1. 1. To know what the main events of the Tet Offensive were.
Thursday, 03 May 2018
The Tet Offensive
Learning Objective:
1. To know what the main events of the Tet Offensive were.

2. Thursday, 03 May 2018
The US beginning to win..?
By 1967, President Johnson stated that a crossover point had been reached – he believed that the USA were gaining the upper hand in the war.
This meant American troops were supposedly killing the enemy faster than they could be replaced.
However, this was not strictly true.
The Vietcong controlled a third of villages in South Vietnam…
...and they had plans.
Watch this film clip to find out what happened…(4:30-8:30)

3. The Tet Offensive January 1968
Your Task
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Draw up a table like this in your books. You then need to fill it in as we go along, or by using your text books.
The Tet Offensive January 1968
Background
Event
Outcome

4. Background: The Tet Festival
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Background: The Tet Festival
Every year on the last day of January, the Vietnamese celebrate the lunar new year and pay tribute to their dead ancestors.
In 1968, an unofficial truce had been declared.
However, unknown to the Americans, the VC had secretly celebrated the Tet festival two days early.
Why?
They were planning a massive surprise attack on the US and on towns and cities in South Vietnam.
The 31st January would be the day that the USA was least expecting an attack.

5. Why did the VC change tactics?
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Why did the VC change tactics?
Why did the VC change tactics and fight this way?
By 1968 the USA were losing support at home and their morale was low.
The VC had steadily grown stronger and now had access to better weapons supplied from Russia and China.
The VC believed that now was the time to emerge from secret fighting in the countryside and launch a surprise attack in the towns and cities which would finish off the Americans.
They hoped that the local South Vietnamese population would rise up to support them and throw out the Americans.

6. The Tet Offensive January 1968
Background
Event
Outcome
The VC planned a large surprise attack in January 1968.
This would be during the Tet Festival ceasefire.
They wanted to catch the US off guard.
They planned to change tactics and attack towns and cities including Saigon.
They hoped that the people of South Vietnam would rise up with them and throw the US out. .

7. Event: The Tet Offensive
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Event: The Tet Offensive
On the evening of 31st January, 1968, 67,000 VC soldiers launched a surprise attack on more than a hundred cities and towns in South Vietnam.
These were carefully co-ordinated to take place at exactly the same time for maximum impact.
This was a complete change of tactics.
The VC were no longer fighting a secret guerrilla war of hit and run.
They were now fighting in the open and directly taking on the USA.
This showed how confident they had become.

8. Initial success The VC attacks did initially catch the US off guard.
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Initial success
Watch original footage of the Tet Offensive as reported on TV. US General Westmorland claims that bombs exploding off camera were duds – they were not.
The VC attacks did initially catch the US off guard.
They had not previously openly attacked city centre targets.
The most high profile of these was the South Vietnamese capital Saigon.
Here the VC briefly captured part of the US embassy and the main radio station.
Open street fighting was taking place in city locations for the first time.

9. The USA fight back
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Although initially caught off guard the USA soon regained its composure.
With the help of the South Vietnamese army (ARVN) they fought back and within 48 hours the VC had largely been repelled.
Fighting went on for a further month but the US eventually regained control.

10. The Tet Offensive January 1968
Background
Event
Outcome
The VC planned a large surprise attack in January 1968.
This would be during the Tet Festival ceasefire.
They wanted to catch the US off guard.
They planned to change tactics and attack towns and cities including Saigon.
They hoped that the people of South Vietnam would rise up with them and throw the US out.
Over 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam were attacked by 67,000 VC soldiers .
In Saigon, the radio station and part of the US embassy were captured.
The US were caught off guard.
The attacks were reported live by TV crews and reported around the world.
However the US and ARVN quickly fought back and regained control within 48 hours. .

11. Tet Offensive Outcomes
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Tet Offensive Outcomes
It took 3 weeks and 11,000 US troops to clear Saigon of the Communist forces.
Nearly 9,000 US & South Vietnamese soldiers died; around 17,000 Communists died out of the 67,000 who took part.
The VC were disappointed the South didn’t rise up to support them and took 4 years to recover from their massive losses.
Superficially the USA had won a clear victory.
The first time the VC had emerged to fight on a large scale, and in the open, they had been easily defeated.
Surely now the USA had the upper hand in the war and could go on to achieve total victory?
WRONG.
Why?

12. Tet Offensive Outcomes
Thursday, 03 May 2018
The US had 500,000 troops in South Vietnam. The war was costing $20 billion a year. Yet the VC were still able to launch a huge attack.
In the US fight-back, many civilians died and the ancient city of Hue was destroyed.
Journalists began to report the war in a negative way. Walter Cronkite (more in a future lesson) was a top journalist who reported on Tet and said ‘What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning this war.’
Therefore all of these reasons caused people in the US to start to turn against the war.

13. Thursday, 03 May 2018
A media defeat?
Public opinion in the USA and around the world was already beginning to turn against the USA before the Tet Offensive.
Now it significantly turned against them.
American military generals were claiming victory and asking for another 200,000 soldiers to be sent out to ‘finish off the job’.
But many of the general public and the politicians were now firmly against the war.
The Tet Offensive proved the VC had inexhaustible supplies of men and women to fight.

14. Thursday, 03 May 2018
Johnson Resigns
President Johnson was advised by his Secretary of Defence (foreign minister) that the USA could not win the Vietnam War and recommended a negotiated withdrawal.
Ironically this was at the time when the USA had been having its greatest military success in Vietnam.
After Tet the mood turned against them.
President Lyndon Johnson was a casualty.
He assessed the situation, reduced air raids and decided not to seek re-election as US president. 14

15. The Tet Offensive January 1968
Background
Event
Outcome
The VC planned a large surprise attack in January 1968.
This would be during the Tet Festival ceasefire.
They wanted to catch the US off guard.
They planned to change tactics and attack towns and cities including Saigon.
They hoped that the people of South Vietnam would rise up with them and throw the US out.
Over 100 cities and towns in South Vietnam were attacked by 67,000 VC soldiers .
In Saigon, the radio station and part of the US embassy were captured.
The US were caught off guard.
The attacks were reported live by TV crews and reported around the world.
However the US and ARVN quickly fought back and regained control within 48 hours.
This was a big military victory for the USA.
The VC failed to achieve their aims and lost over 17,000 men.
It took the VC 4 years to recover.
Also the people of South Vietnam didn’t rise up against the US.
HOWEVER…
People began to question why 500,000 US soldiers were unable to prevent Tet.
Also many civilians died and Hue was destroyed in the fight-back.
Journalists like Walter Cronkite began to criticise the war.
All of this turn people in the US against the war.
Therefore it turned into a media defeat.
President Johnson decided against running for re-election. .

16. Your tasks... Task: Bonus Task: Bonus, Bonus Task:
Thursday, 03 May 2018
Your tasks...
Read pages of your set book.
Task:
Write a script for Walter Cronkite to read on the evening news reporting on the Tet Offensive.
Bonus Task:
Write a script from a VC point of view.
Bonus, Bonus Task:
‘The Tet Offensive of January 1968 was a military victory for the USA, but more significantly, a media defeat’.
Write out this quote and an explanation of how the USA could both win and lose a battle at the same time. 16