Wars, politics & history

Tet Offensive

from 30 January 1968 to 23 September 1968

The Tet Offensive was a series of coordinated surprise attacks by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army on cities, towns and military bases across South Vietnam, launched during the Tet holiday that marks the lunar new year. Attackers briefly entered the grounds of the US embassy in Saigon and held much of the old city of Hue for weeks, where fierce fighting and the killing of civilians took place. The offensive failed to cause the popular uprising its planners hoped for, and communist forces suffered very heavy losses. Even so, it shattered American public confidence in official claims that the war was being won, deepened opposition at home, and contributed to President Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek re-election.

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