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 1968 Tet Offensive, historical witnesses and Saigon commandos attended the National Scientific Conference “The 1968 Tet Offensive and Uprising – 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, combat agencies and 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 commando units and soldiers gathered, both joyful and vigilant. At New Year's Eve, after listening to Uncle Ho's New Year greetings 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 the spirit to protect the base. Although it was a failure, it was also an experience for our Party to learn more experience, to fight the US and the vassal states knowing that it is not without forces 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 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 American imperialism, towards the unification of the country by our army and people, and was the premise for gradually implementing Uncle Ho's instructions before the campaign took place: "Fight to make the US go away - Fight to make the puppet government 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 gain victory, as Uncle Ho said, even if we had to burn the Truong Son mountain range, we must 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