TET OFFENSIVE HALTED:

February 24, 1968

On February 24, 1968, the Tet Offensive ends as U.S. and South Vietnamese troops
recapture the ancient capital of Huý from communist forces. Although scattered
fighting continued across South Vietnam for another week, the battle for Huý was
the last major engagement of the offensive, which saw communist attacks on all
of South Vietnam's major cities. In the aftermath of Tet, public opinion in the
United States decisively turned against the Vietnam War.As 1968 began--the third
year of U.S. ground-troop fighting in Vietnam--U.S. military leadership was
still confident that a favorable peace agreement would soon be forced on the
North Vietnamese and their allies in South Vietnam, the Viet Cong. Despite
growing calls at home for an immediate U.S. withdrawal, President Lyndon
Johnson's administration planned to keep the pressure on the communists through
increased bombing and other attrition strategies. General William Westmoreland,
commander of U.S. operations in Vietnam, claimed to see clearly "the light at
the end of the tunnel," and Johnson hoped that soon the shell-shocked communists
would stumble out of the jungle to the bargaining table.However, on January 30,
1968, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launched their massive Tet Offensive
all across South Vietnam. It was the first day of Tet--Vietnam's lunar new year
and most important holiday--and many South Vietnamese soldiers, expecting an
unofficial truce, had gone home. The Viet Cong were known for guerrilla tactics
and had never launched an offensive on this scale; consequently, U.S. and South
Vietnamese forces were caught completely by surprise.In the first day of the
offensive, tens of thousands of Viet Cong soldiers, supported by North
Vietnamese forces, overran the five largest cities of South Vietnam, scores of
smaller cities and towns, and a number of U.S. and South Vietnamese bases. The
Viet Cong struck at Saigon--South Vietnam's capital--and even attacked, and for
several hours held, the U.S. embassy there. The action was caught by U.S.
television news crews, which also recorded the brutal impromptu street execution
of a Viet Cong rebel by a South Vietnamese military official.As the U.S. and
South Vietnamese fought to regain control of Saigon, the cities of Huý, Dalat,
Kontum, and Quangtri fell to the communists. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces
recaptured most of these cities within a few days, but Huý was fiercely
contested by the communist soldiers occupying it. After 26 days of costly
house-to-house fighting, the South Vietnamese flag was raised again above Huý on
February 24, and the Tet Offensive came to an end. During the communist
occupation of Huý, numerous South Vietnamese government officials and civilians
were massacred, and many civilians died in U.S. bombing attacks that preceded
the liberation of the city.In many respects, the Tet Offensive was a military
disaster for the communists: They suffered 10 times more casualties than their
enemy and failed to control any of the areas captured in the opening days of the
offensive. They had hoped that the offensive would ignite a popular uprising
against South Vietnam's government and the presence of U.S. troops. This did not
occur. In addition, the Viet Cong, which had come out into the open for the
first time in the war, were all but wiped out. However, because the Tet
Offensive crushed U.S. hopes for an imminent end to the conflict, it dealt a
fatal blow to the U.S. military mission in Vietnam.In Tet's aftermath, President
Johnson came under fire on all sides for his Vietnam policy. General
Westmoreland requested 200,000 more troops to overwhelm the communists, and a
national uproar ensued after this request was disclosed, forcing Johnson to
recall Westmoreland to Washington. On March 31, Johnson announced that the
United States would begin de-escalation in Vietnam, halt the bombing of North
Vietnam, and seek a peace agreement to end the conflict. In the same speech, he
also announced that he would not seek reelection to the presidency, citing what
he perceived to be his responsibility in creating the national division over
Vietnam.