-The Tet Offensive of 1968-

I. The Background A. Tet is the Vietnamese New Year B. The Vietcong and NVA launched a massive offensive on South Vietnam’s cities 1. Enemy was easily defeated on the ground 2. Would take some time to “mop up” C. American TV showed the war at its worst 1. This brought the war into American’s living rooms

II. Contradictions A. History’s first television war B. Conflicting reports 1. Official government reports were different from what was shown on TV

2. The center of American power in Vietnam, the embassy in Saigon, had come under attack a. The NVA and Vietcong were able to occupy the embassy for several hours

III. A New Strategy A. Tet was the first fighting in the cities 1. The NVA and Vietcong attacked every city in South Vietnam B. They were attacking in large numbers, a departure from the usual hit-and-run tactics 1. This was obviously a very well planned and coordinated attack

C. The war up to this point was essentially deadlocked 1. In July of 1967, communist planners in Hanoi debated their next move 2. Some wanted to continue the protracted war 3. Ho Chi Minh approved a bold offensive

IV. Bad Timing for the US A. Because of the war, Johnson had to raise taxes B. He had to promise a light at the end of the tunnel 1. Official press reports on Vietnam were mostly positive C. This campaign of optimism was just weeks before Tet

V. The Attack A. The US base at Khe Sanh 1. Meant to control NVA support in the northern provinces of South Vietnam 2. The base was attacked by the NVA days before Tet a. This was a diversion, meant to draw in US forces

B. Hue – once the imperial capital of Vietnam 1. Hue is a very old city with historical significance to the Vietnamese

2. Many people fighting the US were fighting for their homes 3. The battle for Hue lasted twenty-four days

4. In order to force out the enemy, the city was almost completely destroyed a. 75% of Hue’s residents were homeless 5. The NVA and Vietcong assassinated 2,800 anti-communists

VI. Success or Failure? A. North Vietnam’s primary objectives had not been reached 1. There was no massive communist uprising in the cities a. Their support was among the peasants

2. The NVA could occupy an area, but not hold it 3. General Giap stated that the North had two goals a. One military b. The other was political

B. After the Tet Offensive, the war had to be fought primarily by North Vietnamese troops 1. The Vietcong suffered massive casualties and capture

C. The Tet Offensive was a military failure for the North, but also an important political victory 1. The US was caught off guard, thinking that the Vietcong was weaker 2. It showed President Johnson the enemy’s troop strength 3. Because of the TV coverage, American citizens as well as government officials began to lose faith in the war

VII. How Would the US Respond? A. Johnson had to make some changes 1. Send more troops? 2. Invade the North? 3. Bomb the civilian population in the North? 4. Move into Laos and Cambodia? B. Members of Congress who once supported the war were turning against it

C. Secretary of Defense, Clark Clifford turned against the war 1. Clifford began to rally other staff members who would work together to help get the US out of Vietnam

D. “The Wise Men” 1. A group of elder statesman who consistently backed Johnson’s war policies a. Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson b. Former Saigon ambassador Maxwell Taylor c. Former National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy 2. This group advised Johnson to get out of Vietnam

E. Johnson’s advisors began drafting a speech which would discuss getting out of the war 1. It was at the end of this speech where Johnson announced he would not run for re-election

F. Mid-May, 1968, North Vietnamese diplomats arrived in Paris to negotiate for the first time G. After Tet, the US strategy would change 1. Peace talks 2. A slow withdrawal of American troops 3. Talking and fighting would go on for the next five years