Reference no: EM133869615

Question

January 30, 1968, marked the start of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. In past years the holiday had been honored by a lull (silence) in fighting. However, late that night, as most South Vietnamese and their U.S. allies slept, Vietcong guerillas and North Vietnamese troops struck. Within hours countless villages, more than 100 cities, and 12 U.S. military bases came under attack from nearly 84,000 communist soldiers. Heavy fighting raged in such U.S. strongholds as Saigon and Da Nang. At one point the Vietcong even occupied the courtyard of the U.S. Embassy. North Vietnam expected the Tet Offensive to bring down South Vietnam's government as the people rallied behind their "liberators." North Vietnam's leaders were disappointed, however. When the assault ended, more than a month later, some 40,000 communist soldiers lay dead. After the Tet Offensive, the U.S. public began turning against the war because they realized they were losing. Up to this point the U.S. people thought they were winning the war in Vietnam. They couldn't have been more wrong. What was the Tet Offensive? Why did the Tet Offensive weaken many Americans confidence in their government.