The+Tet+Offensive

=The Tet Offensive= Created by Claire Mathias

The first wave starting January 30th, 1968, and lasting for another month or so after, [|The Tet Offensive] is known as the largest military attack in the [|Vietnam War]. [|The Viet Cong] wanted to use the element of surprise and control the major centres throughout[| South Vietnam] so that they would be successful in winning the war.

The US army and the South Vietnamese were shocked at the attack as they did not expect anything to occur at that time due to a ceasefire that both groups had agreed on during the [|Tet]( Lunar New Year). This is considered a huge turning point during the Vietnam War because before this event, there had never been such a large-scale attack over the entire country that was not anticipated, it changed the way the war was fought.

Background Information
media type="custom" key="19240824" width="68" height="68" align="right" The Vietnam war started in 1955 and lasted until the city of [|Saigon] fell to [|North Vietnam] in 1975. At first, the US were in the war as advisers, under Kennedy's rule. They would only be there to help the South Vietnamese control their country against communism. As the violence escalated, their status of advisers changed to soldiers fighting the Viet Cong and the [|Vietnam People's Army]. They never really knew who the enemy was, so being successful in the Vietnam War was not going to happen. Once all the soldiers were out of [|Vietnam], they could not consider themselves as winners during their time in the Pacific.

Throughout the war, the North Vietnamese had wanted to launch a huge attack on the south to hopefully capture different cities below the boarder. [|General Vo Nguyen Giap] wanted to surprise everyone in the South so that he would be more successful. Before the initial attack, there was a diversionary one on the US base of [|Khe Sanh] on January 21st 1968. He hoped that the US would think that Khe Sanh was the major attack, and after that day they would relax during the cease fire.

The Attack
The first wave of attacks on January 30th, 1968 did not cause an alarm to the people in South Vietnam. It was considered relativley small, only attacking a few cities such as [|Nha Trang], Ban Methout, [|Kontum], [|Hoi An], [|Tuy Hoa], [|Da Nang], [|Qui Nhan] and [|Pleiku]. The main goal of these attacks were not to cause damage, but rather cause a diversion, making it seem like the violence was over. However, the next day, there was a massive outbreak of attacks countrywide. About 100 towns were hit, causing a large surprise for the US. No one was expecting such a large scaled attack, especially during the holiday where they announced a ceasefire. Although the attack was massive, the South Vietnamese and US army was able to contain the Viet Cong and move them back. Within some towns, the communists were repelled only in a few hours. The main attack was on Saigon however. There were 6 primary locations: Headquarters of AVRN General Staff at Tan Son Nhut air base, the Independant Palace, US Embassy, Saigon, the Long Bing naval headquarters and the National Radio Station. All of these were the most heavily attacked, especially the US Embassy. The people inside were held hostage for 48 hours before being released and moving on. The National Radio Station was a key target because the Viet Cong who attacked the station brought a recording of Ho Chi Minh talking about the liberation of Saigon. In the end, the recording did not get on the air due to the containment of the communist in that area. While some battalions were hitting the primary targets, others were going around to the home of officials, AVRN officers and other major people within the city, murdering them one by one.

By the end of the attack a total of 84,000 communists had taken part. 58,000 US soldiers were killed in action while fighting in the offensive, and 304,000 were wounded. The number of casualties between the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese was about 1,400,000. A total of 14, 300 civilians were dead, and 24,000 wounded. 630,000 new refugees were created, with 70,000 homes damaged. Just the scale of the attack shocked everyone world wide that the communists were capable to have such a large offensive through out the entire country.

Resources
"Tet Offensive." //Wikipedia //. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 June 2012. Web. 13 June 2012. .

"International Marxist Tendency." //The Tet Offensive: The Turning Point in the Vietnam War â Part One //. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012. .

"History of Vietnam." //Vets With A Mission //. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012. .

"1968 - Tet Offensive." //About.com 20th Century History //. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2012. .