The significance of the Tet Offensive for the Vietnam War.
- Date: January 09, 2006
- Level: High School, 11th grade
- Grade: Unspecified
- Length: 2 pages (575 words)
- Essay rating:
- Keywords:
tet offensive, national liberation front, south vietnam, vietnam war, north vietnam, surprise attack, ...south vietnamese forces, vietcong, military power, vietminh, simultaneous attack, soldiers killed, provincial capitals, 31st of january, move back
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Subject > History Term Papers > World History > International Organizations & Conflicts
Tet Offensive : In 1968, the National Liberation Front and Vietcong launched a surprise attack against American and South Vietnamese forces on the eve of the lunar New Year's Day. This surprise attack is known as the Tet Offensive and many people viewed this as a turning point in the Vietnam War.
Militarily, the Tet Offensive showed the significance of Vietcong/Vietminh's military power and nowhere in South Vietnam was safe. On 31st of January 1968, the simultaneous attack the towns and cities in South Vietnam began and this went on for 3 days. Over 35 towns and cities including 13 provincial capitals were seized and shockingly, the US embassy in Saigon was invaded. The National Liberation Front and Vietcong sent more ...
... so big issue that it became one of the most important topics in the US politics.
Socially, many people viewed the Tet Offensive as a sign showing that the US was actually losing the war. The US military have always reported that they were winning the war and in December 1967, Walt Rostow stated, "Their casualties are going up at a rate they cannot sustain ... I see light at the end of the tunnel.", but after the Tet Offensive, the public became skeptic about the reports from the US military because suddenly, it seemed like they were losing the war. So, more and more people were involved in the protest against the Vietnam War in
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