40th anniversary of Tet Offensive marked

[unhappycamper]

Saigon burns in the background during the Tet offensive in February 1968.


40th anniversary of Tet Offensive marked
By Fred L. Borch and Robert F. Dorr - Special to the Times
Posted : Thursday Jan 31, 2008 10:42:42 EST

Just over 40 years ago, on Jan. 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched a series of widespread and coordinated attacks against U.S. and allied forces in South Vietnam.

The assault coincided with Tet, the beginning of the lunar year and an important holiday in Vietnam. Although U.S. and South Vietnamese troops held fast against the attacks and inflicted massive casualties, what amounted to a military victory on the battlefield became, in some respects, a defeat for U.S. political goals. Public opinion in the U.S., already beginning to turn against the war, looked at Tet as evidence that U.S. participation in Vietnam was too costly.

The intent of the North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies was to crush the Army of (South) Vietnam, the ARVN, and trigger a popular uprising among the civilian population against the South Vietnamese government. To achieve these goals, the enemy attacked five major cities, 36 provincial capitals and 64 district capitals. Additionally, they attacked numerous hamlets and the Tan Son Nhut Air Base near Saigon. Finally, in an attempt to deliver a decisive psychological blow, the enemy attacked — and penetrated — the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

U.S. troops at Tan Son Nhut withstood the attack but did so in an extraordinary reversal of roles: Most of the ground troops were Air Force and most of the air cover was provided by the Army.

The enemy had deceitfully agreed with the South Vietnamese to a cease-fire to celebrate Tet. Although U.S. military intelligence discerned that an attack might occur, the information was ignored for three reasons. First, the Americans believed that the enemy would not violate the cease-fire. Second, senior U.S. commanders did not think that the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were capable of launching major combat operations. Third, the Army and Marines were preoccupied with the ongoing siege at Khe Sanh, which had started Jan. 21 and would last 77 days.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/army_history_080131w/



uhc comment: I was at Chu Lai when the shit hit the fan.

[catnhatnh]

1. I was 14....my older brother was a freshman in college....

...who never guessed that within 2 years he'd be drafted or that he'd turn 21 in the Ah Shau (spelling?) valley.

[unhappycamper]

2. Yea, though I walk thru the valley of Death

I shall fear no evil
For I am the evilist motherfucker in the valley.


Ask him if he remembers that.