1968 Tet Offensive Maps

The Tet Offensive Begins

First and second waves of attacks

Battle for Saigon

Enemy Attack on Hue

Allied counterattack in Hue

1968 Tet Offensive

During the 1968 Vietnamese New Year celebrations at the end of January, normally a cease-fire period for ARVN troops, the PAVN and the NLF launched a surprise offensive against military and government installations throughout South Vietnam. The aim was to topple the government, but a popular uprising failed to materialize. By the second day of the offensive, 27 of the provincial capitals, 5 of the autonomous cities, 58 of the district towns, and more than 50 hamlets were under fire. 84,000 Communist troops hit South Vietnamese government areas, largely bypassing American installations except for jointly held air bases and high-profile sites such as the U.S. embassy.

In most areas, the fighting was over after several days. However in Saigon NLF forces attacked high-profile targets, continuing the fight for more than a week. In Hue, the old imperial capital, A PAVN division with NLF forces and prisoners from local jails held the city until early March. Three American Marine battalions, along with ARVN troops and the 101st Airborne, recaptured Hue in bloody house-to-house fighting.

For the Communists, the 1968 Tet Offensive was a costly military failure. Without a public uprising, the attacks were little more than suicidal raids. Communist losses were estimated at 45,000, while the ARVN only lost 2300 and the US 1100. However the attacks were successful in another sense: they shocked the American public which had been led to believe that victory was imminent. Americans followed the events of the Tet Offensive on television with disbelief. With public support uncertain, at the end of March President Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection and would pursue peace negotiations with North Vietnam. The 1968 Tet Offensive had failed in South Vietnam, but had succeeded in breaking down much of the American support for the war.

Resources:

Kolko: pp 305-335

Langguth: pp. 468-481

Web Site: Moise on Tet Offensive

Web Site: Department of the Army Vietnam Studies

Web Site: BBC News "On This Day" [with video]