Tet Offensive Research Paper

In 1968, the Communist North Vietnamese mobilized a plan to attack strategic locations in Southern Vietnam. The goal of the mission, commonly known as the Tet Offensive, was to overthrow the South Vietnamese government, liberate the south from American interference, force the United States to withdraw from the country, and ultimately reunify the country of Vietnam. The Tet Offensive has been categorized as a military failure for the North Vietnamese because they were unable to achieve their prime directive. However, the Tet Offensive has also been declared a political victory for the North Vietnamese due to the anti-war sentiments it stirred in the hearts of Americans. The ability of the Communist regime of North Vietnam to rattle American

The strategy laid out a plan to hit multiple targets located south of the demilitarized zone in what amounted to a campaign of shock and awe. Communist North Vietnamese leaders intended to force American to withdraw troops, thus allowing North and South Vietnam to reconcile under a Communist government that would reunify the nation. The combined force of over 84,000 NVA and Vietcong (VC) troops were coordinated to hit large cities and towns during the cease fire called during the Vietnamese national holiday of Tet. Consequently, the U.S. and South Vietnamese Army (RVN) troops were caught off guard but effectively launched counterattacks that decimated the Vietcong and NVA forces. The overall failure of the Tet-Offensive centered miscalculation of organizers that believed once the attacks commenced the South Vietnamese people would rise up in revolt against the Americans and ARVN forces and come to the aid of the VC and NVA forces. When failed to happen and casualties began to mount, the Tet Offensive essentially fell apart and was unable to attain its ultimate goals. Nevertheless, politically the Tet Offensive was a smashing success for the North Vietnamese because of the ripple effect it had across the ocean in America. The aftermath of the Tet Offensive had turned the tide of the war in favor of the Communist