The Tet Offensive, 1968 (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

Summary

The Tet Offensive was both a triumph and a disaster for the Vietcong (VC). On the battlefield, they lost thousands of their best fighters for little or no gain. But it was a decisive victory in the battle of public opinion in the US. After watching the fighting of the Tet Offensive on their televisions, many Americans who had previously supported the war became convinced that a US victory was impossible. 

The events of the Tet Offensive

• The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of attacks by the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army on cities, towns and military bases all over South Vietnam

  • It took the US and the ARVN completely by surprise as it occurred during the Tet holidays

  • In previous years, both sides had stopped fighting during the Tet Lunar New Year

The impacts of the Tet Offensive

• The Tet Offensive was a military disaster for the VC

  • It failed to trigger the wider uprising across South Vietnam that was supposed to follow the attacks

  • The VC gained no new territory in South Vietnam

  • Many of its best fighters were killed and they lost as many as 60,000 troops

• The Tet Offensive was a public relations disaster for the United States

  • The American public had been told the US was on the brink of winning and then watched the VC capture the US Embassy on TV

  • After years of fighting at the cost of over 50,000 dead US troops and billions of dollars 

  • The Tet Offensive convinced many Americans that they could never win the war

    • US public opinion turned decisively against the war because of the Tet Offensive