End of the War

The Tet Offensive The turning point of the war came on January 31, 1968. As the Vietnamese celebrated their New Year, Viet Cong forces launched attacks in every major city in South Vietnam. The attack was beaten back and Viet Cong suffered 10:1 casualties. However, the sight of Viet Cong forces overrunning American positions lost much support for the war. For the Viet Cong it was a military defeat but a political victory. 1,2

In July 1968 Richard Nixon became President promising a honorable peace in Vietnam. In July, 1969 Nixon announced his strategy of Vietnamization gradually turning the war over to the South Vietnamese. However, Nixon had secretly widened the war and began bombing Cambodia earlier that year. When the public found out they were outraged! 3

4 Promising that peace was at hand Nixon was reelected in 1972. On January 27, 1973 the U.S. signed a peace agreement with North Vietnam whereby the U.S. agreed to withdraw all its troops and North Vietnam promised not to invade South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese however never planned on making good on this agreement and launched in massive invasion of South Vietnam in 1975. On April 30, 1975 communist forces captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon and renamed it Ho Chi Minh City. The war was over. 4

Legacy of the War The Vietnam War caused terrible destruction and suffering in Southeast Asia. More than 1.2 million Vietnamese died in the struggle. The war left many Vietnamese in poverty. Over 173,000 Vietnamese immigrated to the U.S. by 1980.

The Wall In honor of the over 58,000 Americans who lost their life in Vietnam the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was constructed in 1982 in Washington D.C. 5