Tet 1968 - The Turning Point

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Tet 1968 - The Turning Point
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Lesson Objectives
Understand and summarize the military and
domestic political situation on the Vietnam War
in January 1968. Describe and analyze the
events of the Tet 1968 Offensive in Vietnam.
Describe and analyze the operational and
strategic significance of the Tet Offensive.
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Major Issues
Tet 68 The Turning Point
What was the Communist objective for the Tet 68
Offensive?
How did this fit into their Strategy of
Revolutionary War?
What was Tet (the holiday)?
Why did the Communist choose Tet to launch
their attack?
What happened during the Tet 68 attacks in
Saigon? Hué?
How was the Tet offensive portrayed in the U.S.
news media?
What were the results of the offensive
Politically (strategically)?
Militarily (tactically)?
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Review
Strategy of Revolutionary War
Generic Used in Chinese Civil War, First
Second Indochina Wars
Phase I Targeted state stronger militarily
Revolutionaries avoid combat Guerrilla
war raids, ambushes, sabotage, terrorism
Political conflict predominant
Phase II Rough military parity Combined
guerrilla and conventional war Military
and political conflict equally important
Phase III Revolution stronger than targeted
state Revolutionary forces go to totally
conventional war General Offensive
linked to political Great Uprising
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Review
Strategy of Revolutionary War
General Characteristics
It is a total war It is wage with total unity
of effort It is, by necessity and choice, a
protracted war It stresses gaining and keeping
the initiative It is a changing war (shift
between phases) It is a mosaic war (different
phases, different areas) Davidson
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Strategy of Revolutionary War
Timeline
1954-1965 Phase I (guerrilla warfare)
1961-1965 Heated Politburo debate on transition
1965-1967 Phase II (guerrilla conventional
warfare) Increased large unit actions (Ia
Drang, Khe Sanh)
1968 (early) Phase III (conventional warfare)
The Tet Offensive
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Decision to Tet 1968
North Vietnam's Politburo makes the decision to
launch a widespread offensive against South
Vietnam
7 Jul 67
Transition to Phase III of Revolutionary War
Offensive planned with three components
Diversion Attacks against remote border areas
in an effort to lure American troops away from
South Vietnam's cities.
Main Attack (Tet Offensive) Attack against the
cities themselves by Viet Cong forces aided by
NVA troops in the hope of igniting a "general
uprising" to overthrow the government of South
Vietnam.
Follow-on Conventional invasion to capture all
of South Vietnam
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Timeline
NVA troops begin moving into South Vietnam
Early 1960s
Tonkin Gulf Resolution
7 Aug 64
Operation Rolling Thunder (bombing of North)
begins
2 Mar 65
8 Mar 65
Marines land at Da Nang
1967
North Vietnamese Army (NVA) increases pressure on
South
Siege of Khe Sanh Begins
Spring 67
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Siege of Khe Sanh
Spring 1967 - March 1968
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Khe Sahn
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Khe Sahn
1966
1968
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Siege of Khe Sanh
YouTube
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Tet Offensive 1968
Began January 30, 1968
Country-wide combined VC NVA offensive intended
to inspire popular uprising
Attack on Khe Sanh began earlier as a diversion
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Tet Offensive 1968
Began January 30, 1968
Country-wide combined VC NVA offensive intended
to inspire popular uprising
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Tet in Saigon
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Tet in Saigon
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Tet in Saigon
Video Pt 1 - 948
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Tet Offensive 1968
Battle of Hué Jan 30 - Mar 3 1968
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Hué
The Historic Cultural Capital of Vietnam
In February 1966, LBJ asked Gen. Westmoreland,
the US commander in Vietnam, what he would do
next if he were the enemy commander
Capture Hué, Westmoreland immediately replied.
Hué Citadel
Almost two years to the day later, North Vietnam
did just that
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Hue Citadel Airfield
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MACV Compound - Hue
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Hue MACV Compound Officer Quarters
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Tet in Hué
Hué Citadel
Areas not captured
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Tet Offensive 1968
Battle of Hué Jan 31- Mar 3 1968
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Tet Offensive 1968
Battle of Hué Jan 31- Mar 3 1968
Video (808)
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Battle of Hué
Video Pt 2 - 909
Pt 4 - 910
Pt 3 - 848
Pt 5 - 702
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Tet Offensive
Military Results
US and Vietnamese Dead 6,000
PAVN and Viet Cong Dead 40,000 (estimated)
Viet Cong (NLF) essentially eliminated as a
fighting force
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Tet Offensive 1968
Turning point of the war
politically
Saigon police chief executes Viet Cong
Terrorist Photograph by Eddie Adams
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Tet Offensive 1968
Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News anchor, visited
Vietnam Feb1968
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Post-Tet
Walter Cronkite
Upon his return to the US, Cronkite delivered an
unprecedented editorial comment on this trip
(February 27, 1968)
To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the
only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion.
LBJs reply on hearing this If Ive lost
Cronkite, Ive lost middle America.
On March 31, 1968, President Johnson announced he
would not seek re-election.
Source
Video 504 - 541
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Cronkite on Vietnam War
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Strategy of Revolutionary War
1954-1965 Phase I (guerrilla warfare)
1961-1965 Heated Politburo debate on transition
1965-1967 Phase II (guerrilla conventional
warfare) Increased large unit actions (Ia
Drang, Khe Sanh)
1968 (early) Phase III (Tet Offensive)
(conventional warfare)
Military disaster (VC destroyed)
General Uprising did not occur
Strategic victory for the Communists none the
less
1968 (mid) Phase II
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US Strategy in Vietnam
Clark Clifford, SecDef in 1968 Interviewed
senior officials, military and civilian
none of them could tell him what constituted
victory in Vietnam found that US had no
military plan to win war Summers
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US Strategy in Vietnam
US had no clear strategy in Vietnam
Never mobilized the American people Never
committed sufficient force to win Never defined
what win meant
Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat
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Vietnam The Home Front
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End