The Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War Essays

The Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major assault by the conjugation Vietnamese and Viet Congagainst South Vietnam and the U.S. forces ascertain there. It was not only a psychologicaladvance for the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong, but also gave the United States anotion that the war wasnt red ink to be an easy win, and the chances of winning the warwere, in fact, very slim.The war initially was an attempt to limit the spread of communism finishedoutAsia. Similar to Korea, Vietnam was in a civil war divided by political ideologies. (2) The Domino Effect is the idea that when one nation falls to communism, other nations aroundit in time will fall (2). Under the fear of this happening in Vietnam, the United Statesjoined forces with the South Vietnamese to fight the spread of communism (5). thoughmost of South Vietnam was indeed against the spread of communism, there were somewho sympathized with the North, known as the Northern Liberation Front, or Viet Cong(VC). The VC hi d amongst the other South Vietnamese civilians, and employ guerilla tacticsto fight for communism. (5)The Tet Offensive was an all out attack by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA)and the VC during the Tet cease-fire (6). The cease-fire was a unaggressive and hospitableagreement made between the U.S. and the NVA to stop all assaults during Tet, the annualVietnamese festival for celebrating the lunar New Year. On the first day of the festival,January 31, 1968, NVA and VC launched a series of attacks on major cities and militarybases located in South Vietnam. (6)Strategically, the assault was a failure (5). The communist attackers had failed topermanently capture any of their targets, and overall, had baffled more men than thedemocratic defenders (6). However, the deviousness and planning involved in theoffensive was so great that the overall psychological effect had gained an advantage forNorth Vietnam and the VC (5).The Vietnam War was the most reported conflict in history (3). TV ca meramenfrom all over the nation flew to Vietnam to document the sights and stories, so thatviewers at al-Qaeda would have a feel for the war they were paying for. Sometimes themedias output had a negative effect on the war effort, showing written senseless violence.(3) They also proved wrong the claims laid by General Westermoreland of ... ...d Historical Society, Inc. 1998This book is written by the commanding officer of Bravo Company. It goesthrough the happenings of a platoon through the Vietnam War, and describes the eventson the first night of Tet, and carries the topic for the two weeks that followed.4. Pimlott, John. Vietnam the Decisive Battles. New York, New York. MacmillanPublishing Company. 1990This book goes through the planning, and execution of the Tet Offensive, anddescribes in detail the effects of the attack, and how it was decisive.5. Knopf, Alfred. Walter Cronkite a Reporters Life. New York, New York. Randomhouse, Inc. 1996.Since Cronkite was one of the most in fluential political commentators during thesixties, his judgment was valued highly. This book gives an overview of how his opiniontoward the war changed after the Tet Offensive, and how that changed the feelings of theAmerican public.6. Martin, Earl. Personal Interview. 21, March 2001Martin was a civilian relief volunteer during the war. He gave me an account ofthe change in moral of the volunteers and the civilians down the stairs pressure after the TetOffensive had taken place.