The Tet Offensive

Summary

The Tet Offensive was a coordinated series of surprise attacks launched by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces on January 30, 1968, targeting over 100 cities and towns across South Vietnam during the Vietnamese New Year holiday. Although U.S. and South Vietnamese forces repelled the attacks and inflicted heavy casualties on the communist forces, the offensive shocked the American public who had been told the war was being won. The psychological impact in the United States was profound, eroding public support for the war and leading President Lyndon B. Johnson to decline running for re-election. While a military defeat for North Vietnam, Tet proved a strategic victory by undermining American political will to continue the conflict.