The North Vietnamese Tet Offensive ended on this day in history in 1968.

by Randy at [email protected] 

Because of the way this event was reported and because of the media slant in its reporting, the conflict in Vietnam and it’s soldiers became a target of ridicule and protest.

The North Vietnamese saw a devastating defeat turned into a media victory and this emboldened them to dig in even further and resist even longer, knowing that public unrest was in their favor thanks to our media’s bias. This, in turn, cost many American lives. It was our young American soldiers who turned this full scale surprise attack into a stunning and devastating defeat for North Vietnam (see facts below).

In many respects, the Tet Offensive was reminiscent of The Battle of the Bulge which began in Europe on December 16th of 1944. The GI’s were all thinking, and so was President Roosevelt, that the war would be over by Christmas. Hitler’s full scale surprise attack in December of ’44, produced a ‘bulge’ across Belgium that put the US forces in a very tight position and thousands of GI’s were forced to surrender to the Germans.

But the American and the British forces turned it all around in a month’s time and were now able to head into the homeland of Germany itself. The cost in American lives was 19,000  dead. Luckily, the Germans were not fueled and encouraged by media bias in those days. America was standing behind and supporting their men and woman in uniform. It was clear then that the war in Europe would last longer than anticipated, and similarly, the conflict in Vietnam was now viewed as no short term affair.

Gen. Westmoreland asked for 200,000 more troops, there is a public outcry, and President Johnson does not seek re-election.

There is a lot to be said about cheering for the home team and its effect on the American soldier. We, and the media, can either build our fighting men and women’s resolve and encourage their efforts and sacrifice or we can dampen and weaken their spirits. Let’s not forget this lesson in history and let’s not forget who we should be cheering for. 

February 24, 1968

Tet offensive halted

On February 24, 1968, the Tet Offensive ends as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops recapture the ancient capital of Hue from communist forces. Although scattered fighting continued across South Vietnam for another week, the battle for Hue was the last major engagement of the offensive, which saw communist attacks on all of South Vietnam’s major cities. In the aftermath of Tet, public opinion in the United States decisively turned against the Vietnam War.

As 1968 began–the third year of U.S. ground-troop fighting in Vietnam–U.S. military leadership was still confident that a favorable peace agreement would soon be forced on the North Vietnamese and their allies in South Vietnam, the Viet Cong. Despite growing calls at home for an immediate U.S. withdrawal, President Lyndon Johnson’s administration planned to keep the pressure on the communists through increased bombing and other attrition strategies. General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. operations in Vietnam, claimed to see clearly "the light at the end of the tunnel," and Johnson hoped that soon the shell-shocked communists would stumble out of the jungle to the bargaining table.

However, on January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched their massive Tet Offensive all across South Vietnam. It was the first day of Tet–Vietnam’s lunar new year and most important holiday–and many South Vietnamese soldiers, expecting an unofficial truce, had gone home. The Viet Cong were known for guerrilla tactics and had never launched an offensive on this scale; consequently, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces were caught completely by surprise.

In the first day of the offensive, tens of thousands of Viet Cong soldiers, supported by North Vietnamese forces, overran the five largest cities of South Vietnam, scores of smaller cities and towns, and a number of U.S. and South Vietnamese bases. The Viet Cong struck at Saigon–South Vietnam’s capital–and even attacked, and for several hours held, the U.S. embassy there. The action was caught by U.S. television news crews, which also recorded the brutal impromptu street execution of a Viet Cong rebel by a South Vietnamese military official.

As the U.S. and South Vietnamese fought to regain control of Saigon, the cities of Hue, Dalat, Kontum, and Quangtri fell to the communists. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces recaptured most of these cities within a few days, but Hue was fiercely contested by the communist soldiers occupying it. After 26 days of costly house-to-house fighting, the South Vietnamese flag was raised again above Hue on February 24, and the Tet Offensive came to an end. During the communist occupation of Hue, numerous South Vietnamese government officials and civilians were massacred, and many civilians died in U.S. bombing attacks that preceded the liberation of the city.

In many respects, the Tet Offensive was a military disaster for the communists: They suffered 10 times more casualties than their enemy and failed to control any of the areas captured in the opening days of the offensive. They had hoped that the offensive would ignite a popular uprising against South Vietnam’s government and the presence of U.S. troops. This did not occur. In addition, the Viet Cong, which had come out into the open for the first time in the war, were all but wiped out. However, because the Tet Offensive crushed U.S. hopes for an imminent end to the conflict, it dealt a fatal blow to the U.S. military mission in Vietnam.

In Tet’s aftermath, President Johnson came under fire on all sides for his Vietnam policy. General Westmoreland requested 200,000 more troops to overwhelm the communists, and a national uproar ensued after this request was disclosed, forcing Johnson to recall Westmoreland to Washington.

On March 31, Johnson announced that the United States would begin de-escalation in Vietnam, halt the bombing of North Vietnam, and seek a peace agreement to end the conflict. In the same speech, he also announced that he would not seek reelection to the presidency, citing what he perceived to be his responsibility in creating the national division over Vietnam.