The Tet Offensive by Meredith Anas, last updated 5/10/98
Related historical timeline created with Timeliner (Nobles grad, Tom Snyder)
The Tet Offensive began On January 30th, 1968. There was a surprise attack by the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong were rebel forces in North Vietnam. They attacked a Southern Vietnam town. By 1967 the US Army and the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) were stationed in the cities. Later that year there were attacks by the Viet Cong that moved the troops out of the cities. On the first day of the Tet, the lunar New Year, the Viet Cong attacked five Vietnam cities many capitals and hamlets. They ambushed the airport, president's palace, ARVN headquarters and broke into US embassy headquarters, in Saigon. In a week the US forces and ARNV recovered everything but the town called Hue. When Hue was finally recovered, one thousand people were dead or lost their homes, and the capital was completely destroyed.
"Tet demonstrated the unimpaired resilience of the Viet Cong and the fragility of South Vietnam's control over it's own territory." - The Reader's Companion To American History
A narrative by James M. Mueller tells the story of being attacked on January 31st, 1968, from the perspective of a soldier. His barracks, in Hue, were being bombarded by the Viet Cong guerrillas. Firing, explosions, and rockets were heard all around him. Their ammunition bunker was hit by enemy forces and they "were instructed to fire at anything that moved." They were fired at by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) but thought it was a mistake. There was heavy fighting on their right and on their left. Later they were told it had been a saper-and-infantry assault that had tried to overrun their compound.
If you would like to read more about Mueller's account go to the following address:
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