Tet Offensive Essay

The Tet Offensive      The Tet Offensive was a major assault by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the U.S. forces situated there. It was not only a psychological advance for the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, but also gave the United States a notion that the war wasn’t going to be an easy win, and the chances of winning the war were, in fact, very slim.      The war initially was an attempt to limit the spread of communism throughout Asia. Similar to

Vietnamese lunar new year known as Tet, the North Vietnamese launched a coordinated series of attacks on cities and outposts in South Vietnam. The attack, which went on to be known as the Tet Offensive, was an attempt from the Viet Cong to spark a rebellion in South Vietnam and to send a stark message to United States, advising them to limit their involvement in the conflict. Although U.S. and South Vietnamese troops were able to hold off some of the attacks, the Tet Offensive was still a victory for the

TET OFFENSIVE Introduction The term Tet is synonymous with New Year and it is a celebration in Vietnam that is spent with family. Tet is the Vietnamese lunar New Year, a sacred holiday during which for several days the Vietnamese people participate in traditional celebrations, hold street festivals, and worship revered ancestors at family altars. The Tet Offensive is a major battle that occurred during the Tet holiday and is considered by many people a major turning point in the Vietnamese

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive received its name from the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the American public and further holiday called Tet (Tet Offensive n.p.).The series of surprise attacks that the North Vietnam and Viet Cong forces launched to attack many of South Vietnam cities and U.S. Embassy in Saigon is known today as the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive played a role in the Vietnam War and was considered to many Americans, soldiers, and even the President as a turning point in the

attacks of the Vietnam War, known as the Tet Offensive. Arthur J. Dommen, a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, wrote an article titled, “Hanoi Says U.S. Can’t Win War-- And Knows It.” According to the author, an undisclosed North Vietnamese source boldly stated that the United States was no longer “invincible,” and that the Vietnam War would be an undoubted Communist victory. The North Vietnam Defense Administrator Giap also asserted that, “After the Tet offensive, the men in the Pentagon understood

the Tet Offensive, because by that time, it was made evident that further fighting would only cause more unnecessary harms. Often in history nations try to justify their actions any way they can whether they are valid or not. Vietnamese intervention was reasoned to be necessary because of the possible implications of the domino effect. Just as it happened in Eastern Europe, so could communism spread to the United States if it went

exploded to 93%. (Rohn, 2014) The average American household owned television and watched the news. Many saw the war for what it was—hell. Public support continued to wane. In January 1968, the Vietcong launched a surprise attack called the Tet Offensive. Although US Forces repelled the ambush, they were surprised that the Vietcong were capable of an ambush four years into the war. This was officially the turning point of American morale towards the war. This along with the My Lai massacre exacerbated

with the Tet Offensive, another event that changed the minds of Americans was the invasion of the U.S Embassy in Saigon, which later became known as the US Embassy: Fall of Saigon. The Fall of Saigon was also an invasion by the North Vietnamese on South Vietnam, and consequentially, the South fell to the North, effectively, ending the Vietnam War. But more importantly, this tragedy ended the trust of Americans in their government and in their political leaders. These images of the Tet Offensive and the

The 1968 Tet Offensive was an event that changed history, an event that led to another event that no country thought would ever happen. A United States defeat, what every country in the world after World War II saw as impossible, was made possible by the “failed” mission of the Tet Offensive. The Tet Offensive was an attack conducted by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the National Liberation Front (NLF) on the South Vietnamese government in an attempt to defeat the South, which were being supported

rise of communism. The Truman Doctrine was a foreign policy announced in 1947 that the United States would counter attempts of communistic expansion, thus resulting in their involvement in the Vietnam War beginning in 1965. In years prior to 1968, Tet--a celebration of the Vietnamese lunar New Year—had been observed as a seven day ceasefire between both sides to honor the tradition. This informal truce was similar to the Christmas Truce of 1914 during which both sides of the Western front united