The Tet Offensive, 1968
History: Cambridge International GCSE The Twentieth Century (Option B), topic 5.3.10
The Tet Offensive, 1968
The North and VC launched a surprise attack on 26 cities in South during the 1968 New Year’s Tet festival.
Surprise attack
- The North and VC launched a surprise attack on 26 cities in South during the 1968 New Year’s Tet festival.
- The VC pretended to want peace talks as a decoy.
- Meanwhile, they attacked near the demilitarised zone.
- This was to draw US troops away from the cities.
Saigon and Hue
- 84,000 communist troops then attacked southern cities on 30th January.
- When there was the Tet ceasefire.
- Most famously, the city of Hue was captured.
- And the US embassy in Saigon was taken for 6 hours.
- The attack in Saigon was beaten by US troops in 2 days, and within 3 weeks in Hue.
US shock
- It shocked people in the US as they had been told they were winning the war.
- But as it was all reported on TV people saw that they weren’t.
- The South didn’t rise up in revolution like the VC had expected.
- And the VC were nearly wiped out in the fighting.
The VC’s only victory
- The communists lost 45,000 men.
- Although they couldn’t win by direct attack, they showed that they could launch a huge surprise attack on the US.
- The VC’s only lasting victory was that they could use it in propaganda.
Anti-war protests
- The Tet Offensive led to huge anti-war protests in America with over 150,000 people.
- It led to peace talks in 1968 which were a turning point in the war.
Test yourself on The Tet Offensive, 1968
Why did the Tet Offensive shock the American public?
What did the Tet Offensive lead to?
Which two cities did the Vietcong capture in the Tet Offensive?