Study the factors that contribute to Tet Offensive, its impact
How did the Tet offensive change the war? On 19 October 1967, North Vietnam announced a seven-day ceasefire from January 27 to February 3, 1968, to celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. But in the late night hours of January 30, 1968, the ceasefire was broke and the Tet Offensive was launched by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against the South Vietnamese and American forces, the largest military operation conducted up to that point of the war.
The Communists attacked around 100 major cities and towns throughout South Vietnam, catching both the Americans and the South Vietnamese off guard and causing them to temporarily lose control of several cities. The
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By 1967, the anti-war movement intensified and President Johnson was under constant pressure from the public and even from within the government. The Americans have been involved in the Vietnam War for more than two years, committing more than 400,000 troops and the casualties kept increasing. Many Americans started to believe that the war had became a bloody stalemate and it was a mistake to send troops to Vietnam. Amid all the discontent, Johnson and his administration launched the “success offensive,” an effort to convince the people that American was winning the war and the government policies were succeeding. As part of this effort, government spokespersons and news media began reassuring the people with exaggerated positivity, supported with statistical report of the progress. President Johnson even brought home senior commander in Vietnam, General William Westmoreland to support their campaign. In public and private addresses, Westmoreland affirmed that the US and allied forces were making significant progress against the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, winning major battle and inflicting heavy casualties on the NVA and main force VC units. During a discussion with an interviewer from Time magazine, Westmoreland even challenged the communists to launch an attack, which did happened in a short time