The 1968 Tet Offensive failed on the battlefield, but it convinced many Americans that the war could not be won soon.
Tet is the Vietnamese New Year. In early 1968, communist forces attacked cities across South Vietnam. US and South Vietnamese forces pushed them back, and communist losses were heavy.
But the size of the attacks shocked Americans. Leaders had said the enemy was close to defeat. Now the war looked longer and costlier. So a military failure had a big political effect.
Tet added to pressure from deaths, costs and protests. President Richard Nixon later began Vietnamisation. This meant pulling out US troops while training and arming the South's forces to do the fighting. US bombing continued. The Paris agreement of January 1973 let US combat troops leave and prisoners return. But the Vietnamese kept fighting each other.
- Tet, 1968
- Communist attacks across the South; pushed back with heavy losses.
- Vietnamisation
- Nixon hands the fighting to the South's forces.
- Paris agreement, 1973
- US combat troops leave; fighting continues.
Worked example: Two kinds of success
How can Tet be a military failure and a political turning point?
- Military: the attacks were beaten back with heavy losses.
- Political: Americans stopped believing victory was near.
- So Tet pushed the USA towards leaving the war.
Watch out for this
Tet was beaten back, so it had no effect on US policy.
Tet failed militarily, but it changed American opinion and pushed the USA towards withdrawal.
Check your understanding
Why is Tet seen as a political turning point?
- It was a major communist military victory.
- It ended the war in 1968.
- It showed Americans that victory was not near, even though the attacks failed.