Tet Offensive 1968: An Expensive Lesson for the Americans

In a recent article in US News titled “50 Years Later, the Tet Offensive in Vietnam Still Resonates”, author Kenneth T. Walsh argued that the Tet Offensive left valuable lessons for the US. The People’s Army Newspaper introduces the main content of the article:

The 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising began in the early morning of January 30, 1968. Tens of thousands of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers coordinated a series of surprise attacks on more than 100 cities, towns, and American bases in South Vietnam, stunning both American soldiers and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam right on the occasion of the Tet New Year.

The lessons of the 1968 Tet Offensive still resonate. “The 1968 Tet Offensive shaped the world we live in today. The American public still does not have complete confidence that government officials will accurately inform the people about external developments. Nor do they have confidence that the leaders will act properly,” Princeton University historian Julian E. Zelizer has commented.

One of the most shameful events for the United States was the enemy's daring attack onUS Embassy in Saigon. American television channels all broadcast sharp images of this attack, surprising American and world public opinion. Another event that must be mentioned is the enemy's capture of Hue city and fierce fighting that lasted for three weeks.

Before the Tet Offensive of 1968, US President Lyndon Johnson and General William Westmoreland, Commander-in-Chief of the US Army in Vietnam, declared that victory was within reach. By mid-February 1968, about two weeks after the Tet Offensive broke out, 2,000 ARVN soldiers and 1,000 US soldiers had been killed while the number of wounded reached 12,000, half of whom were US soldiers. This number of casualties continued to increase until the Tet Offensive ended at the end of February 1968.

After the Tet Offensive in 1968, many Americans realized that the statement of President Lyndon Johnson and General William Westmoreland was wrong. General William Westmoreland himself indirectly admitted that when he proposed to add 200,000 more troops to continue the war.The General Offensive and Uprising of Mau Than Spring 1968was heavily reported by American media.

One of the most brutal images that haunted public opinion was the AP photo of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, director general of the Republic of Vietnam National Police, shooting a Viet Cong soldier in the head with his hands tied on the street. The American people realized that the United States could not win this war and that it was time to withdraw from Vietnam. The anti-war movement in the United States began to rise.

Assessing the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising, CBS announcer Walter Cronkite declared on television: “One thing is more certain than ever: the bloody war in Vietnam is at a stalemate.

To say that we are close to victory would be to ignore the evidence and believe in the optimists who have made mistakes.”

By March 1968, a Harris Poll showed that only 26% of Americans approved of President Lyndon Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War, down from 34% in November 1967. "The Tet Offensive of 1968 showed that President Lyndon Johnson and General William Westmoreland were lying about "moving toward a critical point where the end began to dawn" as the American general had declared.

In addition to the damage caused to President Lyndon Johnson's reputation, the unexpected 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising, which exposed the US government's boasting about a prospect of victory, dealt a painful blow to public confidence in the US government," historian Julian E. Zelizer commented.

Another lesson is that the 1968 Mau Than General Offensive and Uprising showed that no matter how much the US had superiority in military and war technology, a determined and courageous opponent always knew how to find ways to win battles and convince American public opinion against the war.

50 years ago, through the Tet Offensive of 1968, millions of Americans realized that the enemy was willing to sacrifice for the independence of their country and was capable of causing great casualties to the US military. This weakened the fighting spirit of the US side.

The Vietnam War has haunted the Pentagon for decades. America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—the longest in American history—show that history can repeat itself. Today, the enemies are more diverse and dispersed, both outside and inside the United States. The threats are real. Meanwhile, America’s power is limited, as was clearly demonstrated in the Tet Offensive of 1968 a half-century ago.