a credibility gap in America, and for President Johnson to negotiate peace and not seek reelection.
and the VC during the Tet cease-fire (6). The cease-fire was a peaceful and hospitable
In retrospect, it’s clear that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese ability to combine both methods of warfare played a major role their victory. Their strategy provided them the tools they needed to win. In the end, they recognized that each type of warfare complimented the other to achieve their strategic goals.
However, the Tonkin Gulf Incident was questioned to have even happened, which makes the war undoubtedly questionable immediately after the incident. Many troops were killed in Vietnam and the United States eventually lost the war and did not achieve their goal of stopping communism.... ... middle of paper ... ... Also, “Johnson’s personal pledge not to ‘lose Vietnam’ and his stake in the Great Society programs, the economy was inadvertently the victim” (Helsing 228).
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.
Turning points in history can mean a change in the way the things are done in the past, sometimes for the better, and other times for the worse. Two notable turning points in history were the Industrial Revolution and also World War I. These both had some political, social and cultural impacts.
President Lyndon Johnson had several issues he considered as he developed the rules of engagement for Vietnam. One of which was how he maintained tight control over the selection of targets for the air war, for fear that the bombing provoke the Chinese and the Soviets into a confrontation with the United States. (Moss 163). The other was how he counted on a reasonably quick and easy victory over the NLF and Hanoi. As a result President Johnson “did not confront the crucial question of what would be required to achieve its goals until it was bogged down in a bloody stalemate.” (Moss 162).
I decided to review “Silver Linings Playbook”, which is based on a romantic-comedy novel written by Matthew Quick. It was produced in 2012 by The Weinstein, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro.
The Vietnam War was the first major war American’s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the American’s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern Vietnam but the U.S saw it as an indirect way to challenge the USSR’s sphere of influence in Southern Asia and to prevent the domino effect and the further spread of communism. The Vietnam War completely changed the way the United States approached military action and helped establish the role of the United States within the new world order.
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.