Tet Offensive Research Paper

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The Tet Offensive was one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War, launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam against the forces of South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies. It was a campaign of surprise attacks against military and civilian commands and control centres throughout South Vietnam. The name of the offensive comes from the Tet holiday, the Vietnamese New Year. The decision to launch the offensive was the result of a long-standing internal struggle over military strategy within the leadership in Hanoi. These struggles were principally over the timing involved in shifting from a protracted war toward a more decisive approach. In the end, however, the more cautious proponents of protracted war were overcome by those like General Nguyen Chi Thanh, commander in the South, who advocated a nationwide general…show more content…
Fighting was most fierce in the cities of Saigon and Hue. The Vietcong also attacked the U.S. embassy, killing five Americans. This offensive was kind of a win-lose situation for the United States, they lost control of so many bases but gained the support of their country for the war. Intense fighting lasted for a month resulting in the destruction of the city Hue by US forces.The U.S. military and government had previously told the American press and the public that it had seen "the light at the end of the tunnel" - the end of the conflict and the possible removal of U.S. ground troops. Then, suddenly, an offensive was launched at every major city in south Vietnam by the Vietnamese! Somehow there was a failure in the U.S. military intelligence - and people love to blame their failures on someone else. It changed the American people's views and opinion because it was the first major attack as all previous attack were hit-and-run attacks. The Tet Offensive definitely had to be a turning point in the war as
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