1968 : Viet Cong attack U.S. Embassy
On this day in 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive, a squad of Viet
Cong guerillas attacks the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The soldiers seized
the embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S.
paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building's roof and routed
the Viet Cong.
The Tet Offensive was planned as a massive, simultaneous attack on the
major cities and provincial capitals of South Vietnam. It was
scheduled to take place during Tet, the Vietnamese lunar New Year
celebration, which was traditionally a time of decreased fighting. In
December 1967, following an attack on the U.S. Marine base at Khe
Sanh, 50,000 American troops were sent in to defend the area, thereby
weakening U.S. positions elsewhere. This American response played into
the Viet Cong's strategy to clear the way for the surprise Tet
Offensive, in which Communist forces attacked Saigon, Hue (the
imperial capital) and over 100 other urban areas.
The timing and magnitude of the attacks caught the South Vietnamese
and American forces off guard, although they quickly recovered and
recaptured the occupied areas. Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a
disaster for the Communists, who suffered devastating losses. However,
while the offensive was a crushing military defeat, the Communists
scored a huge psychological victory that would ultimately help them
win the war. The graphic images of U.S. casualties suffered during the
offensive helped stoke anti-war sentiment among the American people,
who had grown tired of the long conflict (active U.S. combat troops
had been in Vietnam since 1965; the U.S. first sent in military
advisers in 1961). The public was disillusioned by earlier overly
optimistic reports of progress in the war and disenchanted with
President Lyndon Johnson's handling of it.
Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam,
announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the
nomination of his party for re-election. General William Westmoreland,
commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, requested an additional 206,000
troops to finish off the weakened enemy forces. Johnson denied
Westmoreland's request and replaced him with General Creighton Abrams.
In May 1968, the U.S. and North Vietnamese began peace talks in Paris
and reached a formal agreement in January 1973. Fighting between the
North and South continued in Vietnam before the war finally ended on
April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the Communists and the last
Americans left Vietnam.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1968 : Viet Cong attack U.S. Embassy
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52321
1606 : The death of Guy Fawkes
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4724
1917 : Germany resumes submarine warfare
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6793
1950 : Truman announces development of H-bomb
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4725
1971 : Apollo 14 departs for the moon
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4726
#########################################
On this day in 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive, a squad of Viet
Cong guerillas attacks the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The soldiers seized
the embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S.
paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building's roof and routed
the Viet Cong.
The Tet Offensive was planned as a massive, simultaneous attack on the
major cities and provincial capitals of South Vietnam. It was
scheduled to take place during Tet, the Vietnamese lunar New Year
celebration, which was traditionally a time of decreased fighting. In
December 1967, following an attack on the U.S. Marine base at Khe
Sanh, 50,000 American troops were sent in to defend the area, thereby
weakening U.S. positions elsewhere. This American response played into
the Viet Cong's strategy to clear the way for the surprise Tet
Offensive, in which Communist forces attacked Saigon, Hue (the
imperial capital) and over 100 other urban areas.
The timing and magnitude of the attacks caught the South Vietnamese
and American forces off guard, although they quickly recovered and
recaptured the occupied areas. Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a
disaster for the Communists, who suffered devastating losses. However,
while the offensive was a crushing military defeat, the Communists
scored a huge psychological victory that would ultimately help them
win the war. The graphic images of U.S. casualties suffered during the
offensive helped stoke anti-war sentiment among the American people,
who had grown tired of the long conflict (active U.S. combat troops
had been in Vietnam since 1965; the U.S. first sent in military
advisers in 1961). The public was disillusioned by earlier overly
optimistic reports of progress in the war and disenchanted with
President Lyndon Johnson's handling of it.
Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam,
announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the
nomination of his party for re-election. General William Westmoreland,
commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, requested an additional 206,000
troops to finish off the weakened enemy forces. Johnson denied
Westmoreland's request and replaced him with General Creighton Abrams.
In May 1968, the U.S. and North Vietnamese began peace talks in Paris
and reached a formal agreement in January 1973. Fighting between the
North and South continued in Vietnam before the war finally ended on
April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the Communists and the last
Americans left Vietnam.
history.com/tdih.do
General Interest
1968 : Viet Cong attack U.S. Embassy
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihVideoCategory&id=52321
1606 : The death of Guy Fawkes
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4724
1917 : Germany resumes submarine warfare
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=6793
1950 : Truman announces development of H-bomb
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4725
1971 : Apollo 14 departs for the moon
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=4726
#########################################
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