De-escalation began.Įssentially, the Tet Offensive was the beginning of the end of the Vietnam War. Troop limitations were announced, and there was a halt on bombings. Johnson and other leaders, taking note of growing antiwar sentiment at home, chose to do the opposite. generals at the heart of the campaign asked to add to the more than 500,000 troops already in Vietnam, hoping to start a counteroffensive. victory in Vietnam was not imminent, and the American public's support began to wane.Īfter Tet, U.S. In 1954, Vietnam was split in two with the communist region to the north and the allies of America in the south, under the Geneva Accords. The shocking images coming out of Vietnam vividly showed the horrors of the war, and many were shocked by the enemy's resilience. The enemy failed to keep any captured territory, the Viet Cong's southern infrastructure was decimated, the South Vietnamese refused to embrace the north's ideals, and thousands of enemy fighters died.Īt the same time, though, it was a huge loss for the U.S. The Tet Offensive ended in early April 1968 as a military defeat for the communists. military leaders claimed we were winning the war, journalists - who were given unprecedented access to military engagements at Hue - painted a different picture. Hue's losses were costly off the battlefield, too. troops and thousands of communist soldiers lost their lives. It took nearly a month for Allied troops to regain control there, and it came at huge costs - hundreds of U.S. On January 31 1968, during celebrations of the Vietnamese New Year (known as Tet), North Vietnam, supported by South Vietnamese Vietcong launched surprise. Enemy invaders quickly overwhelmed the city's government, took control of its ancient citadel and executed thousands of residents. Embassy in Saigon, where the Viet Cong had managed to breach the outer walls.īut the Battle for Hue City was a different story. While American and South Vietnamese troops were caught off-guard by the attacks, they were able to quickly retake most territory the enemy captured, including the U.S.
Not only would the Allies be unprepared, but holiday travelers would provide good cover for the Viet Cong to make their move. troops and its allied forces thought that would continue in 1968.īut enemy leaders saw it as the perfect time to pounce. In the first few years of the Vietnam War, there had been decreased fighting around the holiday, so U.S. Tet is a huge holiday in Vietnam marking the start of the Lunar New Year. and South Vietnamese troops? It all had to do with timing.
How was the enemy able to get the jump on U.S.
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