Heroic memories of the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of Mau Than 1968

The heroic victory of the 1968 Tet Offensive is a story that lives forever in the hearts of those involved.

On December 29, nearly 50 years after the Tet Offensive in 1968, historical witnesses and Saigon special forces... attended the national scientific conference "The General Offensive and Uprising in Spring 1968 - The decisive turning point and historical lessons". The conference was organized by the Ministry of National Defense in coordination with the Central Propaganda Department and the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.

Overview of the workshop

The workshop was an opportunity for leaders, soldiers, and Saigon commandos to meet during the heroic Tet Offensive of 1968. Together, they recalled the heroic memories of history, unique fighting methods, and meaningful lessons in a new approach with objective and scientific thinking.

In the memory of many people, Tet Mau Than 1968 was the most memorable and joyful Tet in their fighting life. That year, in the liberated areas, the combat units gathered to celebrate Tet together in a very lively and warm atmosphere. With the support and contributions of the people, eating whatever they had, the special forces units and soldiers gathered, both joyful and vigilant. At New Year's Eve, after listening to Uncle Ho's New Year wishes and superiors' instructions, each person had a task, ready to listen to orders, accepting sacrifices and hardships to resolutely fight the enemy.

Ms. Vu Minh Nghia, alias Chinh Nghia, in Team 5 - Saigon Special Forces participating in the Tet Mau Than campaign in 1968, recalled: "When falling into the enemy's hands, the will to hate, even if sacrificed, captured but still kept her integrity to protect her base. Although she failed like that, but also learned from experience so that our Party could learn more, to fight the US and the vassal states knowing that it is not without force to fight them".

According to General Pham Van Tra, former Minister of National Defense, the 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising became a major event in the world about the struggle of the Vietnamese people against the invasion of American imperialism.

The General Offensive and Uprising had a very great significance in terms of diplomacy. If there had not been the Tet Offensive in 1968, it is unlikely that the US would have agreed to negotiate at the Paris Conference... This was a great victory in the war against the US imperialists, towards the unification of the country by our army and people, and was a premise to gradually implement Uncle Ho's instructions before the campaign took place: "Fight to make the US go away - Fight to make the puppets fall".

General Pham Van Tra said that only by being in the battle can one realize the role of this campaign in the war situation, as an effective way to fight the enemy with three main attacks: political, military, and military propaganda. The General Offensive, which took place over 300 days and nights, was a unique creation of Vietnamese military art, shaking the American imperialists' will to invade to the core, creating conditions for our army and people to carry out the great process of completely liberating the Fatherland from foreign invasion.

“Our people and our soldiers sacrificed a lot, but this loss was necessary to win victory, as Uncle Ho said, even if we had to burn the Truong Son mountain range, we had to gain independence and freedom. We had this decisive battle that forced the US to accept the Paris Agreement, accept all four sides: the US, North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam” - General Pham Van Tra said.

50 years have passed, we have had more complete, profound and comprehensive assessments of the stature and significance of the historic victory of the 1968 Tet Offensive; at the same time, we have drawn valuable lessons from the General Offensive and Uprising to apply and promote in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland today.

The 1968 Tet Offensive is always a heroic and shining page in the history of the Vietnamese people./.

According to VOV